Page 80 of Moon's Promise

“Could I have it?”

“No problem,” she replied sweetly. “As soon as you walk barefoot to east of Bumfuck, Egypt and come back, I’ll get that information to you. Until then, fuck off, you pecker-head.”

Setting the phone down on the counter, Moon poured what was left of the whiskey into his glass. “Your wife is a bitch.”

“I should kick your ass for saying that, but she is.”

“Why is she so fucking pissed at me? Hell, you barely had a mark on your ass.”

“Dude, seriously?” Train gave him a disappointed look. “I knew you were self-centered, but you needing me to tell you that takes you to another level. Killyama wanted Larissa as her midwife. I’ve been arguing with her about having a midwife because I want my kid born in the hospital. Killy doesn’t. You actually did me a favor by getting her to leave, which I will deny saying if you repeat it. I was losing the argument because I told her I wanted a doctor in the delivery room. Killyama waited until I opened my big mouth to tell me Larissa is not only a licensed midwife; she’s a doctor.”

“She’s a doctor?”

“A doctor. From what I found out from Killy, Larissa worked on becoming a certified midwife while helping putting the oldest sister through college. When Lana graduated, she decided to become a D.O. She also helped pay for the youngest one’s education. If I remember right, Priscilla is a doula, but she’s working toward becoming a certified nurse midwife. When you went to their office and confronted her, she was humiliated, and rather than taking the chance of seeing you in town, she decided to move away. Therefore, no home birth for Killy, which puts you on her shit list.”

Moon eyed him. “But you didn’t want Killy to have the baby at home.”

Train nodded. “I didn’t, but Killy was counting on me caving in. You took it out of her control. She doesn’t like that. She especially doesn’t like you since you were the person who put an end to their dream of opening a birthing center here in Treepoint. Seems they have been scraping by, living together in a one-room apartment, watching every dime they spent, trying to afford a lawyer to help them in their fight to get legislation passed so they can open a birthing center. So, not only did you run Killy’s midwife out of town, but a lot of other women in the county who wanted another option for giving birth to their babies are shit out of luck.”

Moon’s hand clenched around the empty whiskey bottle. “Or she could have left town because she had no intention of telling me I’m the father.”

Train’s eyebrows rose. “And that’s a shocker? Larissa witnessed the fight. Then Killy sent her after me when I didn’t see her texts the day she was sick. Larissa saw and heard it all. Then you come to her office to humiliate her? I would be more shocked if she had stayed.”

“I’m more shocked he was able to nail her,” Rider said cuttingly, taking a swig of his beer.

“Fuck you.”

Rider grinned. “No, thanks.”

Moon was tempted to grab another bottle of whiskey. Instead, he opened the drink fridge for a bottle of water.

Train got up from the stool and moved around the bar to throw his beer bottle away. “Since you’ve managed to snub anyone who could find out where she is, I guess you’re on your own.”

“I don’t need anyone’s help. I can find Larissa myself.”

Rider handed his empty bottle to Train to dispose of it for him. “You mind handing me another?”

Train gave him the beer.

Twisting the lid off, Rider raised the bottle as if to toast him. “I love being able to sit back and watch someone else fuck up beside me. For what it’s worth, I would be kissing everyone’s ass for help if she were carrying my baby around and I didn’t know where she was.”

“Well, it’s not your baby, is it? I’ll find her, and when I do, she’s going to regret fucking me over not once but twice,” he promised.

“Yeah, that’s right.” Train shook his head at him. “You go ahead and really fuck yourself over. Then, when you’re crying into your beer that your kid is calling another man daddy, I can really tell you I told you so.”

“I can promise that will never fucking happen,” Moon swore vehemently.

Rider gave him a sad smile. “Brah, you’ve made an art of fucking up. That’s why Viper and Wizard shuffle you back and forth. As a brother, we’ve all been able to count on you when we needed jobs done. You would have laid your life on the line for several of us, but brother, when it comes to personal life, it’s like we’re dealing with another person who takes a dump on everything. You’ve got the club to the point that having you as a brother isn’t worth needing to cleaning up all the crap. Larissa isn’t a member of the club who has to take your shit, nor does she have to clean up after it. She did the right thing taking her ass out of Treepoint, just like Jo walked away from me.”

Rider’s face turned reflective. “It took her walking out that back door for me to realize what I did, and I didn’t have a kid in the picture. Your next move is up to you, but I suggest you get your ducks in a row before you do anything. I would start mending fences because, even if you do find her, she’s going to slip right back out.”

Moon felt each of Rider’s words like a punch in his gut, so much so the dark side of him switched on, taking control of the pain.

“When I ask for your advice, I’ll take it. Until then, keep it to yourself.”

“Fair enough.” Rider lifted the beer bottle to his lips then stood, carrying the bottle to place it in the container for recyclables. “You ready?” he asked Train. “Nickel’s bike isn’t going to get fixed with us trying to pour sense into a lost cause.”

“I’m ready.”

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