Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 72156 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72156 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
“I’m here to see Robin.”
“My home is not a hotel.”
“Good.” He pushed past him. “Because I’m not paying.”
“Preacher, it’s good to see you,” Anne said. She held a glass of wine in hand. “Bethany is asleep, and Robin’s curled up on the sofa.” She pointed into the room and he followed her direction to see his woman. She was curled up and looked so damn cute. “She’s been fine all night. We watched a couple of movies. I had the wine, she had the hot chocolate. It’s all been good.”
Elijah cleared his throat. “Are we having to give a room for two of them now?”
Anne’s cheeks heated as she looked at Bear.
There was something going on there but it wasn’t his business. “Can I have a few minutes alone with her?”
“Of course. Come on.” Anne took charge, herding the other men out of the way.
“Are you fucking kidding me right now? This is my house and you’re letting him just go walk about.”
“Shut up, Elijah.”
Preacher drowned them out, stepping into the room. For a few seconds, he simply watched her. One of her hands was curled up beneath her head and the other covered over her stomach, trying to protect herself and their baby.
Sitting down beside her, he pulled her into his arms and as he did so, she woke up.
“Preacher?” There was a slight panic to her tone, but he calmed her down.
“Yeah, it’s just me.”
“Business didn’t take as long as you thought it would?”
“No, it didn’t.”
She snuggled in close. “I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you too, baby.” He kissed the top of her head. “How long has Elijah been here?”
“He’s been grumbling all afternoon. Anne thinks his latest conquest dumped his ass.”
“It would serve him right.”
“Yeah, it would. I don’t think she’s happy when he constantly comes by. I think it bothers her.”
“Do you want me to take care of it?”
“No. If she wants it taken care of, she’ll ask you. This is nice.” She breathed in his scent. “You smell nice.”
He laughed. “I’ve been driving and smoking.”
“I guess I’ve missed you a lot.”
“Robin, I’m so sorry,” he said.
She lifted her head. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“I’ve tried to put a brave face on everything but I can’t do it anymore. I love you more than anything in the world. You know that, right?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t want anything to happen to you. I love you so damn much. You mean the world to me and I want us to have this baby.” He covered her hand with his.
“It scares me as well. I sometimes worry Randall got it wrong and I won’t be able to ever have our baby.” She sniffled and he wiped the tears from beneath her eyes.
“I won’t hide my fears from you anymore. I’ll give you whatever you need and we will take this one day at a time.”
“I do love you, Preacher.”
He took possession of her mouth. It wasn’t easy admitting fear, and it wasn’t the true extent of his feelings either, but it was a start and right now, it was more than he could ask for.
****
“I don’t like having them in my house,” Elijah said.
Bear snorted.
Anne looked at her husband. “It’s my house as well, and they’re friends.”
“Since when did you become friends with a bunch of bikers?”
“Around the time I finally accepted you couldn’t keep your dick in your pants. We both have something that happens that we don’t like. So deal with it. I have to.” She finished off her wine glass. “Now I’m not going to keep on fighting about all of this. If you’re not happy with my friends, divorce me.”
“What?”
“I know we said we’d keep everything together for the kids and I still want to try that, but I’m not going to keep putting my happiness on hold just because you can’t stand the kinds of people I’m friends with. I have to put up with the gossip behind my back. All you’ve got to do is deal with the people I make friends with. No one gossips about me. Deal with it, or divorce me. I need some air.”
Anne stepped outside, pulling her robe around her. She took several deep breaths, trying to feel calm. This couldn’t be happening. She thought she could stay with Elijah and make all of this work, but each time he was near her, she kept finding it harder to even put up with him.
Was she being strong keeping her family together for the sake of her kids? Or lazy? Or complacent? Should she divorce him, deal with her upset kids, and find some happiness for herself?
The door opened and she turned to see Bear coming closer.
“How are you?” he asked.
“I’m fine. Or I will be when I know what the hell I’m doing. Nothing makes any sense to me anymore. I’m trying to keep it all together but at every single turn, I seem to always be failing. I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.”