Page 66 of Wall

She shakes her head. “Only spotting.”

“We’ll go to the doctor tomorrow. Steel Bones has an in. We won’t need to wait for an appointment.”

We both know at this stage, there ain’t much a doctor can do, but she relaxes a little in my arms.

She sighs. “We’re being reckless, aren’t we? Shacking up so quickly and having a baby after everything we’ve been through.”

I gesture toward the ceiling. A bass beat and stomping feet are seeping through. “I’m in a biker gang. I ain’t worried about reckless.”

“My mother would tell me I’m being stupid.”

“My mother’ll hug you ‘til you squeal and feed you ‘til you can’t stand.” That got a smile out of her. Quick, but it counts.

Then, she’s quiet a long time. I rest my hands on her hips and wait.

“John, what if we can’t ever have a baby?”

That’s the question, ain’t it? And I ain’t got an answer.

“Baby, can I take you for a ride?”

She knits her brow. “It’s thirty degrees out there.”

“Not on my bike. In my truck.”

“Now?”

“Yeah.” It’s a little past two in the morning, but where I want to go doesn’t close.

“Um. Okay?” She glances down at herself.

First, we got to get her into something warmer and drier. I stand, and hold out my hand, palm up.

“Trust me?”

She don’t take a second to slide her small fingers in mine. My heart fills to bursting.

CHAPTER 11

MONA

John leads me up two flights of stairs to his room. I imagined a cramped dorm room, I guess, but his place is in the clubhouse’s modern annex. It’s like an apartment, a nice one. He has a kitchenette, a bathroom, hardwood floors, recessed lighting, the works.

It’s pretty bare. Furniture, free weights, a chin up bar in the bathroom doorway. And our wedding picture. Not the big one, but a small one, sitting on his bedside table. I flop down on the bed and pick it up. It’s two-sided. Me and him, standing awkwardly side-by-side, like the farm couple in that painting. Neither of us are photogenic.

The other picture is when the photographer lined up all the Walls. They’re a huge family, in number and size, so he had to take the shot from far back. There’s John Senior and Mama Kelly, John and I, and then Kellum, Cashel, Dina, and Jesse. Dina and I are so short in comparison, we look like kids.

John Senior is serious as the pope. Each of the boys are wearing a different, doofy expression. Dina’s wearing her usual thousand-yard stare. Mama Kelly and I are cracking up.

My hand creeps to my belly.

I want this. So bad. My heart thuds in my chest. The urge to lay down, stay stock-still, and pray overwhelms me.

“Put this on.” John hands me a pair of his gym socks and sweat pants.

“I’m going to look ridiculous in those pants.”

“No one will see but me.” Before I can move, he yanks off my shoes and peels off a sock.

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