Shield My Heart (Heaven Hill Book 9) (28 page)

As he left the room, he realized he meant every word he’d said to the older woman. Until she was no longer on this earth, she was his family.

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Chapter Thirty-Seven

T
he fallout from the girls being taken had affected everyone in the club differently. Liam kept watch over his daughters and wife a lot closer, the guys kept their wives closer, and it looked like Tatum and Remy were spending a few afternoons together a week. Dalton noticed Remy was the picture of a gentleman. Him, though? He’d been thinking more and more about the land he’d intended to purchase. It was still for sale, and he had a meeting scheduled to get approval for it.

“You leavin’ early today?” Liam asked as he came to sit next to Dalton.

They were all taking a break from the work at the shop. A huge thunderstorm had rolled in, and the group of them sat in the garages, drinking Cokes and shooting the shit while they waited for the lightening to subside.

“I am. Thanks for letting me go on such short notice, by the way.” Dalton took a drink and wiped his mouth. “I’m going to the bank to see if I can get approval for the land in Barren County and financing for a house.”

Liam grinned, thinking of what a huge step this for his daughter and one of the men he considered his sons. “Scary, isn’t it?”

“Adulting is fucking scary,” he admitted. “But we’ve gotta have a place to bring this baby home to. She doesn’t want to be in her apartment anymore, and to be honest, as much as I love the clubhouse, it doesn’t feel like a good place to raise my son. I want him to have a home; I want him to have his own room, and a real kitchen. Ya know, all the shit I didn’t have growing up.”

“Ya know,” Liam started, running a hand through his hair, “I think that’s what all of us want for our kids. The things we didn’t have. The stable household and all of that. I hope I’ve been able to give that to my kids, anyway.”

Dalton glanced over at the man they called pres. “You’ve given it to way more than your kids, Liam. We stick around here because you and Tyler are like the fathers none of us had. We all look up to you, and we all hope like hell we can be the type of men you’ve taught us to be. My son is going to be damn lucky to have you for a grandpa.”

They were quiet for a few minutes, and Dalton got the impression Liam needed to get his emotions under control. But Liam surprised the fuck out of him when he gave him the best compliment he ever could have.

“Your son is going to be damn lucky to have you for a dad, too. Don’t discount yourself, Dalton. You’ve turned into a really good man.”

And that was enough to make his damn life.

*

Mandy stood in front of the bathroom mirror, trying to find something that fit comfortably. Three weeks to go and she was miserable. Even dresses, which had been her go-to, were starting to feel tight against her skin. She’d gained a total of twenty pounds, but damn, those twenty pounds felt like a million. The door to the dorm room shut, and she heard Dalton yelling for her.

“Yeah?” She quickly put on one of his over-sized shirts and the most comfortable pair of sweatpants she’d been able to find.

“Hey.” He grinned, kissing her on the cheek. “Things okay?”

“Other than the fact that nothing feels like it fits anymore, I’m good.” She wrinkled her nose.

He put his arms around her waist, supporting her back with his hands. “You’re still gorgeous, and you totally have the glow of motherhood going on.” He moved his hands down to her ass and squeezed. “Still sexy as fuck too.”

“Totally don’t feel it.” She laughed. “But thank you for saying it. Where have you been?” She snaked her arms around his neck. “I’ve been off work for a couple of hours, and Dad said you left work early today.”

He walked them over to the bed, sitting them down. “I don’t want you to freak out, but I did something today. Something I hope you’ll like.”

The look she gave him told him she was nervous. “I’ll reserve my response until I find out what the thing you did is.”

He reached into his cut and pulled some paperwork out, handing it over to her. “I went to the bank today. The adjacent lot to Samuel’s up at the lake is ours, and we have financing to build the house you wanna build.”

Her hands shook as she looked at the paperwork he’d handed her. “Is this real?”

“So real,” he assured her. “This was actually where I was headed all those months ago when I heard what was going down with Samuel. Back then I’d decided I was sick of being away from you. Things happened, and I didn’t get to the bank that day. I didn’t get to surprise you the way I wanted to, so I hope this is good enough.”

“I never expected this, Dalton.” She fused their lips in a kiss. “Are you sure we can afford this?” she questioned when she caught sight of the amount of the loan.

“I put half of that down today. I’ve been saving money since I could work. I knew when I decided to make things official with you; I wanted to have all the things I never had as a kid. I want our son to have a home to come to.”

The brightness in her eyes dimmed slightly. “There’s no way we’ll get a house built before he comes.”

“Already taken care of,” he promised. “I got a modular to put out there while we’re building the house. The modular is furnished with everything but the nursery. They’re moving it out there today. We probably won’t have cable, but we’ll have each other.” He prayed to God that was enough.

She bit her lip before moving over so that she straddled him on the bed. Burying her head in his neck, she nipped at the skin. “I guess I can do without my
Sons of
Anarchy reruns,” she joked. “Really, each other is all I’ve ever wanted.”

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Chapter Thirty-Eight

“I
don’t understand why I’m wanted at the clubhouse and why you’re forcing me to wear this dress, Tatum,” Mandy moaned and groaned a few days later.

She’d been busy with Dalton, moving into the new modular home that had already been set up on the property. They hadn’t had much stuff between them to move out there, but with her having limited capabilities of movement, setting up house was taking her a while. And today, while she’d been in the middle of it, Tatum had showed up with a dress, telling her to fix herself up nicely and come with her to the clubhouse.

Who in the fuck had time for this?

“My enormous tits are going to fall out of this dress,” she complained as she put on the one good maternity bra she had left, before putting the dress on. The color was gorgeous, a pink that set off the pregnancy glow she still had, along with her dark hair, and dark eyes.

“Would you stop complaining?” Tatum chastised her. “I’m wearing a dress too if it hasn’t escaped your attention. We’re being requested at the clubhouse. We don’t ask,” she pointed out. “We just go.”

Mandy had already done her hair and makeup, and was trying to slide sandals that buckled over her feet. Her belly was too big, though, for her to bend down and clasp them. In frustration, Tatum bent down, doing it for her. “You’re already learning how to be an old lady, little sister. Is that what you do with Remy? Don’t ask, just go?”

“I’m not talking to you about Remy. It’s none of your business,” she huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for Mandy to grab her purse.

“Oh no, girlfriend.” She grabbed a bottle of water and a granola bar too, because at this point, being comfortable, hydrated, and fed were the top three priorities in her life. “You don’t get to tell me to mind my own business. You were so far up in mine when Dalton and I were first dating that you might as well have been a third wheel, even at your age. You don’t get to brush off my sisterly concern.”

“I was like three,” Tatum defended herself.

“Doesn’t matter,” Mandy argued as they got into Tatum’s car. “Payback’s a bitch. Now spill.”

*

“Why are all these cars here?” Mandy asked when they pulled up to the clubhouse. The parking lot was as full as she’d ever seen it, and it made her a little nervous. Had something happened to one of their members and they were trying to figure out how to break it to her gently so she wouldn’t go into labor?

“It stands to reason if they wanted us here, then they probably wanted everybody else here too…right?”

Again with the pregnancy brain. Mandy would be glad when her mind was her own again. “Whatever you say. Let’s go see what all the fuss is about.”