Whitney"Are you nervous?"Ryan's quiet as he sits in the driver seat, navigating us along the back roads to my parents' house. They've lived in the split-level ranch home since I was ten years old and mom was pregnant with Trevor. Back when I was younger, mom had her own roadside vegetable stand, but she's given it up in the last few years. Now she caters for my company on occasion when I need her to. Nearing sixty, I hope dad's looking to retire, and I know mom's ready to buy a beach house along the gulf."You think I should be?" His tone is one of nonchalance, a man completely at ease with the choices he's made.I scoot closer, grabbing his free hand with my own, and hold it in my lap. There's just something I love when a truck has a bench seat. "Maybe. I mean, you did get me pregnant. Even if I am thirty-five, I'll always be his little girl. Isn't that what dads always say?"He looks my way, taking his gaze off the road for a split second, but I can't see his eyes behind

RenegadeI'm sort of surprised when I show up at the station to get into our car the next morning and see Tank already there. I figured he'd call in or get someone to switch with him instead of being stuck with me for the day."Morning," I hand him the cup of coffee I always bring both of us.He grunts something to me that may be morning back, but I'm not sure. If this is any indication on how this ride is going to go, maybe I ought to turn around and go back home. For the first three hours, we ride in complete silence. When my cell phone chimes with a new text message, I'm excited that it gives me someone to talk to.W: Hey handsome! How's it going with my brother?R: We haven't said but two words to one another. He took my coffee though, so maybe it's a good sign? How are you today? You were sleeping hard when I left this morning.W: It's because someone wore me out last night.R: No, I'm pretty sure that was you humping my dick in the back of my truck, and then you giv

Renegade"Truth or lie?" I ask her, running my hand along her shoulder. It's hot tonight, and we're both still sweating from the workout we just put in with one another. But I know we're both energized and neither one of us will be sleeping for a while. Back to playing our game."Umm," she rolls closer to me, tugging the sheet up to her chest before she scrunches her nose in the most adorable way. "Sometimes I love the elaborate lies you make up, but I want a truth tonight.""Ahhh," I throw my head back against the pillow, wondering what kind of truth I should tell her. "How old does the truth have to be?"She sucks that full bottom lip in between her teeth and sits up crisscrossing her legs while she makes sure the sheet still covers her bare breasts. "Teenage truth," she throws down the gauntlet."Shhiiitttt," I breathe out, sitting up myself, but I lean against her headboard. I go back through my teenager years, trying to figure out what the hell I want to tell her. So muc

Renegade"Please don't hurt yourselves," Whitney looks at Tank and me over the top of her sunglasses."We're cleaning out your gutters and taking care of your fall yardwork," Tank shoots her a look. "How in the world do you think we're going to hurt ourselves? We're in great shape.""That cocky attitude is it right there," she puts her hands on her hips, giving him a stare down. Showing her own attitude."Don't worry about us. Go hang out with your friends, take their gifts, and when you get home, we'll put them in the nursery and then we'll relax," I send her off with a kiss on the cheek as she strolls over to her SUV."How in the hell did you get out of a baby shower?" Tank asks as he watches her leave.I turn, a sly grin on my face. "No fuckin' clue dude. All I know is the second week of September, somebody called, and said that they thought it'd be too difficult to do a baby shower with her birthday next month, Thanksgiving, and then Christmas. Since all of us think she

Renegade"I'm still not sure about this," I pull the truck into the brick building, shutting it off as I look over at Whitney.She laughs and like always it grabs me by the heart. I love to hear her laugh. I love a lot of things about her, but her laugh is in the top three. "Why are you so scared? We'll get to see what she looks like."I shrug, running my hands over the steering wheel. "It freaks me out slightly. What if she looks like an alien? I don't know if I'm prepared for it.""Chances are she'll be born in the next month, Ryan. I have a feeling she's going to look now exactly like she will then. Don't you want to make sure she looks like a Stella before she becomes a Stella?"Whitney has a point. We don't want to stick her with a name that doesn't scream it's her name, but we can figure that out after she's born – right? "I guess."She gets out of the truck and comes over to the driver's side, opening the door. Pulling at me, she gets me out of the driver's seat and