Page 54 of Pumpkin
Dosia wasn’t sure how she felt about the fact that he hadn’t eventriedto sleep with her that night, or any night since. SJ and Pumpkin were becoming fixtures in the Hutchins/Woods household. More so than Calliope these days. Dosia knew her aunt was still around, but apparently she was staying away for Dosia’s sake. While she did feel guilty about that, it was secondary to the constant joy now filling her life.
As promised, Pumpkin brought SJ to JJ’s kindergarten class to be her show-and-tell item. Afterwards, they pulled JJ from class early and took the kids to the park.
When Pumpkin discovered the type of car Dosia owned, he had a fit. Declared that “no woman of mine” was going to drive such an unsafe piece of shit. Thank the gods the kids weren’t in the room for that one. By that afternoon, her car was removed by a tow truck with the club’s logo on the door and a brand-new SUV took its place.
Dosia had balked, claiming it was too much and that she didn’t need his charity. Pumpkin argued that it wasn’t charity, because it gave him peace of mind that she and the kids would now be safe on the road. Because he hadn’t just bought some SUV. He’d bought her a fuckingtankthat just looked like an SUV.
The blackLexusLX600 had military-grade protection, including armored plating, bulletproof windows, run-flat tires, and a fuel-tank shield.
Dosia was not happy about it, and that was before she discovered the price tag. But Pumpkin claimed it was a done deal, the car was already in their name, and on his insurance. She still felt like a fucking imposter driving the damn thing around town. Though, she begrudgingly had to admit that she liked the safety features for the kids at least.
Pumpkin and SJ joined Dosia and JJ, and usually her grandparents, for dinner daily. Some nights they went home afterwards and some nights they stayed.
It was three plus weeks of perfect bliss, and she hated that a part ofher felt like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop. She hadn’t been to the clubhouse yet, nor had she met anyone in the club except Darrin. Even the times she met Pumpkin at the rehab center with the kids, he whisked her away before his club brother, Bones, could see her. He claimed he wasn’t ready to share her yet, but she couldn’t help but wonder if he was ashamed of her.
He certainly wasn’t ashamed of JJ. Pumpkin had slipped into the role of her father so seamlessly, it was like the two of them had known each other all JJ’s life. They even had their own ‘secret’ handshake greeting. Gods, she didn’t think her ovaries could take the sight of Pumpkin and JJ playing dress-up together. Pumpkin in drag with makeup on his face was certainly a sight she never thought she’d see, and yet somehow, desperately needed to see again.
And when JJ had caught a fever and twenty-four-hour cold from school, Pumpkin had stayed up all night taking care of JJ while SJ slept in Dosia’s bedroom with her. They’d essentially swapped kids for several days to keep SJ from catching what JJ had. Dosia couldn’t remember the last time she had help with a sick JJ, and as much as she hated that her daughter wasn’t feeling well, it felt amazing to have that backup. Pumpkin insisted on Dosia keeping her distance too so she stayed healthy and could go to work in the bookstore she loved.
So Dosia knew his reasons for keeping them away from the club wasn’t JJ. Which meant, it had to beher.
She’d gone with him for a follow-up appointment with his surgeon and primary doctor at the hospital. Frankie, who was a godsend, had agreed to pick up JJ from school and take the kids to the library so Grandma Solstice could watch the bookstore for Dosia. In addition to being told how well he was doing considering the extent of his injuries, Pumpkin asked his doctors if he was cleared to have sex—with Dosia sitting right next to him!The doctors agreed that he was cleared for moderate sexual activities. Basically, don’t go swinging from the chandeliers. But if he showed any signs of discomfort or pain, they were to stop all activities. Pumpkin had taken her hand and squeezed, practically setting her blood on fire right there in the doctor’s office.
But…that was it. He never tried to have sex with her that day or the day after that or the day after that and so on. He touched her. Gods, was he constantly touching her. A kiss on the forehead, a touch on the arm, his hand on the small of her back, holding her hand as they walked down the sidewalk… He was there. Always there, surrounding her senses.
The. Perfect. Fucking. Gentleman.
And Dosia hated it. She hated it so much, and hated herself even more because he was only doing asshehad asked. As much as she wanted him, though, a part of her felt like maybe that other shoe she was waiting on was the fact that this was all Pumpkin wanted. What if she talked to him about being more and he said ‘no’? What if helikedco-parenting with her and didn’t want anything else between them?
What if he wasn’t falling for her like she was him?
So Dosia took the coward’s way out. She kept her mouth shut and endured the blissful torture that was Pumpkin’s presence in her life. Even if she did have to buy a new vibrator just so she didn’t self-combust.
The weekendof the town’s annual Fall Festival and the fucking charity auction was upon them. It was a day a number of the club members were dreading, including Pumpkin. Jumper and Pirate had even tried to miss it by taking their women on an impromptu trip across the country to San Francisco where both couples eloped on a pirate ship. Steel had congratulated them and then ordered their married asses to return in time for the bachelor auction.
Both couples had returned three days ago.
So much had happened in the month since Pumpkin had come back from rehab. In many ways, it felt like forever since he’d been sprung, but in reality, it had only been six weeks. Mind, in that time, he’d been caught up with physical therapy, getting his new house organized, figuring out his new financials, finding Dosia, meeting hisdaughter, and working his ass off to get Dosia to trust him so they could become a legal family sooner rather than later.
They’d made progress that week, and Pumpkin couldn’t be more thrilled. Dosia had applied for an amendment of JJ’s birth certificate. Pumpkin had actually thought it would take longer to get Dosia to agree to do so, especially after his harsh words that day in the bookstore when he’d discovered he had a daughter. But she’d presented Pumpkin with the paperwork and he couldn’t sign the Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity form fast enough. She’d barely put it in front of him before he was reaching for the pen. While it might take some weeks to get JJ’s new birth certificate in the mail, it was official.
JJ was legally his daughter, not just biologically.
Now he just had to concentrate on making Dosia his wife.
Since SJ’s birth had been unconventional at best, Keys had submitted the paperwork for a home birth. He’d worked his magic so only Pumpkin was named on the birth certificate and no mother was listed. They didn’t want to chance anyone from Cheryl’s family discovering SJ and asking questions or demanding custody. It might be cruel to deny SJ his maternal family, but it was crucial there were no questions about Cheryl’s death that could lead back to the club.
Once Pumpkin had a ring on Dosia’s finger, he’d ask Keys to add Dosia to SJ’s birth certificate too. Unless a DNA test was taken, the world would believe him to be Dosia’s biological son.
The best part was that Dosia already treated SJ like he was hers. She always included him and had even baby-proofed her grandparents’ house for him. Marmot and Solstice, as they insisted Pumpkin call them, even referred to themselves as ‘Grandpa’ and ‘Grandma’ in regard to SJ too. Pumpkin had also met Dosia’s brother, Ambrose. But the one family member he hadn’t seen again was Calliope, who really was Dosia’s aunt. Dosia didn’t like to talk about it, but he understood the two had had a falling out after Calliope had purposefully brought JJ to the bookstore so Pumpkin would discover her existence. He told Dosia he wasn’t getting in the middle of the argument, though he was there if she wanted to talk about it or vent.
Figuring out the Pagan lifestyle and references took some getting used to. Beyond the various holidays, there were certain rituals and daily practices he was learning. Solstice had even read Pumpkin’s tarot.
Apparently some big changes were coming his way. There sure as fuck better be, including a ring and his house getting two new occupants.
“You okay, man?”
Pumpkin was halfway up the stairs to the Chapel. He’d paused to answer a text from Dosia, who was working at her bookstore. He was doing better with stairs and no longer felt like he had the lungs of a chain-smoker by the time he got to the top.
