Lucien's War (12 page)

“People
will get hurt, Lucien. It’s inevitable. And I don’t want that, but I also love
you and don’t want to not be able to be with you because of what others think.”

“I
know, Callie baby, and we’ll figure it out.” He stayed on the phone with her
for a few more minutes, and when they hung up he stared at the driveway. He was
the worst kind of person to be doing what he was doing behind Kink’s back, but
tomorrow he’d rectify that, because the truth needed to come out, like three
fucking months ago.

****

Callie
was a nervous wreck, and it was because of two things. Tonight Lucien was
coming over with a few of the guys from the club for dinner, and her dad had
been the one to set it up. She hadn’t even had time to ask her father about
having Lucien over. Kink had been the one to arrange this, to invite some of
the guys over that weren’t on a run, because he said he had something to talk
to them about. He had been distant, concerned even when he looked at her. She
worried that he knew already about them, that maybe he had somehow heard from
someone that she was with Lucien. Cookie even seemed a little off, like she was
avoiding Callie, and that had her worried that maybe she should just come out
and say everything before they had a room full of people. Why he would want
some of the club members present when this was all said was beyond her.
Although they were all like family, this was something that she’d hoped to just
tell her dad at first.

Glancing
at the clock she saw that it was a half past six in the evening. Lucien, Cain,
and Tuck were supposed to be coming over to eat, and Cookie was still in the
kitchen preparing things. Lord, she was a nervous mess. Not only had she hardly
seen Lucien since she had been back in River Run, but they were going to lay it
all out in the open, and let the chips fall where they did.

“You
okay, Callie?” Cookie asked.

Callie
turned away from the clock and stared at the other woman. “Yeah, I’m fine, just
wondering what tonight
is all
about since my dad
called some of the guys over.” She rubbed her hands on her thighs. She had
texted Lucien earlier tonight, hoping he had some kind of insight on why Kink
wanted them over tonight, but he had been as clueless as she was. Hell, Kink
had been the one to sit her down and tell her that they needed to talk, that
some of the guys were coming over, and that it was really important that she be
there. She was afraid of what he was going to say, of how things would play
out, but she had no choice in the matter and would just have to stick it out.
If they weren’t going to bring up the fact she was with Lucien, then she’d
still have to bring it up tonight. This had gone on long enough, and she
planned on talking about the last three months, her feelings, and how she was
going to be with Lucien because she loved him.

“It’ll
be okay,” Cookie said cryptically, and Callie watched as the other woman turned
away and started busying herself in the kitchen. She was overly trying to
distract herself, that was for sure, and Callie wondered exactly what in the
hell was going on. Callie had never seen Cookie act like she was on edge or
nervous, but tonight she was definitely showing those characteristics.

“Everything
okay, Cookie?”
The other woman might be only a few years older than Callie, but she looked at
Cookie as a role model. After all the shit Cookie had been through in her life,
and had still stayed strong and prevailed, she was someone that Callie wanted
to take after, wanted to learn from, and seeing her nervous like this was a
little unsettling. Cookie always seemed in control. Even when Callie had gotten
the news about her mother passing away Cookie had been there, giving her the
strength she needed not to totally break down.

Cookie
turned around and nodded. “Of course, honey.” Cookie had started using those
motherly endearments after Callie’s mom had passed away, and although at first
it was a little strange hearing the slightly older woman calling her them,
Callie couldn’t lie and say it wasn’t comforting. She liked hearing them, in
fact.

“You
sure?
You look a little nervous, and it’s kind of freaking me out. Well, even more
than tonight already is.”

Cookie
nodded and then swallowed loudly. “I…” She glanced down, twisted the towel in
her hands, and then looked back up at Callie again. “You should know before
you’re bombarded in there with all the guys.”

“Okay…”
Callie stared at her, feeling her entire body strung tight. “What’s going on?”
Her heart was racing, and she had a feeling this most definitely had to do with
her and Lucien. Damn, had someone overheard them talking? She wouldn’t put it
past one of the guys to have followed Lucien up to the university just to see
what he was up to, although that would have been shady behavior. But then again
they would have seen what Lucien was doing as the same fucked up thing. “I
don’t like surprises, and this whole weird and funky vibe I am getting from you
and Dad is making me feel like I’m walking on eggshells.”

Cookie
moved over to her, stared into her eyes, and for a moment all Callie could see
on Cookie’s face was pure uncertainty.

“Callie,
your dad and I wanted to talk to you about something that we’ve just found
out.” Cookie swallowed roughly. “We have known for a while, and have wanted to
talk to you about, but he was freaking out, and I didn’t know what to
say,
and…”

“Oh
God.”
Callie moved away, feeling her face heat, because she had known this was about
Lucien and her. “We actually meant to tell you, Cookie.” She turned around and
faced the other woman. “We were going to tell you and my dad today, because we
were tired of sneaking around, and it felt like this big betrayal.”

Cookie
didn’t respond, but she knitted her eyebrows in confusion. “You were going to
tell us tonight?” Cookie asked.

Callie
nodded. “Yeah, I was going to cook dinner, and Lucien was going to come over,
and we were going to tell you guys about it all, but it looks like you knew
already.” She rubbed her forehead and breathed out. “We just didn’t know what
to say, but you guys already know. What I don’t understand is why you’d invite
the other two guys along? I know the rest of the members are on a run, but I
would have preferred if this stayed among the four of us. Not that I don’t love
the guys like my family, but, well, you know.” She shrugged.

“Callie,
sweetheart.”
Cookie took a step closer. “You were going to tell us about you and Lucien
being together tonight?” Cookie sounded confused, and shocked.

Oh. Shit.

“You
and Lucien?
Like Lucien, the President of the club?” Cookie whispered the last part, her
eyes wide.

The
sound of the doorbell ringing stopped Callie from responding. But she wouldn’t
have known what in the hell to say anyway.

“Hey,
can one of you get that?” Kink called out from the next room, and Callie stared
at Cookie, and then looked at the front door.

“I’ll
get it,” Callie said way too softly for anyone but Cookie to hear. She hadn’t
said anything to Callie, but she did continue to stare at her with this shocked
expression on her face. “Yeah, I’ll just go get that.” She turned away and went
to the door, her knees shaking, and her legs feeling like they’d give out at
any second. When she grabbed the handle and turned it, pulled the door open,
and took in the three massively huge bikers standing on the porch, she looked
at Lucien immediately. There he stood, in front of the other two men that were
talking softly with each other, and his silver eyes trained right on her.

“Callie.”
He said her name softly, and when the other two men, Cain and Tuck, pushed past
him and came inside, they still stood there staring at each other.

Callie
wanted to tell him that tonight wasn’t about them, or at least it hadn’t been.
She still didn’t know what her dad and Cookie were going to say, but now Callie
worried that Cookie would tell everyone what Callie had said in the kitchen.
But whatever Cookie and Kink were going to tell them was definitely important
for them to call this impromptu dinner, and she thought that was a little
unnerving on its own. She stepped aside to let Lucien in. This was the first
time she had seen him since being back from her orientation. It was safer, and
smarter, just to keep their distance until they could tell her dad about all of
this. But it was damn hard, and when he walked by, purposefully brushing his
hand along hers in passing, this thrill of electricity moved through her. He
smelled good, masculine and potent, and reminding her of everything that was
Lucien Silver. She stared at the way his jeans molded to his hard body, and at
the fact his dark t-shirt and cut didn’t hide the play of muscle underneath the
material. She remembered vividly what he looked like with nothing on, so strong
and big, towering over her as he thrust deep into her body and took her
virginity.

“Brother.”
Her father’s voice came through in a booming bass, and she moved away from
Lucien to shut the door. The two men clapped each other on the back, and it was
so strange to see the man she loved and her father embracing as if what she and
Lucien were doing behind everyone’s back wasn’t their reality. Her dad seemed
tense, though, and she wondered, if they weren’t going to confront them, what
was making them act so weird.

Chapter Ten

They
all sat around the table, Tuck and Cain seeming oblivious to the fact that the
rest of them were looking at each other with shifty eyes, wondering what in the
hell was happening, but not speaking. They had finished eating about ten
minutes ago, and the silence was starting to become thick and uncomfortable.
Callie grabbed her water, took a sip, and looked at Lucien from over her rim.
He sat between Cookie and Cain, and her dad was at the head of the table, his
focus on the beer bottle in front of him.

“I
called you here tonight because I have something that I need to tell everyone.”
Kink looked at everyone, and Cain and Tuck stopped eating their apple pie and
glanced at him. “I figured we could have waited until all the guys were back
from the run, but I wanted to tell everyone now since Callie will be heading
back to college and you’re all my family.” He looked at Cookie. “Besides, we
didn’t want to wait.”

“What’s
going on?” Callie shifted in her seat, and looked between Cookie and her dad.
When she looked at Cookie again it was to see that she was staring right at
her. Cookie had this worried, almost horror-filled expression on her face, and
then she glanced at Lucien, as if wanting to say something, but fortunately not
saying anything. When Callie looked at Lucien it was to see this blank
expression on his face, his body relaxed in the chair, and one arm resting on the
table. He looked calm, but Callie knew he was ready for anything.

“You
want to tell them or should I, Cookie?” Kink said, and when Callie looked at
her dad she saw, for the first time in her life, this vulnerable expression on
his face. All eyes turned to Cookie, and then she smiled big.

“We
didn’t mean to worry anyone,” Cookie said and looked pointedly at Callie. “But,
we wanted to tell you all, well, the ones that are here at least, that we are
having a baby.”

The
room was silent for a second, everyone staring at each other, and then Tuck and
Cain burst out in joyous shouts.

“I’m
about five weeks along, and this is totally a surprise to us,” Cookie said and
started
wringing
her hands together. And then she
looked at Callie. “We didn’t plan this, but we are happy about the news.”

Cain
and Tuck stood and walked over to Kink, who was now out of his seat. He had
this goofy smile on his face, and clapped the other men on the back as they
gave each other those manly hugs guys did with each other. Lucien stood and did
the same thing with her dad, and they spoke softly, both hugging again. Callie
stood, and her dad and Cookie were not looking at her, maybe thinking she’d
freaking out.

“Sweetheart,
we didn’t plan this, and although the time isn’t right—”

She
shook her head, stopping her dad from finishing. Yeah, it was only a few months
since her mom had passed away, but that didn’t mean life stopped for the
grieving process. She might not have had the best relationship with her mother,
might have wished on a hundred different occasions that she could just leave
because she was finished with living with her, dealing with her bullshit, and
have to fight her on everything. But she was moving on, going forward with her
life, and she wanted her dad and Cookie to do the same.

“I
think it’s the perfect time.” Callie smiled and saw the relief on her dad’s
face. He came up to her and wrapped his arms around her, and gave Callie a big
bear hug.

“I’m
glad you’re okay with this, sweetheart. I worried that maybe you’d be upset because
this is pretty soon after your mom…”

She
shook her head. “We need to all move on with our life, Dad. And although I miss
Mom, and did love her, we can’t worry about if it is too soon to do something.”
She pulled back and looked at her dad’s face.