Page 60 of Tuck & Roll

The nurse referring to Taylor as his wife made everything inside him rebel. He hated even pretending that they were together in order to get access to her and the baby.

He followed her to a curtained off room where Taylor was sitting up in bed, no longer clutching her stomach. Looking her over with a critical eye, he couldn’t see anything wrong with her. Since the monitors she was hooked up to weren’t blaring any alarms, everything should be okay to his way of thinking. He wouldn’t put it past her to fake issues to try and keep him in line and away from Kylie.

“Mr. Tucker? We meet again.” Dr. Peters, the doctor that Tuck had taken Taylor to yesterday greeted him, his hand extended.

He shook his hand and tipped his head toward Taylor. “How is she and the baby?”

“I was just getting ready to examine her. Let’s take a look.” Dr. Peters asked Taylor what had happened between seeing her in his office yesterday and now.

“I’m afraid we had an argument this morning. He has a friend that’s been infatuated with him for years and she won’t take the hint. Not even seeing me pregnant with Tuck’s child and living with him keeps her away. I’m afraid she’s turning into a stalker.” Taylor laid it on thick. Anyone looking at her would think she was a perfect angel and Tuck, the bad boy in a biker gang, was damn lucky to have her. With blonde hair, brown eyes and perfect smile, she looked like the all-American girl next door. It was all a facade to get her what she wanted. And right now, that something was him and the family she kept saying she wanted. She’d used her looks and skills as a manipulative bitch to get her way for years. Unfortunately, even he’d fallen for it.

Since the day she’d shown up on his doorstep, she’d been working on him. She never missed an opportunity to tell him she still loved him and how she’d been so excited to find out she was pregnant with his child. She’d asked his opinions on baby names and ideas for the nursery. She talked about things the three of them would do as a family after the baby came. He didn’t believe anything she said. He couldn’t picture her as a mother. She was too ambitious to settle for being a mom. Honestly, if the baby was his, it wouldn’t surprise him if she were to dump the baby on him and take off, only popping into their lives on occasion to fuck with them.

The muscle in his jaw ticked as he watched Taylor continue to play out this newest drama she’d created. She was one of those people who, if she said it, she believed it to be true despite the fact it was an outright falsehood. It pissed him off the way she painted Kylie in a bad light to the doctor. The shit that went on between them wasn’t anyone else’s business. He thought about calling her out on it, but was afraid to argue in front of the doctor. He didn’t want to screw up any chance he had for being there at the delivery.

Dr. Peters broke into his thoughts as he thankfully chose not to comment on Taylor’s story and announced. “Everything looks good. The only thing we found was her blood pressure was a little elevated, but that’s to be expected after an argument. We’ve had her hooked up to the monitors and the baby’s heart rate looks good. I’ll do a manual exam then we’ll do an ultrasound to be sure. I know we weren’t able to tell the sex of the baby yesterday because the little rascal wouldn’t cooperate, but do you want to try again while you’re here?”

“Yes. I’m dying to find out if it’s a boy or girl.” Taylor’s eyes sparkled as she smiled.

“Sure. That would be great.” Tuck knew he was setting himself up for a bad fall when they found out the baby wasn’t his, but he couldn’t help it. Despite his best efforts, he was getting sucked into the idea of being a father.

“All right. Can you bend your knees?” Taylor did as instructed. The doctor pushed the blanket up to her bent knees, his hand disappearing under her gown, his eyes focused on the wall behind her. “Looks good. Now the ultrasound.” He pulled a machine closer, squirted some clear jelly looking goo on her stomach, then used the wand to try and locate the baby. An amazingly detailed image of the baby appeared on the screen. He could make out the little fists and feet with all its fingers and toes. He could see the profile of its round head and the curve of its nose.

The doctor flipped a switch and the whoosh-whoosh-whoosh sound of the heartbeat sounded. He swallowed around the lump in his throat as he wished with everything inside him that it was Kylie lying here carrying his child and not Taylor. He supposed that made him a prick of the worst kind.

The doctor pushed and prodded until the baby grew aggravated and moved, allowing them a clear view of its spread legs and bent knees. And in between was the baby’s penis. “It’s a boy!” Dr. Peters announced happily.

“A boy,” Taylor repeated reverently. She reached out and grasped his hand. “Isn’t that good news, Tuck? A little boy you can teach how to ride a bike and play ball with.”

“Yeah,” his reply came out strangled. He cleared his throat and squeezed her hand back, caught up in the moment. What she didn’t say was a boy that could grow up and follow in his footsteps, becoming a Sons of Redemption brother. She’d never want that. She’d fight him tooth and nail on it if the boy was his.

He hadn’t given the idea of kids much thought over the years due to how much fun he’d been having playing the field, but one thing he’d always imagined was having a boy that would grow up and join the club. It would be something the two of them would have in common. Something that would always keep them anchored together. He cleared his throat. “So what now, Dr. Peters? Can Taylor come home?”

“Yes. Nurse Amanda will get the paperwork ready and then you can take her home. Although I don’t see anything wrong with Taylor or the baby, for now, we’ll encourage her to stay off her feet as much as possible and to avoid stress until she sees me again next Friday.”

“What does that entail?” Tuck asked, already seeing how things would go in his mind. Him, a slave to Taylor for a whole fucking week. Her smug, satisfied smile didn’t escape him. She’d gotten what she wanted. A way to keep him home and away from Kylie for a whole week. He clenched his teeth so hard, his jaw ached.

“Because I didn’t find anything concerning, but she says she’s in a lot of pain, we won’t go super strict on her, just in case. She needs to take it easy as much as possible. Take a few short walks around the house, including going to the bathroom or to take a shower. The rest of the time she should take advantage of the calm before the storm before the baby gets here.”

Yeah, pretty much what Tuck thought. His life was hell. Pure and simple. Hell.

11

Kylie’s life was a such mess she didn’t know where to start in order to try and fix it. First, someone was trying to kill her and that same someone burned her house down. From everything she’d pieced together regarding Chet and the police chief, all signs led to them being responsible.

Second, Tuck asked her to give them a chance to see where things might lead between them. Taylor Green came crashing into their lives, effectively bringing whatever was between Kylie and Tuck to a screeching halt. That part of her life was put on hold for at least six weeks, if not longer, depending on the paternity test.

And finally, finding Taylor and Tuck in bed together Saturday morning had been the last straw. She couldn’t deal with anymore. She’d spent the rest of the day crying and trying not to be sick at the thought of the two of them together. It pissed her off how easily Taylor wrecked her world and it didn’t matter if it was her or Tuck that instigated what was happening. The fact was he was participating.

Sunday she’d let her anger take root and started cleaning Darren’s house top to bottom. It wasn’t like her to mope around over something she couldn’t change, or in this case, she couldn’t control. After three hours of watching her clean, he’d declared she’d done enough and they were going for a ride.

He took her for a two-hour ride through the mountains, stopping at a beautiful cabin in the woods. The sign above the door was simple and rustic, declaring it The Cabin In The Woods Restaurant. How appropriate was the name?

Several vehicles were parked in a gravel lot, leading her to believe the food must be good here. Otherwise, she figured it would be somewhat empty.

He held the door open for her, allowing her to go through first. She gasped as she got a look at the view. The wall opposite of where they’d entered was nothing but glass from floor to very high ceiling, affording everyone a clear view of the huge lake beyond.

“Can we get a seat outside?” Darren asked the hostess.

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