Page 17 of The Paths We Cross
“Well, now I’m worried. What the hell is going on, Everly?”
“So, first I want you to know that I’m safe and the baby is fine,” I hear her intake of breath and continue. “I have had some weird things left for me on my SUV. First it was a note when I was in Charolette for lunch with my parents and then a teddy bear when I was in the store the other day. They had threatening messages on them.”
“Threatening? Why would anyone be threatening you?”
I sigh. “That’s why I want you to be sitting down. I found out that Travis had clients that were in a motorcycle club, and he screwed them over. The night of our accident, I saw the motorcycles gaining on us and told him. He knew something was about to happen, Nic.”
“That bastard,” Nicole growls.
“That’s not all,” I hedge. “I know I’ve told you about the Sovereign Sons. I had two of their kids in my class last year and Rowan saved me from the car when we crashed.”
“Yeah..” she trails off. “Aren’t they bikers?”
“They are, but they’re not the ones who have been threatening me. They offered me a place to stay that’s safe for me and the baby.”
She’s quiet once more. “Are you sure you can trust these people?”
“I think I can,” I tell her honestly. “I’ve met the club president and his wife multiple times and they’re both really nice. Rowan is the vice president; he’s the president’s brother. I don’t know how to explain it other than I feel safe around him.”
“Is he hot?”
I burst into laughter. Only my best friend would be worried about what Rowan looks like when I’m being threatened by a biker club that did business with my dead fiancé.
“He’s so hot,” I groan as I flop back onto my mattress.
“I knew it! Only you would find a hot biker to protect you and take care of you in this situation.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Nic,” I mutter. “I’m still reeling over what Travis did.”
“Listen, if that asshole put you at risk, he doesn’t deserve you mourning him while he’s gone. He’s paying the price for his sins, you don’t need to, too.”
She’s not wrong. It’s been eight months; it’s not like it was just yesterday. Still, isn’t it too soon for me to be lusting after the man who has been nothing but kind to me?
“It just feels too soon,” I admit. “Plus, Rowan is probably just doing this to be nice.”
She chuckles. “Sure, babe. Just don’t deny yourself something good out of guilt. You have nothing to be guilty about, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Now, before you hang up, share your location with me. If I don’t hear from you before the end of the week, I’ll show up and find you. Bikers be damned.”
****
One Month Later
I’m huge.
I’m huge and miserable.
If I thought that the eight-month mark was bad, nothing would have prepared me for the ninth month of my pregnancy. Everything hurts and everything is difficult.
I thought that I was just being a little bitch, but my doctor assured me that it’s common for women to deal with a lot of body aches this late in their pregnancy. My hips hurt, my back hurts, my legs hurt. I swear I’m having a ten-pound baby, but my doctor is positive that I’m not.We’ll see.
Oh, and don’t even get me started on the hormones. They are in overdrive.Always.It doesn’t help that Rowan walks around the apartment shirtless all the time, either. He’s literally made of muscles and has tattoos all over his arm, chest, and leg. He’s a walking piece of art and it’s frustrating.
We’ve fallen into a comfortable routine over the last month. Rowan takes me where I need to go when I need to leave the clubhouse. We have breakfast together every morning and dinner together every night. I’ve spent a lot of time around the other club members, too, and I have to admit, this place feels a lot like a home.
I didn’t think that I would fit in here; I mean, I’m a first-grade teacher after all, but the guys have been nothing but welcoming. I spend most of my time with Rowan. Even though, I have no idea why he wants to hang out with a pregnant woman all the time.
