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Maggie laid her hand on her stomach. “I mean, I’m only seven weeks, but I could stand to eat again.”
“Let the preggers eat when they want,” Mitzy called. “I pushed out Mavis two months ago, and I’m still eating for two until she decides she doesn’t want the boob milk anymore.”
“Yeah, but Raelynn isn’t pregnant,” Playboy interrupted.
Raelynn squinted and pursed her lips. “But am I?”
Playboy reeled back from her. “Am you what?” he asked. He shook his head. “Are you what? Pregnant?”
Raelynn tapped her fingers together. “I mean, the four tests I took yesterday all said I was, and I’m pretty sure next Wednesday, the doctor is going to tell me the same thing because I’ve been losing my breakfast for the past two weeks.”
Playboy’s face whitened, and he looked like he was about to faint. “You’re kidding me,” he whispered.
A wide smile spread across Raelynn’s lips. “You’re gonna be a daddy,” she whispered.
The room erupted into a chorus of yips and congratulations for Raelynn and Playboy. The joyous announcement filled the air, mingling with the warmth of camaraderie that permeated every corner of the room.
The room buzzed with conversation as everyone offered their well wishes to the expectant parents.
Raelynn’s voice cut through the chatter, commanding attention. “Okay, okay,” she called out, her tone playful yet firm. “So, are we going to eat or what?”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Rocco
“Squirrels?” Barracuda’s voice cut through the chatter, drawing my attention away from the group. I nodded in response, draining the rest of my beer as I explained the bizarre situation to the guys.
The girls had commandeered one end of the tables we had pushed together, leaving the guys to congregate at the other end. As I filled in Barracuda and the rest of the guys on our squirrel problem, their expressions ranged from amusement to disbelief.
“I gotta say, Rocco, this was not what I thought you had to tell us,” Mace chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief.
“Hey,” Barracuda shrugged. “It’s better than all the shit that happened to us the past few years. I’ll take a few dead squirrels any day.”
I shrugged, feeling a mix of frustration and concern. “Yeah, well, I know it sounds ridiculous, and it might just be some punk kids trying to get a rise out of Dorothy, but she’s pretty freaked out by it.”
“But, if it’s not kids, what would the meaning of a dead squirrel be?” Jinx mused, furrowing his brow.
“Maybe like a dead fish?” Monk suggested with a shrug. “You get a dead fish and it means you’re going to be sleeping with the fishes.”
“So, she’s getting dead squirrels, so she’s going to be in the trees with the squirrels?” I joked weakly, trying to lighten the mood.
Mace scoffed, his expression serious. “I say it’s just some kids being assholes. Leave it to me, and I’ll scare them away. They can’t be that smart or dangerous if they’re just leaving roadkill.”
Barracuda nodded in agreement, glancing at Monk. “Look into it with Mace. Even if it is nothing, we need to make sure.”
Monk nodded in response. “You got it. We can nose around tomorrow.”
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, feeling a pang of guilt for bringing this issue to the club’s attention. “How long are you guys staying?” I asked, eager to change the subject.
Barracuda clapped me on the back, offering a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, brother. We’re not planning on taking over your funeral home. Ain’t no way in hell I can sleep with dead people.”
Monk chimed in, providing more details. “We got a block of rooms at the motel on the edge of town. We’ll stay two nights, and then we’ll be heading back to Sacramento. The grandparents can handle the kids for only so long before we have to get back.”
Mace added, “You can help us by looking like you’re showing us around tomorrow. Might surprise you, but a bunch of bikers nosing around a town they aren’t from is suspicious for some.”
We shared a laugh at the irony of the situation, but my mind was elsewhere. I glanced down at the girls, my eyes locking with Dorothy’s.
Despite the warm welcome I received from everyone in the club, I couldn’t shake the feeling of longing for Dorothy’s presence. I missed her, even though she was just ten feet away.
