OUTLAW KING(47)

I nodded.

Yes, a baby would change everything.

But so would a single phone call.

King called me a little bit later, wanting me to meet him at his brother’s grave.





35


(King) *NOW*

LINDS HAD to pee in a cup. Then we waited in the small exam room. She sat on the table with her feet dangling over it while I paced the room back and forth.

Pregnant? A baby? A father? Me?

Talk about a reality check. Getting a one-two punch to the gut.

Being put away was one thing. Being killed was another. Losing Linds was the worst case scenario for me. But now all of that changed. Losing my unborn baby was the worst case scenario. Sending Linds out to the world as a single mother - a pregnant, single mother - was not right. She didn’t sign up for this shit. In a way, neither did I. We couldn’t change it now though. We f*cked like rabbits, all unprotected. Whoops.

The doctor came into the room with a big smile on her face.

“You’re pregnant,” she said.

I stopped dead in my tracks. I pointed to the folder the doctor was holding.

“You’re sure?” I asked.

“It’s there,” the doctor said. “Now we need to get blood work done next to check your levels. We’ll repeat and make sure everything increases. You can schedule your first ultrasound appointment when you checkout, too.”

I looked at Linds. I swore her eyes were spinning in circles.

I got the doctor to focus on me for a second. “Can we get the blood work done right now?”

“Sure. The lab is open.”

“That’s our next stop. Thank you, Doc.”

“Congrats,” she said. “Take deep breaths. Enjoy the ride. And get yourself some prenatal vitamins.”

The doctor left the room and I put a hand out for Linds to take. I stood her up and pulled her close for a hug.

“Holy shit,” Linds whispered.

“Holy shit,” I said. I cupped her face and kissed her. “Holy f*cking shit, sweetie. You’re pregnant.”

“I’m pregnant.”

“With my baby.”

“With your baby.”

“I’m…”

“What do we do now?” Linds asked.

I knew what the question meant. She wanted to talk about the Reap, Anderson, Uncle Jakey. All of that bullshit mess. But I wasn’t interested in that. At all.

I kissed the tip of her nose. “We go get you some blood work.”

“I’m afraid of needles, King.”

“I’ll be right there to hold your hand.”

And I was.

I made Linds look at me while blood was drawn from her left arm. She squeezed my hand tight and was shaking. I couldn’t help myself as I smiled. Somehow, it all felt so right. She and I together. She being pregnant with my child. Like our destiny was finally coming to life.

When we were finished with all doctors and lab stuff, I took her for a ride through the old part of town. The south side where we had grown up. Where two blocks separated those who were dirt poor to those who were living in the upper middle class. I cruised down my old street and saw my old house. It was the same pale blue color with ugly reddish shutters. The same flat slab of concrete as a porch where I stood and watched Linds walk away after the first time it really hit me that I was in love with her.

The road came to an end with a stop sign. I turned left and went down to the library two blocks away. It was now shut down, once for sale, now being used as some kind of makeshift religious center and place for alcoholics to get together and talk. I hooked another left and was on a winding road that took me to the upper middle class development. Where the houses mostly looked the same.

I took Linds to her old house.

I thought about the two times I was in that house. The first was for a minute until her Aunt Jane and Jim came home really early. I had to bolt out the back door and run like hell. The second time I was in the house was the night Jim attacked them both. That night I got to take Linds out of that house.

I slowed but didn’t stop as we went by the house.

I felt Linds’s grip on me change. She held tighter. The house would forever haunt her. Just more proof that no matter what I couldn’t end up back inside prison.

So I took her back to her apartment and tried to come up with a plan. If I bailed on the Reap and my brothers, they’d hunt me and Linds down. I couldn’t do that to Knox and Slam though. They were my brothers. True brothers.

Linds went to take a shower and I twisted the cap off a beer.

A minute later, I was halfway walking to the bathroom to join Linds in the shower to celebrate our good news.

That’s when the phone rang.

Uncle Jakey was calling me.

It was time for action.





36


(Lindsey) *THEN*

THE RAIN CAME from out of nowhere. There was a bunch of us standing on King’s front porch. A few of his friends, a few of mine. The sole purpose was so that me and King could face each other. There had been too many rumors and lingering feelings swirling around. I wanted to hear it from his mouth before anything else happened.

It was all dumb high school shit though.

Do you like me? Do you like me, like me? Do I like you? Do I like you, like you?

A crack of thunder rang out in the distance.