Page 14

Chapter Fourteen

Griffin’s Beach Kent

K ent Conway knocks on the door to the Short house. If not for the shit that happened last night, Kent would have made Gavin bring his sister’s crib to the house himself.

The door opens, and a very pregnant Gracie Short answers the door. “Hey, Kent.”

“Hey,” he says with a smile. “Got a delivery for you.”

They may be a couple of years apart, but he’s known her pretty much his whole life. The idea that she’s about to have a baby still doesn’t seem real even though she stands in front of him about as wide as she is tall.

“You’re a pack mule today? What is it?”

She shifts her position, and Kent can’t help himself from thinking she has to be more than a little uncomfortable. There’s a lot of weight to carry around the front. “Looks to be a crib.”

“Um, my room, I guess. I thought Gavin was bringing this over.”

“You didn’t hear?” he asks, lifting the box that should really be carried by two people, and follows her into the house.

“I’m pretty isolated here. I don’t get out much.”

She moves to the side and allows him to set the box on the floor. “Why not?”

“Because I need a sign that says OVERSIZED LOAD when I go out. I swear, this baby’s going to be ten pounds.”

Smirking, he nods before telling her what little he knows about the Hailey situation. Gracie’s discomfort disappears as she gapes at him, her eyes wide.

“So, yeah, if I had to guess, your brother’s probably with Hailey right now. I know I’d be if I was in his position,” Kent says.

“Oh, God, that’s terrible. I’m glad she’s okay.”

Moving behind her, he holds his hands up. “May I?”

“May you what?”

The need to try and ease her discomfort becomes intense, and he figures the worst that can happen is Gracie telling him to go to hell.

She doesn’t push him away as he begins to massage her lower back.

In fact, she moans with every movement of his fingers.

Holding back his chuckle becomes impossible, and she just shakes her head.

“I don’t even care. You have no idea how much my body hurts. Imagine carrying a watermelon strapped to your front. That’s basically what it feels like.”

“Can I try something I’ve seen online?”

“Will it help?”

He shrugs when she looks over her shoulder at him. “It’s supposed to.”

“Go for it. I’m willing to try just about anything right now.”

She’s quite a bit shorter than he is, his height being inherited from his father while she was not blessed with the same, but he reaches around and holds the underside of her belly. He lifts slightly, helping to relieve some of the strain on her, and her head falls back against his chest.

“Oh my God, I think I’m in love with you right now,” Gracie says, her eyes closed.

“You’re the first girl to ever say that to me.”

“You will make one of the best baby daddies in the entire world.”

They stay in that position until it becomes too uncomfortable for him. Slowly lowering her belly, he feels a strange sense of pride to have helped her out.

“Thank you, Kent. That was the first moment of relief I’ve had in months.”

“My pleasure. When are you due?”

She counts on her fingers. “About three weeks, but I have a suspicion this little thing is gonna come early.”

“You don’t know what you’re having?”

Shaking her head, she moves to sit on her bed, her hands on her back to stretch. “Nope, I wanna be surprised. Plus, it’s just one more thing that drives Mom crazy, so it’s kind of a bonus. If he or she comes soon, we may just share a birthday.”

Kent sits in the rocking chair that probably makes him look like a giant in a kid’s chair and smiles. “When’s that?”

“Saturday. I’ll be seventeen.”

“Happy early birthday. What are you doing?”

She motions in front of her to the crib, and he looks around the room for the first time since entering it. It’s a typical girl’s room, something he’s familiar with because of his sister, Martha. The chuckle comes as he sees the posters on the wall.

Of course, she’s a fan of some preppy looking singer I’ve never heard of before. Typical.

“You don’t have plans with your parents? Your birthday will be setting up a crib?”

“It’s my birthday present,” she says with a shrug. “I’ll probably see if Dad will help me put it together. Mom is terrible at assembling things, but she’ll never admit it to anyone.”

Staring, he tries to make it make sense. “That’s not a birthday present. Or a way to spend your birthday.”

“Well, my other option was an invitation from all of my friends to go clubbing, but I figured it was probably a bad idea. Swollen feet. Take my situation as a lesson, Kent. Always, always wear a condom.”

“I’m not sure if I’m allowed to ask this, but is the father going to be around at all? Or help you out financially?”

Shaking her head, she licks her lips, her eyes not quite meeting his. “No, he pretty much just pretends I don’t exist and what we did to get here never happened.”

“Asshole.”

“Yeah, that’s kind of my sentiment, too. But… here I am. Can’t change it, and I’m going to be the best mother I can be.”

Her long, brown hair hangs down in natural waves, balancing out her round face. She’s always been cute, but the poor girl was born with her father’s shoulders. Everything about her is petite. Was petite.

“How about this? I’ll put the crib together for you now, and we’ll make plans to go out to eat on Saturday.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know. I want to. You’re only seventeen once.”

Her face scrunches up, and she presses a hand on her belly. “If you’re sure.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, the baby’s just really kicking right now.”

Kent hops up and moves towards her. “Can I feel?”

Smiling, Gracie takes his hand and places it on her belly. Beneath his palm is a little flutter, and he stares in wonder. There’s a real, live baby in there.

The concept was something he always knew. He did graduate from high school and took all the necessary classes, but he’s never really paid attention to it in reality. He was pretty young when his mom was pregnant with Martha, so he doesn’t remember much of it.

There is a tiny human living inside her. This little being is using her body as a warm, cozy home, and she’s nourishing him or her to grow.

“This is so trippy.”

“Imagine being me. The kicking is a good sign, I suppose, but what I would really like is for this kid to stop using my bladder as a trampoline. It’s embarrassing to admit how many times I’ve almost peed myself.”

He chuckles. “But everything’s good?”

“Yeah, baby is healthy, and I guess I’m good, too. Can’t sleep for shit now, but overall, they say I’m good.”

Releasing her belly, he moves to open the large box, using his pocketknife to cut along the tape at the seams. The crib has many parts, and he pulls them out, placing them in an organized order on the floor.

“Are you sure you don’t have anything better to do? You really don’t have to do this, Kent.”

“Trust me, what our dads have the Prospects doing is disgusting and terrible. This will actually be a favor to me because there’s no way Colt can get pissed at me for being late when I tell him I put a crib together for his VP’s grandkid.”

She giggles and moves to sit in the rocking chair, watching him as he puts the crib together. They talk, the conversation flowing easily, and he learns a little more about the father of the baby.

The tone of voice as she describes how he told her they were never together, even after telling him she was pregnant, shows just how much she’d detached from the situation. A situation that makes Kent angry as he uses Ky’s tools to tighten bolts.

She doesn’t give much away, even when he asks who the guy is.

He’s dating someone she cares about, and she doesn’t want to hurt her friend.

It’s admirable, but it’s also incredibly stupid.

There’s no reason she should have to go through any of this alone.

Not when it takes two people to get pregnant.

“Wow,” Gracie says with a smile. “You’re fast. The crib is pretty much put together.”

“Just for future reference, that’s not really something guys like to hear chicks say, but thanks,” Kent jokes.

She giggles and holds her belly. “Okay, I have to know. Which club bunnies have you taken to bed?”

“I’m actually more than okay not fucking them.”

“Really?”

Why does everyone think all of us just itch to wear the kutte so we can screw the women everyone’s been with?

“Yeah, really. I get my fair share of women on my own, thank you.”

“No girlfriend?”

Shaking his head, he sighs. “Nope. Women don’t seem to want more than a few nights with me. Everyone these days wants drama-filled relationships with fighting and shouting. That’s just not me. I’m a chill dude, which kind of pisses them off.”

“You seem like you’d be a good boyfriend, for what it’s worth. Once you find the right girl, I bet it’ll be a match made in heaven. And if she gets pregnant, she’ll be lucky to have you in her corner. Seriously, what you did earlier was amazing.”

The pride and happiness at her words surprises him. “Thanks, Gracie.”

“Okay, I need to know one more thing. And don’t shoot me for this, but have you walked in on your dad and Melanie? I mean, you’ve had to, right?”

Groaning, he flips the crib onto its legs.

His dad has a reputation because of his sex-obsessed girlfriend.

“I haven’t walked in on it, but I’ve heard enough to have a pretty good visual.

Which is not something you want with your dad and his girlfriend.

I mean, good for him. Mom didn’t put out, but my God. ”

“I haven’t seen it, but Mel shows pretty much everyone pictures of your dad’s junk.”

His jaw drops. “What? Why?”

“I guess he’s hung like a horse and pierced. Like, a lot.”

Looking up at the ceiling, he shudders. “And that would be one more reason not to fuck a club bunny. I don’t need to be compared to my dad . That’s just creepy.”

“I never thought about that. Oh God, that’s probably a real concern for any son of the club. If they take a bunny to bed, and she screwed their dad? And is there a comparison?”

“I hadn’t either, but I am now,” he says and gathered the borrowed tools. “Thanks.”

She giggles. “No problem.”

“Okay, I’ll be here around six on Saturday to pick you up. We’ll have dinner and probably a few laughs at my discomfort about every woman apparently seeing pictures of my dad’s dick.”

“Bye, Kent.”

“See ya Saturday.”

Kent walks into the garage to put the tools back and throw away the cardboard, and Gracie follows him. “Hey, Kent?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”