Page 70 of Vex

“Dude? Did you really just call me Dude?” Vex asks with a shit eating grin.

“Oh my God! You’re driving me nuts. Sit and listen for a minute, please?” I implore.

Vex takes a seat, but he’s still grinning like I’m the crazy one here. I step between his thighs and rest my hands on his shoulders. I can’t help but let my fingers weave in and out of his hair while looking down at him.

“Money’s been tight my whole existence. Mom could stretch a dollar until it was paper thin, and I learned from the best. There were times that we barely had enough food in the house to eat, but she made it seem like we owned the world. Neither Tessie or I ever felt we went without because mom couldn’t always hold down a steady job with her illness. We felt blessed to have her in our lives. She found out she had breast cancer when I was eight. Tessie was barely a year old. Rooster bailed and took every penny we had, but Mom kept us clothed, fed and happy. She beat her cancer and was free of it for almost five years when another tumor showed up in the scar tissue from her mastectomy. Us girls were terrified we were going to lose her that time, but she beat the odds again. Or so we thought for a few more years,” I explain in a quiet voice.

“Taja, I don…”

“Time to listen, Vex,” I whisper before continuing. “It was harder on Mom the last time around, and she had more bad days than good. We weren’t raised to let others handle our problems. Mom had a lot of pride, and she’d instilled that in Tessie and me. I got a job, different ones, over the next few years to help with the bills. I graduated, got better jobs with more hours and started taking classes on the scholarships I’d won. Mom was let go from her job for missing so much work, and that alone about killed her. Suki helped get the paperwork done, so mom’s disability checks came through and those saved us. Those checks and the money I made. But Mom was devastated when that first check came in, because in her mind, she’d failed. In my mind, she was a fucking rock star for all she’d overcome and battled through. In the end, we lost her, but we’ll never lose the example she set for us. What I’m trying to say is going without all the newest gadgets and fancy clothes aren’t important to Tessie and me. We know what’s really important in this world and we learned that from our mom. This baby doesn’t need the name brand diapers and fancy stroller to be happy. This baby just needs the basics along with a lot of love and a good family.”

Vex is quiet for a moment, but I know he’s heard every word. It’s showing in his eyes that he understands everything I said. It’s also showing that he wishes like hell he’d been around to help us through those tough times.

Vex drops his head and places a kiss on my abdomen, right where our baby is residing. It’s a sweet and very telling gesture and it warms me throughout.

“Those days are over for you and Tessie. You two will never have to make ends meet again. I have mad respect for your mom, and I wish like hell I’d had the pleasure of meeting her. She sounds like one hell of a woman. I’m glad you two had that in your life. She sounds like pure beauty. But baby, you don’t need to be concerned with money anymore. You don’t have to budget every cent and worry about bills coming up months from now. I’ve got you and I’ve got this. You just need to trust that your man can and will always provide for you. Can you give me that?” Vex asks in a deep, serious tone.

Looking down into that gorgeous face, I realize how important this is to him. I never intended to imply that he couldn’t provide for his own child. I need to give in on this and buy the things he wants for the baby. I will but I’ll do it Taja style. Bargain shopping, coupons and pinching pennies where I can without it being too noticeable.

“I can give you that,” I answer as he grins and drops another light kiss on the baby.

“I don’t have time today because the guys are waiting on me, but when I do, we’ll have a thorough conversation about finances. There are things you need to know, and one of them is why money isn’t a concern. Until then, go shopping. Buy the stuff we discussed, but stay close to Chubs. Him and Lucy will be with you anytime you need them, and I don’t want you out of his sight if you leave the compound,” Vex says.

“Okay. Be careful, Vex. There are people needing you to come back safe,” I say because I need him to know that he’s important too.

He stands and wraps me up in a tight, hard hug. After a lingering kiss, and a shout from Axel at the door, Vex lets go and walks off. I miss him already.

Spending time with Chubs and Lucy has kept my mind busy from worrying about Vex being gone. Him, along with Pooh and a few other members, are on the hunt for Rooster, Tats and other members of the Spirit Skulls. The Skulls made this battle personal for all of the members when they set fire to Dreams. Now, there’s hell to pay and the bill is due.

Chubs, being who he is, has been sticking close. I’ve enjoyed his company immensely. My morning sickness strikes at all hours of the day, and Chubs is a calm presence when it does. I seriously wouldn’t mind being left alone during the throes of it but nobody, including Duffy, agrees. With Lucy and Chubs staying in his room across the hall since the guys left, they’re close if needed and close enough to know when all is not well with my stomach.

I couldn’t have picked a better woman for Chubs, even if given years to find one. Lucy’s his perfect match. Watching them together, I’m allowed the privilege of seeing how a real relationship works. I didn’t have that growing up, but I do now. I’m grateful that Tessie’s experiencing it too. Mutual respect, compromise and a huge dose of humor seem to be the glue that keeps this club, and their women, together. They bicker and disagree, argue and tease one another but in the end there are couples here that will always be a unit.

Only odd thing I’ve noticed is that weird shit happens when Lucy’s around. I don’t know why, but it does. She sits at the bar and a shelf will break when no one’s near it. Or she’ll walk across the room and a picture will fall off the wall. Oddly enough, as cool and nice as Lucy is, I’ve noticed Toes keeps his distance from her when he can. He actually looks like he’s scared of being near her. I want to ask Vex about all this stuff, but I’m afraid I’ll sound like a crazy person.

When I’m not sleeping or feeling sick, I’ve been starting to get stir-crazy. I’ve never been off work this long before and I envy Tessie for having a job. I scrubbed Vex’s room from top to bottom today and then tore into the kitchen. It’s spotless and I feel better now that I’ve got something to do. I have four loaves of zucchini bread baking in the oven, and it smells amazing.

I’ve re-stocked the bar and am dusting the shelves when Chubs appears on the other side of it. He’s got Craig, Bella and the pets tagging along today and his ever-present grin.

“Hello, customers. What can I set you up for?” I ask.

“Root Beer,” Craig says.

“Coke,” Bella answers.

“When’s that zucchini bread going to be done?” Chubs asks.

“How do you know what kind of bread it is?” I ask.

“It’s a gift,” Chubs responds.

“It’s his super-power,” Craig informs me in a serious tone. “We were doing our learning things in the woods today, and Chubs smelled the bread. So here we are.”

“In about… oh God. Sorry!” I say as I bolt for the nearest bathroom.

After the latest round of pregnancy hell has passed, I stretch out on the nearest couch not caring what deviant behavior has occurred on it. Duffy curls up next to me and promptly starts snoring. Soon after that, Bart gets set on my thighs and he’s off to snooze land too. Craig sits on the floor in front of me, one hand patting my arm.

“Bailey used to be sick a lot too. When she got better, she spitted a kid out,” Craig states. “Little Alex is cute now but wasn’t when she first came to live here. Her face was all red and she looked mad all the time. Axel let me hold her once. He made me get cleaned up first. Wasn’t really worth it. When you get tired of being sick and spit your kid out, do I have to be clean to hold it?”

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