Page 1 of Rebel

ONE

‘REBEL’

MYA

Damn, these women are driving me bat-ass crazy. Yeah, I’m part owner of the Handmaidens Fitness & Holistic Center. My club sister and partner, Raven, reached out to me for help to see if I wanted to maybe get involved in the gym. Or should I say since Raven’s kidnapping and being shot, she’s reached out. We’ve been going over the logistics of her bringing me on as a partner, but she already has a silent partner in the center, our prez, Tink. She was all for Raven starting this club. Our prez likes, as she puts it, “the Handmaidens to have their hands in everything in Timber-Ghost.” So now I’m going to be a business owner along with Raven and, I guess, Tink too. Good thing is I don’t have to provide a huge amount of cash to buy in. Our prez handles all the financials in every business the club is involved with. Helps our prospects, sisters, and the survivors who end up at her ranch find work while she makes sure to support our town with businesses and jobs also.

Last year, when Taz came to Raven after talking to me, her bestie, after all the shit that went down with Raven, they talked it out and added the holistic section to the center. There isn’t much I wouldn’t do for Taz. Fuck, when all her drama hit, I lost my fucking mind. She’s not my sister by blood, but she means morethan both of those bitches I call my sisters, though in reality they are my stepsisters. Then she shocked the ever-lovin’ fuck out of me when she decided to hook her star to Enforcer. That decision took me by surprise, though it works for them and that’s all that truly matters. That Taz and little Teddy are happy.

Recently, Taz and Enforcer’s family has been going through a rough time. I’m trying to be as supportive as they’ll let me. After a battle with cancer, they lost their pit bull, Pituynia, or as we all called her Tuna. Little Teddy is devastated, but I’m more worried about Taz. She’s pregnant, ready to drop any day, and she doesn’t need the added stress. Since Tuna passed, she’s not been in here and is hanging out by herself in their new home. Enforcer texted me yesterday to tell me that his Que, which is his nickname for my sister Taz, kicked him out of their house. He’s also beside himself. Right now, I have to deal with these self-centered members, who think I owe them every damn minute of my time. The one giving me the hardest time is a young woman named Cleo. She had a baby almost a year ago, and she’s pissed her two days a week gossip session hasn’t given her the body she wants. I don’t fucking know, but the actress photo she showed me when she joined is never gonna happen. I honestly told her that. I just had a fifteen-minute conversation with her, trying once again to explain that two thirty-minute sessions of treadmill exercise is not going to remove extra weight if she’s not controlling her food intake. I didn’t mention out of those thirty minutes, she’s probably only exercising maybe half the time because the speed on the treadmill is slower than a turtle, and she doesn’t even break a sweat. She got really pissed at me, telling me she lives on salads, fruit, and protein. Personally, I know she’s lying, because Peanut, who works at our bar and grill in town, told me she’s there a few times a week either stuffing her face or guzzling wine like there’s no tomorrow. Not my business, but one thing I can’t stand is someone who lies. So, ina roundabout way, I brought it up and she immediately told me she was quitting, and I’m just a queer-ass bitch who’s probably on steroids and can’t catch a man. Oh, her parting sneer was she planned to leave a one-star review on not only our website but also on Google. Okay, well, good morning to me.

Hearing the door’s bells chiming, I walk to the front of the building to see Taz waddling in. She’s got a bag in one hand and her oversized purse in the other, while her pregnant tummy is sticking out way in front of her. With her rainbow hair and all her crystals, she’s such a sight to see. She is so truly unique that you have to love her and her free spirit.

‘What the hell are you doing here, Taz? Thought the doc said you were to take it easy, feet up? Please tell me you didn’t drive yourself.”

“Well, hello to you too, Rebel. Nice way to greet your best friend and godchild, who’s not here yet. Crap, thought I’d catch a break here, at least. Want to use the meditation room to manifest my baby being born, maybe then the little one will come finally. Not sure how much more of this I can take.”

Smiling as I walk toward her and grabbing the bag, her words alarm me. Taz is always the positive sister in the Devil’s Handmaidens club. Damn, this bag is pretty heavy, and before I look in it, I know it’s filled with her crystals and other shit. I don’t understand any of the crystal stuff or the meanings, but I love her so much, I try to respect her ways. I noticed her face is flushed so when she tries to grab her belly in a sneaky way and I catch her body language, my gut tightens as my heart rate increases with sudden concern and not a little bit of anger.

“Fuck, Taz! Sister, are you in labor? Where the hell is Enforcer?”

Her head flings up and, by the look in those big, beautiful eyes, I don’t need a verbal answer from her. Reaching for myphone, I go to text Enforcer when suddenly my phone goes flying from her hitting it out of my hand.

“What in the ever-lovin’ fuck, Taz? We need to let people know so you can go to the hospital.”

“No, Rebel, you are going to help me set up the meditation room so I can have my baby here in serenity and peace. I don’t want the sterile environment of a hospital welcoming my baby. It starts the baby’s entrance into the world with bad vibes, and you know that will stress me out, which in turn will affect the birthing process. Our baby needs to come into the world naturally, without strangers all around ogling its journey into the Universe.”

Is she goddamn nuts? For Pete’s sake, she’s been ranting about having the baby in a bathtub for Christ’s sake. Enforcer is totally against it. Thought he was gonna stroke out when she mentioned it again last week. Oh shit, what the fuck? Did she come here to try and drag that steel tub we use for cryotherapy from the back to have her baby in? And then what… after she kills herself dragging it into her meditation room, then is she gonna try to fill it between her contractions? And if she doesn’t drop dead of a heart attack, then what? I guess, she’ll soak for a bit, and I don’t know, push out her goddamn baby with no pain meds by herself. HERE. In my gym, while it’s open and folks are working out or taking classes. Holy shit, no way in God’s name is that happening here. I’m no doula, which is what Taz looked for but couldn’t find in Bumfuck, Montana. I can’t handle this, no way. What if something goes wrong? Oh God, that would kill me if something happened to Taz or our lil’ peanut. Yeah, ours.

“Taz, no way in hell am I letting you do this. It’s not safe or even sterile here. That baby needs to be given the best chance when it’s born. Think, sister, we can take some of your crystal shit to the hospital.”

Before she can reply, she leans forward then doubles over, letting out a loud groan of pain. I mean, it sounds like she’s in intense pain. Shit, she’s not just going into labor; she’s having full-blown contractions. Since I’ve been her second coach in the Lamaze classes, I know we need to get her to try and relax so she can breathe through each contraction. We have to time how far apart they are too. First, I need to know how she got here.

“How the hell did you get here, Taz? If you tell me you drove yourself, when you’re done giving birth to my godchild I’m gonna kick your ass before I kill you. Son of a bitch, what are you thinking?”

She starts to giggle then, holy shit, lets out a loud as fuck fart and doubles over again. The stench hits me instantly and, to say the least, is slowly killing me every time I breathe in. I’m really trying to be a good best friend and not say anything as my eyes water, but I can’t hold it in—my Christ—what did she eat last?

“Damn, Travis is right, those pregnancy farts really stink. Shit, Rebel, it hurts so frigging bad. Damn, how did I do this with Teddy? I can’t remember everything but I don’t think it was this bad, though I had drugs back then.”

I know we’re in trouble because she doesn’t swear all that often. I grab her arm and walk her to the room in question. Off to the one side is a smaller room for massage. I turn the light on, pull the weighted blanket off the table, grab a sheet, flip it open and on the bed, then lower it as far as it will go. I grab her purse, throwing it on the floor next to her bag of crystals. She waddles to me, trying to bend for that bag.

“What do you want, Taz? I’ll get it, need you to get on that bed immediately, lie down and breathe.”

“No, I want a water birth, you know that. It’s better and more relaxing for me and the baby. Travis is against it, but that’s what I want. Oh crap, forgot to tell you I didn’t drive here, I called an Uber.”

I knew bringing that modern-ass shit to our town was gonna cause trouble, though it helps folks make a living, sort of, I guess, and helps our seniors get around since nothing is within walking distance. I feel horrible because whoever picked up Taz doesn’t have a clue how much trouble they are going to be in. Enforcer is gonna lose his fucking mind. And whoever was supposed to be on Taz duty will be getting an ass kicking from me. Told Tink that shit wouldn’t work. We should have put both pregnant sisters together in one of the safe rooms at the ranch. Don’t care how crazy that sounds, at least we’d have eyes on them twenty-four seven.

Looking up, I see my bestie watching me with sweat on her forehead. She’s pulling her rainbow hair up with a scrunchy. Damn, why can’t I tell her no? It hits me why… she’s my sister of my heart. That makes me literally snarl at her.

“Swear to Christ, Taz, you’re lucky I love your rainbow ass. I’ll go grab that big metal pool thing we use out in the back room. Gonna take me a minute or ten, so just breathe and try to relax. Oh yeah, text your ol’ man and tell him what’s going on right now.”

With that I walk out, leaving the door open. When out of sight, I start to jog while pulling my phone out. I text Tink, Shadow, and Glory with a SOS then the words “Taz is in heavy labor at our gym. Need fucking HELP.”

Not paying attention, I plow into something hard and extremely huge. I drop my phone and when I go to reach down for it, my head hits something that feels like either a large boulder or maybe a bowling ball. It literally knocks me to my knees as I hear a deep, gravelly, husky male voice saying, “What in the motherfucking shit? Damn, woman, watch where you’re going. Oh shit, are you okay? Hey, can you hear me?”

Trying to open my eyes, I feel like I was hit by a frigging freight train. Slowly, I pry my eyelids up and see the mostbeautiful eyes I’ve ever seen set in a scowl that makes Enforcer’s and Shadow’s look like a grin.Dark-brown hair with just a slight scattering of gray at the sides. Those eyes are like a sapphire gem with a dark blue around the pupils. He's leaning over me, literally shaking me by the shoulders.

“Hey, you trying to finish the job, you asshole? You ever hear of Shaken Adult Syndrome? Let go of me before I seriously hurt you. I said, get your damn hands off me, mister.”

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