Page 3 of The MC’s Surprise (Bikers and Babies #4)

Sierra

W hen the doctor told me I was pregnant, the little energy I had to keep my head above water left me.

I felt like I was drowning, and it was easier to pretend it wasn’t happening to me than to face my new reality.

I couldn’t do that anymore, though. My mom made an appointment with the only Ob/Gyn in town and dragged me to their office bright the following morning.

I still hid my belly behind my clothes, mostly out of habit, but a small part of me was worried I’d run into the father.

I knew he lived in the area and I was not ready to face him yet.

Mom lightly slapped my knee, forcing me to stop kicking my legs like a little kid while we waited for the doctor to come in. I couldn’t help it. Aside from the one appointment I had back in California, I hadn’t done much about my pregnancy. I was nervous.

“Are you sure we can afford this?” I asked, finally blurting out one of the many spiraling questions running through my mind. Having babies was expensive, and I was too old to be on my dad’s insurance anymore.

“We’ll figure it out,” she reassured me, squeezing my hand gently.

That wasn’t entirely helpful. My parents weren’t wealthy by any means.

I needed to get a job if I wanted to be able to afford the hospital bills, but who in their right mind would hire someone so late in their pregnancy?

Was it considered fraud if I hid it during the interview?

Maybe I could find something online or a work from home position.

I could take care of a baby while doing that, right?

The door opened, stalling my panicked thoughts as an older man with hair the same color as his white coat came puttering into the room.

His eyes crinkled as he smiled at us, which made him look friendly, but was there an age limit for doctors?

Would he even be able to handle a delivery without needing to take a nap?

“Good morning. My name is Doctor O’Malley. And you must be Sierra.”

He thrust his hand out at my mom, who blinked rapidly in surprise. “Oh, no. I’m her mother.”

“Ah. You two look like sisters, so I couldn’t tell.”

My eyes widened and I fought hard not to laugh. Was my doctor seriously flirting with my mom right now?

Mom looked flustered, her cheeks tinged a light pink as she struggled to come up with a reply. Doctor O’Malley was probably used to this reaction because he swept past it, giving me a bright smile.

“Hello, Sierra. I hear you’re thinking of having a baby.”

I couldn’t help it. I snorted. “I think we’re a little past that.”

His gaze dropped to my belly and when I lifted my baggy sweatshirt out of the way, he chuckled. “Seems like it. Can you tell me how far along you are?”

It was a little embarrassing to admit I didn’t know, but if he was going to be helping me when the baby came, he needed to know.

“I’m not entirely sure. The doctor who told me I was pregnant said the baby looked to be about seven months based on its size.

I, uh… didn’t actually know I was pregnant until a few weeks ago. ”

He raised one bushy eyebrow at me. “Spotty periods?”

I nodded rapidly, glad he seemed to understand. “I was also going through a really stressful period in my life, so I thought I was just putting on weight because of that. I didn't have any other symptoms.”

“No tender breasts, nausea, fatigue?” He asked as he wrote things down on the chart.

“No to the first two. Maybe fatigue, but like I said, things were really rough. I chalked it up to work related exhaustion and ignored it.”

“It happens,” he nodded. “A lucky few get to skip the rough first trimester, and with spotty periods, it makes it harder to track. When did you start trying?”

My face flushed dark red and I couldn’t get myself to admit this was all the result of a fling. We used birth control. It was an accident getting pregnant.

“Her birth control failed,” Mom answered for me, moving to stand by my side and hold my hand. “The IUD was removed when her primary doctor realized she was pregnant, but is it possible that would affect the baby at all?”

“Ah. I see. Well that would definitely make it harder to track,” he said amiably.

My shoulders slumped in relief. I was a little worried in such a small town that I’d be treated like shit for getting pregnant out of wedlock or whatever.

“As for your question, ma’am, it shouldn’t have affected the pregnancy.

We’ll do a complete scan to get all the details and make sure, but most often, the failed IUD has no affect on the pregnancy. ”

We went through the basics, and I gave the guy a general idea of when I thought this might have happened.

Since I’d gone most of the pregnancy without any doctor appointments, he decided to have me do all the tests, which was going to suck.

I hated needles. He also said we’d need a full scan done to get an idea of when the baby was due, and that kind of thing.

Since this was a small town, it would all get done pretty fast according to him.

“Just give me a day or two to put this all in the system and my nurse will call you to set up a time for you to come in,” he said jovially. “But while we’re here, would you like to see your baby?”

I made a face. “I thought we had to make an appointment for a scan?”

“For the detailed one, you do,” he agreed. “But we can hear the heartbeat and get a profile if you want.” He gestured to a machine tucked in the corner.

A part of me wanted to say no. I didn’t feel ready. But mom answered before I could, an eager smile on her face.

“Absolutely. Do we get any print outs?”

I was nudged into lying back on the paper covered slab, and cold gel was squirted onto my belly. My mom didn’t notice how nervous I was until my grip on her hand turned lethal. She turned to face me, giving me a soft smile.

“You said you didn’t feel like it was real, sweetie. This will help. I promise.”

Letting out a shaky breath, I nodded, grimacing when Doctor O’Malley put the wand against my skin. He moved it around for a minute, but it didn’t take long for a whooshing sound filled the room.

“163. So maybe a girl,” he commented lightly before turning his screen around to face me. “There she is.”

Uneasily, I glanced at the little black and white screen. It was grainy, but there was no way to think that it was anything other than a baby. My baby. My heartbeat kicked into overdrive and I felt a lump swell in my throat.

I was freaking pregnant.

Holy crap.

There was only so long I could avoid the father talk. Dad told Mom not to push, but she pointed out that we were running out of time and it would be unfair of me not to at least warn him. Which was probably true. It didn’t make it any easier. What the hell was I even going to say to him?

“Hey. Long time no see. I’m sure you’re wondering what the hell I’m doing here, but it turns out I’m a fertile myrtle and carrying your kid.”

I winced. No. Terrible idea.

“Guess what? You’re going to be a daddy.”

That was even worse.

I tossed out ideas during the entire drive to the casino, saying them out loud to see how they sounded.

It all sounded wrong. Our relationship was short lived and purely flirting and sex the whole time I worked there.

I didn’t even know him. I had no idea how he was going to take the news that I was pregnant.

I was fully prepared for him to ask for a paternity test. I wouldn’t hold it against him if he did.

He couldn’t know that our fling was the only time I’d had sex in the past two years.

He broke a really long dry spell and then I was too busy with work to hook up with anyone else after I went back to California.

Pulling into the familiar parking lot, I felt my palms start to sweat. The doctor and my mom warned me that stress wasn’t good for the baby, but I couldn’t really help that right now. I challenged anyone to confront a hookup after seven months to tell them you’re pregnant and not stress out.

Summoning up my courage, I shoved the door open to my dad’s truck and slid out. I sold my car when I was still trying to keep my company alive, so I was forced to borrow it from him. Thankfully, the weather was nice and he had his motorcycle to get him to work today.

It felt like I was walking in slow motion as I made my way inside and toward the manager’s office. If he was here, he was usually in his office.

Shit. What if he wasn’t here? I had no idea where to go to find him.

I shoved away the thought, forcing my feet to keep moving. If he wasn’t here, I’d leave a message. There was no reason to panic. You know, aside from the really big reason.

My mouth went dry as I approached the employees only door that led to the back offices. I was reaching out to open it when someone cleared their voice behind me.

“Can I help you with something?”

I didn’t know the person speaking, but that wasn’t really surprising. I only worked here for a month last summer. Her tone was haughty and suspicious and when I twisted around, she gave me an elevator look before finishing up with a sneer.

Ever met someone who you instantly knew was a bitch? Yeah, those were the vibes I got from this woman.

“Um… I’m here to see Vegas.” I realized how that sounded the minute it came out of my mouth, and quickly followed up with, “The owner. Not the city. I’ve seen the city.”

She gave me another long look, clearly picking apart everything from my outfit to my hair and judging me for it. It was a good thing I was never the kind of person to get upset about crap like that. If I wanted her opinion, I’d ask for it.

“You need an employee badge to go into the back. You can wait out here. Who should I tell Mr. Taylor is here?”

I almost snorted at the formality. The last time I spoke to him, Vegas hated when people were too formal with him.

And he didn’t use his given name at all.

He told me to call him Vegas or ‘hey, you’ over calling him Mr. Taylor.

I didn’t mention that though. Maybe he changed in the last seven months.

My gaze flicked to the new badge reader on the wall next to the door.

Since this door only led to offices and the breakroom, it hadn’t had a scanner on it when I worked here.

I hadn’t noticed it before now. Obviously some things had changed.

“Um… Just tell him I’m an old friend.”

Our fling, while hot as hell, was brief and he was a handsome man. I wasn’t entirely sure he’d recognize my name. And I didn’t want him deciding it wasn’t worth his time to talk to me. I needed to get this over with.

The woman stared at me, clearly waiting for me to give her a name. When I didn’t, she huffed and stalked away with a “Wait here,” tossed over her shoulder as she disappeared into the back.

My stomach twisted and I swallowed back the urge to throw up. It would be just my luck that the throwing up part of this pregnancy would show up right when I was about to tell Vegas he was going to be a father. Maybe I was cursed.