Page 35 of JoJo

Chapter 10

Steel’s mother, Carol, never did come back the next day to offer up an apology, or anything else. She was apparently summoned home to deal with the repercussions of going against direct club orders. Apparently, all of the old ladies, girlfriends, club whores, and of course the club members were given the word that Jenn was banned from the club and that they were to have nothing else to do with her. She wasn’t just banned, she was shunned from Aces High MC. That basically meant she’d done something so unforgivable that they were to treat her as invisible. I understood why, considering the woman had slept with not only Steel’s once best friend and brother, but had also slept with, and been knocked up by, a prospective member of the club too. Well, he was no longer with the club now. At any rate, whatever was going on with Carol up in the Dakotas kept her from putting her nose any further in our business here in Georgia. For that, I was thankful.

It had been eight days since my pregnancy drama-bomb day, and we were getting ready to head to my very first baby-doctor appointment. I’d already calculated that I would be due sometime in mid March, but I guess the doctor would confirm my theory and who knew what else. Times like these, it really sucked not to have my mom around. Surely, she would have told me all about what to expect for a first visit. Then again, times were changing, so maybe she wouldn’t really know. I could always read up on it with Google or a book, but it’s just not the same as having your mom hold your hand and tell you it will all be just fine.

“Hey babe,” Steel started to say something else, but stopped when he saw what I was wearing. “Why are you wearing leathers?”

“I always wear them when I ride.” Duh! I wanted to add that last thought, but left it out as not to seem childish.

“Um, I thought we were taking the truck?”

“It’s a gorgeous day. I thought we’d take the bikes, or you could ride bitch on mine if you really want,” I teased. His face fell into the picture-perfect example of abject horror causing me to laugh. “Just kidding. I was hoping to ride with you though. Do you know my daddy was the only man I ever road on the back of a bike with? He made me learn to ride so I’d never have to trust an idiot to drive me around. That was how I caught the racing bug so young.” I smiled at the memory while Steel just continued to stare at me.

“Babe, I’d feel more comfortable driving the truck until I can ask the doc a few questions.”

“What questions?”

“Like if it’s safe for a pregnant woman to ride on a bike, JoJo.”

Well crap, I hadn’t really given that any thought. I wasn’t even showing yet, so it couldn’t do much harm really, could it? Tears stung my eyes as I thought about how I was already failing at this mom business. “Come here, baby.” Steel pulled me into his arms, tucking me up against him.

“Now I feel guilty for not thinking of that,” I admitted as I sniffled.

“It’s hard to think against habit. I’m pretty sure it would be fine, but just to be sure, we’ll check first, okay?”

We arrived fifteen minutes early to my appointment and I had to sit through the receptionist stammering over herself as she eye-fucked my hot-as-hell husband. I was standing there, holding out my insurance card, while she just stared at him for a solid minute before I slapped my hand down hard on the counter in front of me. Thanks to my short stature the counter was already breast high on me while Steel was visible from damn near the waist up. The woman startled and took the card from me before asking me for my husband’s information so she could process the claim.

“It’s my insurance, under my name, you don’t need his information for that.”

“Well, you’ll have to add it to your file anyway if you want him to have access to test results, and whatnot without you being here or on the phone.”

“He’s here, with me now,” I snipped out as the woman glanced over my shoulder to look in the waiting room beyond. She gave me a knowing smile then.

“Let me guess, he’s nervous and parking the car?”

She was being serious. My jaw went slack as I glanced from her to Steel and back again. “You’ve been eye-fucking my husband for the past ten minutes,” I finally huffed out. Steel drew his lips in tight, clamping down on them from the inside to keep from laughing as the receptionist turned bright red, wide-eyed, and strangely enough, almost O-faced with embarrassment.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize,” she offered. “Neither of you were wearing wedding bands.”

“Not everyone wears a wedding ring. We’re mechanics. It’s dangerous.” I huffed out yet another sigh. “Besides, your behavior was completely unprofessional. If he wasn’t here with me, chances are, he was here with, or for, someone else since this is a doctor’s office for WOMEN.”

The girl again seemed properly chastised as I snatched my insurance card and went to find a seat in the waiting room.

“Cynthia-Jo? Is that you?” A woman off to my right called out. I glanced over and felt even more annoyed. Bernice Jacobs had been after my father from the moment the dirt began to cover my momma’s coffin, and probably before that. Luckily for me, my father was never interested and she never got to become my step-mare. That was a term coined by my high school friend for her nightmare of a step-mother.

“Bernice,” I acknowledged.

“I thought that was you,” she cooed. “How have you been? Did I hear right that you said this fine young man was your husband? Well, congratulations! And are you two expecting? Of course you are! Why on earth would you bring a man to a lady doctor visit otherwise?” I just stood there, staring as she finally took a breath. She’d pretty much answered all of her own questions, so I didn’t bother addressing anything.

“Romeo Briggs,” Steel offered as he stuck out his hand to Bernice. She accepted as she tittered over his name.

“Romeo, indeed. You found yourself a fine one here, Cynthia-Jo. Don’t you let Lou-Ann over there bother you none. She flirts with every man through that door.” Bernice made a tooting sound. “You’d think she purposely goes after the taken men for some reason. Maybe because she’s not having any luck finding one on her own, so she has to poach.”

“Cynthia-Jo,” the nurse called from a door leading back to the doctor’s actual office and the exam rooms. Thank fuck!

“Well, gotta go,” I said as I moved away from Bernice.

“It was nice meeting you, Bernice. You have a good day now.” Steel called out as he followed behind me.

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