On the Devil's Path {a SOA sequel}

Chapter twenty

McKayla

Abel was having a blast at his party. He loved looking at all of the animals and touching them. I noticed after a while that Jax had disappeared and Gemma was sitting by herself at a picnic table. She was glaring towards the club house and bouncing her knee up and down. I glanced at the club and then back at Gemma. What pissed her off? I shrugged it off and brought Abel over to her. Her eyes lit up as soon as she saw him.

"Is my baby having a good day?" She cooed at him.

I smiled and passed him to her.

"He loves this Gem." I said.

Gemma nodded and smiled. Her smile didn't reach her eyes. I studied her and leaned against the table.

"You okay?" I asked her.

Gemma ignored me, not that I was surprised. When it came to personal questions Gemma was the queen of deflecting.

"I think he's getting warm, why don't you get him some juice?" She said instead.

I nodded and put my hand on Abel's forehead. He was feeling a little warm.

"Sure, I'll be right back." I said. I kissed his top of his head and started towards the club.

Clay was standing by the front door. To say that I was over everything that happened was a complete lie. My blood still boiled at the sight of him.

"Hey McKayla, can you give me a hand?" Opie called from the back of the club.

My hero. I made a beeline for the back. Opie was struggling with a box of burgers and three bags of buns. The bags were slipping out of his hands and he was doing an awkward dance to try and grab them. I laughed and scooped them out of his hand.

"Thanks, you're a life saver." He said with a smile.

I looked up at him and smiled back. For the first time in a long time, I really looked at him. The long hair and beard made him look rough, but those eyes. When you looked into Opie's eyes, they made you feel safe. Like nothing in the world could ever hurt you. Unfortunately they also make you feel sad because you can see the pain that he's dealt with.

"All in a day's work." I said back.

I tossed the bags up on top of the box he was holding and he shot me a wink. I grinned at him and made my way to the back of the club house where Opie had just come from. As I walked down the hallway, I trailed my fingers along J.T.'s bike. Just before I reached the kitchen, I heard voices.

"Just tell me Tara" It was Jax.

I stopped dead in my tracks and backed up against the wall. Tara was here and Jax was talking to her. What on Earth could that bitch possibly want now?

"I'm pregnant." She whispered.

I had to cover my mouth with my hands to quiet a gasp. Everything in the room stopped. My heart was pounding so hard I was sure they could hear me. Tara was pregnant. She was pregnant and Jax was the father. My stomach turned. Jax and Tara were talking again but I couldn't hear them. I forced myself not to. I held my knees tightly against my chest and tried to make myself as small as I could. I heard her say something about an appointment and Jax telling her not to keep it. He also told her he would deal with me. Deal with me.

Jax told Tara to leave out the back. I managed to pull myself together quickly and ducked into the open apartment so that I wouldn't have to face her. I waited until she had left before walking back into the kitchen. I purposely shut the door loudly so that Jax would know someone was coming. He jumped up off of the bar stool when he saw me.