Page 21 of Shine: Sins of the Father (Evil Dead MC: Second Generation #8)

Fiona—

“I’ve got it. Go,” my sister says, shooing me out the door. “Mom will be here any minute.

“You’re sure you’ve got it?”

She rolls her eyes. “Yes.”

“Okay. Thanks, sis. I appreciate you doing this for me.”

“You’re welcome. Now scoot before I change my mind.”

My younger sister, Ella, is covering for me at the bakery. I’m surprised she could tear herself away from her busy social life, but Mom told her I needed help, so she’s stepping up, and I’m grateful.

Mom is picking me up to take me to my ultrasound. Her Corvette slows in front of my shop. I jog over and climb in, and she takes off as I buckle my belt.

“You ready to find out what you’re having, honey?” she asks, reaching over and patting my leg.

“Yes.”

“Well, I’m hoping for a girl,” she says. “They have much cuter baby clothes.”

“I honestly don’t care which. I just know I’m going to love this baby so much.”

“I know you are, my darling. They say twins skip a generation, so I think you’re safe.”

“God, don’t wish twins on me.”

“I’m not. Your brothers were a handful. You don’t need that right now. You need a nice, calm, non-colicky baby who’s easy and who’s healthy.”

“That’s all I want. A healthy baby.”

“This is so exciting. As soon as we find out the sex, I’m going into high gear, planning your baby shower.”

“I don’t want you to make a big thing of it, Mom. Please.”

“Do you want to do it at your shop? If it’s a girl, the place would be perfect with all that pink.”

I cock my head. “You’ve just given me a brilliant idea. I could also offer baby showers. It’d be perfect. Why hadn’t I thought of that before?”

“I don’t know. I’m surprised no one’s inquired about it. You really need to open up more slots once you’ve got more time.”

“When will that be? Once the baby comes, I’ll never get a minute to myself.”

“Have you hired anyone yet?”

“No.”

“You need to get on that. You need some capable people to cover for you when you’re in the hospital. I can help, but not every hour of the day. To tell the truth, Fiona, I think you’re working yourself too hard. And that can’t be good for the baby.”

“I’ll hire a couple of people next week. I promise.”

Half an hour later, I’m lying on the examination table, my belly covered in goo, staring at the monitor as the tech moves the wand over my skin.

She measures different areas that all look like blobs to me.

I think I see the head and a beating heart, but I can’t see anything that would tell me the sex.

She moves the wand to the side. “Do you want to know the sex?”

“Yes, please,” I reply, and reach out for my mother’s hand.

“Let’s have a look. The baby’s being very shy. Here we go. Well, looks like it’s a boy. Congratulations.”

“A boy. Wow,” I whisper. “Is he healthy? Does everything look okay?”

“He’s doing great. He’s measuring right on schedule for his due date. Do you have a name picked out yet?”

“Not yet.”

After I dress and we leave, we walk out to my mother’s car. I feel like I’m in a daze. Somehow, knowing that it’s a little boy makes this all the more real. Before it was just an abstract thing. I look at my mother. “This is really happening.”

She smiles and cups my cheek. “It is, dear. Are you excited?”

“I am. I’m just a little freaked out.”

“Thanksgiving is coming up, and then Christmas. I thought we could have your shower after the holidays. Maybe mid-January. What do you think?”

I barely hear her. I’m still stuck on the fact that my baby is a boy.

A son.

I wonder if he’ll look like Shine. I wonder if he’ll be a good baby. I wonder if he’ll come early.

***

For the rest of the day, all I can think of are baby names. Right now, my top contender is Dylan. Just before I close for the day, Reckless shows up.

The bell over the door tinkles as he enters. I don’t have any customers, so I smile. “What’s up?”

“How’d your doctor’s appointment go?” he asks.

“Everything looked good.”

“So? What’s the verdict? Is it a boy or girl?”

“It’s a boy.”

He grins. “Awesome. So when are you going to tell Shine?”

“Reckless, we’ve been over this.”

“I talked to him, Fiona.”

“You didn’t tell him, did you?” Panic flushes over me.

“No. I told you I wouldn’t.”

“Thanks. What did you talk about? Did he catch that guy?”

“Not yet. His whole chapter has been trying, but he’s slipped through their fingers a couple of times.”

“Is that all you talked about?”

“No, actually. I asked him about you.”

I pause, stacking bills. “Me? Why?”

“I wanted to see how he felt about you.”

A lump forms in my throat, and I’m not sure I want to hear the answer. “You did?”

“Yeah. Until he found out you were Wolf’s daughter, he’d planned to come visit you. He even told me he thought about bringing you to Vegas and moving you in with him.”

My mouth drops open. “He said that?”

“Sure did. I asked him what he’d do if you weren’t Wolf’s daughter. That’s what he said. But he’s still pissed you lied to him.”

I fiddle with the zipper on the bank deposit bag. I imagine it would be hard for him to get beyond the lies.

“I let him know why you did that, and why you were up at the cabin to begin with.”

“Reckless, you need to stay out of it.” I slam the register drawer shut.

“Everything you two had was based on a lie, Fiona. How long you gonna keep that up?”

“As long as I have to. My number one priority is keeping this baby safe.”

He sighs and leans on the counter, his palms flat. “I get that. You look tired.”

“I am. All the time.”

“You need anything?”

“Nope,” I say. I hate being short with him, but my emotions are raging right now.

He straightens. “How about I take you out and feed you?”

“No, thanks. I’m fine.”

“Babe, come on. You gotta eat. Get your jacket. I’m not taking no for an answer.”

“Reckless, I’m tired, and I’ve been on my feet all day. I just want to go to my apartment.”

“Okay, how about I call Harley Jean to come meet us, and I’ll go get takeout.”

“You don’t quit, do you?”

He grins. “I wouldn’t have Harley if I was a quitter. Would I?”

I roll my eyes. “Okay, fine. There’s a good Chinese place down the street. I like Mongolian beef and fried rice. And don’t forget the egg rolls.”

“Coming right up.”

“And you can drop this bank bag in the night deposit drop at First Federal right over there.” I point to the bank on the corner across the street and hand him the red zippered bag.

“No problem.”

Locking the door behind him, I climb the stairs to my apartment, drop on the couch, and put my feet up, wondering how I’m ever going to keep up this pace in the coming months. When my belly is heavy with child, my ankles swollen, and my lower back aching, how will I do it all?

Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Fiona.

I try to remember to take it one day at a time. If I think too far into the future, it only fills me with anxiety.

Putting my head back, I close my eyes and do some deep breathing exercises I learned from my therapist, telling myself everything will work out.

I must have dozed off, because it's thirty minutes later when a knock at the door rouses me. Groaning, I get to my feet and check the peephole, expecting Reckless.

But it’s Cody. I frown and swing the door open.

“What are you doing here?” He’s holding a paper grocery bag, the top all folded over and mushed.

“Just came by to see how you were doing and bring you this.” He holds the bag out to me. “Sorry, it’s a little crushed. I had it jammed in my saddlebag.

“What is it?” I take it and peer inside to find a net bag of oranges, a bunch of bananas, and a bag of M&M’s. I snag those right off and leave the rest on the counter. “Thanks, Cody. That was sweet.”

He shrugs. “Just tryin’ to keep the little mama fed.”

I return to the couch. “Seems like a lot of that going on today.”

He closes the door and follows me. “What do you mean?”

“Reckless and Harley Jean are bringing over Chinese food.”

“Oh, guess I won’t stay long, then.”

I paste on a smile. “No, it’s okay. I’m glad to see you. I’m just tired. So, how’s the life of a prospect going for you?”

“Same old shit. You know how it is. I’ll be ready when and if they decide I’m ready. There’s nothing I can do to rush the process.”

“You really want that patch, don’t you?” I pour some candy into my hand and offer him some.

He grins and takes it, tossing one into his mouth. “Being in the club is all I’ve ever imagined for my future.”

“What about the time you did in the military right out of high school? Did you ever give any thought to making a career of it?”

He shrugs. “I thought about it, but they’d have me moving around all the time. What kind of life is that? I like California too much.”

“I get that.” I cock my head. “Did you have any good friends while you were serving?”

“Yeah, I got close with a couple of guys.”

“Kind of like your dad and Shane. They met in the service, didn’t they?”

There’s another knock on the door, and Cody gets up to answer it.

Reckless walks in with a bag of food, Harley Jean with him.

“What are you doing here, prospect?” he asks Cody.

“Just came to check on Fiona. See if she needed anything.”

“He brought me fruit and candy,” I say with a wink.

“Well, isn’t that sweet?” Harley says. “Why don’t you stay and join us? Reckless got a ton of food.”

Cody glances to Reckless.

“Yeah, come on, kid. Pull up a chair.”

I start to rise, but Harley shoos me back. “Stay right there. Just tell me where you keep the plates.”

“In the cabinet next to the fridge,” I say, resting in my spot.

Soon, we’re all dished up, and Cody is telling a funny story about Skeeter.

“So, he says to the clerk, what if I don’t want to buy two, and the guy says, then you don’t get one free.

Sounds like a scam, Skeeter replies. ‘Can’t I just have one at half price?

’ ‘No,’ says the guy, and this goes on for like ten minutes.

Finally, I grab the damn energy drinks out of Skeeter’s hands and slam them on the counter, tired of the bullshit.

When Skeeter opens one outside, it sprays all over him and his bike like a geyser.

You should have seen his face when it got him.

God, I wish I’d recorded it. He rode home on a sticky seat, too. ”

I grin, glancing around at all their happy faces, thankful I have so many people who care about me.

“I hear the baby is a boy, Fiona,” Harley Jean says. “Congratulations. Do you have a name picked out?”

“I think I’ve decided on Dylan. What do you think? Do you like it?”

“Dylan,” Reckless repeats. “Yeah, that’s a great name.”

“I love it,” Harley replies.

Cody gives me a thumbs up around a mouthful of egg roll, and I burst out laughing.