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The last couple of weeks passed in a blur. I had recovered faster than Art, but he didn’t care and forced me to stay in bed with him. I would’ve been a fool to complain about lazy days in bed with the man I loved. Wrapped in Art’s arms was the only place I wanted to be, like now.
I kissed his chest. “I love you so much.”
He gripped my ass cheek. “Same, sweetness. Love you so fucking much.”
“Are you sure you’re up for dealing with Boone? I don’t want you to overdo it. You’re still healing.” I snuggled into him.
Boone was the man who’d shot Art and injected me with meth. Storm and his crew found him last night after searching for him since the day he almost killed us. They’d taken him to the dungeon. I was one of only a few old ladies who knew it existed. Snow knew about it because she’d been in it when the club had captured Casso Campbell. I hadn’t even been in it before. Neither had Maddy, the other old lady who knew about the place where a club offender never walked out of alive.
“What I’m gonna do to him won’t require much strength.” He kissed my head. “Don’t worry, I’ll be okay.”
“You better be okay. I need you in tip-top shape, so we can get on with our lives.” I doubted I could hide my feelings from him. He could probably read in between the lines. After spending every second together, he knew me about as well as I knew myself.
“Tip-top shape, you say?”
I smiled. “Mhmm.”
“For baby-making?” He squeezed me in his embrace. “Let’s get started now.”
“Nope, nope, nope. The doctor hasn’t cleared you yet. But when he does, you better be ready for me.”
“Oh, I’ll be ready.”
“Speaking of getting ready. It’s almost nine. Storm’s expecting you to attend church this morning before you head to the dungeon.” I didn’t want to imagine what they would do to Boone. The meth house he’d started had electrical problems and caught fire the other day. The Knights sure knew how to make shit happen but also keep their hands clean. I gave Grizzly all the props.
“Thank you for reminding me. When I’m with you, nothing else exists.” He buried his nose in my hair and inhaled me. “Maybe I should tell Storm to delay the meeting so I can be with you when you meet with your dad.”
I put my hand against his cheek. “I’ll be okay. After everything we’ve been through, I doubt anything could scare me any more than nearly dying. My dad will be shocked, but it’ll be okay.” Markey would be with me when I told my dad Jax was Johnny’s son. I would’ve liked Maddox to attend as it was a family issue, but he was set on going to the cabin with Art and the others to end Boone.
“You’re the strongest woman I know, Eve.” He cuddled me.
I didn’t respond to his statement. He’d reprimand me if I told him I wasn’t as strong as he thought. Art never let me think less of myself. In that regard, he was a lot like Matt.
Two days ago, Justin had come to my room to tell me he’d gotten the paternity results. He wasn’t Jax’s father. He’d appeared a little disappointed but had said it was better this way. After Art’s and my ordeal, he’d been spending a lot of time with Mickey and Jax. He’d even introduced them to Emilee and Dodge. Of course, he hadn’t told her about cheating on Laura with Mickey. What would be the point?
True to form, sweet Emilee had given her blessing to Justin when he told her he wanted to date Mickey. I was happy for Mickey and Justin, but more so for my childhood bestie. Mickey had spent most of the past twenty years alone raising my brother’s son. She more than deserved to be happy.
I hadn’t wanted to delay telling my dad the truth. Life was precious. Time shouldn’t be wasted. So here I was, holding my dad’s hand on the sofa as he processed the news.
“Johnny has a son? I have another grandson?”
“Yes, Dad. Hard to believe, right?”
Markey sat quietly across from us. His leg bounced nervously.
“Why hadn’t Mickey told us sooner? The boy is almost twenty years old.” He stared off into the distance with a perplexed expression.
“It’s complicated. She wasn’t sure who the father was and didn’t want to ruin the other man’s family since Johnny wasn’t around to take the paternity test.”
“Jesus. So she got the test done?”
“Yeah. It’s been confirmed that Johnny is the father.” I handed him a glass of water. “Do you want to meet Jax?” I hoped he didn’t say no. Justin was bringing Mickey and Jax to my dad’s house. They should arrive within a half-hour.
My dad squeezed my hand. “Yes. Of course, I want to meet him. He’s Johnny’s son. He’s my boy’s son.” His voice broke as he softly whimpered. I knew this would be difficult for my dad, but he’d be okay. After the shock wore off, he’d be thrilled to have another grandson.
Twenty minutes later, after introductions were made, I sat back and watched Markey and Jax interact with my dad. They were talking about the up-and-coming baseball season. Turned out Jax loved the sport about as much as Johnny had. He even kept up on hockey, which made my dad happy. Johnny had played hockey since he could walk and had been the best goalie our district had ever had. To this day, his picture was displayed in a glass cabinet at the high school with his trophies surrounding him.
“Thank you for this,” Mickey whispered. “You have no idea how much it means to me. Jax was so excited to meet your dad.”
