“Well, there’s no need to rush off. I don’t plan to have any children for a while. I’ll tell Shade when he comes in for lunch that you’re taking back your notice.”
Jewell looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “If you’re not pregnant, what is that?”
Ginny stretched the material tighter around her. “I’ve gained a few pounds, I have to admit. I’ll lose it when the weather warms.”
“Yes, you will,” Jewell said sarcastically. “Ignore that. It doesn’t matter. I’m not staying.”
Ginny moved closer to Jewell’s desk. “Stay, Jewell. I promise you won’t regret it, but you will if you go. Give it another six months; feelings change, and you might find out your feelings for Gavin weren’t what you thought they were.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Stay and find out.” Ginny gave Jewell grin. “In another month our house will be done, so you won’t see me as often, and despite that, how can you steal my man if you’re not here? I’ll see you at dinner.”
Leaving Jewell’s door open as she left, Ginny went outside and headed back to the club house. Seeing Gavin standing on the front porch talking to Puck as Suki ran around the yard, Ginny decided to head that way. Gavin’s back was turned to the parking lot, so he didn’t see her coming up the steps.
Mischievously, she shoved her hand in the snow and made a snowball. Aiming, she hit Gavin in his upper arm. When Gavin and Puck turned, startled, she burst out laughing, which sent an exuberant Suki running toward her. Knowing the dog wouldn’t jump on her, she still unconsciously took a step to the side and felt herself falling. Keeping calm, Ginny threw her left shoulder back, sending her falling to the side rather than down the steep steps.
“Ginny … are you okay?”
Her clothes didn’t have time to get wet before Gavin was picking her up.
“What are you doing out here? You’re supposed to be in the kitchen.”
“I went to visit Winter,” Ginny explained, brushing her pants down.
“Dammit, I told you not to come up these steps when it’s snowing! Why did you come up the steps?” he roared at her.
Ginny kept her smile pasted on her face, despite several members of the club coming out onto the porch to see what was going on.
“Are you trying to lose my baby?” he continued to yell.
Ginny bunched her hand in a fist and punched him in the stomach. “I am not pregnant!”
Willa, Beth, and Lily slowly began backing away from the banister.
“Woman, I’m fed up with you telling me I’m not going to be a father.”
“I am not pregnant!” Ginny stubbornly closed her jacket over the mound of her belly. “I am not going to be pregnant until Pastor Dean tells me I have his permission for us to be married.” She left out the admission that she wanted to hear from him; there were too many eyes and ears around.
“I’ve told Lucky at least two dozen times, and he refuses to give it to you.”
Ginny pointed a finger at chest. “Then you better figure out why!” she screeched at him. “My dad would roll over in his grave if he knew I was pregnant and not married.”
“We talking about the same one who had nine children and never married any of their mothers?”
“Are you speaking ill of the dead?” Before Gavin could stop her, she pulled a hair from his head.
“Give that back.”
Ginny shoved her hand underneath her top, then brought it out. “You can’t have it. If you’ll excuse me, I have a cake to frost.” Ginny stomped her way up the rest of the stairs.
The people on the porch went to the side to keep their distance, and Ginny rolled her eyes at them. What did they think she was going to do? She was jinxing Gavin, not them.
Reaching the porch she turned to give Gavin another piece of her mind … and found him right behind her.
Poking him again, she gave him one last warning. “You better fix this, Gavin James. I will not be shamed in front of my family. You don’t want me calling Papa to come here and have a talk with you. He’ll be mad enough to kick your ass if he finds out I’m pregnant.”
“How’s he going to kick my ass when he’s six feet under?”
Ginny sucked in deep hiss of air. “I was talking about Papa Will. I’m calling him. Do you see what you’ve just done? Now I won’t be able to marry you until I have his permission, too.” Storming inside the house, Ginny slammed the door behind her.
Viper was the first to laugh, then Shade, then Rider.
Angrily, Reaper decided he was going inside to eat his spaghetti. Then, when he was finished, he was going to carry Ginny upstairs and fuck her brains out. He was going to show that nymph not to raise her voice at him and have the whole fucking house laughing at him.
He was brought up short when the door wouldn’t budge.
“Viper, you got the key with you?”
“No. Why would I need a key when one of the brothers is always watching the door?”
“Shade? Rider?”
Both shook their heads.
“Anyone?”
“I’ll go to the back door and come open the door for everyone,” Lily said, going down the steps.
“I’ll come with you. I don’t want you to fall.” Shade went down the steps after his wife.
Reaper went to the first step off the porch and sat down. Suki came running to him to plop down on his lap. Rider sat down on the porch next to him. “I thought she would have come back by now.”
“No, I insulted her father. She’s going to make me sit out here for a good thirty minutes. You all might as well go to the back door. As long as I’m out here, she won’t let anyone open the door.”
Everyone began leaving the porch, heading toward the back door.
“Might as well go, too, Puck. I’ll take over the rest of the shift.”
Puck didn’t argue, taking off before he could change his mind.
“Lucky really isn’t giving you and Ginny his permission?”
“Yes.”
“Fucker knows he has you by the balls.”
“Fuckwad.”
Rider rubbed the tip of his boot on the step below them. “Shade got his permission.”
“That’s what Ginny said. I don’t believe it.”
“I don’t either.”
“You should ask Shade just to make sure,” Reaper casually suggested, as if it wasn’t any skin off his back if he didn’t.
“I’m sure he didn’t, but I’m not the one getting married to Ginny.” Rider suggested just as casually. “But when you find out, let me know. Just out of curiosity, of course.”
Lucky wasn’t the only fuckwad in the club.
Rider’s blasé attitude confirmed Reaper’s sneaky suspicion why one of the reasons he hadn’t married Jo was Rider would rather put his balls through a cheese grater than ask Lucky to marry Jo and be told no. If it had been any other pastor in the world, there wouldn’t have been a hitch. Rider and him could have pretended to any good ol’ boy. The same couldn’t be said about Lucky; he was privy to the intimate details of their lives. Lucky would laugh his ass off unless they were ready to bare their soul in front of him. Shade must have come up around the problem, either Lily married Shade without Lucky’s permission or Shade had blackmailed him into giving permission. Shade didn’t have a soul, so third scenario wasn’t an option.