Page 45 of The MC’s Surprise (Bikers and Babies #4)

Sierra

O f all the things I thought would happen at the rally, this wasn't it. I had plans for the worst case scenarios, even the arrival of the police if they decided to cause trouble. I didn’t plan for Charlotte to show up and throw herself at Justin.

And I never expected her to kiss him. I didn’t know what to do about it.

I heard him defend me, heard him say he chose me, but a part of me was still afraid. He’d wanted her for so long. I’d seen the way he looked at her. Could he really be over her already? Or was I just fooling myself?

“Come on, sweetheart. Let’s find somewhere quiet to talk,” Justin urged, leading me away. I followed blindly, my mind spinning. How long would he be happy with just me? I looked down at our daughter, sleeping peacefully in my arms. Would he force himself to stay just for her?

I sat when he urged, leaning my back up against the tree we were under.

It wasn’t overly hot, which was good since I didn’t want Melanie to get overheated, but the sun was shining brightly and we had to be careful about sunburn too.

I let myself be distracted by fussing over her, making sure her hands were tucked into the blanket and her little hat covered her ears.

It was when Justin kneeled in front of me that I knew I couldn’t ignore it any longer.

I forced myself to look up at him, swallowing hard around the knot in my throat.

“Tell me what you’re thinking right now,” he murmured, his expression tight with worry.

I lifted a shoulder, unsure what to say. He’d been everything I could’ve ever asked for in a partner since day one. I was terrified to lose him.

“I promise you, I had no idea she was going to do that,” he rushed out. “And we sure as shit weren’t ever in any relationship.”

“But you wanted to be.”

My gaze dropped to the baby again. I didn’t want to see the truth in his eyes. It would hurt too much.

He sighed. “For a little while, yeah, I did. I’m not gonna lie about that.

But I think a part of me always knew it’d never work out.

She hated my bike. Hated the idea that I was in a crew.

Any time I brought up something me and the crew had done, she’d change the subject.

I couldn’t be with someone who didn’t accept them. My crew is my family.”

I nodded because I knew that. He’d told me that before we’d ever hooked up. I hadn’t met them that first time, I’d been too busy in my spare time trying to piece my next business together, but I always knew the crew was as much a part of Justin as his tattoos or his teasing smile.

“Sierra, sweetheart, please talk to me. I’ve got no clue what you’re thinking right now.”

Drawing in a breath, I let it out slowly, taking a second to get my thoughts in order. It was important to both of us to communicate in this relationship. I’d been honest with him from the start. I wasn’t going to start hiding things now.

“I guess I’m just worried. I knew you liked her. I saw the way you looked at her. You would drop everything to go to her before we started seeing each other. And even after we started dating, you still ditched me to go to her while we were looking at the house.”

“That was–” He started to argue, but I cut him off, putting my hand up to stop him.

“It’s okay. You’ve never once made me think you’d cheat or anything.

I’m just telling you how I felt at the time.

And a part of me is worried you’ll regret not giving her a shot.

You were in love with her. What if a few years from now you realize she was a better match for you and you made a mistake? ”

Tears welled in my eyes at the thought. I could see it happening.

Even before having a baby, I wasn’t as thin or flawless as Charlotte was.

I had imperfections. And I still had a lifetime of failure at my back.

As far as I could tell, Charlotte’s life was stable and I couldn’t find a flaw on her no matter how hard I tried. She was better than me–

“Stop. I can see you justifying it in your head, and it won’t ever happen. I don’t want her, Sierra. You saw the way she acted just now. I dodged a damn bullet when you showed up.”

I huffed a small laugh, but I couldn’t put my heart into it. She’d attacked my insecurities and my emotions were still out of wack sometimes.

“Hey… Look at me,” he pleaded, cupping my cheek in his hand. I did, leaning into his palm when a tear slipped free and he wiped it with his thumb. He was still so sweet.

“I realized how much of an idiot I was to pine for Charlotte a while ago. After being with you, how could I ever want someone else? You accept me the way I am. You don’t make faces when I talk about my crew, and you don’t complain when I wear my cut.

Hell, you dropped everything and put in the work to save our reputation.

And it’s working! Did you see how many people were at that rally?

You did that.” He leaned in, pressing his forehead against mine.

“When I asked you to be my old lady, that wasn’t just because you were having my kid.

I asked because when I look at you, I see my perfect match.

You’re brave and strong and sassy, and you love my crew.

We belong together, sweetheart. And if it came down to a choice between you or anyone else in the world, I’d choose you hands down every damn time. ”

The longer he spoke, the more tears spilled down my cheeks.

When we first started seeing each other, I thought he was settling because he couldn’t have the woman he wanted.

I was having his baby. He would take us both in just because he was a good man.

I never thought for even a second that he would choose me.

Even after he told me he loved me, I was terrified that one day Charlotte would show up and take him from me.

But when faced with that reality, he still chose me.

And it wasn’t just because of Melanie. For the first time ever, my impulsive decision didn’t lead to my life falling apart.

I accepted a date with him, and I got my happily ever after because of it.

I wasn’t going to be stuck with another failure on my record.

Finally.

Justin gave me some time to calm down, telling me all about the chaos at the clubhouse that morning.

Apparently, Rooster got one of the prospects to join him in pranking Buzz.

Except, the person who walked through the door after they’d set up the prank wasn’t Buzz.

It was Axel, Buzz’s older brother, who just happened to be that prospect’s mentor.

The fallout was epic, according to Justin.

When I asked Mel later about it, she rolled her eyes and said the only reason Justin was enjoying it so much was because it was usually him and Rooster pulling pranks together and getting in trouble for it.

It was more fun when he wasn’t sharing the consequences with the rest of them.

When we rejoined the crew, I got plenty of hugs and words of reassurance. Even the guys joined in.

“Seriously, you’re way hotter than that chick,” Circus assured me.

“Damn right, you are!” Rooster crowed. “Did you see her stomping her foot? Who acts like that? Not even the kids do that shit.”

“Anyone else think she looked like a barbie?” Buzz asked curiously. “Like plastic.”

There were nods and hums of agreement before the compliments started back up again. Justin had to step in to get them to stop, tucking me under his arm with a glare.

“Alright, knock it off, idiots. She’s my old lady. Go hit on someone else.”

I snickered, shaking my head at him. They were just being nice, but I loved the protectiveness so I wasn’t going to discourage him.

“It’s so hard to take you seriously when you’re wearing a baby on your chest,” Mel pointed out with a grin. “You two look so cute!”

Justin didn't get embarrassed by the fact that he was carrying around our daughter on his chest. He just lifted his chin, his smile full of pride. “Damn right we are.”

Someone delicately cleared their throat, and when I looked down, Skylar’s little girl was staring up at us, her glasses shoved high onto her nose. When Justin noticed, he gave the little girl his full attention, squatting to get on her eye level.

“What can I do for you, princess?”

She handed him a slip of paper without a word. Looking over his shoulder to read it, I had to twist my mouth not to burst out laughing.

“Uh… What is this?” Justin asked, confused.

“It’s a demand letter,” Circus grouched. “She gave one to everyone who was swearing while we faced off with that b–” He hesitated, noticing Gracie’s eagle eyed glare. “Blonde before. She tallied how many times we cussed each and wrote a note saying she’ll collect the debt later.”

Justin’s jaw fell open. Thankfully, he only had three tallies on that piece of paper, but still.

The look on his face killed me and I couldn’t help laughing.

It was almost like I set everyone else off because the whole crew joined in.

Gracie beamed from where she stood in the middle, soaking up the attention.

When Prez scooped her up, giving her a high five, I knew exactly where that idea came from.

“Planning to bleed them dry?” I asked around snickers.

His grin was entirely shark-like. “Soon there will be more kids than crew in this group. They need to learn to watch their language. Maybe a debt collector will get them to act right.”

“Doubtful,” Rooster griped. “I’m gonna go broke.”

Justin just chuckled, sticking the piece of paper in his pocket and winking at Gracie. “You got it, princess. I’ll hit you up with the cash later. We should get moving. We’ve got work to do.”

True. They’d all paused to make sure I was okay, but they needed to be out there mingling or at the booths I’d had set up for them.

I was still determined to get the town to see them as I did.

And so were the rest of the old ladies. We split up with our men, making sure to show off just how great they were with their kids.

Maggie volunteered to do face painting with Killer’s help, and Prez was nearby with Zoey on his lap, answering questions about the crew.

Butch was letting all the kids sit on his bike and check it out, answering questions in ways they could understand and showing off his sweet teddy bear nature when he carefully helped the littles to sit.

Wraith was hanging out with Xander and a few of his friends, talking to the teens about motorcycle safety and how they could get their licenses once they were old enough.

And then there was Justin. He wandered around the rally with our daughter on his chest, beaming with pride and stopping to answer questions about her any time someone looked his way.

He was hit on plenty by women who liked the idea of a biker with a baby, but he always redirected them to his brothers, telling everyone he was taken but there were plenty of guys in his crew who were single and looking to mingle.

I saw a few interested looks swing toward the guys, which made me laugh.

They’d better get ready. If they weren’t careful, they’d end up inundated with babies before the year was out.