MC Bear My Baby (Beartooth Brotherhood MC) (14 page)

M
olly jerked backward
as if Tate had physically slapped her across the face. No amount of effort could keep her expression neutral while the bottom fell out of her world.

It
.

He’d called their son an
it
.

He…didn’t
want
the baby?

God, the thought had never even crossed her mind.

It was too…wrong.

Horrifying, really. Even before she started her nursing degree she had always been pro-choice. Yet now, knowing this tiny miracle was growing inside her—a boy—all she wanted to do was see him, and get to know him, and hold him tight to her chest. How much worse could it get to hear the father afraid to acknowledge his own child as a person in a damn sentence? A wave of nausea hit, and she gripped the edge of the bed, fighting for some measure of control.

Jesus, if he wanted to make her choice easier, he’d just done it. Her first instinct after learning the news was that she would keep the baby and raise him or her by herself. Tate never had to be a part of their lives if he didn’t want to. It was simpler really, taking him out of the equation. This way she wouldn’t have to worry about fifty-fifty custody or trying to mold their casual non-relationship into something that it wasn’t from the very beginning. Everything was suddenly very cut and dry. Simple.

“You don’t have to be a part of our lives, Tate.” She took a deep breath that eased in through her lungs like shards of glass. “We’re over now that Jett is out of the picture. In fact, you and I were never a thing to begin with. I’m sure you know that. You’re off the hook, Tate.”

That was it. There wasn’t anything else to be said between them.

Unable to even glance in his direction, she kept her gaze pinned to the well-shined wooden floor and walked out of his room and into the guest room. She mindlessly found herself packing her things into her duffel bag. He hadn’t said a word. He didn’t even move to follow her. That said everything she needed to know. A few tears escaped past her lashes, and she angrily brushed them off.

Everything after that was a blur. She stumbled down the steps with her duffel bag bouncing against her shoulder in a numb ache until she got to the bar. She tapped Silas on the shoulder. He turned just his head, and his eyes widened and then narrowed.

“Hey Molly. What are you doing carrying that bag when you’re pregnant, love?”

“Is there anything I need to sign now that our agreement for security or protective services has come to an end? Are we good?”

“Uh,” Silas cleared his throat and jammed his hands in his pockets. “Nothing to sign, doll. You should be golden. What, you going somewhere?”

“If we’re good I need to go home. Now.”

“What’s the hurry? Did Cindy get on your case again? I’ll send her right on home if she does.”

“No. I haven’t seen her.”

“Good. So what’s the deal?”

“Shit’s handled. I’m out.”

Unable to keep herself together, Molly rudely pushed away from the bar, and inserted herself between Axe and a twisted claw who was sitting on his lap hand feeding him food.

“Hey, I need a ride and you owe me one. Deal?”

Axe looked up, blinked, and nodded without even asking a single question. “You got it. I’ll grab my keys.”

T
ate shook his head
. That did nothing to banish the demons inside his skull. Nothing worked. History was repeating itself, quick and dirty, and now he was paying the consequences. He gripped the sides of his skull. Yeah, that’s fucking useless. His issues were coming back to bite him in the ass with every second Molly stayed away from him. It wasn’t the first time the past had come back to fuck with his present and it probably wasn’t the last either. Not with his luck.

He’d done the best thing for Molly, probably for the baby too. The last thing she needed in her life was another anchor or complication, especially with all her damn dreams of better pastures and all that middle-class picket fence goal-setting
be all you can be
bullshit. She wanted to pass her nursing exams, become a nurse, make something of herself. She probably wanted a big mansion like the one her mother owned. He knew he’d only fuck all that up. He was too screwed up to be in any one woman’s life long term, because he’d break her, hurt her, and then walk away before they figured out how utterly damaged he really was.

There were way too many years being kicked around through the foster care system where no one family wanted him. He scowled at the wicked sharp memories that funneled through his brain. The sharp sting of a belt across his ass, shoulders, and back because he’d taken a shower when it wasn’t his turn, or used too much water. There was a strict schedule so the household didn’t have to spend a dime more than needed. And that was in one of the better foster homes.

Then there was that one woman’s smothering hugs. Always a little too long. Her fingers arching over every bone in his spine, cupping his ass. He shuddered at the memory. The next ones hadn’t been much better either. None of them had been real winners. Then it got worse. He had a growth spurt at the age of ten which took him to almost six feet tall. That landed him in a group home because every foster parent thought he was one of those rebellious, angst-filled, graffiti-carrying teens. Boy, did he ever have to grow up fast after that. Hell, he had enough emotional baggage to sink a cargo ship. He’d been set up for failure.

But he was alive.

Employed.

Good at everything to do with computers, programming, hacking codes.

That was better than a lot of people. Sure, his activities were once pretty darn shady, but now it was different. He was on the up and up with the club for every new client they took on with the security business.

That was something.

It just wasn’t enough. It didn’t make him a worthy father or anything remotely close.

No, this was for the best. He sat gripping the chair so hard, he was sure that any minute now he’d get splinters in his palms that stung like hell. He was sure as shit better off letting Molly go rather than doing something he could never take back. Like screwing up his son’s chance of a normal existence by being in his life for life, or passing on the family legacy of fuckups. He would never forgive himself if that happened.

“
M
om
, stop plying me with calcium supplements, I’m fine. Just give me a pint of ice cream like a normal woman and stop fussing. And please leave Tate out of this conversation.” Molly rattled the mega-sized bottle of mega-sized vitamins that were probably way too big for a horse to swallow. Her mother had run out and bought them the second she revealed the big news about the baby.

Now she was back home from her half-day-long shopping spree which started online, then turned into a trip to stores including Babies-R-Us, the baby section of the Walmart in Mesquite, and Baby Gap. Now she was a bit more relaxed that she had diapers, onesies, baby bottles and an order for a crib to be delivered—and the baby wasn’t going to be here for another eight to nine months. Christ, the Beartooth Brotherhood clubhouse was easy compared to this.

Her mother swiveled from her perch on a bar stool near the kitchen counter. She turned to look as Molly found a few tall food cans in a cupboard. Yes. These would hide these horse-pill-sized supplements for now. Mom lowered her glasses on her nose and gave Molly a look. Maybe she would have been better off keeping her mouth shut about the baby. God, she hoped the woman wouldn’t judge, though this would be her grandchild so she was sure Mom thought she had a say in everything.

Including the onesies.

“Look, Mom, I’m just not sure I want to raise a baby with a man who can’t get his life together and slept with a parade of women every day. I’m going to pass my nursing exam and get the state license right afterward. I’ll have to take some time off when the baby is born, but at least then I’ll be able to work in a good job after a few months. I can support the two of us. The truth is I can raise this baby…on my own if I have to. Sure, without the father in the picture, it can be a mess…”

She trailed off unable to give voice to the full weight of her choice.

“Molly, you need to know that I support any choice you make. No matter what it is. I’ll be here to help with whatever you need. I’m not here to judge you. You’re a grown woman who has the ability to judge herself far more harshly than I ever could, right? Plus now’s not the time to piss you off, for two obvious reasons. First, I want to be in my grandbaby’s life. Second, you’ve been stressed out enough with this Jett situation. Thank God he’s gone…wherever Tate and those people took him.”

Mom got up from the bar stool, walked around the counter and pulled Molly in tightly. God, she needed that.

“Thanks, Mom.”

After her mother let go, she stepped over to the cabinet, found the hidden horse-sized tablets, and slid the container of vitamins over to Molly. “You’re going to need this so my grandchild gets a nice head start, honey.”

Molly rolled her eyes and fiddled with the childproof cap. “Thanks, Mom. Really. Geez, it’s the twenty-first century. You’d think they’d figure out a way to make these things smaller.”

Mom ignored that. “I need you to know I’m proud of you no matter what happens.”

This felt so surreal, Molly had to question it. “So, you mean to tell me that your only daughter gets knocked up by accident, by a biker gang member, and you’re proud of me? That’s got to be a first.” Molly snorted with derision and glanced down at the marble kitchen island where less than a handful of days ago she was playing naughty shoplifter with Tate. “God, I was such an idiot.”

“See what I mean? Enough judgment for me not to have to weigh in at all.” Her mother squeezed her arm. “By the way you forgot to mention that your biker gang boyfriend happens to love you dearly, and is part of a legitimate security firm that shut down that psychotic ex-boyfriend of yours, and he’s awfully cute too.” She gave Molly a wink. “We’ll get it handled. Just please promise me if you don’t end up moving in with Tate that you and the baby will stay here with me.”

Molly had no words for anything her mother said over the last minute.

“Take your time and don’t rush into any decisions, love. Weigh all your options. I’m going to brunch with the girls now, but you’ll be okay here without me, right?”

“Yes, Mom. I can handle a couple hours by myself without you watching me like a hawk.”

“You’ll call me if you need anything?” She pressed a light kiss to Molly’s forehead and snatched her purse off the counter.

“I will.” Molly held up her smartphone. “You’re on speed dial.”

Her mother seemed satisfied with that answer. She gave her a sympathetic smile, her usual regal wave, and left. Unfortunately, she wasn’t the only woman Molly planned to deal with today. Not if she wanted answers. If she was going to have a shifter baby, or a half-shifter, she needed to know everything it entailed so she could start getting prepared. That meant she had to give a call to Tate’s old booty call—Cindy.

She imagined it going over really badly. Still, this was something she needed to do for the baby. Sabrina and Jenny were the only two women she had a fair enough relationship with at the clubhouse. They were both humans though, and neither of them had to face motherhood yet. Mustering up the courage, she clenched her teeth, found Cindy’s number and hit the call button on her cell phone. After three rings she was about to hang up when there was a cough on the other end of the line. Molly closed her eyes and tried to form words.

“Yeah? Who’s this?”

“Hi. Cindy?”

“Yeah. Who the hell wants to know? Hurry up, I don’t have all day here, sweetheart.”

“It’s Molly.”

“Oh. The booty call, womb-still-fucking-fertile, man-trapping bitch. Why the hell are you calling my phone, hussy?”

Hmmm. Molly started to think maybe she was better off asking Silas or Cole. Hell, she was ready to ask Tate.

“It’s okay, Cindy. Never mind. Take care.”

“No way, missy. Uh-uh. Go on and tell me why you took the time to get my number from God knows who…probably from my ex-booty call…and call me like this. Don’t expect me to be all sweet on you. Just say what you called to say.”

Maternal much?

Nurturing much?

Hell no.

Not Cindy. Maybe when Silas was two, but definitely not now.

“Okay…” Molly took a breath and spit it out. “I want to meet you somewhere. I have some questions about shifter babies and you’re the only bear shifter female I know…Well, sure I know a lot of the clubhouse people, but not enough to ask them stuff. Can we put aside the whole Tate thing for an hour and help each other out, woman to woman?”

“I’m obligated to help you out whether I like it or not. Which I don’t by the way, but you already know that. If you’re carrying Tate’s kin that officially makes you family of the MC. I’ll come to you, though. Give me the directions and I’ll head out in ten minutes. That work?”

“Yeah, that’d be great,” Molly choked out, exchanging the details and almost hoarse with surprise. Knowing Cindy, MC family or not, there had to be a catch. It couldn’t have been that easy.

Molly soon found she was right on the money an hour later. She walked in the diner they’d agreed on, and stepped toward a sticky-looking table where Cindy had taken up residence. The angry looking woman had a cup of coffee, a piece of pie, and a crumbled paper bag that made Molly’s stomach do a nervous flip-flop. Was that a gun? Did she really bring a concealed weapon into a diner? What the hell did the woman think Molly was up to that rationalized bringing that kind of crazy backup?

“Any day now,” Cindy whined.

“Sorry, what?”

“Are you going to sit down, or do you expect me to stand and bow to acknowledge your presence first?” Cindy rolled her eyes and shoved the bag in her direction. “Before you get comfortable, take this into the bathroom and make me a liar, would you? I don’t give up shifter secrets unless I know the real deal. Here.”

Molly gingerly opened the bag, reaching inside with shaking fingers even after she saw what was in there. Yup, one pregnancy test. Oh boy, did this bitch get on her last nerve. Why didn’t the woman just partway shift in the parking lot and sniff it out herself? Probably to be difficult. In the spirit of keeping everything low key, Molly pasted a fake smile on her face.

“Not a problem. It’s only my fourth pregnancy test so I’m all trained up. It would be my pleasure,” she gritted through her teeth. “Good thing I drank a large coffee on the way here.”

“Well would you look at that. It’s almost like you knew!” Cindy threw up her hands with an equally fake laugh. “Go do your business and I’ll be waiting right here.”

“What? You’re not worried I’ll fake it with some pregnant lady pee I snagged from some lucky woman carrying a bear shifter’s baby? Are you sure you don’t want to follow me inside and watch me?”

“Nah, you’re not that deranged.” Cindy leaned back in the booth and waved her hand in dismissal. “Go on, get your bony ass going. Chop, chop!”

Molly rolled her eyes, but navigated her way toward the restrooms. She supposed in the grand scheme of things it was a small price to pay for answers. After a good ten minutes of stage fright, she was able to get down to business. She waited the token three minutes, shoved the stick back in the brown paper bag and washed her hands, heading back out to deliver the news.

“The goods are in there. See for yourself.” She slid the bag across the table and snatched up a fork jabbing a big piece of chocolate pie off of Cindy’s plate. “That was a lot of work. I got hungry.”

Cindy’s squeezed her lips together, not saying a word. All she did was slide the plate across the tabletop until it was sitting in front of Molly. The skeptical woman dug through the bag. It was almost worth the hassle of taking the test to watch the Beartooth Brotherhood MC queen’s facial expression morph from cocky rage to pure confusion. Cindy’s gaze flicked from Molly to the pregnancy test and back again. She’d never seen anyone’s eyes move so fast.

“So…we good now?” Molly took another huge chunk of pie, relishing the soothing taste of putting Cindy in her place. “Do I get an apology now for your attack earlier?”

Cindy’s head snapped up from looking at the little stick. She blinked. All the color drained out of her face. Yeah, she’d figured the older woman had forgotten all about their little almost-catfight at the clubhouse which could have cost her the baby if the men didn’t pull the older woman out of her face.

“
Fuck
…” Cindy snatched Molly’s hand and held on like a vulture. She used the paper bag to cover her hand and she part-shifted it over Molly’s. That’s when her eyes bulged out of her head. “Jesus. I didn’t know it was true. It’s so rare…”

“I get it. Things with you and Tate are going well,” Molly took the magnanimous way out of the situation, trying her best to keep it polite, hoping the woman would get her menacing bear paw away from her. “You didn’t want to wreck all the good sex you were getting at your age.”

Maybe magnanimous wasn’t the right word.

“Wait. There’s something else.”

“What? Something else like what?”

“Shhhhhhhh. Did you forget to clean the wax out of your ears, child? I just said wait, dammit.”

Cindy closed her eyes and held on to Molly’s hand with her bear paw for dear life, seeming like she was in some trance. After about a minute, she opened her eyes, which were now glowing a freaky shade of greenish yellow that she hadn’t seen on any shifter.

“Your…eyes.” Molly reared back to put some distance between them just in case, but Cindy was not letting her go.

“Oh that,” she said, closing them again and taking a few long, deep breaths. When she opened them this time they were back to normal. “You need to talk to your parents, young lady.”

“What?”

“Q-Tips. That’s what I’m getting for your scrawny ass if we ever hold you a fucking baby shower. I said, you need to talk to your parents.”

“I heard that, Cindy. But why? Is something wrong with the baby?”

“I’m talking about you.”

“What? Something’s wrong with me?”

“Well you and I already know that, but you’ve got something extra going on.” She leaned forward and whispered. “I’ve only sensed this once before so you need to talk to your parents. You have some shifter in your blood…I’m not talking about the baby. I’m talking about you.”

“I’m not a shifter.”

“You don’t have to be a shifter to be carrying the gene. It’s either your mother or your father, but one of them has to be a full-on turned shifter…of the wolf variety. And that’s the only reason I can’t tell you more. All the shifters in and around this area are born and bred, meaning we’ve been this way for several generations. The one person I knew who gave off that same energy as you, it was a friend of Silas’s dad. A guy who joined the wolf MC up the road years ago, and ended up moving to Tucson a while back.”

What the woman was saying made no sense. Both her parents were one hundred percent human. Maybe the chick had just gone crazy at the prospect of not having Tate as her fuck buddy anymore. “Okay. Dad’s passed on, but I’ll talk to Mom. So this news about me, does this mean anything where the baby’s concerned?”

“Time will tell. You’re the first woman I know who’s got that in your blood. Talk about a mix.” Cindy probably caught the panicked look in Molly’s eyes. “Calm your ass down. The baby’s fine.”

“How can you be sure? You just said you didn’t know.”

“Jesus. Just stop worrying, okay? Talk to your Mom. I’ll make sure we have help for you when the baby’s born.”

For the sake of getting the hell out of there, Molly nodded. “Thanks for meeting me, Cindy.”

“No problem. I’m, uh, sorry for getting in your face before.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah. Right.”

“Cut the bullshit, honey. I shouldn’t have come at you. That’s a fact. I went a little mad momma bear and territorial. It wasn’t my call to make, though at the time it seemed damned important to shut down what I thought was happening.”

Cindy was actually being sincere. That kind of honesty made Molly a little uncomfortable. The woman shifted her paw back to a human hand, but then she put her other hand over Molly’s, practically pinning her down to the table. “I apologize.”

“Apology accepted, Cindy. Now, uh, can I have my hand back so I can ask my real questions?”