Free Devil's Kiss (Hellhounds Motorcycle Club Book 1) by Kathryn Thomas Page B

suffered with morning sickness, and my mother hadn’t either, though she said Mom had tended to binge on various foods when a craving would hit, and that would make her puke. She told me a funny story of my mom eating corn on the cob during one of her cravings and had me in tears of laughter as I imagined the mess she must have made.
     
    When we sat down to eat I followed my plan, dipping out a lot of rice but only a little of the gumbo. Grandpa looked at me kind of funny but said nothing and I kept my head down to avoid making eye contact. But it was all for nothing. When I bit into my first shrimp I felt my stomach roll over and I knew what that meant.
     
    “I can’t,” I said softly as I pushed the bowl away.
     
    “It’s okay, Alexandria,” Granny said softly. “Do you want me to make you a sandwich?”
     
    “No,” I said miserably. “I brought one.”
     
    “Are you okay?” Grandpa asked looking at my bowl. “You’re not sick are you?”
     
    “A little,” I said as I stared at the table.
     
    “Go get your sandwich,” Granny said.
     
    I rose from the table and returned with my slightly squished sandwich. “I’m sorry,” I whispered as I pulled the sandwich out of the bag and laid it on my napkin.
     
    “Oh, poo,” Granny said with a wave of her hand. “Nothing to be sorry for.”
     
    I took a bite of the sandwich and felt my stomach settle almost immediately, even before I swallowed, and I wondered how much of my upset stomach was all in my head.
     
    Grandpa might be old school, but he wasn’t stupid, and he looked back and forth between me and Granny. “What’s going on here?”
     
    I couldn’t meet his eyes. “It’s time, Alexandria,” Granny said softly.
     
    “Time for what?” Grandpa asked, looking at me. I could feel his eyes even though I couldn’t look up and meet them.
     
    “I’m pregnant,” I mumbled, holding to the sandwich, unable to do anything else in my misery.
     
    “Pregnant? Are you sure? When were you going to tell me?”
     
    “I’m sorry,” I whimpered as the tears began to fall. “I was afraid of what you might think. I didn’t mean for this to happen. It was an accident.”
     
    “Accident my ass. You don’t get pregnant on accident.”
     
    “Esten, that’s enough,” Granny said firmly as I wept.
     
    “I’m sorry, Grandpa! I really am! Please, don’t hate me!”
     
    I heard his spoon clank as he tossed it into his bowl, and I looked at him, afraid to see his face, but I had to know. He looked at me a moment, his face hard, and then he stood. I thought he was going to walk out of the room, but he pulled me to my feet and hugged me. As my arms went around him, the waterworks really started. I clung to him, my relief so great I couldn’t stop my tears.
     
    “Shhh, child. I can’t hate you. I could never do that,” he said softly as I blubbered into his shoulder.
     
    “I’m sorry, Grandpa! I don’t know how it happened. I was so careful!”
     
    “Shhh…” he whispered as he rocked me in his arms. He held me until I cried myself out and then wiped my eyes with a finger. “Nothing for it now. Seems like this runs in the family.” I heard what he said but I didn’t understand what he meant. “Sit down. Finish your dinner. Then we’ll talk,” he said as he released me.
     
    I ate the remainder of my sandwich in silence, staring at my bowl. I was so ashamed that I couldn’t even meet his eyes. He may not hate me, but I knew he was disappointed in me. They had done everything for me, from the time I was a little girl, raising me as another daughter and sending me to school after their own daughter had grown up and was gone. And I had let them down. They had cautioned me to be careful, to not get myself into a situation that I would later regret, and, despite my best efforts, I had.
     
    When the meal was over, I began to help Granny clear the table as Grandpa returned to his chair.
     
    “I’ve got this. Go talk to your