“A little, yeah. I don’t know why. I didn’t get sick at all with Andrew, but this baby is determined to kill me I think.”
My hand moves down to her round stomach.
“You sure you’re okay? I swear I feel like you’ve just never recovered from that time I disappeared when all the bullshit with Shaft and Bree was going down. Maybe we should have held off on having another child? Hell, you were barely pregnant with Andrew when you thought I was dead…”
“But you’re good. You made it back to me and we’re together now,” she whispers, her eyes looking down at my chest.
She never looks me in the face when we talk about those days. I hate the hell I must have put her through when she thought I died. It marked her badly, but I can understand it. I’d feel the same way if I thought I lost her. I pull her face back up to look at me.
“Love you, Annie,” I tell her. I hate that I can see the sadness in her eyes when I tell her that.
“I love you, Sabre. So much, I swear. You have to believe me,” she says, almost sounding like she’s pleading. That’s another thing that’s changed. She’s terrified I’ll leave her. With everything that went down with me and then Briar dying, I think my Annie lives in fear.
“Annie, you have to quit living in the past. It’s okay. I’m home. We’re having a beautiful baby girl and she’s going to be a blonde firecracker just like her momma.”
“I keep trying to put it behind me,” she whispers, her eyes looking tortured. “It just seems it’s always there… between us.”
“There’s nothing between us, Annie. Do I need to prove that to you?” I ask, tugging, until she turns into my body. Her hand comes up and her fingers wrap around my wrist as I hold her face. Her eyes seem to search my face, as if she’s trying to find an answer. I don’t know what she’s searching for; I honestly don’t know how to help her get over this fear she’s harboring—except to be here for her and that’s what I’ve been trying.
“I’d be okay with you proving it to me,” she whispers, finally.
I lean down to take her mouth and right then my cell rings.
“Motherfucker,” I grumble, freezing before my lips even touch hers.
“You should get that,” she says, sadness in her eyes.
“I’ll just let it ring,” I mutter. “I’m hungry for a cookie,” I say with a grin and I’m instantly rewarded with her smile.
“It might be Skull,” she says when my cell continues to ring.
I groan, flopping back on my back and reach for my cell.
“Don’t move,” I order. She leans to me and kisses the side of my chin. I wrap one of my hands around her, pulling her in. Then, I answer the phone without bothering to look at the display to see who it is.
“This better be good,” I grumble.
“Hey, Sabre.”
“Latch. Fuck man! It’s good to hear your voice. I thought you didn’t have phone privileges in Kabul or wherever they have you stationed these days,” I growl.
Annie goes stiff in my arms. I sit up, taking my arm away, but give her a reassuring wink. I know she’s been just as worried about Latch as I have. I don’t know why the asshole went and reenlisted out of the blue. I could strangle him for doing it. He said he needed to get away and clear his head. He changed when he thought I died, too. There’s a distance between us all now, but some of that is Annie and I have a family. Latch isn’t a part of our lives anymore. That ended with the birth of our son. I still love him like a brother, but Annie and I… we’re married, we’re parents and the family we build is ours.
Latch needs to find that for himself.
“I’m not overseas anymore. I’m on a short leave. I was hoping I could come by and talk with you and Annie sometime tomorrow. I only have a couple of days. I thought maybe we could all go out to dinner? I’d love to see Andrew. I’ll probably be busy Sunday with Lucy. She wants to show me her new apartment.”
“Why don’t you pick up Lucy and come to the clubhouse tomorrow. We’re having a surprise birthday-slash-late Christmas party for Beast.”
“Fuck, is Beast coming back to the club?”
“I think Skull is hoping he will, but I’m not so sure. Still, it’d be damn good if you could be there. I know Annie and I would love to see you.”
“You think Lucy would be welcome at the club? I mean this is a party for Beast, brother. You know what kind of shit—”
“Beast doesn’t give a fuck. He’s happy. You wouldn’t know him now. But, I’m sure. Just get your ass here, got it?”