Page 53 of Cannon

“I know, but it’s not all about me being a prick. You guys are just so fucking predictable at times. Now run along and play, there’s a good VP.”

“Screw you,” I laugh and head back to the table.

Tanner moves aside so I can scoot in next to Barbara and raises his eyebrows at me. “So, what did he say? Am I in?” How does everyone read me so easily?

“He says he’ll speak to you about it, and if you’re open to the idea, he’ll bring it up at Church.”

“Church? WTF! Bitter Slayers MC, the strong arm of Catholicism or what? I’m not into any religion, Cannon.“ Tanner is genuinely shocked.

“Church is what we call our meetings to discuss club business, dummy. I don’t doubt we have some God-fearing brothers of more than one persuasion, but the MC isn’t, shall we say, affiliated with a singular church or religion. We vote at Church on decisions that could affect everybody, such as a business or spending club funds. When we take an old lady, like I did Barbara, everyone votes on it. If one of them has a concern or knows something I don’t, they get their chance to discuss it. Then I would beat the hell out of them until they voted in favor.” I smile at the last bit so he knows I’m joking.

“Ah, I see. That’s a good thing. I think I’ll like it just fine here.” He smirks at me as though he’s already a brother and I just shake my head. Winking at me, he excuses himself and heads off, but I watch as he’s making a beeline for Pattie. Breaker sees where I’m looking and turns to watch, too.

Tanner sidles up to her, and as he reaches her, she turns to face him. I don’t know what she thought he was going to do, but her look is ferocious. He stops, looks back over his shoulder, and then says something to her. Oh, I don’t like that look she gives him and I start to move over there.

Before I can do more than stand up, Pattie steps into Tanner and tries to throw him. He counters the move, holds her, and then releases her. She tries another move, and he counters that, too. Instead of throwing him, she throws a punch, which he catches and smiles at her. Seeing that she is rapidly losing her cool, I step between them, and she stamps hard on my foot.

“OUCH! What the hell was that for?” I shout at her.

“Well, don’t interfere when a girl’s having fun, then, asshole,” Pattie yells back at me.

“Yeah. Asshole,” shouts Tanner, and half the damn club with him.

Chapter 33

*~* Cannon *~*

The sound of retching coming from the bathroom reverberates through the house. The smell drifts through seconds later, followed by the sound of an air freshener being fired off. Barbara has been eating and heaving for what seems like a lifetime. I don’t know why she bothers eating breakfast in the first place, because it doesn’t stay inside her long enough to do any good.

“If I weren’t so hungry all the damn time, I wouldn’t bother with any breakfast. This baby is eating like a horse, I’m sure. He’s going to be a freaking monster. By the time he’s ready to come out, my pussy won’t be able to stretch that wide. You’re going to ruin me with our first child, you know that don’t you?” She leans on the bathroom doorframe and throws out the accusation. Seconds later and she’s back in the bathroom, talking to God on the great white telephone.

I can’t imagine how bad she must feel. One minute as hungry as all hell, and before she gets any chance to savor being full, she’s throwing up. That has got to be frustrating for her, or any woman for that matter. At least it’s only her breakfast she loses, and any brunch, snacks or elevenses. Once she passes the magic hour of noon, her hormones seem to go into respite, and she eats fine after that. She eats a lot, mind you, more than I can put away. She’s put on a little weight, but not so much that you’d notice, except in a couple of obvious places. I can fit my head into one of her new bra cups. No complaints there, though, no sirree.

She accepted the position of practice manager for Jamie’s new location and has been involved in every part of the process of acquiring the land, meeting with architects, choosing the right one, and even how the building should have curb appeal. I went with her to meet with a potential architect on the site next to the crem. He kept talking to me and ignoring her, so that didn’t end well. After telling him for the third time that I was not involved in the project and that it was all Barbara’s baby, so he should be directing his ideas to her, she got thoroughly and completely pissed off, marched him off the property and dismissed him with a flea in his ear.

I’m back in the saddle full-time at the pet crem, no more excuses for playing hooky, and hired a receptionist as one of my first duties. The phone rings all day, every day. I didn’t know so many pets dropped dead at such short notice. Very inconsiderate of them, I must say. We have inquiries about every type of pet, domestic or exotic, and some of the owners are a sandwich short of a picnic, I swear to God. One woman asked if her Norwegian Forest cat, Reggie the Wegie, could be cremated aboard a burning boat instead of in a casket.

Mary-Lou is very sweet, polite, looks like butter wouldn’t melt, and has a vicious sense of humor. I had two complaints about her responses to stupid requests in her first week, confirming that I had made the absolute best choice. She doesn’t, however, believe any of us about Percy the python, who we still haven’t found. Despite another animal, this time a cat, going missing, she resolutely believes we are trying to frighten her. I hope she doesn’t meet Percy in a dark corner somewhere when she’s alone.

Pres pulled Guardrail and his crew off every job they had going on as soon as Mr. Bentley presented us with Bandit's ashes. Pens had looked into the idea of having ashes buried in a plot on the compound and after discussing it in Church, everyone voted for a memorial garden where we could have our ashes scattered rather than buried in a little box or fancy urn. They created a beautiful garden space, and the club women all gave their time and effort to choosing and planting it so that there is something in bloom throughout each of the seasons. Jamie presented a small brass and wood plaque to commemorate Bandit, which was typically simple yet elegant.

While we were in Church, Pres asked if anyone had any thoughts on Tanner becoming a brother. Unsurprisingly, there were a lot in favor of him and many positive comments were made. Road name suggestions flew thick and fast, such as Tex, Hoss, Howdy, and my personal favorite, Twang. Pres suggested that he be left as a police officer for his prospect duties and that we revisit in six months rather than the standard twelve.

Tanner thought this was great when we told him, and although he can’t choose his own road name, he too liked Twang. It is certainly original. I’ve never heard of a brother anywhere with that road name. He and Pattie are as thick as thieves. I’ve never seen any romance between them, and it’s none of my business, but when he’s at the clubhouse, those two are always at the bottom of any mischief. They spiked a bottle of whisky behind the bar one night with chilies. Poor old Noah, who was bartending that night, almost got lynched.

Barbara finally reappears from the bathroom, looking pale and drawn. “This is all your fault. You and your damn swimmers. If all my pregnancies are going to be like this, he’s going to be an only child, I’ll tell you that much.”

“You keep saying he. It might be a girl, you know.” I grin at her as she pulls a face.

“Nah. Oh no. No daughter of mine would be this unpleasant to her mother. It’s definitely your son.” Sitting beside me on the bed, she leans her head on my arm, only because she can’t reach my shoulder. “The house will be done soon.”

“Yes. What’s your point, Babe?” I know the house will be done soon. We’ve been up and down the compound every day checking on the progress. We have ordered furniture, curtains, blinds, even a dog bed for a dog we don’t have.

“I can’t wait to be in our own home. Won’t it be cool?” She says this dreamily as though we’ve been living with our parents or something.

“We’ve spent most of our time at your house, so it’s not like we haven’t had our own space, is it?”

“No. Yes. I know, but like you just said, my house. This will be our house. Our home together. Just me, you, and Wilbur.”