Until July

I walk into our bedroom and my eyes fall on July, who has both our boys tucked close to her waist. Her eyes open slowly, and the smile that lights her face makes me feel like I’m the king of the world.

“What?” Wes says, looking at me then stumbling over to one of the chairs sitting down. “Pregnant?” he asks then shakes his head. “How is that possible?”

“It’s a nice chair,” I agree, rocking the three of us until I feel her body relax and James’ little body sink into mine.

“Thank God,” I breathe, plopping back down onto the bed.

“Careful,” Wes snarls, walking into the room. I take a breath and let it out slowly. I know he’s worried about me, so he’s on edge, but he’s been a snarling beast since he carried me into the room, stripped me out of my clothes put me in the shower, and then tucked me into bed.

“Hey, little man,” I say, lifting my son to my chest and kissing his head. “Mama’s sleeping, so you’re going to have to hang with your old man until she wakes up,” I tell him, taking him over to his changing table, where I lie him down and change his diaper before sitting in the rocking chair near the window so I can give him his bottle.

“You worried the fuck out of us,” my dad complains, running his hand over my hair then narrowing his eyes. “You’re not allowed to do anything like that again,” he says like I did it on purpose.

“Promise.” I place my hand on his cheek while fighting my smile, which makes his eyes narrow further. “Can you find out how Ellie is doing?” I ask after a moment.

“I’m going to put Ellie in my truck and look her over while I wait for Uncle Nico to get here,” Jax says, and I watch, stunned as he swings Ellie up into his arms and carries her off to his truck.

“Swear on my life I won’t hurt you, or let anyone hurt you ever again,” he tells her, and I watch his eyes go soft in a way I have never seen before, not from him. Ellie swallows then hands him the two-by-four. He drops it to the ground then takes her hands, making her cry out, causing anger to flood his features. “I won’t hurt you, but your hands are in bad shape,” he explains then looks at me. “You hurt?”

“Let me have that, baby,” Jax says, his eyes locked on Ellie, and she holds the two-by-four a little tighter to her chest then shakes her head, backing up almost until she’s behind me. “I promise I won’t let anything hurt you, but I need you to give that to me, and then I want to look you over,” he tells her gently. Her eyes leave him and come to me. I look at her hands and see they are red, and I know why Jax is worried about her.

“This is Ellie,” I tell Jax then say, “Jax is my cousin. He looks scary, but he’s a big softy.”

His arms wrap around me, holding me so tight that I feel myself molding to him. “Jesus.” He lets me go and begins to look me over, his hands moving over my body.

“I’m okay,” I assure him, putting my hands on his cheeks. He drops to his knees and his face goes into my belly, and I wrap myself around him for a moment. Then he stands, kissing me once more before looking to my side. “This is Ellie. She was here when they brought me,” I tell him.