Thanks to Holly, I'd conquered my demons.
Her best friend, Bailey, was sitting with her, and her brood were among the children running around. She'd suffered a miscarriage a few months before, and I could see that there was deep sadness behind her smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, which lacked their usual sparkle. Moody had said that she was struggling with the loss, which had occurred in her second trimester. He'd been deeply affected as well, the pain was obvious in his eyes, but he was remaining strong for Bailey. It had to be hell to lose a baby.
As I looked around, I realized that a good number of brothers were missing. "Where are the others?" I asked Cole.
"Some are out front smoking. LD, Demon, Moody, and Loco took off for a ride. Heard Colton in the bathroom gagging." We both laughed at that.
"I wonder if there's any truth to what he's claiming."
Cole shrugged. "Anything is possible. All I know is that since Annie announced she was pregnant he's been suffering morning sickness right alongside her."
"He just wants the attention. Thank fuck none of the rest of us are going through it."
"Gotta be something in the fucking water, Brother." Cole laughed, taking a sip of his beer. "There's more pregnant old ladies than not."
His observation wasn't too far off. Kathy, one of the old lady's who’d started hanging out with our women, was ready to pop any day now. Bobbie--yes, Demon had finally knocked her up--and Annie were both due around the same time in summer, and JoJo had just announced that she was three months along.
"Christ, Brother, this time next year the clubhouse is going to be full of screaming babies."
In spite of Cole's comment, there was a grin on his face, and I knew what he was feeling. Having children changed a man--maybe not always for the better, but for my brothers it made us feel like fucking kings.
The next generation of Desert Rebels was well under way.
So were the new club princesses.
"You think the peace is going to last?"
I wondered what made Cole ask the question, if he had concerns about whether the currently smooth waters would last. His gaze was focused on his woman and son. "For a little while I hope."
The last few months had been quiet, too quiet. Radar was still out there. We hadn't given up on looking for him, but it was as if he'd dropped off the face of the earth. We had other MCs we were friendly with keeping their eyes and ears open. We also had prospects watching his mother's house, but she’d surprised us all by packing up and moving away to another state.
The warehouse that the Knights had been using for their bogus beauty supply business had been abandoned. We'd expected to find a shitload of empty boxes, but what we'd found instead had been weapons and drugs, which had been confiscated by the Feds once someone tipped them off. We hadn't wanted that shit laying around for gangs or nosey kids to get their hands on. We'd taken their computer to the office so Oz could hack into their accounts to see what other shit they'd been up to.
Bull came around the corner of the house and headed straight for us. I couldn't read from his expression if he had good or bad news for me. "Is it done?"
He nodded and sat down on the ground. "Put her ass on a bus. Told her if she didn't stay gone this time, she wouldn't like the consequences."
I released a loud breath of disgust. Good riddance. Goldie had stuck her nose into shit that wasn't any of her business, and had caused trouble between the club members and their women, so we’d cut her loose. Found out that she'd been the one who’d given Lulu's name to the asshole she got to impersonate me on the call to Crickets. We'd given her enough warnings, but she’d thought that because the guys liked what she could do for them she was exempt from the rules. She was a liar and a manipulator, and we didn't need another Tamara in the club. It was good that we'd discovered who she really was early on.
Cole snorted. "She's like a bad penny, Brother." There was a note in his tone that suggested that he didn't think we'd seen the last of Goldie.
"Yup." I grinned when Holly got to her feet with a helping hand from Jolene. "No more talk about that bitch on my wedding day."
Holly grabbed Ava by the hand and walked my way.
There was a big smile on her beautiful face. "Our daughter needs to be changed."
Her words, and the rank smell that wafted from Ava's diaper, wiped the smile right off my face.
"I don't want to take a chance and get poop on my gown."
"That's a weak excuse, Babe," I mockingly grumbled. Ava let go of her mother's hand and grabbed my knee. She was looking more and more like Holly every day, but I saw some of me in her facial expressions, especially when she was being stubborn. But when she peered up at me with that little smile on her cherub face, I couldn't resist her. Like her mother, she already had me wrapped around her little finger, and she knew it.
"Dada."
That's all it took. My heart swelled. I glared at Holly, because she knew it. Her eyes sparkled triumphantly.
"See? She wants her dada to change her."
I let my eyes drift down to her large tits, and then her baby bump. Her changing body turned me on, and I wanted to fuck her all the time. When we'd signed the papers for the house we’d bought, we'd christened every fucking room and surface. I wanted to pull her down onto my lap now, but that would be hard to do with Ava clinging to my leg.
"Here, let me take the little munchkin." I hadn't even noticed Jolene approaching us. "Come to Aunt Jolene, honey bun." She lifted Ava, wrinkling her nose. "Whew!"
"She needs to be changed," Holly said, stating the obvious.
"You think?"
"I was going to put her down for a nap, too."
"I can do that. Do I need to give her a bottle or anything?"
"There's a bottle in the fridge, and you might have to rock her for a minute or two."
"I think I can manage that, huh, baby girl?" Jolene turned and disappeared into the house.
As soon as Jolene was gone, I grabbed Holly by the hand and pulled her down on my lap. "Thank fuck for aunts," I said against her neck. God, she smelled good.
Holly shivered beneath my lips, a husky laugh escaping her. "Sooner or later you're going to have to change a shitty diaper." Her fingers tangled in my trimmed hair.
I pulled back to meet her smiling eyes. "I've changed shitty diapers!"
She grunted. "When?"
I hesitated as I tried to decide if it was in my best interest to change the subject. "Are we really going to discuss shitty diapers right now?" I nuzzled her neck again.
"What would you like to do, husband?" Fuck, I liked the sound of that. "Go for it right here in this chair and give our guests a show?"
"Well, it is our wedding day." I couldn't resist her mouth another second, and covered it with mine. Our kiss quickly turned rough and deep, bringing up moans of pleasure. My dick was already getting hard beneath her ass, and Holly ground against it, using the full skirt of her wedding dress to camouflage what she was doing. "You're playing with fire, woman."
She giggled. "I thought I was playing with your cock."