I wake the next morning in the exact position as I was when I fell asleep the second time with Gabriel’s arm around me. I can tell it’s still early because the sun is just starting to peek through the bedroom window. I don’t want to move. I want to stay in this protective bubble of strong inked arms forever, but my bladder has different plans. Along with a baby who is currently kicking the heck out of said bladder.

Trying very carefully to get out of bed without disturbing Gabriel is proving impossible. When you’re eight months pregnant, getting up out of bed can be a task and not a graceful one either. By the time I wiggle myself into a sitting position, I look over my shoulder at Gabriel and find him wide awake. He has one brow raised and his lip is quirked.

"Not one word," I say glaring at him.

"I wasn’t going to say anything, Cariño Sweetheart. I very much would like to keep my balls," he teases.

Rolling my eyes, I get up and walk to the bathroom. After finishing my business, I come back out into the bedroom to find Gabriel standing in front of the dresser in all his glory. The sight of him still takes my breath away. My eyes roam over every inch of his body. From his thick arms to his broad tattooed shoulder. Then my eyes follow the light dusting of dark hair on his chest that leads all the way down to…

A growl brings me out of my trance. And when my eyes land on Gabriel’s face I see pure desire.

"Stop lookin’ at me like that," he warns.

My breathing speeds up and I lick my lips, "Why?"

"Because when you look at me like that, I want nothing more than to bend you over the edge of the bed and drive my cock into your tight pussy."

His words cause my breath to hitch and my core to tingle. "I’d be okay with that."

Growling again through clench teeth he shakes his head, "You just got out of the hospital baby. You need time to heal."

"But…" I go to argue only to have him cut me off with a sharp look. "Fine," I mutter.

Once downstairs, we both head to the kitchen. I go about gathering the contents to make an omelet when Gabriel orders me to sit. I do as he asks and sit down on a stool at the bar. Propping my elbow on the counter, I rest my chin in my palm and enjoy the view of Gabriel shirtless and in a pair of grey sweats that hang low on his hips. I’m pulled from yet another dreamy state when the doorbell rings.

Glancing at the clock on the wall I see it’s 7:30 am and smile because I have a pretty good guess as to who it is. Stepping down from the stool, I go to answer the door.

"I’ll get it," Gabriel says.

"It’s probably just Bella. I’m surprised she held off until the sun was up to come over."

A moment later Gabriel walks back in the kitchen with my sister trailing behind. She walks straight to me and pulls me in for a hug.

"How are you feeling today?"

"Really good. My wrist was bothering me a bit when I woke up but it’s fine now."

Gabriel turns his attention from the stove. "You didn’t tell me you were in pain," he scolds.

"I’m not. I said it was bothering me a little. I took some pain reliever when I was in the bathroom and now I’m fine."

"You should have told me."

"Why? So, you could have fed the medicine to me like a baby? I can do things for myself you know."

My last statement causes Gabriel to glare and my sister to snicker, which earns her a glare from Gabriel as well.

"I hope you two don’t mind, but I called Mila and asked if she would mind stopping by here before her shift to check up on you. If big guy," she says pointing her thumb at Gabriel, "is anything like Logan then he’d feel better if you were checked out."

The glare disappears on Gabriel’s face and it’s replaced with one of gratitude, "Appreciate ya, Bella."

"No problem, Gabriel." She says sincerely.

My sister and I are finishing up the breakfast Gabriel cooked when we hear a knock at the door. I don’t even attempt to answer it this time.

When Gabriel reenters the kitchen, it’s with Mila. Bella and I both step down from our stools and greet her with a hug.

"Hey, Alba. How are you feeling this morning?"

"I feel okay. But these two are being worry warts. So, I’m glad you could stop by on your way to work. Maybe once they see I’m fine, they will stop hovering and Gabriel might let me do things for myself."

"It’s nice having someone to worry about you. It just means they care," Mila states somberly. God, why did I have to open my big mouth? Mila is a single mother. Ava’s father passed away before she was born. Bella has told me on several occasions Mila doesn’t date and she knows she gets lonely. And here I am complaining about the people who love me showing too much attention. I swallow pass the knot in my throat, "Mila, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be complaining. I know how lucky I am."

She waves her hand at me, "I’m the one who’s sorry. I had no right to overstep."

"You didn’t overstep. You spoke the truth. I should not speak as though I’m ungrateful." After giving Mila a hug, I lead her into the living room where she proceeds to check my vitals and then she moves on to the staples on my head.

"All your vitals are normal, and your head is already starting to heal nicely. How’s your wrist feeling?"

"It was a little achy this morning. I took some pain releiver and it helped."

"Have you made a follow up with your OB yet?" Mila asks as she begins packing her blood pressure cuff back into her bag.

"Yep. I have an appointment with her tomorrow."

Mila slings her bag over her shoulder and I walk her to the front door.

"Thanks for stopping by. We really appreciate it."

"No problem, Alba. I was happy to. And anytime you two need anything you can call me, day or night." She says looking to both me and Gabriel.

"I need to be going too, I’ll walk out with you," Bella announces.

"Call me later, okay?" then turns towards Gabriel, "Thanks for breakfast big guy." He gives them both a chin lift as they walk out the door.

An hour after my sister and Mila left, Gabriel informed me that he needed to go to the clubhouse and take care of a few things. When I asked who was babysitting today, he gave me the best surprise.

Now here I am standing on my front porch shifting from foot to foot as I see a familiar truck making its way down our gravel driveway. Before the truck is even in park, I’m down the steps and throwing myself into Sam’s arms. I’ve missed my friend so much. It’s been months since I’ve seen him.

"Hey, little momma," he beams scooping me up in his arms.

"Why didn’t you tell me you were coming," I scold once he releases his hold.

"I wanted to surprise you."

"Well, I’m definitely surprised. Come on, let’s go inside," I urge grabbing his hand and tugging him along behind me. Walking back up the steps to the front porch we pass Gabriel. He leans in giving me a kiss and then he and Sam exchange the usual guy acknowledgment of chin lifts before Gabriel heads in the direction of his truck.

Walking inside, I shut and lock the door before setting the alarm. Something Gabriel insists I do even when one of the guys is here with me. But now that I’m thinking about it, I’m wondering what sort of conversation Gabriel and Sam must have had yesterday. I’m shocked he has allowed Sam to be alone here with me. That he trusts Sam to watch over me without one of the guys. Knowing Gabriel, he probably threatened Sam.

No matter what was said, all that matters is he trusts Sam enough to let him be here alone with me. Plus, one look at my friend and you can clearly see he would have no problem protecting me. He may not be as big as Gabriel, but then again none of the other guys are.

We sit together in the living room and talk about trivial things. I notice that every time I bring up school and ask about his classes, he diverts my questions. Even when I ask about Leah, his answer to everything is ’fine’. Sitting up straighter on the sofa, I narrow my eyes at Sam.

"Alright, what’s going on? Why do I get the feeling you’re keeping something from me?"

Hanging his head and pinching the bridge of his nose, Sam lays it on me.

"I dropped out of school."

I look at him with a stunned expression, "What? Why? When did this happen, and why have you not told me before now?"

"After I quit the team, my father refused to pay my tuition, so I had no choice. All this happened after Christmas. I didn’t tell you because you have enough shit on your plate to worry about. I know you already blame yourself for me quitting the team. You didn’t need that kind of stress, Alba." Seeing the tears well up in my eyes, Sam shakes his head at me.

"Hell no, Alba, no tears. Absolutely none of that shit that went down was your fault. So don’t go getting upset, you hear me?"

"That fight was my fault, Sam. Had you not been defending me, you would still be in school."

"Sweetheart, me kicking that guy’s ass was a blessing. I was forced to face my father and come clean about some things in my life. One of them being I did not want to play football. Football was never my dream, it was my father’s. I’m happier now than I have been in a very long time, Alba. I’m no longer living my life for someone else. I’m living my life for me. You taught me that."

I give him a confused look.

"What do you mean I taught you that?"

Shaking his head. "Look at you. Look at where you’re at. The moment you found out you were pregnant you said fuck what everyone thinks. You faced the challenge head on. And school. School was never for you. So, what did you do. You created your own path. You decided to live your life the way you wanted. Not the way others thought you should."

By the time Sam is finished talking, I’m a sobbing mess, "I’m really glad you finally stood up for what you wanted, Sam. As long as you’re happy, I’m happy for you."

Several minutes later after my tears have dried Sam speaks up again.

"Now that that truth is out of the way, I suppose I should keep going since I’m on a roll."

"What are you talking about?"

"I’m talking about Leah."

"What about her? You said she was doing good."

"Leah is in trouble. I think she needs help. The kind of help I can’t give her. And I’m hoping that you might be able to help. Hell, after meeting Gabriel and some of the men in the club, I’m convinced you can."

Oh god. I have a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach this has something to do with her family. I just know it. Leah has never come right out and told me any details about her parents. But the way she acts, and some of the things she has said, I’m certain her home life is not good.

"You know I’ll do anything for her, Sam. Now tell what’s going on."

"You know, I wouldn’t normally say anything that would upset you, given your current state, but I feel her situation is time sensitive."

"My current state? You all need to quit acting like being pregnant means I have some sort of disability or that I’m incompetent for Christ’s sake. Now tell me what the hell is going on," I demand with a raised voice.

Taken aback a moment by my raised voice, Sam finally continues, "When I arrived back to our apartment after spending Christmas with my parents, Leah was already home. I wasn’t expecting her until after New Year’s, and she clearly wasn’t expecting me to come home so early. Because when I came home she was in the middle of packing. I could tell immediately something as off. From the moment I stepped into her room and started to ask questions, she did everything she could to avoid even looking at me. I walked up to her and grabbed a hold of her arm to get her to stop packing and talk to me. When she finally turned toward me that’s when I saw it."

"Saw what?" I ask. But not sure I want to hear the answer. Leaning over with his elbows resting on his knees, he places his head in his hands. Swallowing past the knot in my throat. I repeat myself. "What did you see, Sam?"

Looking back at me he answers, "She was beaten, Alba. Both of her eyes were black. One was nearly swollen shut. Her lip was busted. She couldn’t even walk without being hunched over. Even though she wouldn’t let me see, I know the rest of her body matched her face. At first, she refused to tell me anything. But no way was I going to give up. When she realized I wouldn’t back down, she broke. Leah told me everything, Alba, and it’s not pretty." Looking at me with hurt and anger in his eyes, Sam tells me what I already suspected. "Her father did that to her. You want to know why? Because he’s been having someone from his church spy on her. Because of the dress she wore when we went out to the club together. Her father said she was presenting herself like a whore. He also found out she was living with me. A man. She had kept that a secret from her family. Leah had no idea her father had been spying on her."

Standing up from the couch, I begin to pace the living room.

"Sam, please tell me you didn’t let her leave. Please tell me she didn’t go back home."

"Fuck no, I didn’t let her go back. She was going to. Her father demanded she pack all her stuff and return. But after what she told me, and after seeing what that motherfucker was capable of, no way was I about to let her leave. What we did was finish packing up her shit, then we packed up mine and we moved. I found us another apartment on the other side of town. Leah had to quit school. Luckily, I still had some money in my savings to get us by for a while. I was able to find a job in construction. The pay is decent enough. The problem is I can’t hide her in Bozeman forever. Her father is going to find her and she’s terrified of what will happen when he does. She can’t live the way she has been for the past couple of months. She’s scared to even leave our apartment."

Holding up my hand I stop him. "She can come here. Leah can stay with me and Gabriel." I watch as Sam’s shoulder slump in relief. "Why didn’t she come with you? Is she okay being home alone while you’re gone?"

"She said she would be. I tried to get her to come with me, but she didn’t want you to find out about what happened. She said if you started asking questions she knew she wouldn’t be able to lie to you. Leah made me promise not to say anything. This was one promise I had to break though. I don’t think her staying in Bozeman is safe anymore. Leah still hasn’t told me everything about her family. Only that they are super religious and strict. All I know is what her father did to her was not anything God would have wanted."

When Sam finishes replaying the horrible event of him and Leah, I stop my pacing and return to my spot on the couch next to him.

"How attached to Bozeman are you?" I ask.

Giving me a thoughtful look, he replies, "I don’t know, I like it well enough. It’s better than living at home. Why?"

"How would you feel about both you and Leah moving here to Polson?"

Sam seems to be pondering my question as I nervously bite my lip. What I wouldn’t give to have two people who have come to mean so much to me move here. When I see a wide smile stretch across his face I know what his answer is and I throw myself at him.

Over the next several hours we make a plan and iron out all the details of his and Leah’s move. The plan is for them to make the move within the next month. That gives him time to find a place for the two of them and hopefully line up some work. I told Sam I’d ask Gabriel if maybe Reid needed some help. His and Nikolai’s business is doing so well, so I’m hoping they can hook Sam up. When we hear Gabriel’s truck pull up outside, Sam stands.

"Well, that’s my cue."

"Are you sure you have to go now? You can stay for dinner."

"Naw, I need to get back home. I don’t want Leah to stay another night alone."

I shake off my disappointment at the mention of our friend.

"Okay. Call or text me when you get home. And tell Leah I’m going to call her tomorrow."

"I will, little momma," he says kissing the top of my head.

Walking over to the front door, Sam is sliding on his coat when Gabriel walks in.

"Cariño Sweetheart," he acknowledges me first with a kiss and pulling me into his side before offering his hand to Sam.

"Gabriel," Sam greets in return. Once he’s in his truck and begins to drive away, I give one last wave before closing the door.

"Everything okay, babe?"

With a heavy and hopeful heart, I answer him. "It will be."