Page 30 of The MC’s Surprise (Bikers and Babies #4)

Vegas

W ith the warning from Sierra’s mom kicking our butts into gear, we headed back to her place, arriving just after my mom and sister did. They were already greeting Sierra’s parents, leaving me and Sierra to take up the rear, joining them as they were led to the living room.

Sierra looked as nervous as I felt. I’d never been the guy to meet the parents.

My relationships never lasted that long, and aside from my one-sided crush on Charlotte, I never felt strongly enough to even bring it up.

Until now. My gaze shifted to the beautiful woman beside me, her belly round and leading the way as she gave my mom a hug.

My sister followed after, cooing over how excited she was to be an aunt and grilling Sierra about her due date and the gender.

We still didn’t know, the baby was being stubborn about that particular reveal, but I didn't mind. I didn’t care.

The last ultrasound we went to, the doc said the baby was growing right on schedule and looked healthy, and that was what mattered.

Sierra was healthy and happy, and so was my kid. All was good in my world.

A sharp tug on my ear drew me out of my thoughts. I growled, whining at my mom as she tugged a little harder. “Ouch, Mama! What’d I do?”

“She’s been here for weeks and this is when you introduce me? You’re lucky I was staying with Erica and she could help me get the baby things down from the attic. I can’t believe you.”

“I told you we’ve been busy,” I protested lamely.

I wasn’t actually going to argue with my mom, especially while she was still so fragile, but I felt the need to defend myself.

Most of my focus had been on Sierra and the club.

I was lucky I’d thought to talk to Mel about the house.

Which… I also hadn’t told my mom about yet.

I flinched before I could smother the reaction, and she caught on real damn quick.

“I know that look. What else are you keeping from me?”

Putting my hands up, I grimaced when she pulled a little harder on my ear. “Ow! It’s not a big deal! It’s only been a few days since we looked at the house! I haven’t even put the down payment in yet!”

“You’re buying a house?” Erica asked curiously.

“Well, yeah. I don’t want to raise my kid in the clubhouse,” I muttered, rubbing my ear when my mom finally let go.

“What house? I want to see it. Does it have a yard? Is it near the school?”

I tried answering her questions, but it just led to more questions.

I felt like I was part of an inquisition and until I took my mom to the house to look at it, she wouldn’t let it go.

The audience wasn’t helpful. Noelle looked like she fully supported my mom’s violence toward my ears, and Sierra’s dad watched on with bland amusement.

Thankfully, I had one person on my side.

“I’ve seen it,” Sierra offered, coming to my rescue.

“It isn’t perfect, the two bedrooms are on separate floors, but the yard is big and yes, it’s near enough to the school to walk.

Mel, the seller, also said her neighbors are nice and always checked in on her if she looked too tired after a long shift.

And it's near enough to the clubhouse that if there was ever an issue and a babysitter was needed, they’d only be a few minutes away. ”

Mom humphed, her arms crossed over her chest. She had every reason to be mad at me, I completely forgot to call her and that was on me. I’d be groveling for a while to make up for it.

“Mom, you’ve met Mel. She’s Prez’s little sister, remember?

It’s her house. It’s well taken care of and she’s willing to give me a fair price for it because we’re family.

It’s a good house and she’s even willing to let me move in early if the paperwork isn’t done before the baby comes.

It’s only been a few days since we discussed it, which is why I haven’t mentioned it.

I wanted to make sure Sierra liked it first before starting any paperwork. ”

She pursed her lips, eyes narrowed on me. I held my breath, worried a little for my ears, when she finally relented with a nod. “Fine. I can accept that. It’s more important for Sierra to see it first, I’ll give you that. Will you two be living there together?”

Sierra looked a little like a deer caught in the headlights, and I was quick to jump in to rescue her. “Right now, we’re still discussing things. We haven’t known each other that long and neither of us want to rush this and ruin things before we’ve even had a chance to start. We’ve still got time.”

“Not much,” Erica warned, giving a significant look at Sierra’s belly. “The number of babies who come on their actual due dates is low.”

Thankfully, Sierra’s mom came to the rescue before either of us could spiral.

“That’s partially why we’re having this dinner,” she said, gesturing everyone to the kitchen.

“Food is ready. We can discuss the future and make sure everyone is on the same page while having a good meal. Sierra, honey, have you taken your prenatals yet?”

She made a face. “No…”

Mom huffed a laugh, nodding in commiseration. “I know how you feel. Those horse pills are darn awful.”

“I choke on them every time,” Sierra complained, grimacing as her mother handed her a glass of water and a pill. My mouth dropped.

“Holy shit, you can swallow that?”

Mom shot me a dirty look. “Language, Justin! I raised you better than that.”

That was such a lie. My mom was always of the opinion that as long as we weren’t cussing at each other or other people, it was just a form of speech.

She was so nonchalant about it, it actually made me and Erica take longer than other kids to start using that kind of language because it wasn’t a shock.

If we stubbed our toe or dropped food or something, we could express our frustrations however we wanted.

I only started using that kind of language more frequently in college hanging around my friends.

Thankfully, Erica interjected before I could point that out. I loved poking at my mom, she was fun to tease, but she was still recovering so I needed to watch myself.

“Sierra, this might sound weird, but I used to fill my mouth with water and then shove the pill in there and swallow. It tricked my brain and I was a lot less likely to choke on it.”

Sierra looked thoughtfully at the pill before doing as Erica suggested. She swallowed hard, grimacing, but then her eyes popped open in surprise. “That actually worked! Thank you!”

We eventually moved into the kitchen, where Sierra’s mom served up some lasagna with garlic bread.

I was in heaven and it took me a minute to realized me and Sierra were at the center of attention again.

I blinked, looking around, my mouth still full.

When I shot my sister a questioning look, she snorted.

“You two eat like you’re starving. She has an excuse. What’s yours?”

After swallowing my bite, I answered the way I always did. “I’m a growing boy. I need sustenance.”

“Yet again, I’m glad I never had sons,” Noelle teased. Mom shot her a commiserating look.

“Oh, you wouldn’t believe how bad he was as a teenager.

I thought we’d go bankrupt with how much he was eating.

And he was always so messy about it. We had to start buying him his own carton of milk because he would drink straight out of the jug without thought toward who else was sharing it with him. ”

“Mom,” I complained. I didn't want her sharing shit like that with Sierra. It might make her second guess moving in with me. I was better about that stuff now. After living in a house with at least five other dudes, I learned to be more conscientious about my surroundings.

“Hopefully they’ll have a girl,” Noelle said.

Sierra patted my shoulder as I slumped a little in my seat, listening to my mom share all my most embarrassing moments with Sierra and her family. I had no doubt this was my punishment for keeping her out of the loop.

“Don’t worry. I’m not sure I’d be a good roommate either,” Sierra whispered. “I’ve never lived with anyone other that my parents.”

“I’m not that bad anymore,” I grumbled. “If we acted like that at the clubhouse, Butch would knock our heads together.”

She wrinkled her nose adorably when she said, “I’m not sure I believe that. He was a sweetheart the last time I met him. I couldn’t imagine him hurting anyone.”

That made me laugh out loud. “Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet. He’s only nice to the kids and the women. The rest of us have faced his wrath more than once. I think Rooster lives on Butch’s shit list permanently, and those two are blood related.”

I was glad I could say shit like this and it didn’t phase Sierra in the slightest. She knew my crew was good people.

She’d never shown an ounce of fear or discomfort being around them.

She fit in with us in a way I wasn’t sure Charlotte ever could have.

Charlotte always had something to say about my bike or my patch, and the look she gave me whenever I mentioned my crew always made me apprehensive about introducing them.

They came to the casino every now and then, but usually on the night shift when she wasn’t around.

I hadn’t realized until now how grateful I’d been about that.

And wasn’t that saying something? I’d been pining for years over a woman who I couldn’t see accepting my crew.

What the hell had I thought would happen if she actually gave me a shot?

Luckily, I didn’t ever have to face that reality. Sierra loved my crew and my crew loved her. And from the way our families interacted, they all got along too. I must’ve done something good to deserve all this. I just wasn’t sure what.