Tina

T ina was a bit nervous about having her first "Dinner party" with Hurricane. They had become so domesticated that she wasn't sure she could even remember her old, lonely life. They were becoming a family and that thought scared the hell out of her. She never saw herself with a family, yet being with Hurricane and Chasity felt right—familiar even.

Hurricane had invited Wren and Yonkers over to have a backyard barbecue and she had no idea what that would entail. Sure, burgers and hot dogs, but should she make a salad or anything else? panicked over every detail and from the way Hurricane was watching her, he could tell.

"You do know that it's just Wren and Yonkers," he reminded as she handed him the grill tools.

"I know, but this is our first real get-together with friends here, and I just don't want to screw it up," she admitted.

"You can't screw it up, honey," he insisted. They won't care what we serve, as long as there's food and someone to hold the baby while they eat. I'm sure that they haven't had a hot meal since the kid arrived. Yonkers told me that the baby seemed to have some kind of damn radar every time Wren sat down to eat.

smiled at the idea of being able to hold the baby while Wren ate her dinner. She loved spending time with both Wren and her daughter. They had quickly become good friends.

helped to get the meat ready for the grill when Yonkers and Wren showed up just in time for the guys to start the grill and get the dogs and burgers on. "You want to come inside and help me with a few side dishes?" asked Wren.

"Of course," Wren agreed. "Do you mind if I put her down in your room? It's nap time and I don't want to mess up our schedule."

"Absolutely," said, "you know where it is, right?"

"I've only been here one other time, but yeah, I think that I remember. I'll be right back," she promised.

started making salad, chopping vegetables, and getting plates and silverware ready to put on the table when Chasity and Wren walked back into the kitchen. "Can we help?" Wren asked.

"Absolutely," agreed. "How about you finish up the green salad and I'll work on the potato salad?"

"What can I do?" Chasity asked.

"Do you want to frost the cupcakes?" asked. She knew that was one of her niece's favorite jobs because when she was finished, she'd lick the spoon.

They all got to work and when things got awkwardly quiet, Chasity asked Wren about living in Alabama.

"I've never even been out of New York," Chasity admitted.

"Me either," said. "I think that makes me a bit more pathetic since I'm double your age."

"Neither of you are pathetic," Wren insisted. "I had never been out of Alabama until I chased down Yonkers up here. He left to come up to New York to take care of his mother and well, I needed to tell him about the baby. So, I found him up here and ended up sticking around."

"I'm so glad that you did," said.

"Me too," Chasity added. "What was the clubhouse like down in Alabama?" she asked. worried that her niece was getting a bit too used to going into the club with her and Hurricane, but she always stuck to the rules, and having her with them took away some of the worry that she might run again.

"It's a lot like the one up here in Yonkers, but it's more of a bar/restaurant. I know that Hurricane is trying to get something like that started here, but the kitchen needs a bit of work. I'm sure that the guys will lend a hand, and someday, Hurricane's place will be just as nice as Savage Hell."

"Is that the name of the club down there?" asked.

"Yep," Wren said, "I mean, they are all a part of the Royal Bastards, but the bar in Alabama is named after the Prez down there—Savage."

"He sounds scary," Chasity admitted.

"He's a giant teddy bear, but don't tell him that I said that if you ever meet him," Wren said. "He's a nice guy. All the guys down there are—even my older brother, Blade," she teased. "It's a giant family, just like it is up here, but they have more patched-in members in Alabama. Hurricane is just getting everything started up here, but I'm sure that he'll have the Yonkers' clubhouse filled up in no time."

Yonkers stuck his head in through the back kitchen door. "Hey, we're about to light the grill. Do you want to bring out the meat?" he asked.

"Yep," agreed. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out a tray of meat that she and Hurricane had worked on earlier. "I'm right behind you," she told Yonkers.

"We'll come too," Wren said as she and Chasity headed for the back door. "I do love to watch men grill." She slapped her husband's ass on her way past him, making and Chasity giggle.

They all circled the grill as handed Hurricane the meat and she almost wanted to laugh at how they were all standing there, waiting in anticipation of the lighting of the grill. It was the first time that they had used the gas grill, and she had to admit, it was pretty exciting. Hurricane looked like a kid on Christmas about to open the gift that he had asked Santa for.

"You ready?" he asked, looking around the circle at them all.

"Yep," Chasity said. "You would think that you actually created fire and weren't just using it to start a stupid grill."

"Hey, I'll have you know that starting a new grill takes a certain level of skill," Hurricane insisted. He turned the knobs to the grill and pushed the ignition button and nothing happened.

"Are you sure that you possess that skill?" Chasity asked under her breath.

"Keep it up kid and you won't get a hamburger," he said. Chasity shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest, giving Hurricane some space to do his thing. That was one thing about her niece that respected—she knew when to tease Hurricane and when to back off.

He readjusted the propane tank, and Yonkers checked all the connections. "It looks like you put it together correctly," Yonkers said.

"Yeah, let's try it again," Hurricane said. He turned the knobs on high this time and when he pushed the ignition button, it made a swooshing sound that had them all jumping back—everyone except Hurricane. He shouted something about his eyebrows burning, and Yonkers picked up the glass of water that sat by the grill and tossed it on Hurricane's face. The whole thing happened so quickly that wasn't sure if she should laugh or be worried.

"Are you all right?" she asked him. Hurricane turned to face them, his face still dripping wet from the water that Yonkers had dumped on it, and she had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. Unfortunately, Chasity and Wren didn't do the same, and poor Hurricane looked between them as though he wanted to be let in on the joke.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"You don't have any eyebrows," Chasity said, pointing to Hurricane's face. "You singed them right off."

"Shit," Hurricane said. He pulled out his cell phone, checked himself in the photo app, and cursed again. Of course, Chasity and Wren both pulled out their phones and started snapping photos of Hurricane, not bothering to listen to the threats that he was making to break both of their damn phones.

"Do you think we should go to the hospital?" asked, still trying not to laugh.

"And risk further embarrassment?" he asked. "No."

"It doesn't look that bad," Yonkers said, not holding back his laughter.

"Yeah, you all can laugh all you want, but I think that the fucking grill is defective, and we don't have dinner now." The three of them immediately stopped laughing as Hurricane stood there, smirking at them all.

"We can order pizza," offered. "It's not the end of the world. Yonkers is right—they will grow out."

"Yeah, but in the meantime, I'm going to have to deal with a bunch of assholes down at the club razzing me. And fuck me, I've got an interview with a local news industry about global warming in two days. I don't suppose that they'll grow back by then, will they?"

"I'm afraid not," admitted, "but it's hardly noticeable. I'm sure that your interview will be fine," she lied. He looked her over and grabbed the plate of meat, heading back to the house.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I'm going to put this stuff back in the fridge and call to order a few pizzas. When you stooges are done laughing at me, feel free to join me." almost felt bad for the guy—almost, but the whole thing was too funny to let Hurricane's foul mood ruin their night.

By the time the pizza got there, they were all starving. She had set the table and even put the salads that they had made earlier out, to go with the pizza. Hurricane seemed to calm down a bit after his ordeal and even seemed to be having fun with their guests. Yonkers and Wren told them more stories about living in Alabama and Savage Hell, and all in all, the night turned out to be a success—mostly.

Sure, the new grill threw them for a loop and the barbecue portion of the evening turned out to be from hell, but honestly, had the best time she had in a long time. It was good to be where she felt that she belonged and that had everything to do with the sexy biker sitting across from her with no eyebrows.

held the pregnancy test in her shaking hands, holding it up for Hurricane to see. "I'm pregnant," she said. He took the test from her and studied it. She could tell that he was just as shocked as she was.

"Pregnant," he said as though he was testing the word on his tongue. "How can you be pregnant?" he asked.

put her hand on her hips and stared him down. "Do I need to explain to you how women get pregnant, Hurricane?" she asked.

"No," he insisted, "but we've only been together for five months now. I thought that we were being careful."

"We were careful," she spat, "but the pill isn't one hundred percent effective." She was pissed that he was trying to pin this on her since she was the one who usually covered the birth control for them. "And just a reminder, I can't get pregnant on my own. You were a part of this too."

"Shit, I'm fucking this all up," he grumbled. "I get that you didn't get pregnant on your own, and I didn't ask about protection to piss you off. I'm just in shock I guess," he said. Hurricane handed her back the pregnancy test, "How do you feel about all this?" he asked.

huffed out a breath, "Well, I just found out about all this a few minutes before you did. I'm in shock also, and I'm not sure how I feel about the baby. Honestly, I never saw myself having any children. My brother asked me to take Chasity when she was just a baby. Hell, I was a baby myself at just eighteen. At first, I told him that I wouldn't do it, but then he wrote me a letter begging me to change my mind. He told me that I was his only hope, and I felt guilted into saying yes. I never thought that it would happen, you know, losing both James and my sister-in-law. When it did, I was about thirty-one, and I thought that I had missed out on my chance to have a family. I was so excited to be given the chance to be Chasity's surrogate mom, but she liked to remind me around every corner that I'm not her mom."

"Yeah, hearing her scream that I'm not her dad every other minute is a real treat, so I get where you're coming from. She has a real temper when she's pissed off," Hurricane said.

"You're right and she is pissed all the time," added. He pulled her into his arms, and she went willingly.

"So, what are we going to do about the baby?" he whispered.

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "What do you think we should do?" She knew that wanting the baby and having a baby on her own were two different things. She wasn't sure that she'd ever be able to do something that brave, especially since her niece was giving her so much trouble.

"I want the baby, honey," he admitted. "I want you too, but are you ready to hear me say that to you?" he asked. Was she? That was a very good question. She had been with Hurricane now for five months, and sure, she had thought about what her future might look like with him. But she had never worked up the courage to tell him what she wanted. had a feeling that her time was up, and it was time to admit to Hurricane what she wanted from him.

"I'd like that too," she admitted, "being with you." 's palms were sweaty, and her throat suddenly felt a bit dry. She had never been shy around Hurricane and she wondered why she was having this reaction to him now. Maybe admitting the truth wasn't as easy as she believed it would be.

He kissed the top of her head and hugged her against his body. "And the baby?" he asked.

"I want the baby too," she breathed, "but I'm not sure how I'll take care of Chasity, a baby, and myself. I'm not doing such a great job at caring for my niece."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, . Chasity just needs some time." Hurricane was Chasity's safe place and now that he was with , her niece might not feel comfortable confiding in her.

"I understand that she needs some time, but all she'll get is four months now. I guess that is when the baby will be here. With everything that was going on, I didn't pay much attention to my cycle, and now I'm going to pay the price."

"Don't talk like that, honey," Hurricane insisted. "You didn't do anything wrong and having a baby isn't paying the price for making a mistake. This baby isn't a mistake, and I'll be by your side the entire time. As for Chasity, we'll figure her out together, I promise." Hearing him say that he was going to be by her side, giving the support that she never had, but so desperately needed, made her happier than she had been in a long time.

"Thank you for that, Hurricane," she whispered. "Since my brother died, I haven't had anyone that I could trust. I have felt so alone, and now, with you promising to stick by me, I feel safe for the first time in a long time."

"You never have to thank me for that, honey," he insisted. "I don't know if you're ready to hear this part either, but I'm in love with you, . You will never have to second guess my feelings because I plan on telling you that every day of your life."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down for a kiss and when he stood and smiled after she broke the kiss, he nearly took her breath away. "I love you too, Hurricane," she admitted.

"Good to know, honey," he said. "Now, how about we go and tell your very angry niece that we're expecting? A baby changes things, but usually for the good. It will be an adjustment for her, but I know that she'll be able to get through everything. Heck, maybe having a baby around the house will help to make her happy."

She clutched at her chest and smiled, "Dare I hope?" she teased. "But you're right. We need to tell her before she figures it out on her own. She'll feel that we betrayed her and that's the last thing that we need."

"I like it when you call us a we, honey," he said.

"Is that okay?" she asked.

"It's more than okay. It feels like we're a family—you know, the three of us," he said. He was right—talking about their future and the way that it was about to change had her in a complete panic. But when he told her that he wanted not only the baby, but her also, had her hoping for a future that she never thought that she'd have since taking Chasity in. Now, she just hoped that the four of them could become a family because didn't know what she would do without any of them.

followed Hurricane up the stairs to the room that Chasity was staying in. She loved the way that he was always touchy-feely with her, but telling him about the baby seemed to amp up his affections. He held her hand all the way up the steps, not letting go of her until he knocked on Chasity's door.

"Chasity," he shouted through the closed door. The only rule that her niece had asked Hurricane for was to give her privacy. He agreed to let her shut her door, but not lock it unless she was in the bathroom or changing. It seemed to work between the two of them, and wondered why she hadn't thought about doing that with Chasity in her own home. It might have saved her a lot of headaches with the teen.

Her niece didn't answer, and panic welled up in her gut. knew that something had to be wrong. The last time she saw Chasity was in her room, just before she took the pregnancy test. "Chasity," Hurricane shouted again, banging on the door harder this time, for good measure. "Open the door, kid," he yelled.

"I don't think that she's in there," Chasity breathed. "What if she overheard us talking about the baby?"

"Let's not get too excited yet. I'll grab the key and unlock her door. You check the downstairs for any sign that she left earlier," Hurricane ordered. was grateful to have him in a crisis. Her life had felt like one giant mishap after another since Chasity had come to live with her. Every time she went to Hurricane with a problem, he quickly solved it, and a part of wondered if she'd ever be as capable as he seemed to be when it came to taking care of her niece.

"Okay," she whispered. "We'll meet back up in the kitchen in a few," she said. He nodded and ran down the hall to the master bedroom to get the key to Chasity's room and hurried down the stairs to the main floor. She was shouting her niece's name as she ran through the house, room by room, and when she found the entire floor empty, she allowed herself to panic.

"She's not here," she whispered to herself, letting the small sob that bubbled up from her chest escape her lips.

Hurricane came running down the stairs and into the kitchen to her, waving a piece of paper in the air. "She left a note," he breathed.

She snatched the piece of paper from her hands and read it aloud, "I know now that you never wanted me, ." She choked out her name, noting that her niece had stopped calling her Aunt again. "I heard you tell Hurricane that you didn't want me, but you had no choice but to take me once my parents died. I don't want to be where I'm not wanted. Please don't look for me—you won't find me again. I'm going to be smarter about things this time." She didn't even sign her name and there was no way to tell where she had headed when she left.

"I'm going to call a few of my guys in to come help us look for her," Hurricane insisted. "Then, I'm going to take a look around the house to see if I can track which direction she went. It's going to rain, and I don't want to lose any tracks that she might have left."

nodded and crossed her arms across her chest. "All right," she stuttered. Hurricane took two steps toward her and pulled her into his arms. "It's going to be all right, honey, you'll see. I'll find her and talk some sense into her. She'll be back here before you know it and you can tell her the rest of the story that you told me—the part about wanting Chasity now."

"I hope that you're right," she whispered, "I don't know what I'd do without her."

"You'll never have to find out, honey," he said, "I promise."