The first thing I did when I got off that fucking bike was grab Lyla and hug her as close to me as I possibly could. Opie didn't even hug her before me. I just grabbed onto her and held her tight. With Tara kidnapped and the fucking club in shambles the way it had been since the war with the Mayans, I needed to know that she was safe. I needed to know that there was at least one other old lady left, even if we were starting to drop off like flies.
"I'm so glad you're safe," she whispered into my hair.
"Me too. I was really worried that I'd lost the only friend I have left."
"I'm not the only one, Moon."
"Trust me, Lyla, the way we're dying now days, you might soon be."
I hugged her a little tighter and then let her go so Opie could move in and hug her instead of me. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the guys already congregating, getting ready to head into Church so that they could discuss what needed to be done about Tara, how to fix the fucked up situation the club was in once again. Juice pulled me too him and kissed me quickly. He ordered, "Stay with Gemma. She's going up to the cabin. Be with her and Abel right now, okay?"
"Yes, sir."
"Laura, I'm not doing this to boss you around or keep you in line. I'm doing this because I don't want to worry about you and that seems to be all I fucking do, is worry about you," he whispered, glancing around to make sure none of the guys could hear him being sensitive.
"I'll be safe," I promised. "I won't do anything reckless. I'll go up to the cabin with Piney and Gemma and Abel. I'll be a good girl for you."
"Thank you, Laura." He leaned forward and pressed his mouth to my ear to murmur, "And if you're a really good girl, I'll give you a present when I get home. It's been too long since we fucked in our own bed."
He pulled away from me before I had a chance to act on the tingling rushing through my body and I was pushed towards the clubhouse with Lyla, Gemma, and the prospects. I took Abel from Gemma as he started fussing so that she could bark orders at the prospects about handling our bags with care and not being jackasses. I shifted Abel to my hip and looked up at the feel of eyes on me. Opie's icy blue eyes were staring down at me, his focus was entirely on the baby on my hip. I shifted my weight back onto my left hip and turned away from him so that his focus wasn't entirely on me. Being back in Charming with my fiancé and the chance that I would soon be bearing his child made me want to avoid Opie's gaze. It made me more cautious of the relationship we had. It made me more careful about the way he looked at me instead of how he was supposed to be looking at Lyla.
"You okay, Moon?" Lyla asked innocently, noticing my change in stature.
"Yeah. I just jolted my hip a little in Ireland when Juice and I were getting Fi and Kerrianne out of the apartment. I guess he's sitting on it just right."
"Here, let me take him," she offered.
I handed him to her and watched Opie's eyes follow the movements carefully. I asked, "So where's Kennie and Ellie and Piper today?"
"They're with Piney right now. I'm picking them up tonight."
"How have they been?"
We pushed our way into the club and watched the men walk into church as if they'd never left it. I looked up at a staring prospect and barked, "Beer, now!"
It felt good to be back home as he rushed to do what I ordered. While the men bullshitted behind closed doors, Lyla, Gemma, and I caught up on what we'd all been missing since we'd been gone. None of us mentioned the fact that, despite what I believed to be an obvious pregnancy before we left on Lyla's part, she was conspicuously not pregnant upon our return. I burned to ask her. I burned to ask Opie. But it wasn't my business so I kept my mouth shut and waited for my man to get out of church and tell me what was going on.
Luckily, the wait wasn't long. The men rushed out of church in a swarm, clearly with a purpose in mind for the day. Clay immediately moved to Gemma and I was proud when Opie immediately went to Lyla so the two of them could coo over Abel. Juice joined me and followed my gaze to Lyla and Opie. He asked quietly, "Do you want that?"
"What do you mean?" I took my eyes off of them and focused on Juice's dark ones instead.
"A family like that. I know we made a big ass decision in Ireland when we said fuck it all and stopped using any kind of protection, but seriously, do you want that? Right now? Even with me going to prison? Because that look in your eyes isn't a look that says you think Abel's cute. It's a look that says you want one. You want to be able to hold your own baby and have people tell you how great he or she is. So, seriously, Laura, do you want that now?"
"Yes," I admitted quietly, my voice almost a whisper.
"Then let's get serious about doing it. Spend your downtime today reading up on the quickest ways to get pregnant and we'll try them all out tonight, okay, baby? I want to give you that."
I smiled softly up at him and teased, "And I thought that's what we were doing this whole time we've been fucking."
"Nah, baby. That's just me not being able to resist that sexy body."
I laughed and he pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. He ordered, "Go with Lyla, Opie, and the prospects. I can hear Gemma now refusing to go up to the cabin. Stay at her house with her."
"Baby, you know I fucking hate dealing with the prospects," I whined just a little. "I just want to go home and get the house ready for us."
"Laura, you can go home when we get Tara back and everybody's safe. For now, go be with Gemma," he said sternly. "Don't make me spank you in front of everybody."
Even with the tone of light heartedness, there was a scary solemnness below it. I knew the risks of me being alone. He knew the risks of me being alone. And, unlike me, he wasn't willing to risk it.