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Lili turned her wide eyes to me. “I don’t have my dance shoes.”

Stormy pointed to a pair of black slippers on the edge of the wooden dance floor. Lili thrust her helmet into my hands, dumped her backpack from her shoulders, and dropped to the floor to change her shoes.

Shoes swapped, she shoved her jacket and gloves into my hands. “Dad, hold these.” Then she scrambled over to Stormy. Two of the other little girls hugged Lili. They all laughed and took position in front of the mirrors.

I smiled, sat on the bench to wait for her to have class, pulled out my phone, and sent a text to Jaymi.

Brett: I talked to Cory. Got my job back. Late nights behind the bar are over.

“Don’t let your crown slip,” Stormy said to the little girls. “Long necks. Heads straight.” Lili was out of place in her cute jeans with big colorful flowers embroidered on the legs, and her pink T-shirt, but she didn’t seem to care. Her little legs worked to perform. My baby girl wasn’t a born ballerina. She was going to have to work for it.

But she’d be a menace on the streets if she ever took after McKelle, Jazzy, and the other girls at the MC.

About an hour later, Lili was done with class. We grabbed burgers on our way to the MC. Typical Tuesday nights were quiet. McKelle, Hana, Jazzy, and the rest of the girls had Lili at their table while I played cards with Vega, Bullet, and Rogue.

No one started any drama, but there was an underlying tension at the table. No one spoke his name, but we were all thinking about Kodiak. He should be here. Normally, he would be, getting dealt into the next hand. Speaking of the next hand, I needed dealt out. This was my week for visitation, but I wanted to show Natalie I could stick to the schedule.

“Lilibug, about time to go.”

Her smile fell, then immediately her eyes widened. “On the Harley?”

I nodded and tossed my cards onto the table. I had a losing hand anyway. I grabbed my phone and shot a text off to Jaymi.

Brett: Taking Lili back to her mom’s. I’ll be there in fifteen. Do you need me to pick up anything?

The reply was instant.

Jaymi: I’m not home. Holly needed some help. I’m still at her place.

Brett: No worries. Text me when you get home.

But by the time I’d taken Lili home, and come back to the MC, she still hadn’t sent me a text. I had to be at the jobsite in the morning. Eventually, I crashed, sleeping alone for the first time in weeks.

Jaymi

First thing this morning, Lili couldn’t wait to tell me about last night with her dad. She told me about her friends in the MC, and I listened and asked questions, as if I didn’t know Jazzy, Hana, and Romeo.

At lunchtime, she asked to stay in my classroom. I heard about how her dad was the best biker. He made the best peanut butter sandwiches because he cut off the crust. She said this as she picked the crust from around her sandwich. “Mom says to just eat it.”

I chuckled.

And he got her the best helmet. He told her the best bedtime stories even though she couldn’t sleep at the MC anymore. “He’s the best dad because he’s my dad.” She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial level, and the happiness in her smile faltered. “But don’t tell my mom. She thinks he’s bad. But she’s just thinks that because she loves Ornery.” The smile was back. “It’s okay. She says I’m going to have a little brother or sister.” She took a big bite of her sandwich.

My heart crashed against my ribs, and my thoughts splintered into a thousand different directions. Did she know about the baby? Why would Brett tell his ex? Heat flushed my face. I wasn’t ready to tell anyone. I hadn’t told my parents, or my brother. I’d barely come to terms with a positive pregnancy test. I wasn’t even sure about us, and he’d tell the woman who hates him? “Is your mom going to have a baby?”

“She told Ornery that she’s not having a baby until she’s divorced. Ornery said he wants to get married when they go to Paris. He’s French. He can talk French, too, but mostly, he yells at the TV.”

“What?” I tried to shuffle through her words. So not my baby, but her mom’s? Were we both pregnant?

She stuffed the rest of her sandwich in her mouth.

My pulse fluttered as I sat down in the chair next to her. I needed to speak carefully. “Do you want a brother or sister?”

“No boys.” Her face pinched. “My mom needs to have a baby because Ornery wants to be my dad. But my dad said no. My dad said if Ornery wants to have a kid, he has to make his own. Only I get to be my dad’s kid.”

The conversation ran on repeat in my mind for the rest of the day. Brett wasn’t going to walk away from his baby, but if he was with me, would Lili feel relegated to a part-time child? Fifty/fifty custody. I couldn’t hurt her, but I couldn’t deny my baby his or her father either.

I was so screwed.