Micaela

It had almost been a month since we had the big confrontation, or whatever you wanted to call it, with my family and I moving to Tenillo. Things were still stiff. I had to admit, they were all doing their best to make up for it and to prove they meant it. There were long calls and video chats between them and us. Ashes, Vicious, and Dragon often participated in them so they could get to know my family and vice versa. It had been going so well that they were all coming to visit for a long weekend. It was the Fourth of July weekend. The club was having a big barbeque and invited friends and family.

I was slightly nervous about having all of them mix with my men and the club, but what made me the most nervous was that I would meet Paul, Dragon's dad, for the first time. I'd talked to him on the phone a few times, but this would be different. I kept praying he would like me and think I was worthy of his son. When I tried to explain to Dragon my apprehension, he was adamant no one could ever not love me. He was biased, but I loved him for it.

His dad was the only in-laws, I guess you'd call them, that there was to meet. Vicious didn't have any, and Ashes didn't associate with his parents or brother. After what he told me about them, I didn't blame him. The Regulators were coming to visit again. I'd enjoyed meeting them at Daredevil and Shain's wedding. I had no worries about them. I was looking forward to getting to know them better. I know Shain was excited to see them, especially her cousin Moose and his old lady.

Living on the compound close to Shain and Daredevil had been interesting for the past month. My brother was no longer avoiding me. If we ended up in the clubhouse at the same time, he stayed. More than a couple of times, they had come to sit with us and talk. It wasn't back to the way it used to be, but I thought it was healing. Shain did her best to help. Even as upset as my men were at Daredevil, they were doing their best to put it behind us and close the rift.

Shain and I spent time talking about the baby and figuring out how to decorate the nursery. They had decided not to find out what they were having. They wanted to be surprised. If it was me, I'd go crazy not knowing, but it was their baby, so I would have to suffer. I told her I refused to buy all yellow and was holding off on the major shopping until I knew what they had. I was rooting for a girl just to turn my brother's hair gray. She was four-and-a-half months along. The baby was due two days after Christmas. Christmas was the day Boomer and Bella's baby was due. I told both couples it would be so cool if they delivered both on Christmas Day.

"Sweet Thing, where are you?" Ashes hollered. I was in the bedroom, and he must've just come in.

"In the bedroom," I yelled back.

His heavy footsteps came down the short hall. I was stretched out working on changing the sheets on our ginormous bed.

"Baby, why didn't you tell us these needed to be changed? This thing is too damn big for you to tackle alone. Let me help you," he said, coming around to the opposite side of the bed.

"It takes work, but I can do it, although I do thank you for the help. It's kicking my ass this time. What did you need?"

"I came to tell you that your family is almost here. Daredevil said he got a text. I figured you'd want to greet them when they got here. Oh, and the Regulators are here."

"I heard bikes and thought it was them. And yes, I should be there to say hi to everyone. We'd better hurry."

With his help, it was done in no time. He stayed with me, watching me recheck my appearance in the mirror and applying more lip gloss. Finally, he told me to get a move on, so I went with him. The barbecue area was on the backside of the clubhouse, just down from the trailers. He took me in that direction. It was easy to hear the loud voices and the shrieks of the older kids as they played on their playground. It was a huge one with every kind of jungle gym type of thing you could ever want. People were milling around everywhere. Scanning the crowd, I tried to spot my family. Maybe they weren't here yet.

"I don't see them. Do you?" I asked him.

"No, they must not be here yet. Let's get you a drink. You're too tense, babe. It's gonna be fine." he assured me for the hundredth time as he led me to one of the coolers.

The blue ones were filled with water and sodas. The red ones held alcohol. The smaller white ones had children's drinks, such as juice boxes in them. The old ladies came up with the color coding a while ago. He grabbed the beer I preferred for me and twisted off the cap before handing it to me. I took a long drink. It was hot out, and I was already seeking the shade.

"Hey, Angel Lips. It's about time you came out," Vicious said from behind me, causing me to jump. As I turned, I saw my other man with him. All three surrounded me. They were acting casually, but I knew it was to support me as I saw my family face-to-face for the first time since Florida.

"She was changing the sheets on the bed," Ashes outed me.

"Babe, you should've told us," Dragon chastised.

"I helped her, but I told her the same thing. She needs to relax today. You've been working your ass off getting things set up at the studio," Ashes reminded me.

He was right. It had taken a lot. We'd found the perfect space, and the landlord had accepted our rent offer. And she was willing to let me paint the inside any way I wanted. I had a vision of what I wanted my studio to look like. When I told the guys, they made sure I got everything to make it happen, including help from them and the prospects. It was almost ready for business. I knew the first photos I was taking. My gorgeous men had agreed to pose for me. They were too handsome not to be captured on film.

"Micaela, they're here," Dragon said softly. He was staring off to the left. I glanced that way and spotted my parents and my brothers with Shain and Daredevil. They had met everyone before, but they still seemed a little stiff. They were looking around. When they saw us, they all made a beeline for me. Oh God, here goes.

I made sure to have a smile on my face when they got to us. Leave it to Mamá to ignore any awkwardness and hug me. I squeezed her back. It was nice to hug her and smell her familiar scent. The one that always comforted me as a child and still does to this day. After she let go, Papá hugged me next. There were greetings flying back and forth. I was happy to see they were talking to my guys. After Papá was done, the boys each had to hug me, but they added lifting me off the ground to it. I was only five foot four to their over six-foot selves.

"One of these days, you'll pick me up, and that's it. I'm gonna hurt you," I threatened.

"Sure, you do that, Mic. I'm shaking in my shoes," Marco teased.

I stuck out my tongue at him, which only made the asshole snicker. Deciding to ignore him for a minute, I changed the subject.

"How was your flight? Who's minding the company?"

"The flight was good. No delays or turbulence. Henry has the construction company under control. He's more than capable," Papá said. He was right. Henry could. He'd been with the company and worked his way up over the past fifteen years. He was their foreman who ran all their crews.

"Can we get you something to drink? You name it, we've probably got it," Ashes offered to them. This diverted us to the distribution of drinks. Once they had something, we began talking about other things. For my mamá , it was to interrogate Shain on how she was feeling and if she was getting enough rest and eating right.

Vicious whispered in my ear as we listened to my sister-in-law working to dodge a lecture. "I can see what it'll be like when you're pregnant. Your mamá will likely try to move in to take care of you. Your brother better watch out, or she'll be staying with him by the end of this weekend." He chuckled as he said the last bit. I giggled.

"What's so funny? Tell the rest of us," Renzo insisted.

"Why are you such a nibshit? Maybe I won't tell you," I teased back.

"If you don't, it'll be a tickle fest," he threatened. He knew how ticklish I was, damn him.

"I was talking about how your mom is with Shain, and they'd better watch out. She might move in. And I was telling Micaela I now knew what your mom would be like with her pregnant," V told them.

They got very quiet. It was Mamá who broke it. "Are you pregnant?"

"No, I'm not! Why would you think that?" I asked, somewhat stunned.

"Well, you talked about kids in Florida, and your brother and Shain didn't wait. I thought maybe you hadn't either. Or have you changed your mind about having them?" she asked hesitantly.

"No, we haven't changed our minds. As for waiting or trying right now, we're not actively trying. There's a lot happening between the studio, and the house is soon to begin to be built. I'm settling in. A baby would be too much."

"Well, just remember, when you are ready, I'll be close by. That goes for both of you." She glanced over at Shain. "I'll help your papá , but I'll have plenty of time to babysit my grandbabies. Being a working mom is tough. Speaking of working, Shain, when will you stop going out to actual fires?"

" Mamá , as long as I'm able to do the job and the doctor says it's alright, I'll do it. I'm used to the work, so Dr. White says it's okay to continue. I promise if there are any doubts as to whether it will affect the baby or not, I'll stop. Your son would chain me to the bed if I didn't."

"Hey, we don't need to know what kind of kinky stuff you and our brother do," Diego threw in. It was enough to get all of my brothers teasing each other. My parents merely smiled or rolled their eyes. They were used to it. We were laughing at something Marco said when a voice behind me made me jump and then turn around.

Smiling at me was Crash, V's cousin. With him was Moose, Fender, and Stinger. Dragon jumped in to make a quick introduction in case anyone forgot names from last time. Greetings were exchanged. As soon as they were, Crash began to question Vicious.

"I have a bone to pick with you, cos."

"Oh yeah, about what?"

"You stole this beautiful woman right out from under my nose. No fair. And then to do it and let others be part of it. Why don't you add me to this group of yours?"

Everyone got quiet. My family looked shocked. I wasn't sure what to say. Crash was good-looking, but I only wanted my three.

"Crash, you might be V's cousin, but that won't stop me from rearranging your face if you go near Micaela," Dragon warned him.

"You need to find yourself another woman. She's ours, and we won't share her. That's fucking messed up. She's our old lady, or didn't you see the goddamn cut?" Ashes snapped.

Vicious, surprisingly, hadn't said anything. He was standing there watching us. After the others voiced their thoughts, V finally spoke. "Crash, I know what you're doing. Better stop it before you get more than you bargained for. They think you're serious. If you meant it, I'll do more than rearrange your face. This is the love of our lives. We'll fight for and protect her no matter what."

Crash smiled and then nodded his head. "That's what I wanted to hear. It's good to know you've found something good after the shit you went through. I'm so damn happy that bitch didn't win. Micaela, welcome to the family. You got lucky, woman. You got me when you hooked up with this bum," he joked as he elbowed Vicious.

His relaxed manner put my family back at ease, and the conversation changed to catching up on what had been happening since we had seen them last. They were good about including our family. They seemed really interested in Papá's construction expansion. Later, when we went to mingle with others, Crash stayed talking to my brothers and papá.

It was maybe a half hour after we left them that I was brought to stand in front of a man I didn't know. He was older, and his face reminded me of Dragon. When I thought that, I blinked. Was this his dad? We'd talked but never video chatted. I gulped as Dragon smiled. V and Ashes were hanging back.

"Micaela, I'd like to officially introduce you to my dad, Paul. Dad, this is my old lady, Micaela."

Paul's smile was Dragon's. When he directed it at me, my tension melted away.

"Micaela, it's so good to finally meet you. Come give me a hug and let me kiss you. Lord, my son sure got a woman out of his league."

A protesting Dragon, a laughing me, and his chuckling dad made a picture as I hugged and kissed him. My nervousness had all been for nothing. After meeting me, Paul was introduced to V and Ashes. He'd never met them. We spent a long time with him before he was commandeered by Trident.

I was enjoying myself and thought everything was going great. Food was close to being ready to serve as soon as the prospects got done on the grills. I'd helped the other women make many side dishes and desserts. Some they bought in town. I insisted my men go have fun and that I'd be alright on my own. I was standing with Lyric, Sara, and Jackie when Ashes walked up. He didn't say a word. All he did was take my hand and tug on it.

"Where do you want me to go?" I asked as I went with him, after giving the women an apologetic smile.

They were all grinning. The man didn't answer me. He weaved us through the crowd until we were in the middle of the backyard. Standing there were Dragon and Vicious. I was opening my mouth to ask what they wanted when Ashes let go of my hand. He walked over to join my other two. As I kept coming toward them, as one, they dropped to one knee, and their hands came up. Vicious was in the middle. In his hand was a small black box. I froze. Surely, I was wrong or dreaming this. I pinched my side. Ouch, no, not a dream. The rest of the club, our guests, Paul, and my family had gathered around us.

"Micaela Torres, we've been waiting for this day for what seems like an eternity. You may think it's too public, but there's a reason we chose to do this today," Ashes stated. Next came Dragon.

"We did it today because, for once, we have all our family together. Who knows when it'll happen again."

"We want all these witnesses to know how much we love you. You're our everything, Micaela," Vicious said, then paused.

Then, as one, as if they practiced it, they asked, "Micaela, Sweet Thing, Sunshine, Angel Lips, our Sweet Sugar, will you please marry us? Make honest men out of us and grant us our hearts' desire."

By then, I was about to cry through laughter at them using all their pet names for me. Vicious opened the lid on the box to reveal a sparkling ring. One that made me gasp. I moved closer so I could see it. It was a unique ring. It was four hearts made of diamonds, and they were entwined together, creating almost a clover-like effect. I knew instantly they were to signify the four of us, our love and commitment to each other.

"Uh, babe, what's your answer?" Dragon asked hesitantly. That made me cognizant that I hadn't answered them. The poor guys were still on one knee waiting for me.

"I would love nothing more than to be your wife. Who's gonna give me my ring?"

This got people laughing as congratulations were hollered out. They stood, and V took out the ring. Together, somehow, they slid it on my fourth finger. As I was passed from person to person and congratulated, I kept glancing down at it. I was an engaged woman. God.

Paul hugged me more than when we met as he congratulated us. Eventually, I made it to my family. I hesitated. How would they take this newest development? They shouldn't be too surprised. My worry melted away when Daredevil stepped closer and opened his arms.

"Congrats, sis. You've got three great guys here."

I walked into his arms and sighed as I said, "I know. They are the best." After him, I was squeezed, kissed, and congratulated by the others. I wasn't the only one. So were the guys. It looked like life was on track, and I had my family back.