“God, I am on the pill and have never missed one, Scalpel.”
“It happens. Nothing is a dead cert. Well, you know, apart from the direst option.”
My eyes must be rounded with the shock of what he is saying. I mean, I don’t want to have a hysterectomy, and I can’t even think of Mason having a vasectomy either. Not at this point in our lives. “Do you have a test here?” I ask gingerly.
“Yes, I keep some in case the club girls think they could be pregnant. But they have the shot, and I administer that, so they are highly unlikely to slip, as the brothers use condoms too.”
“Okay, let’s test,” I mumble.
The test is complete, and both Scalpel and I are waiting for the timer on his watch to tell us when the time is up. We have done three tests of different brands, so we don’t have too large a margin for error. Scalpel has also taken a blood draw.
“Are you ready, Cilla?” Scalpel asks, and I give him a tiny nod of the head. We both lean forward and check the tests that we have lined up on the counter, which Scalpel covered with paper towels.
They all three tell us positive. I wipe a tear that escapes, and Scalpel pulls me into a hug, murmuring, congratulations and that he knows I’m going to be an incredible mother.
“Do you want to tell, Finger?”
Nodding, I say, “I will after supper. I think I’ll ask him if we can stay here at the clubhouse tonight.”
“Good idea. If you need me to help, you know I’m here. We’ll monitor you closely, and you need to take the vitamins I’ll get for you. No excuses either if you start feeling too tired. You working at the diner may be a bit much for you when you get further into the pregnancy.”
Nodding slightly again, “Yeah, if it gets too much, I’ll ask Mason if I can stop working.”
“Cilla, he may demand you stop straight away, so be prepared. You know we are all obsessive bastards and having a baby isn’t something simple to us. It’s like a miracle. Many of us never thought we would get home from the service in one piece. To get a woman and child is the world to us, and we would andwill burn down the world to keep you safe. That isn’t just Finger. You will find all of us will be protective.” Scalpel gives me a look that says,Be prepared.
Stepping out of Scalpel’s office after giving him a hug of thanks, I stop walking toward the common room when I see my grandmother standing in the hallway, blocking my passage, I have to add.
*Cilla, my heart. I wanted to come and say congratulations on my first great-grandchild. I won’t tell you what you are having, but know the child will be a beautiful one, in spirit, mind, and body*
“Thank you, Grandmother. Why have you not moved onto a higher plane?”
*I want to watch your mother*Grandmother leans forward as though she’s telling me a secret,*She is a troublemaker even over here. But I’m going to stop her once and for all. If she comes to you don’t pay her any attention. Oh, I have to go now, Cilla, but my heart, live well*
Before I can say anything more, she fades away. Turning, I see Tracker watching me closely. “Someone else?” he asks curiously.
“Yeah, my grandmother.” I walk into the common room without telling Tracker what she had to say, or what Scalpel confirmed.
Ninety minutes later we have eaten supper and cleared everything away. Dishwashers are running, and the kitchen is clean once more.
I walk into the common room, and all the brothers are here laughing, drinking, and some are making out with the club women. The few that are left that is. Because losing Violet hasleft only four, which Tracker has stated is all they are having at the clubhouse from this point.
Mason is standing at the bar drinking a beer with Cap and Hot Rod. He said he’d only have one and then we’d either retire to our room or head home.
Daisy, however, who I admit I have seen eyeing my man walks up to him and runs her finger down his bicep. Nope, that is not happening.
Pyro, Tank, and Bono appear at the side of Mason, who, of course, cannot see them. The three give me an encouraging look. Pyro has fire running in and out of his fingers, to which I shake my head, not to do whatever he’s planning.
Mason steps back and snaps at Daisy, but I’m on her before she has time to move. I grab her hair with both of my hands, and I drag her back with all my force. She screeches, which attracts everyone’s attention. I drag until she’s at the main door of the clubhouse and I throw her outside, gaining scratches down my arms in the process. “Stay out there until you understand he is mine, only mine, and you touch what’s mine again, and I will ask Tracker for permission to shoot your ass.”
Tracker chuckles as he nods his approval. The brothers look at Mason, then me, but the smiles they all give me tell me they are not angry at my outburst.
Mason walks over and does his best to wrap his arms around me, but I push him off and point at him. Right before digging my finger into his chest. “You stay away from all these women. All of them. Oh, and you need to get us married, and married quickly because I’m not having any of my children out of wedlock. You get me?”
“Are you telling me we are having a baby, Cilla?” Mason asks so softly I hardly understand what he is asking.
My tone softens as I respond, “Yes, we are having a baby...”
I don’t get the opportunity to say more before Mason picks me up and spins me around, laughing loudly. Placing me on my feet but keeping his arm around me, Mason bellows, “I’M GONNA BE A DAD!”