Page 14 of Friar
“Kitchen’s through here,” I said, leading her past the living room.“Bathroom down the hall to the left if you need it.Bedrooms are on the right.”
The kitchen was simple but well-equipped.Granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, cabinets I’d refinished myself.Everything was organized, clean -- a surprise to most people who expected a bachelor biker’s home to be a disaster zone.But I liked order in my personal space, needed it as a counterbalance to the chaos that could be club life.
“Sit,” I said, gesturing to the kitchen table.“You need to eat something.”
She obeyed silently, sinking into a chair with a weariness that seemed bone deep.I opened the refrigerator, assessing its contents.Eggs, cheese, bread.Simple but nourishing.
“Eggs okay?Toast?”I asked, already pulling them out.“Don’t know much about… what pregnant women can eat.”
A ghost of a smile touched her lips.“Eggs are fine.Thank you.”
I set to work, cracking eggs into a bowl, whisking them with practiced efficiency.The familiar motions calmed me, gave me space to think while keeping my hands busy.Behind me, I could hear her soft breathing, the occasional small sniff suggesting she was still fighting tears.
“You can stay here for now,” I said as I poured the eggs into the hot pan.“Got a spare room.It’s not much, but it’s clean.Private.”
“Thank you,” she whispered again.“I don’t know what I would have done…”
I let that sentence hang, focusing on the eggs, on the bread in the toaster.“It’s temporary,” I cautioned, not wanting to give false hope.“Beast -- he’s our President -- he’ll need to know about this.Club business, with three members possibly involved.”
“Will he… will he make me leave?”Her voice trembled slightly.
I turned to look at her then, taking in her hunched shoulders, her hands clasped tightly in her lap, her downcast eyes.She looked so young, so vulnerable.Nothing like the wild girl who’d danced with abandon in our clubhouse.
“No,” I said firmly.“He won’t make you leave.But there’ll be questions.Tests, probably.To determine…” I gestured vaguely toward her stomach.
“Paternity,” she supplied, the word falling between us like a stone.
“Yeah.”I turned back to the stove, flipping the eggs.“But that’s for later.Right now, you need food and rest.”
The toast popped up, and I buttered it quickly before sliding the eggs onto a plate.Nothing fancy, but it would fill her stomach.I placed it in front of her along with a glass of water and sat across the table with my own plate.
She ate slowly, carefully, like she was afraid of being sick again.Each bite seemed to require concentration, her focus entirely on the simple act of eating.I watched her, my own food forgotten as questions circled in my mind.What would happen when Beast found out?When Nugget knew?When the Prospect, Nigel, faced the possibility of unexpected fatherhood before he’d even earned his full patch?
“Beast has a wife -- Lyssa,” I said, breaking the silence.“She might be able to help you with… you know, pregnancy stuff.”I’d never felt more out of my depth than in this moment, discussing prenatal care with a church girl across my kitchen table.
Cheri nodded, not looking up from her plate.“I don’t know anything about being pregnant,” she admitted softly.“I don’t know anything about any of this.”
Neither did I, I wanted to say.Instead, I watched as she took another careful bite of toast, her hand trembling slightly.Her eyelids were drooping, exhaustion clearly taking its toll.How long had she been up?How many tears had she cried today?The thought of her aunt and uncle throwing her out -- a pregnant young woman with nowhere to go -- made anger curl hot in my gut.
“You’ll figure it out,” I said.“We’llfigure it out.”
She glanced up at that, surprise flashing across her face at the “we.”I hadn’t meant to say it, hadn’t planned to imply any kind of partnership or responsibility yet.Not until we knew for sure.But the word had slipped out, and I couldn’t take it back.
Didn’t want to, I realized with some surprise.Whether the baby was mine or not, this girl needed help.And for reasons I couldn’t fully articulate, I wanted to be the one to provide it.
She continued eating in silence, each movement careful and deliberate.I noticed how she kept one hand protectively over her stomach, a gesture that seemed instinctive rather than conscious.The sight stirred something in me -- a feeling I couldn’t name, couldn’t examine too closely without risking more than I was ready to give.
We sat there in the quiet of my kitchen, the afternoon sun slanting through the windows, casting long shadows across the table.Church girl and biker, thrown together by one wild night and its life-changing consequences.Nothing about this situation made sense.Nothing about it followed any script I’d ever imagined for my life.
And yet, watching her eat the simple meal I’d prepared, seeing the first hint of color returning to her pale cheeks, I felt a strange certainty settling in my chest.Whatever happened next -- paternity tests, club politics, the complications of an unexpected pregnancy -- I would see it through.Not just because the baby might be mine, but because something about Cheri had gotten under my skin in a way I hadn’t anticipated and couldn’t ignore.
The realization was as uncomfortable as it was undeniable.I’d just invited chaos into my carefully ordered life, and I had no idea what would come of it.
Chapter Five
Friar
My boots echoed against the wooden floor as I made my way down the hallway toward Beast’s office.Each step felt heavier than the last, the weight of what I was about to say pressing down on my shoulders like a physical burden.The club had rules about shit like this.Unwritten ones that mattered more than anything in the bylaws.And I was about to put all of them to the test.
