Twisted Steel: An MC Anthology: Second Edition by Elizabeth Knox (top 5 ebook reader txt) 📕

“We’ll see . . .” she taunts and falls to the couch in the small living room. “Enjoy this silence while you can. You will never experience divine bliss like this ever again.”

There’s a knock at the door and in comes the rest of the crew with gift bags. Tami, a younger mother with striking blonde hair, hands me the first bag. “It’s just a little housewarming party.” She gives me a quick hug. These are all good friends of Jazzy, Dana, and Jenn, who I knew from Sacramento, and they have family in the Battle Born MC. Tami and Kat are new to me, so I’m surprised to see them both come over.

Kat gives off the ‘I can kill you about ten different ways without even thinking’ vibe. Her black hair mixed with her Hispanic background and tattoos is intimidating. Kat’s eyes are dark and alluring. I’m not a lesbian, but if she was and I was, she would be my mistress. No doubt. She hands me a bottle of sparkling cider and one of vodka also. “One is for you, and the rest,” she holds up a bag of lemons, “is for us to drink.” She winks, and I’m mesmerized by her black eyeliner.

Jenn elbows me hard in the arm. “Don’t fall for the devil dressed in black so easily.” She wraps her arms around me. “I’m not letting you leave. You are a part of us. Our circle is complete with you here.”

When she lets go, so does my resolve to look totally cool to my new and old friends. My lower lip trembles and my shoulders sag. How long have I been holding on? Jenn passes me boxes of Chinese takeout. My little house is filled with love, and it’s starting to dawn on me what that word actually means—being there and giving without the expectation of anything in return.

“So,” Kat clears her throat, “inquiring minds, meaning all of us, want to know what the fuck happened between you and Cowboy?”

Oh, and here I was thinking about deep love and shit. “Well, he needed a fake a girlfriend, we played house for a week, and then he bailed out on me.” I shrug my shoulders because there isn’t much to tell. All their faces turn red besides Vegas, Jenn, and Kat. “Oh, this is interesting. So maybe it’s you all who have a story to share? Let’s start with who fucked him and get it out in the open now.”

Why the fuck am I being so territorial? I pinch the bridge of my nose and take in some calming air. “I’m sorry, it has to be the pregnancy hormones. It doesn’t matter who he fucked. None of my business.”

“I don’t know about that,” Jenn chuckles. “I would want to know . . .” That earns her a whack from Jazzy.

My gaze laserpoints directly on my best friend and sister by another mister. She shakes her head. “No, we never ever got anywhere close to that, ever.” She holds her hands up in defense. “Cowboy is another version of Snake, charming as hell and flirts way too much.”

“What she said.” Tami points at Jazzy. “He just was, you know, single and ready to mingle.” She holds her hands up. “None of us are you. You stayed with him. He has never allowed that to happen.”

My eyes round. “Oh, you mean with whoever he did take home, had never stayed? Is this supposed to make me feel better, because you all realize it’s not, right?”

“Shit.” Kat glares. “I wanted to see how you were, not bring up his past. We all have skeletons, no sense in trying to dig ‘em up.”

Jazzy and Jenn start setting the food out on the table and we all take a seat. “Look, I have no room to talk, literally. I don’t know where that burst of possession came from. Of course, he flirted with some of you. It’s just the obvious. I dream like any other girl, to have a man swoop in and be her last kiss. For a week, I let myself believe we could be a real couple. I came home after work to his smiling face. It was just perfect for a little bit.”

“Don’t worry about what you don’t have. Because you have a lot.” Jazzy smiles and hands me a plate. “When it’s right, it will work out. Until then, you have all of us. We all wanted you two to work out too. That’s why we asked. Hopeful for you and always will be.”

I’m not going to hold my breath. Do I feel a little confused? Definitely. I know his past and by what it sounds like, I may be the only one who does. Why did he leave with no warning and not telling me why? I, at least, thought we were close enough to share those kinds of things. It was as if he needed to get away and run as fast as he could.

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. He’s been gone for a while with no contact. I have her to take care of. In two weeks, I have the ultrasound. I’ll be five months along.”

“You know it’s a girl already?” Tami asks.

“No.” My hand runs over my protruding belly. “It’s what I feel. Me and her.” It amazes me the changes I have gone through in the months since I found out I was pregnant. The morning sickness is gone. At first, I freaked out, but the longer she’s around, the more I have adjusted. My boobs have started to enlarge as well as my stomach. I no longer fit in most of my clothes and it’s freeing to not have to measure up to how I want to look or what I wear. Best of all, I came to believe how important she is to me. There is nothing I want more than her. Nothing.

19

Cowboy

Angus’s ashes are spread in the mountains