Page 82 of Tuck & Roll

She held her hand out and wiggled it to indicate it was so-so.

“Right. Let me get you your juice.” Darren got up, pulled a glass from the cabinet, then retrieved the juice from his fridge. “You gonna lurk in the doorway or are you gonna come in?”

It would seem Darren had clocked his entrance. He went straight to Kylie, leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. He found a coffee mug and helped himself to a cup of coffee. Leaning a hip to the counter, he watched as Darren placed the glass in front of Kylie and asked, “Hard-boiled egg and toast or cereal?”

“Egg and toast,” Kylie whispered.

“You got it. Drink your juice to settle your stomach while I boil some eggs.” Darren set a pan on the counter, added half a dozen eggs, then some water and set it on the stove. He turned the burner on and poured himself a cup of coffee before resuming his seat at the table.

“What’s that you’re drinking?” Tuck tipped his head toward her glass. He took a seat in the chair on her other side so he could rub circles on her upper back. She turned and smiled warmly in his direction.

“It’s apple juice. It’s the only thing she can keep down in the mornings. We tried O.J., cranberry and grape. Didn’t work as well as apple at settling her stomach,” Darren answered for her. “She can’t stand the smell of cooking meat in the mornings either, so that’s why we go with boiled eggs and toast or cereal.”

Tuck didn’t know whether to be pissed that Darren knew this information about Kylie and he didn’t or thrilled that he was taking such good care of her. A twinge of guilt hit him. It should have been him discovering these things about Kylie considering she was his woman and they’d been planning on moving in together. The fact that she was carrying his child only made the guilt worse. If it wasn’t for Taylor, he and Kylie would already be together, happily moving on with their lives.

He hated that, thanks to Taylor, Darren was experiencing all the firsts with Kylie. He took a deep breath and released it, trying to push all that garbage from his mind. Getting stuck on the ‘what if’ train wasn’t going to do any of them any good. Hoping the other two didn’t notice his inner battle, he asked, “So no bacon?”

“Definitely no bacon,” Darren chuckled while Kylie made gagging faces.

“Okay. Got it. No bacon in the morning.” Tuck took a drink of coffee, watching his woman and his brother interact. They had a closeness that made Tuck a little jealous. For as long as he’d known Kylie, Tuck had been the only one to have such an easygoing relationship with her. Seeing her so comfortable with Darren gave him mixed feelings. He was both happy and grateful Darren had been there for her, but also kind of sad that she was showing a side only Tuck had ever seen to his friend.

He hadn’t been kidding when he told Kylie earlier that Darren hadn’t slept much last night. He’d heard the man up and walking around the house, no doubt making sure Chet didn’t get any bright ideas about coming back for her. He’d even eased the door open a few times to take a quick peek to see how she was doing. Tuck would give him a wave to reassure him, then he’d back out of the room, closing the door behind him. They both knew since Chet failed to get what he was after last night, it was only a matter of time before he or someone from the Phantom Furies came after her again.

“How long have you been having morning sickness and how bad is it?” Tuck asked before taking a drink of coffee.

Kylie opened her mouth to answer, but Darren held up his hand, cutting her off so he could reply for her. “It’s been a few weeks and it hasn’t been all the time. It took a couple of times to realize every time I cooked bacon, she would start to get sick.”

“Damn, honey. I wish I’d been there for you.” He reached out to cover her hand where it rested on the table, giving her a comforting squeeze. His gaze settled on their joined hands. “I’m glad Darren has been able to be there for you, Kylie Jo. I should’ve been here for all of this with you, but I promise,” he raised his gaze to hers, “I’ll be better at taking care of you.”

“Taylor?” she whispered.

His lips flattened out at the mention of the woman who blew into his life like a hurricane. She was acting like she was his old lady and it was getting on his last nerve. Why she couldn’t get it through her thick skull that her existence in his life was only temporary was beyond him. He flat out refused to believe the child she was carrying was his. He sent up a silent prayer that he wasn’t wrong. Sharing a child with that crazy woman for the next eighteen years would be an added strain on what he was trying to build with Kylie.

“Yeah. Taylor. She’s got a little over three weeks and she’s out of my life for good.” He squeezed her hand again. “Please be patient with me and please don’t give up on me.”

She squeezed his hand back and mouthed, “I won’t give up on you.”

“That’s my girl.” He turned his attention to Darren. “We know anything about Chet yet?”

“Race has a couple of the guys across the road trying to pick up a trail, but he doesn’t think it will lead anywhere. If Chet was halfway smart, he would have parked his car on that old logging road and hoofed it through the woods across the road from here.”

“Yeah. He’s probably right. It makes sense. I wish we would catch a break and find where this fucker has been hiding.” He ran a hand through his still damp hair. “With this attempt on Kylie, they’ve got to be getting desperate. The Phantom Furies may decide Chet isn’t able to do his job and end up sending more to get the job done. We have to keep eyes on Kylie at all times. The only place she’s safe is here with one or both of us and the clubhouse.”

“Agreed. Got someone coming to install an alarm system today. Sensors, cameras. Nobody is getting into this house without an invite again.” Darren stood to add two slices of bread to the toaster. “You want your eggs as egg salad or plain like Kylie eats them?” he asked Tuck.

“Egg salad.”

“Kylie, you get half that juice down?” Darren asked without turning around.

Tuck raised his brows and he cocked his head to the side. Until now, she’d been sipping at the drink, but Darren calling her out on it had her downing half quickly. “Yeah, she’s got half down.” He smiled and she stuck her tongue out at him. She was fucking adorable despite her swollen and bruised face. “You want some more ice for your eye and throat?”

She shook her head and mouthed, “After I eat.”

“Okay. You got it.”

Darren set a plate in front of Kylie with two hard boiled eggs sliced in half longways with two pieces of toast, one with butter, the other with butter and jelly. He topped off her juice, then went back to get the egg salad sandwiches he’d made for the two of them.

“Thanks.” Tuck picked up his sandwich and took a huge bite. He chewed and swallowed. “Wow. That’s really good. I haven’t had one of these in a really long time.” He took another bite, chewed and swallowed. “Damn, Darren. Didn’t know you were a regular Paula Dean in the kitchen.”

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