Page 9 of Coast

“A few hours here and there in the doctor’s lounge between deliveries. I at least was able to grab a shower before I came here this morning.” I held up my cup of coffee. “This has kept me going.”

“Well, that isn’t good. We’ll go to the diner when we close for lunch,” Bailey said and stood. “Because I know you hate the cafeteria food and probably ate out of the vending machines.”

“You know me so well.” I rubbed my stomach. “The diner sounds good. I’d kill for a double cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate milkshake.”

Bailey chuckled and shook her head. “Just the thought of that, and I can feel my thighs and butt enlarging.”

“As long as you don’t overindulge, you can eat whatever you have a craving for,” I told her as I pushed my chair back and stood.

“Says the woman who eats as much as any man and never gains a pound,” Bailey sneered.

“Please, like,” I waved my hand from my breasts to my feet, “you’d want this body. Besides, Devil would love you no matter if you gained five hundred pounds. Pregnancy suits you. You’re practically glowing.”

Bailey grinned, then chuckled. “Oh, I know someone who wants your body.”

I put my hand up. “Don’t even go there. I’m still mad at you for abandoning me with him.”

“Oh, come on, Mackenzie. Everyone around witnessed the chemistry between you and Emery. He’s been after you since that day in the diner. You just avoid him,” Bailey said, then her eyebrows furrowed, and she moved to the door, pushing it closed before she looked back at me. “It isn’t because he’s half Mexican and half Native American, is it?”

I wasn’t sure which feeling was stronger: the hurt I felt that she thought Emery’s ethnicity mattered or the anger because she thought he’s ethnicity was a factor to me staying away from him.

“Oh my God, Bailey, I can’t believe you asked that. You seriously can’t think that matters to me. Do you?”

“No, but I had to be sure. Coast... You know I was a few years behind all the guys and that they had been friends with my brother, James?” I nodded, and Bailey continued. “Shades Valley has a lot of wonderful people and a lot ofnotso wonderful people. They’re folks that hate having the MC here, even though they’ve been around forever. So being a part of the MC and then a mixed-race on top of it, made Coast an easy target in school for the kids who were...”

“Bigots, assholes, racists.” I knew my voice rose with each word, but I was raised by parents who taught my brother and me that you treated everyone with the same respect that you yourself demanded. Their color, their age, their sex, their religion, their politics, or if they were rich or poor didn’t matter. My dad had said that no one had a right to judge another person because you’ve never walked in their shoes, lived with their struggles, or witnessed firsthand anything to do with their lives.

As a young girl, I hadn’t comprehended some of the things he said, but as I’d gotten older, they’d become much clearer. How better off would the human race be if we were all color blind? Or didn’t get bent out of shape because someone else was different or didn’t have the same views? How boring would life be if we all looked or thought alike?

“Yeah, you’re right on all accounts, Mac.”

“After meeting Emery and the other men, I can’t imagine who would have the balls to try and bully Emery.”

“Well, he wasn’t always as big as he is now, but it wasn’t so much as pushing him around as it was the snide comments and slurs as he passed by. Mostly when he was alone because if the others heard them, there was hell to pay, and it involved getting bloody. But it wasn’t just the boys in school, it was the girls.”

“Why, because he didn’t pay them any attention?” I knew girls could be mean, but it was mostly toward other girls.

“Umm...no. The bitches drooled over him. Hell, they drooled over all of them. Being part of the MC alone made them appealing to the twats.”

“Ah, they wanted bragging rights,” I said as I draped my stethoscope around my neck.

“Exactly. So, it was hard to tell who legitimately liked him or just wanted to use him to make daddy mad. Now don’t get me wrong, Coast had no issue accepting what they offered, but it made him...for lack of a better word, harder. More cautious with who he trusts and lets get close to him. What I’ve gotten from hearing the men talk about their time in the military, it wasn’t much different for Coast there either,” Bailey finished and opened the door as I walked toward her.

“I’ve not been avoiding Emery because of his mixed-race, Bailey.”

“I’m sorry I jumped to that conclusion. But, Mac, if you really aren’t interested in Coast, be upfront with him. He’ll back off.”

“Really, he’ll back off?” I cocked an eyebrow at Bailey.

“Okay, okay.” Bailey put her hands up and grinned. “Probably not. More like he’ll turn the pressure up a notch to convince you. If you haven’t noticed, the men are a tad pushy.”

I laughed. “Pushy. Don’t you mean arrogant, bossy, controlling?”

Bailey patted my arm as we headed out of the office. “See you do understand them. You’ll fit right into club life.”

“Whoa, girlfriend. You are getting way ahead of yourself. I don’t even know Emery that well.”

“Whose fault is that?”

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