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“That’s good.”
“I need to be able to offer her more than a ten p.m. curfew, surprise visits from parole, and living in an apartment, though.”
Her lips curve up. “She’s a physical therapist now, right? They usually do pretty well.”
“She’s just starting out. Still has a bunch of bills and stuff from school.”
“Oh, I know that story very well. My law school loans were crippling.” She swallows hard and looks away. “Rooster mentioned she has a YouTube channel too. Sounds like it’s pretty successful.”
“Yeah, I don’t understand a damn thing about that.” I laugh. “But she seems really into it. She’s got a whole separate room all set up where she films her videos. I was thinking I’d like to find a house with a big space for her to use. Build her some shelves for all her stuff. Get her proper lighting and everything.”
“Grinder.” Hope presses her hand to her chest. “That’s so sweet.”
Maybe I’m getting carried away. “I don’t know. It seems to make her happy.” I can’t interpret the look on Hope’s face. Disbelief? Joy? “You think I’m nuts or getting ahead of myself, don’t you?”
“No. I really don’t.” She reaches over and touches my hand again. “Honestly, if I was still practicing law and you were a client I was counseling, I’d probably advise you to take things slow. Not to rush into anything.”
“But?”
“Love doesn’t care about what’s rational or practical. It takes over and consumes you whether you’re ready for it or not.”
“Shit, woman.” That’s exactly how I feel even if I haven’t said the love part out loud yet. “I spent a lot of time inside going over all the places I went wrong in my life.”
“Rock’s always given me the impression the two of you were set up.”
I suppose that’s her polite way of asking if I was innocent. “We were.” I walk my fingers on the table in front of me. “Doesn’t mean I didn’t make a lot of missteps along the way that put me in a place where I could be set up.”
She nods. “Fate’s a powerful force.”
“Ain’t that the truth. Anyway, I fucked up a lot with Rose. And I made all sorts of promises to myself inside, that I’d do better.”
“Why do you think you’re fucking up with Serena?”
She’s kidding, right? “Look at me. I’m an ex-con. She has a great career. She’s so good at what she does, Hope. And I could’ve ruined that for her.”
“Because she’s not supposed to date patients?”
“Right.”
She bites her lip. “I might not be the best person to comment on that.”
“Is that how you met? You were Rock’s lawyer?”
“I was assigned to him against my will.” She flashes a wicked smile. “But it worked out.”
I touch Grace’s toes again. “Yes, it did.”
“Honestly, Gray, I think it sounds like you’re taking all the right steps. Getting to know each other, spending time with each other. Keep doing what you’re doing.”
“Yeah. I don’t want to do anything official until I’m off parole.”
The dining room door swings open, and Wrath pokes his head in. “Rock’s lookin’ for you, Grinder.”
I press my palms against the table and stand. “Thanks, Hope.”
“Not a problem.”
Wrath slaps me on the back as he passes, already making noises at Grace who responds with baby giggles.
Rock wasn’t just looking for me. Teller and Murphy are at the table too. Wrath joins us a few minutes later.
Wary about the reasons for this meeting, I sit back and wait.
“How’d it go this week?” Rock asks.
“With?”
“Everything.”
“Been a pain in the balls looking over my shoulder every second. Thought I’d get a break from that once I got out. Otherwise, it’s fine. Been doing my thing. Keeping my head down.”
“How’d it go with Remy and Griff helping you out?” Murphy asks.
A grin twists my mouth up. “Remy’s a cocky asshole.” I shift my gaze to Rock. “Reminds me a little of you at that age.”
Teller and Murphy burst into laughter that they can’t hide no matter how hard they try, pressing their fists to their lips.
“But,” I add, “he seems smart. Understands the value of loyalty. Not afraid to work hard. Same with the other one, Griff. Don’t understand why you’re trying to set up a support club instead of making them patch-in with us.”
Rock turns toward Murphy and Teller and raises an eyebrow.
They both stop laughing and sit up straighter.
“They’ve got a lot of business ventures,” Murphy explains. “They aren’t gonna drop all that and be at our beck and call twenty-four-seven.”
“It makes sense.” Rock shrugs. “Allows us to extend the territory we control without stretching ourselves any thinner.”
Once they explain, I understand better and I can see they’ve given it a lot of thought. “Sorry, wasn’t trying to question—”
“You can question anything at any time, brother,” Rock says.
Teller coughs.
Rock’s eyes narrow. “Something you want to say?”
