Page 14 of The MC’s Surprise (Bikers and Babies #4)

Sierra

M y stomach twisted and turned at the thought of screwing this up like I did everything else.

This wasn't just about me anymore. There was an entire crew putting their trust in me to get them the support they needed. I planned everything out with meticulous detail, even doing research on local laws to make sure we didn’t get into trouble over something stupid like a gathering being too big or noise violations.

Not that I planned any big parties or anything, but music at events wasn’t unheard of.

I let Circus be in charge of setting up the social media, since he had his own channels with his stunt career.

His social media following was pretty big, and he could get a lot of followers to join the cause simply by posting online that he was part of a crew.

We traded numbers and he texted to check in with me before posting anything to make sure I approved, which was kind of nice. I liked that they trusted me.

Since the harassment had already been going on for a while, I didn’t want to waste too much time.

Exactly one week after Prez said I could help the crew, we had our first community outreach event.

A dog adoption at the local animal shelter.

It was getting overcrowded with strays and the man on the phone sounded overjoyed when I called and suggested the event.

He couldn’t afford to do adoption events, since their shelter was struggling with funds already.

This event would help both the crew and the shelter if everything went well.

“How are we looking?”

Skylar had been a huge help, both in getting the word out there and reassuring me that my ideas weren’t going to make things worse.

I didn’t get into why I was so overcautious, I wasn’t about to admit just how pathetic my history really was, but other than a few curious looks, she didn’t ask questions.

She helped me set up the playpens and set up the stands since I knew I’d get hell both from my mom and from Vegas if I did too much.

“Looks good. Time will tell, though. Do you think people will come?” I chewed my lip nervously, scanning the parking lot.

We’d set up a puppy playground, taking up the entire parking lot of the animal shelter.

The toys and stuff were all borrowed from a local pet store who was happy to help as long as everything was cleaned and returned when we were done.

Circus was taking pictures to post online, and the head of the animal shelter was setting up a table under a canopy for adoption paperwork if things worked like we wanted them to.

We managed to plan this out for an unusually warm winter day, which meant people would be out in droves to enjoy the weather.

All we were waiting on was the rest of the crew and the community.

“I do. Mostly because we slapped the word puppies on all the fliers. Who would say no to getting to play with puppies?”

True. It was a good thing I was pregnant or I would definitely be finding a way to bring one of these sweet dogs home.

I’d gotten to pet and play with a few of them and they were so adorable, I almost started crying.

Vegas panicked and almost demanded I go home.

Thankfully, Skylar recognized the work of pregnancy hormones and sent him on an errand to pick up some treats for anyone coming out to visit, giving me a chance to pull myself together.

“Excuse me.”

A woman in a smart blue dress and heels caught our attention, her hair in perfect big curls over her shoulders. She looked familiar, though I couldn’t place where I knew her until I saw the microphone in her hand.

“Are you… Kennedy Storm? The local newscaster?”

She smiled brightly, her perfect white teeth practically blinding me. She was the epitome of perfection and it was a little daunting standing in front of her in worn jeans and a t-shirt. I was dressed for a messy afternoon, while she could get in front of a camera at any moment.

“You know who I am. Perfect. That makes this easier. I heard through the grapevine that you’re doing an adoption event with the local shelter and I was hoping I could do a story on it? The community loves stories like this and–”

“You’d do that?” I practically shouted in her face, I was so desperately hopeful. Skylar snickered at my gaping expression, but who could blame me? I thought we’d need to do this awhile before gaining that kind of attention.

“Well, yeah,” Kennedy grinned. “It’s not like I won’t get anything out of it. My boss is always asking for more stories. Are you in charge?”

I floundered, my gaze darting around as I looked for Prez. Technically, he was in charge. It was his crew. I was just the planner.

“She is. This is Sierra Martin. She’s setting up this event with the help of the local motorcycle club, the Dirty Devils,” Skylar answered calmly.

Kennedy’s perfectly shaped eyebrows shot up. “This event is run by a motorcycle club?”

Skylar gave me a significant look, and I jumped into action. This was exactly what we’d hoped for, and I couldn’t stumble over my words now.

“Yes. The Dirty Devils are big on community outreach. They’ve mostly been assisting with monetary donations before now, but with the recent uptick in crime in the area, they wanted to help in any way they could.

We’ll be planning more events soon, like a park clean up in the next few weeks and a charity event a little later on.

We, uh, we’ll be posting all the dates on our social media page, as well as pictures and videos from the events. ”

Kennedy put up a finger to stop me, waving her hand behind her to get the attention of someone in a van parked across the street.

“Hold on, hold on, this is all amazing stuff. Let me just get my camera man out here. I love all of this, seriously.”

While she got set up, Skylar and I shared a look of pure excitement.

“How did she find out about this?”

I shook my head quickly. “I don’t know. Maybe she saw a flier?”

Whatever the reason, I was overjoyed with her being here and so eager to help.

Putting these events on the news would get us a lot of attention and, hopefully, people would realize despite the name and the scary patch on their backs, this crew was full of kind and amazing people who only wanted to help their community.

The crew arrived just after Kennedy finished setting up.

She decided first to get some shots of the crew coming in, and the event set up so her interview wouldn’t be interrupted by the sounds of engines.

While she and her cameraman were busy, Vegas sauntered up to me, making butterflies take flight in my belly.

Why, oh why did he have to be so freaking good looking in the biker getup?

The suits he wore at the casino were nice, but the jeans and leather were something else.

“What’s going on?”

I bounced on my toes, excitement making it hard for me to sit still. “Our event caught the attention of the local news. That’s Kennedy-freaking-Storm. My parents watch her every night. If she’s here, we’re going to get a lot of attention.”

Prez, who had walked up at the same time, frowned over his shoulder at Kennedy before turning back to me. His expression was a little more tempered, cautious, but I didn’t take it personally. He had a lot riding on these events and he was stressed.

“As long as it's positive attention.”

I gave him a reassuring smile and a thumbs up. “It will be. I find it hard to imagine someone could put a negative spin on puppies. Oh, look! Our first patron!”

The afternoon passed in a whirlwind of activity and bubbles. Apparently, dogs loved bubbles. When Circus showed up with the bubble machine, I thought it would look nice but not really add much. I was so very wrong. The dogs loved it and the pictures were hilarious and adorable.

It was a slow start, but once Kennedy started reporting live, people showed up and not just people curious about what was going on.

Almost a dozen dogs were adopted, and people went inside to look at other animals too.

There was also a pack of people just talking to the crew that was nearby.

The crew who volunteered put on a show, getting on the ground to play with the littlest puppies or running around like goofballs just to draw in the crowd.

Watching Vegas holding a tiny wiggling puppy made my knees weak. There was nothing intimidating about him, and I couldn’t drag my eyes away until Kennedy approached me again.

“I have to admit, this was an amazing event. We haven’t had community outreach like this in a long time.”

I nodded absently, my eyes trailing over the parking lot next to the shelter where we were all set up.

Kids showed up to play, adults volunteered to walk the animals and a few of the crew started washing the dogs one at a time before bringing them back out to play.

The zoomies made everyone laugh. People brought pet food and toys for the shelter and even made some monetary donations.

It was bigger than I thought it would be.

“People forget sometimes they’re part of a community.

You spend your day going through the motions; work, home, repeat.

Things like helping your neighbor get put on the back burner and forgotten.

But small towns like this are built on community values.

All it takes is a little push, and people will step up to help. ”

“And you and your friends are trying to be the push?”

A smile overtook my face, watching the puppy in Vegas’s lap trying to climb on him and lick his face.

“That’s the idea. The Dirty Devils are part of this community, and they have been for years.

They might look rough, but they’re really just a bunch of marshmallows.

They love this town as much as I do, and they want to do their part to help. ”

I hadn’t realized she’d started filming me again until she said, “That’s a wrap.”

I blinked a few times, spinning to face her. She smiled brightly, handing me a card with her information on it. “Call me for the next event. I’m going to approach my boss and see if I can make this a series. We’ll follow you guys around, get shots of the events.”

My heart pounded wildly, and I clutched the card protectively to my chest. “Really? You’d do that?”

“You’re doing great things here. And you’re right, this community has gotten really complacent. It’d be nice to remind people they’re part of this community as a whole.”

Tears burned the backs of my eyes, the shock and elation a little overwhelming. I’d honestly prepared for this to be a slow day, just the start until we garnered more attention and got the ball rolling. How we managed to do so well on the first day baffled me.

“Th-Thank you. I really appreciate you supporting us. I, uh… Can I ask how you heard about us? Was it the fliers?”

Her lips pursed in a frown. “No, we got a phone call to the station telling us about the event. I honestly thought you were the one who called.”

“N-No. I didn't know you could call in to a news station. I would’ve done it if I thought I could, though.”

She considered it for a minute before shrugging. “Well, whatever the reason, it worked out well for both of us. When I called my boss about it, he seemed really into it. I’m not really seeing any reason he won’t go for the series. So make sure to call me, alright?”

I nodded, shaking her hand when she offered it, and tried not to crumble from the shock as she walked away.

Nothing I’d ever done in the past had ever gone this well on the first day.

Even my business was a slow starter. It took time to get it off the ground.

But this. It wasn’t a business, granted, but it was doing better than I could’ve hoped.

And the crew was going to benefit so much from it.

Already, I could see the smiles on the faces of the people who came to join us.

No one judged them for being bikers or made baseless accusations.

They were happy to be here and supportive of the crew’s goals.

Sucking in a shaky breath, I stomped down all my wayward emotions.

I couldn’t get ahead of myself. Yes, this event had gone well and yes, we had the attention of some important people, but this was only the beginning and we had to contend with that other crew causing trouble.

If they were here to make trouble like the guys thought, then they’d push back eventually.

I just had to make sure we had the support we needed before that happened.