Page 25 of Her Saviors

I asked her about it once and she told me that you don’t get to be as old as she is without having the ability to know when those you love are going through something. She told me it’s all in our eyes and how we sit, talk, stand, and interact with everyone around us. Most people don’t take the time to look at those they say they care about, but she’s got nothing but time on her hands and is really good at observing everyone around her.

“It’s fast, Nanny. Really fast. I’m scared that Jayce and Gavin are going to wake up one morning and realize they don’t want me like they thought they did. I’m pregnant with twins and I know the guys would never turn their backs on their children. It’s not who they are. My worry is that we’re moving at warp speed and we don’t know everything about one another. Maybe we were all just so scared and that’s why Gavin and Jayce proposed and I accepted. Or they wanted to put Bennett in his place and thought making him watch us get married was one of the best ways to do it,” I tell her, tears filling my eyes once again as I think about Jayce and Gavin leaving me alone in the world with no way to ever move on from them.

“Do you really love them, Brooklyn?” Nanny asks me, walking through the chickens as she searches for eggs that have been left outside for her to find.

“I’m so in love with them, Nanny. That’s why I can’t stop thinking about this. I know I’m all in and love them with every beat of my heart and inch of my soul. The guys could literally have any woman they want and I come with a ton of baggage. Who the hell wants to deal with that?” I return, looking up at her as she turns her eyes to me and the first tear slips free and slides down my face unchecked.

“Baby, don’t cry. Jayce and Gavin are so in love with you. See, what you don’t realize is these men have seen the best in the world and the absolute worst. Most of them almost lost their lives overseas when they were in the military. Every single man in this club was hurt in one way or another during one mission. They live with those memories, or demons if you will, every single day of their lives. That’s why when they find the woman they love, they’re all in immediately and don’t give a shit what that looks like. If it means marrying you in less than a year, then that’s what they’ll do. It’s because they’ve learned the hard way that you’re never guaranteed tomorrow and today is only as good as you choose to make it. I can tell you with absolute certainty that I’ve never seen two men more in love with a woman than Wheels and Soul,” Nanny states, her voice full of determination and the truth she feels deep inside her.

“Okay, Nanny. I know I need to talk to them about how I’m feeling so they know and we can deal with it together. It’s just still hard for me because I’ve never had people in my life who genuinely care for me,” I promise her as she finally exits the coop and lets most of the chickens out with her so they can wander the compound as they do on a daily basis.

“Make sure you do, Sweetheart,” she says, waiting for me to get out of the chair so we can make our way to the front of the cabin and sit in the rocking chairs.

As we round the cabin, Scorch races past us like his ass is on fire and he has no clue what’s going on around him.

“Son, where’s the fire?” Nanny calls out, halting Scorch in his tracks as he almost faceplants into the ground in front of him.

“Fee just went into labor. I gotta get her to the hospital,” he answers, looking around.

“Okay. Where is she, Scorch?” I ask, not sure where his wife is since he’s running on his own.

“Fuck! She’s still at the house,” he informs us, dropping his head and taking several deep breaths as a truck rounds the side of the clubhouse and I watch as Anguish and Goliath stick their heads out the windows of the front of the truck.

“Think ya forgot somethin’, Scorch,” Goliath calls out, laughter filling his voice as Scorch flips him off. “Get in the truck. Cricket called me and she’s with her at the house. They’re waitin’ on your ass to get back there. And I know your truck is already parked there so where the fuck were ya runnin’ off to?”

“I don’t fuckin’ know, Goliath. When Fee tells me she’s in labor, it’s like a switch is flipped in my head and I lose all rational thought. Fear takes over because you never know what’s gonna happen. I can’t be alone with her when she gets this close to her due dates any longer,” he says, his head dropping once again as he walks over to the truck and climbs in behind Anguish.

“We’ll see ya at the hospital. Fetch will be here soon to get all the women,” Anguish informs us as I turn to Nanny who’s smiling big with the thought of a new family member being born today.

“Let’s get ready to go, Sweetheart,” Nanny says once Anguish and the guys have left to go grab Ophelia and Cricket.

“I’m not gonna go to the hospital, Nanny. That’s for family only. You go and let me know when she has the baby. I can wait until she’s ready for me to see her new baby,” I tell her as I grab the bag of food Gavin packed me and prepare to walk to the house.

“Brooklyn Sord-Calhoun, you listen to me right this minute,” Nanny says, her voice harder than I’ve ever heard from her before. “You are a member of the Tattered and Torn family as much as I am, Tracy is, Autumn, the kids, and everyone else on this compound. I know it’s gonna take you time to realize and feel as if you’re part of us, but you are. Today, I’m gonna let you stay behind because I don’t think you should be sitting at the hospital for hours on end. Robynn will be here with the kids since they can’t go sit in the hospital all day long. You need anything, call her and she’ll be there in a heartbeat.”

“I’ll be okay, Nanny. I’m just gonna go home and get some rest. Though, I think I might wait until Fetch shows up to get you. Gavin and Jayce wouldn’t want me walking all the way back to the house on my own. Especially since I’m not supposed to be walking that much until I go back to the doctor. Would that be okay?” I ask, still so unsure of my place in this new world.

“Fetch will do that no problem,” she assures me as we watch Anguish drive back past us with Goliath laughing his ass off and Ophelia yelling at Scorch about never touching her again and all sorts of other stuff. I’ve never heard her swear so much in my life and I can’t help but laugh as Scorch looks like he’s about to pass out.

It doesn’t take long for Fetch to show up. He drives me home and I get in the house before he turns around and leaves me alone to get the women to the hospital to wait for the newest family member to make their arrival into the world. With my bag in hand, I make my way to the couch, grab the remote, and sit my ass down. I turn on the TV and find a movie that’s one of my favorites. Pulling out my sub, a bag of chips, and one of the bottles of juice, I make myself comfortable and get lost in the movie. Every time those intrusive thoughts try to enter my mind, I push them away and concentrate on eating and my movie.

Chapter Sixteen

Wheels

OPHELIA AND SCORCH welcome a baby girl into their family. Leif was so excited when Hulk brought him up to the hospital to meet his baby sister. We watched from the waiting room as Hulk walked in with Leif in his arms. Little man had the largest smile on his face as he held one of those helium balloons in one little hand and Hulk had a bouquet of flowers in his. The two of them didn’t stop or talk to anyone. Goliath would usually be the one to do this, but he didn’t want to leave the hospital without Cricket by his side. So, Hulk volunteered to go get Leif. Goliath has been in the waiting room with the rest of us as we wait for our turn to go in and meet the new princess.

Thankfully, by the time they got to the hospital, Scorch had his head on right and was next to his wife every second of the twelve hours Fee was in labor. Apparently, she’d been having contractions and didn’t tell anyone. At one point, they thought they were going to have to rush her in for a cesarean section, but it didn’t come to that. Their princess didn’t like the contractions and her heart rate kept dropping during each one. Scorch was scared as hell when he came out to update us while Cricket was in with his wife. The man only spent two seconds in the waiting room before he was rushing back to his woman’s side.

“That’s gonna be us,” Soul says absentmindedly. “Before we know it, Brooklyn’s gonna go into labor with our twins and we’ll be in Scorch’s position right now. I’m scared, Wheels. What if somethin’ happens to them?”

“They’ll be okay, Gavin. Our wife is strong as fuck and she’ll do everythin’ in her power to ensure the babies are healthy. You heard Dr. Matthews when we were at the appointment yesterday. She’s been cleared for all normal activities again but can only work a few hours a day. Dr. Matthews knows Brooklyn isn’t gonna do anythin’ to put the babies at risk. Just like we know she’s not gonna do anythin’ she’s not supposed to,” I tell my best friend since we’re sitting alone on one side of the filled waiting room.

“I know she won’t. That’s not what I’m sayin’, Jayce. What I’m sayin’ is that we don’t know if she’s gonna have a good, easy labor. She could have so many problems and we won’t be able to help her through any of it. We’ll have to rely on others to protect her and our little ones. That’s scary as fuck,” he says, fear filling his voice as he looks at me while leaning his head against the wall.

“I know, Gavin. We just have to think positive thoughts and realize that things can happen that are beyond our control. We’ll be at her side every second and know if somethin’ is goin’ on. For now, let’s think of anythin’ other than what could possibly go wrong,” I tell him, trying to force the thoughts out of my head now that they’re there in front of everything else.

“You know she’s worried about something big right now?” Gavin suddenly asks me.

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