of them share a laugh. “Come on. Let’s go clean up before breakfast.” Heidi grabs Alexa before she scurries away.
Something slams into my other leg. I glance down, already knowing who it is. “You two trying to cripple me today?”
Z’s son flashes a toothless grin before running over to see Hope. “That one’s Z’s,” I explain to Shelby. “Chance.”
“I didn’t expect it to be so…family-friendly at a motorcycle club.” Shelby stares at the scene in front of us. The couples and a good portion of upstate’s members situate themselves around the first table while the rest of the guys grab a seat at the next one.
I wrap my arm around Shelby’s shoulders and lead her around to the other side. Murphy points at the three chairs next to him. “Heidi’s sitting there if you want to sit next to her, Shelby.”
I lift my chin, a quick thanks for trying to help Shelby feel included and pull out her chair. Jigsaw pulls a chair over to the corner right next to me.
“You plannin’ to eat off my damn plate?” I ask.
“Only if you ask nicely.”
Swan and Lala bring out platters of food for both tables, with Birch and Stitch helping them carry the heavier loads.
“What time do you need to be down at Empire Med?” I ask Shelby.
“One.”
“Okay. We’ve got time.”
Heidi’s got tons of questions for Shelby and they end up talking through most of breakfast. I rest my hand on her knee, absently running my fingers over her soft skin. Never thought I’d enjoy having someone with me at the club this much.
It doesn’t take long for a bunch of bikers to demolish a breakfast.
Shelby pushes her chair away from the table. “I’m stuffed.”
Little Alexa toddles over and hands Shelby a broken ponytail holder. “Fix it.”
Murphy stretches his arm and taps her shoulder.
“Please,” she adds.
Poor Shelby does a quick scan of the room for Heidi. She even throws a pleading look Murphy’s way, but he’s busy talking to Charlotte now.
“Okay, sure. Come here.” She sets Alexa in her lap and reaches into her back pocket. “Aha. I’ve always got an elastic on me. Okay, what’re we working with here? Your momma do these pretty braids?”
“No, Daddy.”
Jigsaw leans over the table. “Murphy, your kid’s ratting you out.”
“What?” Murphy turns.
“You braid hair?” Jigsaw draws out the question, like he’s hoping to embarrass Murphy.
Dex punches Jigsaw’s arm. “Real men actually know how to take care of their children.”
“Teller,” Jigsaw shouts. “You braid hair too?”
“I’m not coordinated enough.” He wiggles his fingers in our direction, ending with a middle finger aimed at Jiggy.
Alexa giggles and beams at Shelby.
While I think Alexa, Chance, and Grace are adorable, and I don’t mind spending time with them in small doses, I’ve never really thought about what it might be like to have kids of my own. Never met a woman I’d want to share that responsibility with.
But Shelby, sitting right next to me, being all cute and snuggly with a kid she barely knows and working so hard to fix her little braids just right? Well, fuck if that doesn’t sock me right in the gut.
“Aw, look at Rooster giving Shelby the baby-making eyes,” Ravage coos. “Ain’t that sweet?”
I shoot a glare at him. “What?”
“Yeah, what was that?” Shelby finishes Alexa’s hair and sets her down, laughing as the tyke runs over to hug Chance. “You’re barking up the wrong tree.”
“Careful, Shelby, or you’ll end up the oldest mom in your birthing class,” Hope calls down.
“That’s fine by me.” Shelby lifts her hands in the air like she’s praising the baby gods. “Don’t want any until I’m at least thirty-five.”
The guys have a good laugh at that. For some idiotic reason, Jiggy elbows me in the side. When everyone goes back to their conversations, I lean down toward Shelby. “You don’t want kids?”
Her eyes snap to mine. “You do?”
“Not now. Not anytime soon, even. Just…curious.”
She blows out a breath. “Momma’s been drilling it into my head not to get pregnant since I was like fourteen. She had me at seventeen. Had to marry my dad and give up singing.”
“Your mom was a singer too?”
“Oh, heck yeah. I think that’s how they met.”
Huh. That was a lot of information. I run my hand over her leg.
“Sorry, was that more family history than you wanted?”
Sure, that was a lot to take in. But learning something new about this woman every second I’m with her is high on my list of priorities. “Not at all. I want to discover every