Page 21 of The MC’s Surprise (Bikers and Babies #4)

Sierra

T he crew weren’t the only ones to show up to help with the clean up.

The firefighters had been a pleasant surprise, but what made me happiest were the regular people who stopped by on their lunch or after work to lend a hand.

No one complained about working alongside bikers, and the guys were friendly and made conversation with everyone who stopped by.

I managed to sneak away from my relegated task of handing out water bottles at one point.

We had to tear apart the existing playground, since it wasn’t safe for kids to play on, and we decided to do that first to get the big stuff out of the way.

I wasn’t the kind of person to stand around letting others do the work, but with the pregnancy, I couldn’t go crazy.

I didn’t want Vegas pouting me into submission again.

That look was dangerous. Instead, I jumped in alongside one of the guys from the fire station, following behind him and putting all the screws and nails into a bag so they wouldn’t be a hazard in the future.

It was a pretty easy task while still being important.

We didn't want kids stepping on rusty nails when this place was back up and running.

“So, are you part of the crew?” Aaron asked as he wrestled with the rusted bolts holding the swing set together.

I laughed, shaking my head and lifting the bag up to accept the next one. It was a little like I was trick or treating for rusty bolts. I snickered to myself before remembering Aaron asked me a question.

“No. The crew is a boys' club. No women. I’m just helping out. They’re good guys and they’ve been getting harassed for stuff they weren’t involved in. We made a plan to show the community what kind of crew they really are. I appreciate you guys showing up to lend a hand. It means a lot.”

He smiled down at me, the sun framing him from behind. “No problem. We like doing stuff like this. Ninety percent of our guys are volunteers, since the town's too small for a full station. We do it because we love our community and want it to be a safe place.”

I never thought about the fire station in town.

It wasn’t like we had fires that often. But if they were all volunteers, that meant this town was full of white knights and I had to wonder if there was something in the water that made them that way.

When I was in high school, I didn’t remember there being a ton of guys worth spending time with. What had changed since I left?

“You said your community outreach wasn’t very well attended,” I began, my mind whirring with ideas. “If you want, we can set something up with you and the crew to do together like this. That way, Kennedy will come and report, and you’ll have more hands to help.”

I waited for the automatic refusal or the discomfort at the idea of working with bikers.

Cleaning up a park alongside them was one thing.

Inviting them to the fire station was something else entirely.

But Aaron didn’t even flinch, smiling so wide a dimple popped up on his cheek.

Another thing I wanted to know was if whatever was in the water was making the guys in town criminally good looking.

While he wasn’t as handsome as Vegas, Aaron had a charm that would make a lot of women drool.

“That sounds great. We like to do an event with the local schools around this time of year. Let the kids explore the station and the trucks. Maybe your guys can help with that?”

I considered it while we worked, ideas running through my head on how to combine the two different groups.

“What about a safety carnival? You guys can show them fire safety, and the guys can show them bike safety, like wearing helmets and how to do hand signals or something. Add in things like games to play and parents and their kids will come in droves. And it’d go a long way in showing the community that the guys aren’t dangerous.

They’re good with kids. I think there are six kids right now who belong to members of the crew, and they’re at the clubhouse all the time. ”

“That sounds like fun,” Aaron nodded. “Our parking lot is pretty big. We can probably set up a little course for the kids to ride their bikes and practice things like following street signs and looking both ways. I’m pretty sure they did something like that when I was a kid.

They handed out free helmets if you passed the course. ”

Cute. I pulled out my phone, making a few notes on the possibilities.

We were discussing how long it’d take to set something like that up when a familiar and unwelcome voice caught my attention.

I whipped my head around, masking a grimace when Charlotte latched onto Vegas with a big smile.

She wasn’t dressed to help clean up, with her tight pencil shirt and spindly heels.

If I had to make a guess on why she was here, it was to get Vegas’s attention.

I noticed at the casino that every once in a while, she’d touch him or flirt with him just enough to keep him pining.

I hated it then, and I hated it now. She was stringing him along, and from the look on his face, it still worked on him.

He was so happy to see her and all the excitement I’d felt about the date we were supposed to go on tonight vanished at the reminder of what this really was.

I was a layover to what he truly wanted.

“You okay?”

Aaron’s voice drew my attention away from the couple dancing around each other in the parking lot. I didn't want to watch them flirting. It was too hard. I liked Vegas way more than I should and I yelled at myself internally for forgetting for a second why I needed to keep things casual.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Is there someone I should talk to in order to set things up?”

“Is that your boyfriend?” he asked, glancing between me and where Vegas was basically fawning over Charlotte.

I scowled. I couldn’t help it. “No. We’re having a baby together, but we’re not… together.”

Aaron studied me dubiously. It was probably weird for someone to say they weren’t with their baby daddy in a small town like this. I just had to be that kind of failure, even with things like this.

I forced myself to smile, ignoring the ache in my chest and the urge to watch Vegas and Charlotte to see what he’d do with her. I wiggled my phone at Aaron, raising my eyebrows significantly.

“Oh, right. Why don’t I give you my number? You can text me with your ideas and I’ll set things up on my end. Sounds good?”

I nodded, handing him my phone. This was a good thing.

More community events meant more people backing the crew, which meant less harassment.

And maybe once things were settled, I could find another job in the area.

I couldn’t stay at the casino forever. I wasn’t sure I could stomach watching Vegas and Charlotte get together.

I hardly recognized the park once we finished.

It still needed work, since the playground was gone, but the lawn was neatly trimmed, the trash was all gone, and the guys had planted some flowers and bushes near the sidewalks that crossed through it.

One of the firefighters made a sign that said ‘coming soon’ on the spot we had marked off for the playground, and families were already showing up to play in the grass and ask questions about the playground.

I told Skylar the plans I’d made with Aaron and the suggestion the guys made for the charity to cover the park equipment.

That news spread like wildfire, putting a lot of pressure on me to set the charity rally up right.

I was absolutely terrified of screwing things up, but the ball was already rolling. I couldn’t stop now.

I’d been studiously ignoring Vegas ever since Charlotte showed up.

I spent most of my time with Aaron, helping him pull apart the playground.

I met a few of the other firefighters, and introduced them to the crew who were cleaning up nearby.

They got along really well, despite the sheer amount of raunchy jokes the crew kept tossing out.

The firefighters lobbed them right back and I couldn’t stop rolling my eyes. Boys.

Once we were finished, I followed Aaron to the firetruck, offering him a handshake. “Thanks for coming.”

He grinned, taking my hand and shaking it lightly. “I’m starting to feel like we need a new way for you to thank me. You’ve thanked me for coming like six times already.”

Huffing out a laugh, I shrugged. “I never said I was eloquent.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” he murmured. He was still holding my hand, and I realized too late that it almost sounded like he was flirting with me.

Releasing his grip, I took a big step back, putting some much needed space between us.

He looked like he wanted to say something, but before he could, another firefighter called out, telling him to hurry up.

Aaron rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I’m coming. ”

Turning to face me again, he shot me that dimpled smile. “Don’t forget to text me. We’ve got a carnival to plan.”

I gave him a little two-fingered salute, turning to look for Skylar so we could go over the plan.

But she was already gone for the day and most of the crew was packed up and leaving.

Only Vegas stood waiting, his face a stoic mask.

He probably was trying to hide the fact that he’d rather be going out with Charlotte instead of me.

I was considering making up an excuse to skip the date when he spoke. “I need to stop at the clubhouse for a bit. Do you mind?”

There it was. His excuse to skip it. I tried not to let it show on my face how much it hurt.

“If you’re too busy–”

“I’m not. It’ll be quick. Unless you’d rather not…”

We were both offering excuses, but neither of us seemed to want to call it off. For me, it was because even though he spent the afternoon flirting with Charlotte, I still had a major crush on him. He was probably just being polite. We were at an impasse and I wasn’t sure what to do about it.

“I’m fine with whatever. I don’t want you to feel obligated or anything.”

I avoided eye contact, waiting for him to cancel. There was a pregnant pause, and the longer he took to reply, the more I regretted agreeing to this in the first place. I knew better. He was in love with someone else. This would be too messy if it didn’t go well.

“Let’s go, then. I only need to stop by the clubhouse for a minute.”

Surprised, I turned to face him, but he was already looking away.

He walked me over to my dad’s truck, his expression sour as he held the door open for me.

That bitter feeling in my belly only grew the entire ride back until I knew I wouldn’t be good company for a date he obviously didn’t want.

I stayed by the truck, watching as he parked and pulled off his helmet.

I felt the baby kick as he came over, hating that it was probably responding to the way my heart still pounded whenever he looked in my direction.

I was the queen of bad decisions. This was just proof of that.

“Sierra–” he began.

“No, it's okay. This is obviously not what you want, and I’m not going to force you. Don’t worry about me. I’ll rest when I get home. I promise.”

He was quiet, and I assumed his lack of argument meant he was okay with me leaving, so I turned toward the truck again, pulling open the door.

I wondered if my mom was still working. She seemed to always know what would make me feel better if my stomach was upset, and I was feeling nauseous right about now.

A warm hand wrapped around my elbow, spinning me around. I crashed against Vegas’s chest, stunned at the almost feral look on his face.

“If you’re more interested in the firefighter than in me, then be honest about it. I’m not playing games anymore. Don’t string me along without telling me the damn truth.”

“What?” I yelled, jerking my elbow away. “I never said anything about being interested in Aaron!”

“He has your number,” he growled.

“We were planning an outreach event with the fire station! It was for the crew, you jackass! I–”