Page 26 of Tanner (Dirty Misfits MC 5)
He sighed. “Yeah, yeah. I can do that.”
I smiled as I patted his shoulder. “Come on, you look like you could use some food, and God knows we made a lot of it earlier. Get yourself a plate and rest for a little bit.”
Because I knew none of us would have long to rest before war descended into our laps again.
And this time, we needed to be prepared for it.
Twelve
Summer
“You know, when you said nursery? I thought you meant helping you set up in the future.”
Molly giggled. “Well, you have to admit, drawing out a nursery is much better than moving furniture around in a room only to realize that it doesn’t work.”
I pointed to the laptop screen. “What if you moved the crib over here? It would open up that window, and then you could put a rocking chair or something there and feed the little one with a bit of a view.”
She sighed. “Yeah, I know. But if we move the crib there then I don’t have an outlet to access for his mobile, or for any sort of bedside table lamp I might want to put up.”
I nodded slowly. “Where are the outlets again? Are they the dark yellow little dots?”
“Yep. That’s them.”
I tapped against the screen. “Well, you’ve got one right there in that corner, and you know extension cords come in all shapes and colors now. I bet we could find you a slim one to slide along the wall that would match the color of the baseboard, and then you’d never notice it was there.”
She groaned. “If only I could hook this thing up to the internet. Then, I could actually research and compile a list of all this stuff!”
My eyes fell to her stomach before I cleared my throat. “You said that you feel safe here, even while you’re pregnant. Do you still feel that way?”
Molly smiled at me as she nodded with pride. “I know these men will do anything and everything possible to protect me. To protect all of us. Cole, especially. That man has dug me out of some pretty sticky situations, and while I know you’re new to us now, take it from me. You can trust that these guys will always make sure you’re okay.”
“So, if I were to tell you that I was thinking of going and staying with my sister in Santa Barbara, your reaction would be…”
She sighed heavily. “My reaction would be that you’d only be opening yourself up to trouble. You need to be around these guys, and not just for yourself. They’ll protect your little girl, too. But you have to play by their rules. They know what they’re talking about, and if you don’t trust Tanner, then trust me: they will always do right by you. In their eyes? You’re already family. You’ve had a child with Tan. Doesn’t matter when that child happened, but it did, and it links you to them. To all of us. You’re family, Summer, and that’s exactly why they’ll fight for you and your little girl every step of the way.”
Something within the pit of my gut came alive with every word she spoke, and while it didn’t deter me from taking Cheyenne to Sloane’s, it did convince me to stay behind and be part of the frontline that kept her safe. If Molly, a pregnant woman with nowhere else to go, could feel that safe within the walls, then I didn’t have shit to worry about.
Right?
I didn’t know much, but I knew this: if I stayed with Sloane, then I’d be chronically worried about Tanner and what was happening. But if Cheyenne went to stay with Sloane and I came back here, then at least I could find a way to receive updates about my little girl from my sister’s end.
Because I knew damn good and well Tanner would never update me if I left this place.
If I left his side for a second time in our lives.
“I still think it might be best to send my daughter to my sister’s. Sloane? My sister? She’s a detective with the Santa Barbara police department. Plus, she’s great with Cheyenne. That’s my little girl.”
Molly smiled. “That’s a beautiful name, Cheyenne.”
I nodded to her stomach. “The first one always feels so surreal, doesn’t it?”
She rubbed her belly with pride. “It really does. Cole’s already gone into overprotective mode, if you can believe it.”
I giggled. “I can certainly believe it.”
She looked at me. “Do you really feel like Cheyenne wouldn’t be safe here?”
I shook my head. “It’s not about her being safe here or not. It’s more about keeping distance between Cheyenne and everything that’s happening. I mean, Tanner knows who she is, but she still doesn’t know who he is, and I don’t want the first impression of her father—if they do meet—to be all of this.”
