Page 6 of The MC’s Surprise (Bikers and Babies #4)

Sierra

“ S ierra!”

I heard Mom calling, but chose to ignore it. After things went so poorly with Vegas, I threw myself into figuring out what I was going to do next. There would be no next big idea. I needed a stable job, something that either paid well enough to afford child care or that I could do from home.

Mom offered to watch the baby while I worked, but I didn't want to stay in town when Vegas so obviously didn’t want anything to do with me.

I figured he’d call, but forty eight hours later, nothing.

That was answer enough for me. If he didn’t want a part of this, that was his choice.

I wasn’t going to torment him by hanging around where we could run into one another.

Scrolling through the job listings in the nearby city, I chewed on my lip.

I figured closer to my parents would be better, instead of trying to go all the way back to California.

The climate was better, and I had friends there, but it was too expensive.

I barely afforded to live out there alone and babies are expensive.

Mom pushed the door open, frowning at me. “Did you hear me? I’ve been calling for you.”

“Sorry, Mama. I’m filling out applications.”

She hummed, her usual suspicious tone softened. “Any luck?”

“Not really. If I want something stable, I might have to go back to school but with the baby on the way, I can’t afford that.”

“I’m sure we can figure something out,” she replied readily. “There’s someone at the door for you. Put that down for a while and take a break. It’s bad for you to be stuck in bed all day.”

I sighed heavily. Ever since she found out I was pregnant, she’d been hovering even worse than when I was a kid.

She forced me to take walks with her and was pushing so much water at me, I felt like I was about to move into the bathroom I was peeing so much.

I was hoping the scan later today would help settle her a little, once she saw that the baby was healthy, but I doubted it.

If anything, it’d make her double down. I’d yet to figure out an excuse to not take her with me.

Setting the laptop off to one side, I rolled off the bed. It wasn’t until I reached the living room that I realized what she’d said. I didn't know anyone in the area. The friends I’d grown up with all moved away. Who would be visiting me?

I came to an abrupt halt, my heart hammering in my throat as I took in the man standing at the door.

He looked better than when I’d last seen him, less pale and horrified.

His short blond hair was messy, which didn’t surprise me given the helmet tucked under one arm.

He always rode a motorcycle, even on the rainy days. I’d forgotten about that.

He was clean shaven like always, because he said it was a crime to women to cover his dimples.

His normal charming grin was missing, though, and so were the dimples.

He looked uncomfortable standing there, eyes taking in the room.

When his gaze landed on me, he stiffened and sucked in a breath, those baby blues wary and uncertain.

So unlike the man I knew. I hated that I was the one who did that to him.

“Uh… Hey,” he greeted uneasily.

“Hey,” I answered, crossing my arms awkwardly.

It was hard with the bump in the way, but I pretended not to notice.

Vegas didn’t. His eyes dropped to my belly and he froze again, like he had in his office.

I’d skipped the heavy sweaters and my t-shirt was a little small, showing a strip of my belly as it stretched over the bump.

Only my mom’s voice snapped him out of it.

“Well, I’ll leave you two to talk. I’m going to run to the grocery store before our appointment. Did you want me to pick up anything for you, sweetie?”

“Broccoli,” I answered automatically, then wrinkled my nose. I normally wasn’t a huge fan of broccoli but right now, it felt like a necessity. I’d decimated my parents’ fridge of it already and almost cried when I realized there wasn’t more. Pregnancy is weird.

Mom huffed and nodded. “That’s at the top of my list, don’t you worry. Call me if you think of anything else.”

Vegas sidestepped, giving my mom a polite nod as she brushed past him. She smiled, patting his arm in understanding before leaving. When I told her how he reacted to the news, she told me to give him time to come around. I guess I should’ve been more patient.

Clearing my throat awkwardly, I gestured to the living room. “Come in. Can I get you something to drink?”

“Uh, no. Thank you.”

I huffed, unable to stop myself. “Words. That’s an improvement.”

He visibly winced. “Sorry. I know I reacted… weird…”

Shaking my head, I dropped onto the couch, curling my leg under myself by habit. “I get it. Pretty sure if I wasn’t in a busy doctor’s office when I found out, I would’ve reacted the same way.”

He sat on the couch with me, the middle cushion empty between us. After how affectionate he’d been when he first saw me, the difference was a little painful. Gone were the casual hugs. Was it wrong to feel disappointed?

We sat in silence for a minute. I wasn’t sure what to say, and from the look on his face, neither did Vegas.

He rubbed his hands on the knees of his jeans, his brow furrowed as he opened his mouth and closed it again.

I thought maybe it’d be another repeat of his office, but he eventually summoned the words to speak.

“When–” He cleared his throat. “Why–” He stalled out and sighed heavily. “Shit, I’ve got no clue what to say right now.”

I snorted, and something in my chest eased when his familiar smirk flashed across his face.

“That makes two of us. I never thought I’d be in a situation like this.”

He swallowed hard, frowning at me. “How did you end up–” He shook his head, reframing the question. “I don’t understand how it happened. We used protection.”

“Yeah.” I huffed a laugh. “Two forms, actually. You used a condom and I had an IUD. I thought we were covered. But apparently, my IUD wasn’t working.

The doctor said it wasn’t placed right and probably never worked how it should.

And condoms are only like ninety seven percent effective or something.

Whoever this kid is, they were determined to be here. ”

Bad luck. That’s all it was. We did everything we were supposed to do. I just ended up being that 1% that still got pregnant despite contraceptives.

“And, uh… You’re sure its mine?” He winced again. “Sorry, I feel like a dick for asking, but–”

“But you don't know me that well,” I stopped him. “I get it. And I’d be happy to do a paternity test if that’s what you need. But yeah, I’m sure. You were the only one in like two years, actually.” At his incredulous look, I shrugged. “I was busy. Work stuff.”

Was I going to admit to him that I was an even bigger failure than I let on?

Not a chance in hell. He didn’t need to know just how far I’d fallen to end up like this.

That it wasn’t just the accidental pregnancy that influenced me winding up living with my parents again.

He’d run for the hills and probably take the baby with him to protect it from me.

He let out a slow breath, nodding. “I’d appreciate it. I don’t think you’d be the kind of person to lie, but my prez will kick my ass if I don’t.”

I tipped my head, frowning. “Prez?”

He frowned back for a second. “Did I not tell you I was in an MC?”

I jerked my head back, letting out a startled laugh. “Holy crap, how did I forget that? You wore that jacket all the time and–” I shook my head, still chuckling. “I’m sorry. Things have been… crazy for the past few months. I actually just got into town a few days ago.”

Slowly, we both relaxed as the conversation slipped into easier territory. He asked about the move, and I asked about the casino. Neutral topics that helped us both get on even kilter. It made it easier when the topics switched back to the elephant in the room. Namely, me.

A familiar burning made me grimace and shift uncomfortably. Vegas straightened with a frown.

“What’s wrong?”

I waved away his concern. “It’s nothing.

One of the reasons I didn’t realize I was pregnant was because I didn’t get many of the fun symptoms that would’ve tipped me off.

The one symptom I did get with a vengeance was heartburn.

Its constant and sometimes gets so bad it feels like I’m about to breathe fire. ”

He was on his feet in an instant, heading into the kitchen. I stared at him, startled, as he walked away. Confused, I stood to follow him, but he called out to me before I could join him, his voice muffled.

“Which cabinet has the glasses? Or are there bottles of water in here?”

Warmth that had nothing to do with the heartburn filled my chest and I had to bite back a smile as I went to join him.

He’d found the pitcher of water in the fridge and was poking through my mom’s kitchen to find me a glass.

Chuckling, I opened the cabinet closest to me and grabbed two glasses, offering him one as well.

“Do you always comandeer strangers’ kitchens when you visit their homes?”

He grinned sheepishly as he handed me back the full glass. “Uh, no. But a buddy of mine, his old lady was pregnant and said the heartburn made her nauseous. We knew better than to make her wait for water. Someone always jumped up to get her some whenever she got uncomfortable.”

So my pregnancy wasn’t the first one he’d experienced. That was kind of nice. At least one of us had a clue what was happening.

We moved to the table while I paced my drinking. I wanted to inhale it to make the burning stop, but that would almost guarantee I’d throw it all back up. Better to take it slow and steady.

“You said you didn't know until recently,” he began after I’d had at least half a cup. His gaze was back on my belly, which I got. Now that I knew what was going on, I realized how dumb I was for not realizing sooner that I was only gaining weight in one major area.

“Yeah, there were some big stressors at work, so I figured I was comfort eating and that was why I was putting on weight. I only went to the doctor when the heartburn got bad enough to start making me feel sick. That’s when I found out I was pregnant.

” Chewing on my lip, I forced myself to admit, “If I would’ve realized sooner, I’m not sure I would’ve kept it…

I never really thought about being a mom. I’m not sure I’ll be any good at it.”

Tears burned my eyes admitting it, but it was the truth. I wasn’t cut out for this.

A large tattoed hand covered mine and squeezed gently. “Hey.”

When I looked up at him, he gave me a soft smile.

“I get it. Believe it or not, we’re not the first in my crew to be surprised with a baby.

My buddy thought he wouldn’t be any good at it either.

But he had the crew to support him and he figured things out.

We’ll do the same. Just focus on you right now.

Pregnancy is no joke, and stress isn’t good for the baby. ”

A smile tugged at my lips. “Who’d have thought the biker/casino owner would be the expert here?”

The tension finally broke and he laughed whole heartedly, those dimples making a full appearance.

He was just like I remembered him, easy going and happy, with an edge of biker badassness to balance him out.

This was the reason I fell into bed with him in the first place.

A man like that was hard to resist. And now I’d have to do just that while figuring out how to co-parent with him.

Joy.