Page 87 of Pumpkin
Angel had been more forgiving than her daughter when it came to Sam Carome. In the end, she wished him well with his new life and said she was proud he was making something of himself. But she also asked him never to return. The kid seemed to understand and departed shortly after the teens had.
Jenna joined them upstairs for the first time. Lucky gave up his chair to her, allowing her to remain at Steel’s side and the entire far row of occupants moved down to accommodate her. No ol’ lady had ever joined a Church meeting before, but Pumpkin got the feeling Steel wasn’t caring too much about the rules right then.
The good part about Jenna being there was that they had a neutral counter to help tally up the votes. Especially with the DEA gunning for Steel, he wanted to push the vote for the club’s new Presidentsooner than later. When no one protested about doing the vote now, it was cast. Each club member was handed a piece of paper and a pen. They wrote their vote on the paper and passed them to Jenna.
There were two nearly even piles along with a third stack with two votes. Jenna didn’t say who the other piles belonged to, only announced that Taran “Ghost” Keir would be the club’s new President.
While Ghost tried to process his shock, Steel informed him that they would start working on transitioning Ghost soon so he was prepared to pick up the mantle in the new year. There would also be a vote in the coming weeks for Ghost’s replacement as Enforcer.
After the meeting ended, Pumpkin went in search of his woman and children. He wasn’t surprised when he found them at Abby and Bulldog’s house. As the biggest house in The Pentagon, it was often used as a meeting place for the ol’ ladies and club kids. Additionally, they wanted to include Cassie, Abby and Bulldog’s agoraphobic teenage daughter, in as much as possible. On her good days, Cassie could come to the clubhouse or even Angel’s house, but those were becoming further and further apart.
Pumpkin took a seat on Bulldog’s couch, content to watch SJ and JJ play on the floor with their cousins Maggie, Conner, Georgie, Caleb, Mikey, and Nelly Bean. Fuck, watching the number of babies and toddlers giggling and playing together made Pumpkin’s need to see Dosia pregnant again even stronger. They had only a few more days before Dosia could use one of the pregnancy tests Pumpkin had had Darrin pick up for him at the store.
As much as he believed Calliope’s prediction after she knew of their engagement when no one else had, he still wanted to see those two pink lines.
“When did we become so sappy that we turned into a pile of mush at the sight of our kids smiling?” Demo, who was sitting next to Pumpkin on the couch, asked.
Paige hadn’t officially moved into Demo’s house yet with her sons. They stayed over and each boy had his own room that he decorated—Mikey’s was dinosaurs and Nelly Bean’s wasPaw Patrol—but they stilltechnically lived in their apartment in town. In Pumpkin’s opinion, Demo’s patience with Paige was noble and admirable. No two relationships were the same, and just because Pumpkin had re-met his woman, impregnated her, and gotten his ring on her finger in a little over a month, did not mean he judged Demo for him and Paige taking their relationship slower. Paige’s mental abuse at the hands of her late husband made her skittish. She loved Demo, and he knew it, but she wasn’t ready to give up her newfound independence yet either.
That didn’t make Demo any less committed to their relationship. He hadn’t officially adopted Paige’s boys yet, but he was going to. Paige had already agreed they would do so when she was ready to move into his house.
The ol’ ladies who were still in the house were talking in the kitchen. Pumpkin threw a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the feminine chatter. “Pretty sure it was when they claimed our balls.”
Demo chuckled. “Nothing like it, is there?”
Pumpkin shook his head. There really wasn’t. He’d never felt as strong or as weak as when Dosia was looking into his eyes. The mixture of emotions was heady at best.
“How’re your legs?” They were keeping their voices low, even though none of the kids were paying any attention to either of them.
Pumpkin made a face. “Sore as shit. But no way in hell am I not fucking Dosia again tonight.”
“Isn’t it the girl that’s supposed to end up in a wheelchair after a good round of fucking?” Demo tossed back at him.
Pumpkin snorted. “I will crawl before I get back in that fucking chair.”
“Who are you crawling to?” Dosia asked, walking back into the living room. She had a glass of lemonade in one hand and a beer in the other. When Demo made to get up, she waved him off and headed around the back of the couch. Leaning over Pumpkin’s shoulders, she handed him the beer before she kissed his cheek.
Pumpkin accepted the beer in one hand and captured her wrist with his other. He kept her draped over him as he answered, “You.”
Dosia chuckled. “JJ has been asking for a pony. I can just tell her you’ll give her horsey rides. It’ll be a lot cheaper.”
Demo snorted. “We already had a Donkey Daddy in the club. Don’t need a Horsey Daddy too.” At Dosia’s confused look, Demo explained, “Last Christmas, the kids put on a nativity scene play. Lila was the Virgin Mary and got upset that she didn’t have a donkey to ride. Bulldog got down on his hands and knees, to which she proudly announced that she now had a ‘Donkey Daddy’.”
Pumpkin laughed at the memory as Dosia giggled. “I’m sorry I missed that! That sounds adorable,” she said, starting to raise up.
“Keys recorded it,” Pumpkin told her, turning his head to look at her over the back of the couch. Dosia didn’t look excited for this news, though. If anything, she looked confused. “What?” he asked her, trying to parse her frown and drawn-down eyebrows.
“Why do you have a pumpkin tattooed behind your ear?”
Pumpkin opened his mouth to deny such a ridiculous question, but Demo suddenly jumped up. “Code Orange! He found the tattoo! Go, go, go!”
Quick as a flash, Demo scooped up Mikey and Nelly Bean, racing from the room as others came charging in to gather up their kids. Pumpkin had no idea what the fuck was going on but the kids were loving it as they were tossed over shoulders like potato sacks and run from the house. Even Bulldog grabbed his kids and bolted when they were inhishouse.
Dosia and Pumpkin remained where they were, watching in shock. JJ and SJ were even grabbed by their Uncle Cage so they could join in on the fun.
Suddenly, Pumpkin and Dosia were left alone in Bulldog’s house. He looked over his shoulder at her. “What the fuck is behind my ear?”
Dosia pulled out her phone, pushed the shell of his ear flat, and snapped a picture. Handing him her phone, she said, “It’s small, but it’s definitely a pumpkin.”
