Page 22 of Tanner (Dirty Misfits MC 5)
He got up and came to sit beside me. “I know, and I would have never made you make a different choice. Ever.”
My lower lip quivered. “So, I just fell in line with whatever Dad said. I did whatever he asked; I dropped out of school when I started to show so I wouldn’t give the family a bad name, and I wore clothes that girdles that kept my pregnancy under wraps out in public for as long as possible. Hell, I even gave birth in a hospital four towns over just so we wouldn’t run into anyone we knew.”
“What a fucking lunatic,” he growled.
“And the second I turned eighteen, I packed up our shit, snuck out in the middle of the night with a bus ticket in hand, and never looked back.”
He took my hand. “You know you could have contacted me after you left, right? I wasn’t that hard to track down.”
I shrugged. “I guess part of me was still scared of my father, even though I had cut ties with him. He had such a hold over me for such a long time, even after I left home, and it took me ages to shake his chains. His and Mom’s.”
He let go of my hand and rubbed my back. “I can only imagine.”
I shook my head. “And I know this doesn’t excuse anything that happened, and I know this doesn’t dull your pain any less, but I didn’t just not show up. Mom and Dad figured out everything and made my life a living nightmare and threatened to make yours the same way.”
His forehead pressed against my temple. “I know.”
I let my eyes flutter closed. “And by the time I had shaken their chains and found the balls to try and track you down, it had been years. The first time I ever confidently thought about finding you, Cheyenne was already four.”
“I still would’ve taken you guys in. You know that.”
I swallowed hard. “Look, I know it was wrong of me to keep her a secret from you. But how the hell was I supposed to even bring this up? Just say, ‘hey, guess what? I stood you up all those years ago, but we have a daughter! Yay!’ Is that really how I was supposed to approach that?”
When he didn’t answer, I turned to look at him. And when I did, our faces were so close that I felt his breath pulsing against my lips. His warmth wrapped around me, beckoning me closer. And I wanted nothing more than to straddle him right there in the fucking living room. I raised my hand and cupped his cheek, my eyes dancing between his. I stroked his scruff, allowing my thumb just a taste of the man he had turned into after all these years.
“She really does have your eyes,” I whispered.
Then, his stare dropped to my lips. “She’s got your smile, though. I saw it in the picture.”
I couldn’t help myself. Before my rational mind could kick into gear, I leaned forward and closed the distance between the two of us. I pressed my tongue between his lips, demanding entrance as his hand cupped the back of my head. And as he pulled me into his lap, I slid my arms around his neck and reveled in how he felt.
He was strong and rife with muscles. His entire body blanketed me as his arms cloaked my back. His thickening girth pressed against my pussy with nothing but his pajama pants and my pajama shorts keeping us from one another. My head tilted off to the side as our teeth clattered together. He tasted like sunshine, hopefulness, and home.
But when we heard footsteps coming down the hallway, he slid me off to the side.
As if he were ashamed to have been kissing me.
“Ah, morning guys,” a woman said as she stretched her arms over her head.
“Morning time already, huh?” Tanner asked.
I cleared my throat. “I’m having trouble sleeping myself.”
The girl came over and extended her hand. “You must be Summer. I’m Molly.”
I looked over at Tanner and he nodded. “Molly, this is Summer, the mother of my child. Summer, this is Molly.”
I shook her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Molly smiled brightly. “Likewise. And for what it’s worth, I’m with Cole.”
I released her hand. “Well, when I meet Cole, that’ll be good information to know.”
Tanner cleared his throat. “I’m gonna get back to my food over here. Molly, there’s some more out in the kitchen if you’re hungry for cajun shrimp alfredo.”
Molly hummed. “Oh, God. That sounds fantastic.”
And when I saw her hand settle against her stomach, I stood to my feet. “Do you know what you are having yet?”
Molly looked at me with wide eyes before Tanner sounded behind me. “Wait, do you guys know what the gender is?”
