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I mimicked her cocked eyebrow. “Would you have kept it from Ryan?”

Ivy thought about it for a beat. “That’s a fair point.”

Abby, Trixie, and Fiona wandered out of the kitchen with plates of food and planted themselves at the bar. They seemed to be oblivious to us as they started gabbing at the bar.

A muted version of Dad’s thunderous voice filled the room and I failed to hide my cower. Especially since the word ‘daughter’ came through loud and clear.

Trixie looked over at me and stared. “You’re never around here this early. And you don’t stick around when they have church. I thought it was just so you could visit with your dad, but… they’re yellin’ about you, aren’t they?”

“No,” I lied.

Fiona swiveled on her stool, staring at me like she could see inside me. “That was definitely Gamble yelling. What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” I muttered.

“It doesn’t sound like nothing,” Trixie said.

Abby tilted her head and stared at me. “Are you involved with one of the brothers?”

I swallowed, then opened my mouth to respond, but Fiona spoke first.

“Mickayla, you gotta go.”

“Now,” Abby said, nodding.

“Why? If they do him dirty—”

“No, honey. It’s gonna be too raw when they’re done,” Trixie said.

I tossed my hands up. “That’s when he’ll need me most - to see to his back.”

All three of them froze while Ivy and Alexandra gasped.

“He’s giving up his patch?” Fiona asked slash stated.

“If it doesn’t go our way, yeah.”

Trixie slid off her stool and came closer. “Fuck, you really gotta go, hon.”

“Why?”

Fiona’s head tilted - not in condescension - but almost like she pitied me. “Your dad’s angry. You don’t need to be here and catch the brunt of his wrath.”

“I can take it,” I said. It wasn’t like I hadn’t driven him around the bend a time or two.

“No, Mickayla. Don’t put any of them in a position to say shit they don’t mean in the heat of the moment,” Abby said.

“Sometimes there’s no coming back from that. My dad had a temper and said crazy shit. He died before we hashed it out. You don’t want that,” Fiona added.

Realization dawned. Dad said things to Killian and Ryan that he didn’t mean…but they’d always patched things up. With me and Mabel, it was different. He did his damnedest to go gentle with us no matter how furious we might make him. Add my brothers to the mix…and yeah. I should let them cool off.

I stood. “Okay, but tell Tundra—”

Abby came to me and grabbed my hands. “No. You go to the drugstore up the street. On the off-chance things settle, I’ll call you,” Abby said.

Fiona looked at Ivy. “You follow her.”

I shook my head. “I don’t need to be followed.”