F ive Months Later
It had been almost five months since they moved to a safe house in Alabama. Reacher thought that they’d both end up hating the South, but it turned out that it didn’t matter where the two of them lived, as long as they were together, that was their home.
Brandi looked about ready to burst, and he knew that having the baby in New York was a pipe dream that they were going to have to give up on.
Reacher had settled into the Royal Bastard’s Huntsville Chapter, and the guys at the club were great.
They made him feel like he was one of them, and that felt pretty damn good.
Some of the Royal Harlots, the sister club to the Bastards, had taken his new wife under their wings. They had even thrown her a baby shower.
Yonkers and Hurricane had kept them up to date on what was going on back in New York, which wasn’t much of anything. They were no closer to taking down the Vipers or shutting down their trafficking ring.
They had a little wedding at Savage Hell, and his club up north, along with Gloria, attended virtually.
It wasn’t what either of them had envisioned, but they were making do with what they had.
Brandi had agreed to stay home with the baby since she wasn’t a licensed nurse in Alabama.
Since they had no idea how long they would be there, she decided that getting her nursing license down there wasn’t a good idea.
Reacher supported her decision, but a part of him was glad that she wasn’t going to be out alone while working.
He wouldn’t be able to take care of her if the Vipers found them, and that was his number one priority—her and the baby.
She walked into the family room and sat down on the sofa next to him. “Gloria is going to call any minute, and she said that she wants to talk to us both. I’m worried that something is wrong and she wants you to be here for me,” Brandi said.
“Why do you always go to the negative side of things?” Reacher asked. He palmed her belly, and she put her hand over his.
“I guess in my line of work, my patients usually don’t have good news, so I expect the worst.”
“Well, we’re going to have to work on that,” he insisted.
Her phone rang and she quickly answered it. When Gloria’s face popped up on the phone screen, Reacher couldn’t help his smile. He had to admit, she was the person he missed most from home—not that he’d tell the guys down at his club that.
“Hey there, you two,” she said.
“Well, you seem perky today,” Brandi assessed. “How are you feeling?”
“Pretty good,” Gloria said. “Listen, I don’t have long.”
“Oh, God,” Brandi whispered under her breath.
“What’s wrong?” Gloria said sliding closer to the screen. They could partially see up her nose, and Reacher wanted to laugh, but it wasn’t the time for that. They had tried to teach Gloria to hold the phone back from her face, but she was still new to face timing.
“Nothing’s wrong with me,” Brandi insisted, “it's you that I’m worried about.” Gloria paused and Reacher could tell when she realized what she had said to upset Brandi.
“Oh, I could have phrased that better,” Gloria said. “I meant, I’m going down to the senior center soon and I’m catching a ride with a friend. He’ll be here any minute, but I wanted to talk to you both first.”
There was no way that he had heard her correctly. “Wait, he will be there any minute?” Reacher asked. “Are you dating?”
“That’s not our business,” Brandi insisted.
“She’s right, it’s not your business, but since we are all family—yes, I’m dating,” Gloria said.
“And why shouldn’t I start dating again?
I’m in remission and have some extra time on my hands now that I won’t have to receive treatments every week.
” She defiantly raised her chin as though daring either one of them to say otherwise.
“Wait—you’re in remission?” Brandi asked.
“I am,” Gloria said, wearing a huge smile. “I got the news yesterday, and couldn’t wait to tell you both.”
“That’s fantastic news,” Reacher said. He felt like he wanted to jump up and fist-bump the air.
“I’m so happy for you, Gloria,” Brandi said, swiping at the tears.
Gloria laughed, “Oh, your hormones. I’m afraid that they won’t get much better even after the baby is here.”
“I know, but I can’t help it. I’m just so happy. Our baby is going to have you in her life, and that’s the best news ever,” Brandi said.
“Wait—you’re having a girl?” Gloria asked. “I thought that you two were waiting to find out the sex when he or she got here.”
“We were,” Brandi said, shooting Reacher a look that could melt a glacier. “But someone looked a little too closely at the sonogram monitor two days ago, and now, we know what we’re having. I’m not too upset though, because now, Reacher can help me shop for all the girl things.”
“Well, Yonkers and Wren are coming down next week to visit her family, and they are bringing a few baby gifts from me,” Gloria said.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Reacher insisted, “just hearing that you’re in remission is the best gift ever.”
“Thanks for saying that, but my new granddaughter will need some cute little outfits, so I need to do some shopping.” Hearing Gloria call their daughter her granddaughter did strange, mushy shit to his heart.
He had never had a mom, and after his father died, Reacher was lost. He had no family, but now, he had so many family members, that he couldn’t keep them all straight.
He had more brothers than he ever imagined possible, and now, Gloria had become his surrogate mom.
He wasn’t sure how he had gotten so lucky, but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
He could hear a car honking on Gloria’s end of the call and she looked out her front window. “Got to go,” she said. “My date is here. Love you both,” she said.
“We love you too,” Reacher and Brandi said in unison causing Gloria to giggle as she ended the call.
He pulled Brandi into his arms and kissed her. “What was that for?” she asked as he broke their kiss.
“It was to thank you for being my family,” he whispered as he palmed her belly. “You and our daughter are my whole world.”
“Well, we feel the same way about you too,” Brandi said, as she covered his hand with her own.
They sat there for what felt like forever, and Reacher didn’t want it to ever end.
He finally had everything that he ever wanted, all wrapped up in his arms, and that was more than he could have ever asked for.
The End
I hope you loved Reacher and Brandi’s story! Now, buckle up and get ready for another Yonkers, NY Royal Bastard! Harley’s Hex (A Royal Bastards MC: Huntsville/Yonkers Crossover Halloween Novella Book 3) is coming in October 2025 from K.L. Ramsey!