Page 23 of Chelsea’s Knight

The next thing I know, they’ve rounded up bowls of the ‘good ice’ to use for the gallons of tea and lemonade that were part of the delivery Shamus and his sons-in-law made to us.

Hell, Roane even thought of the paper products, as well as the serving spoons and shit.

“Thank you,” she sweetly replies, smiling up at me. She’s totally in her element right now, orchestrating the minutiae of this particular project.

Leaning in, I quickly kiss her, then watch her cheeks pinken with a smirk on my own face when she attempts to fuss. “Nope you’ll learn, Chels, that I’ll kiss you whenever and wherever I want. Public displays of affection aren’t something I’ll shy away from. It’s not like I dipped you over my arm, although that’s never gonna be off the table, just so you know.”

“Maybe we could hold off on that when I’ve got stuff in my arms?” she sasses, jiggling the gallon of lemonade that she’s now carrying.

“I don’t know,” I muse. “If you get all sticky, that will just mean a shower, and since it would be my fault, I’d be honor-bound to help you get all cleaned up.”

* * *

Hours pass with no news from either Loki or Poseidon, and the concern everyone is feeling permeates the waiting room.

Despite still looking a bit under the weather, Glacier and Shark arrived a short time ago, cleaned everything up since all the food was eaten, then went back to the clubhouse. Not quite sure what Shamus gave the two of them, but they were upright and coherent.

Noticing some movement out of my peripheral vision near the door, my heart catches in my throat when I see Trident, Loki, and Poseidon, side-by-side making their way into the waiting room. I can’t read any of their facial expressions, which isn’t a good thing because I feel as though I should be able to decipher their facial characteristics better.

I gently shake Chelsea, who dozed off against my shoulder about an hour or so ago. “Chels, the guys are here, you might wanna wake up to hear what they have to say.”

As if she was hit with the spark end of a live wire, she pops up, her head swiveling back and forth. “Oh, I was hoping they’d have the babies, at least,” she mumbles as the trio finally reaches the rest of us.

“So, today’s been a lot more exciting than we were expecting,” Poseidon states, “and I can’t tell y’all how fucking much it means to all of us that you’re all here. Both of our new moms are doing well, although it’s going to be tomorrow before CeeCee can have visitors since she had to have a c-section. Momma M and Patsy are with her right now while we came out to share the news with all of y’all.”

“Are you gonna rattle on all night or tell us what we wanna know, do we have girls or boys?” Brooks questions, causing all of us to start laughing.

“Lilli and I have welcomed another little girl, Melody Rose Malone,” Poseidon announces. “She looks like an exact replica of her sisters already.” He’s beaming with pride, uncaring that he’s got his third daughter. “We’ll be talking about the ammo shop at the next church, so I need one of you guys to jot it down.”

Snickers make their rounds again throughout the room at his declared words, especially since the other three had little girls. We’re definitely low on the dick totem pole, which makes me nearly choke when that thought floats through my head.

“Got it, Pres,” Atlas decrees. “And, Loki? How’s CeeCee doing? How are you doing, brother? Do we have a dick this time or are we just gonna build a fortified fortress for all of our daughters?”

Chelsea clutches my hand when Loki clears his throat multiple times before he can even think about speaking. “First off, I’m grateful as hell the women pushed for CeeCee to come in and get checked. The pains were labor, but because of her gestational diabetes, the baby was very big, and the high blood pressure caused preeclampsia, so the baby was in distress and CeeCee was in danger. I could’ve lost both of them tonight.”

Trident and Poseidon both grip his shoulders, showing him their support, as I hear sniffles from the old ladies reverberate in the room. “Hayden Colleen O’Rourke came into the world at a whopping ten pounds,” Loki says. “CeeCee is doing pretty good, she had some problems with the anesthesia so was stuck in recovery a little longer than normal. Our girl has been checked out and is now next to Melody in the nursery.”

Cheers, which are somewhat subdued because of the lateness of the hour, swim around the room as we all take our turn congratulating each of the new fathers. Once that’s done, we leave them to get back to their old ladies, and Chelsea and I head back to the clubhouse in Lilli’s SUV.

This time, I’m the one driving.

CHAPTERSEVEN

Chelsea

“I’m so excited,” I exclaim, practically bouncing in my seat as Canyon pulls into The Sanctuary.

It’s been three weeks since the last two babies were born, and during that time, Canyon’s worked tirelessly at the tattoo parlor, while I’ve helped the new moms acclimate to the changes the babies have wrought.

Even though everyone who has a family has their own house on the property, for some reason, the women wanted to congregate and be together. So right now, we’re all at the clubhouse hanging out and lending a helping hand whenever it’s needed.

Just one big happy, dysfunctional as hell, family.

Tessie and I are constantly doing one load of laundry after another. Momma M, along with Mary, are always in the kitchen prepping food and cooking for everyone, and the two newest patched members are keeping everything clean and tidy.

“I know you are, sweetness,” Canyon says, looking over at me with a satisfied smirk while squeezing my hand. “I am as well because Atlas has told me how cool it is to see Nick work with these dogs and pair them with their owners.”

I honestly don’t know if it’s the thought we’re going to be alone with each other that has excitement thrumming through me or the sugar high I have thanks to our impromptu stop at the neatest convenience store and gas station I’ve ever been to, Buc-ee’s. When Canyon found out I’d never seen one after I commented on the billboards and how funny they were, he waited to fill up his truck until we got there and then? Well, then, he took me inside. The place was massive, the super-super center of all convenience stores.

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