Harley (Cerberus MC)

I scrunch my nose. “Did she stick around?”

Misty shakes her head. “She got in her car and left. I feel bad for those kids, but I’m glad she didn’t just let them pile out and run free while she was on the prowl.”

“Do you think we’ll have a smaller turnout since we had to postpone?”

Misty shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter that it’s August already, people are going to show up for the fireworks show.”

This year’s Fourth of July celebration is happening more than a month late because Cerberus was working during the holiday and this was the first weekend that worked with everyone’s schedule.

“Lots of people,” I say with a sigh.

“Don’t worry,” she says, catching on to my distress. “Your man will be out there. He’d strangle anyone if they even look at you funny.”

“True,” I say with a smile, loving every second of Harley’s possessive nature.

It must be a requirement for hiring when Kincaid is looking for people to work for Cerberus, because I see the same in every man and woman who work for the organization. It’s not even just the men. I saw the look Rivet gave to some girl a few weeks ago while we were all at the community park, and it made me want to back away. She’s just as possessive of Cannon as the others are of their women.

Most might find it smothering, but I really like it. We’re only a few weeks into this new relationship, but us together is so natural, it seems like longer. We spend hours just talking and holding each other. If we’re in the room, we feel like we should be touching. Thankfully, we get enough time alone at home while Aria is sleeping that we aren’t mauling each other, but it only takes a look to get us revved up enough to do exactly that.

“You better grab that sweet girl of yours,” Misty says as she looks down at her watch. “We wouldn’t want her to miss her first fireworks show.”

I take one last look around the room to make sure that it’s in a good condition for when we return to work on Monday before crossing the room to grab my little girl. It no longer causes me stress to think of her that way. She’s just as much mine as Harley is, and I’m ecstatic to be her mom.

Misty turns out the lights as we leave the room, and Aria seems content as can be cradled in my arms as we walk out the back door of the clubhouse.

I spot Harley right away, knowing he wouldn’t be far.

“There are my girls,” he says with a wide smile.

Aria looks at him but doesn’t reach for him, and he’s gotten much better about hiding the jabs of pain he feels when she acts this way.

“Still not feeling well?” he asks, brushing her blond hair from her forehead.

“The new teeth she’s cutting is hard for her,” I remind him.

“You cried the entire time you were cutting teeth,” Lucy reminds her son as she walks closer. “Hey, Ali.”

Harley’s mom curls her arms around me as best she can to give me a hug. Micah, his dad, curls his arm around my back for a side-hug when Lucy steps away.

Facing them again for the first time after being caught in the living room dry humping their son was awkward. Well, it was for me. They said not to worry about it, but them just saying that made me want to crawl under a rock.

They’ve been back to visit once, and now this weekend makes the second time, and each time I see them, they make me feel more and more comfortable. I’ve never caught them looking at me like I’m out of place in their family. I’ve never felt like an outsider. I’ve never felt like a replacement for Lana, and that has made all the difference in me quickly accepting them as a part of my own family.

Lucy takes the baby when Aria reaches for her, and Harley doesn’t miss a beat wrapping me in his arms.

I watch the woman I hope will be my mother-in-law one day as she coos down at my little girl. If only my own mother felt the same way I do.

Mom isn’t talking to me at the moment, and I have to say I miss her. There are loads of women at the clubhouse willing to help and answer questions I have as I navigate motherhood, but there’s just something about wanting to ask your own mom those questions. She wants nothing to do with Harley and what she calls my ready-made family.

When I first told her about my new relationship, she didn’t want to hear it.

Deep down, I know I broke her heart. Falling in love and moving in permanently with Harley and Aria doesn’t get me closer to returning to Nebraska. She’s less concerned about the growth and healing he’s helped me with. She’s more focused on me not being there with her. It’s something we’ll have to work on, I guess. Dad is just Dad, still working too much and avoiding home, and it confuses me more now than ever. Harley has to leave for work often, but he’s calling, texting, and video chatting as often as he can. He rushes home to Aria and me after the work is done. He’s legitimately regretful when he can’t be there with us. It’s very new to me, and I crave that attention and affection from him. I count my blessings that he gives his love so freely and without expectations.