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“What’s going on?” she asked, first scanning my face and then Dead’s. “Are bad things happening?” she asked when neither one of us said anything.

“What happened to minding your own business?” I pulled her closer.

“Yup, bad shit’s happening.” She shook her head, as if she had everything figured out.

“You’ve got to stop that.” I was serious. She’d spout something off one day to the wrong person, and it was my biggest fear that I wouldn’t be there to defend her.

“Don’t be so obvious about it.”

“If this is typical married life, I’ll pass,” Dead commented drily.

She pointed at him. “Yes, you just keep that thought.”

If she had said something like that when I’d first brought her to the clubhouse, my ass would have puckered, waiting for the fallout. There would have been one eventually, and then I would have run around trying to smooth it over until the next time.

Dead smirked, not fazed at all. My wife was pouting, but she’d be over it in a minute or two, and the rest of the room wasn’t even paying attention. I rolled a blonde curl between my fingers, thanking any higher power listening. I’d never thought this day would come.

As if she’d heard my thoughts, Meredith turned her head in my direction with a soft smile dancing on her lips.

“Thank you.” I bent down, stealing a kiss before tightening my arm around her.

Her lips parted, but before she said anything, we heard a door slam somewhere upstairs.

“Whatever you won’t tell me is pissing Grace off,” she mumbled, while everyone watched the top floor for any sign of movement.

I rocked Pumpkin, making sure she stayed asleep, but I heard JR, somewhere in the room, cry.

“No, I refuse.” We heard Grace before we saw her fly down the stairs, Sabre hot on her heels.

“Mama,” he sighed.

“Don’t patronize me. It’s easy to figure out the cartel is coming.”

“Told you it was obvious,” Meredith whispered to me.

I shushed her. She didn’t need to be in the middle of the storm that was brewing.

“Oh, gotta go,” I heard Emily say. She took off running towards the stairs, but Grace had turned around at the bottom. There was nowhere for Emily to flee. Pebbles pointed towards her door in the club girl’s hallway, waving at Emily to hide in there.

“I lived through eight years of a loveless marriage. I almost died on an operating table, as they cut me open trying to deliver our baby. What makes Diego Lopez think he can break me?” Grace clenched her fists, placing them on her hips.

“I don’t break either,” Meredith whispered to me, patting my chest.

“He could take everything we have, and we’d still fight.” Grace must have heard her.

“You can’t rebuild if you’re gone.” Sabre mirrored her stance.

“You promised me you’d be here for me and for our kids. Why can’t we just head over there now and get this over with?”

“I’m down,” Meredith said, shifting her legs to stand. I tightened my arm around her before she could stand, and even Dead shot her a look to stay out of this.

“What are you going to do?” Sabre asked.

“Offer him everything I own, if he’ll just go away.”

“It doesn’t work like that, mama. You know this. If you walk out that door, he’d still keep coming after this club. He won’t stop until one of us doesn’t have any fight left.” Sabre stepped towards her, his eyes narrowing. “You said kids.”

“You keep asking when I’m going to give you another one. How does about eight months sound?”

“I told him that was going to backfire,” I whispered into Meredith’s ear.

“Aww, fuck.”

It was the wrong thing to say, and I could have told him that, too. Instead of being excited, he’d just given Grace the impression that he didn’t want another kid. I knew differently, but she didn’t. Her knees gave, but before she could hit the floor, Sabre gathered her in his arms.

“I’m fucking this up. I bought a ring, and I wasn’t sure you would say yes, so I figured if you wanted another kid, you’d be good on marriage.

That’s why I’ve been asking. It never crossed my mind it would actually happen.

” He held her tight against his body. “Marry me, mama, because you don’t want anyone else, not because I’m a dumbass with shitty timing. ”

I held my breath. This was a train wreck, and none of us could look away as it raced toward derailment.

“Yes,” she laughed, and the tension in the room evaporated. “Are you excited?”

“Scared shitless,” he said, burying his face against the crook of her neck.

“What about you?” I asked Meredith, trying to take the attention away from them for a minute.

“We’re already married, and I told you I didn’t want a ring.” She scrunched her nose up at the idea.

“Glad to know that’s how you feel about it.” I tapped the end lightly. “No. Would you go if I asked you?”

She thought for a second before laying her head back against my shoulder. “I’ll do whatever you think is the safest, but if you ask me to leave, you have a problem, Jonathan.”

There were a few chuckles floating around the room.

“What’s that, baby?” I’d fix it for her, no matter what it was.

“I don’t handle car rides very well, so I was thinking about getting a bike. They’re much safer.”

The room exploded, the attention firmly off Sabre and Grace as they held onto each other at the bottom of the stairs.

“I can rig the door for one of the club cars so it never locks,” Grease offered.

“If you’re buying a new bike, I want to go with.” Pretty plopped down next to Dead.

“Why? So they can tell you to your face you’re crazy? Pumpkin’s too little for a bike,” Meredith said. She titled her head up, batting her eyelashes. “I’m not though.”