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“I can give him a black eye,” Adam threatened.
“I’m calling Daddy!” Caden announced.
Shit. Sam didn’t know what to do. He smoothed his hand down his black-and-white-striped maxi dress. He’d added a large red belt and red boots and knew that he looked good. That was not what other people would think if they saw him though. The glass windows weren’t going to hide him from view as the camera panned in their direction.
“Hey!” Adam caught his chin. “You look amazing. Gorgeous. I’ve known you for several years now, but I’ve never seen you shine like you have this last week. You glow and it’s so pretty.”
Sam blinked away tears that formed in the corners of his eyes.
“You have a lovely home, great friends, a fantastic business, and a good man. Do not let people like that asshole reporter or your father change how you see yourself. Fuck them.”
“Fuck them?” Sam repeated with a smile.
“Fuck them!” Mickey parroted. He really was too young to curse. Sam should work on that with him.
“Fuck them!” Caden whispered harshly. He never cursed and his cheeks reddened, but he held his head high.
Once again, Sam was reminded that he did not have to face this alone. He had a family even if it wasn’t one that he’d been born into. Rolling his shoulders back, Sam nodded. “Fuck them.”
“That’s our boy,” Adam praised.
He stomped around the counter to the door where a crowd had already gathered. The residents of Rocky Lake knew Sam and he always treated everyone with respect. He hoped that worked in his favor. He couldn’t hear what Jeffery was saying, but the expressions on the onlookers’ faces were not pleasant.
Sam opened the door while Adam remained glued at his side.
“Not only did we find the presidential hopeful’s son working behind the counter of a small coffee shop, but this reporter has also witnessed what seems to be a concerning relationship between the young man and a much older police officer. I don’t have to tell you how shocked I was…”
“Sir! You are blocking the entrance of this business, which I own, and I am asking you to vacate the premises.”
Jeffery turned from the camera and his eyes glittered with excitement.
“Viewers! In this exclusive segment you get to witness for yourself the long-lost son of—”
The camera panned to him, but Sam did his best to ignore it. He interrupted the reporter once again.
“Sir, you are disturbing business and if you do not leave, I’ll be forced to call the police,” Sam said sternly.
“Yeah! Leave!” someone called from the crowd.
“We don’t want to hear your hate! Leave!” someone else yelled.
What the hell had the reporter been saying?
“Mr. Stewart!” Jeffery leapt toward him. “Does your father know where you are? Does he condone this…lifestyle—”
“You were told to leave!” Lucas barreled through the crowd, and the cameraman visibly stepped away while Lucas placed himself in front of Sam and Adam, who gripped Sam’s shoulder hard.
“I’m simply trying to conduct an interview with—”
Sam didn’t hear the rest of what Jeffery said as a wall of large men barred his view when the other members of Lucas’s tattoo crew stood shoulder to shoulder with Lucas, keeping Sam hidden behind them. As they did that, a loud siren went off and a marked police cruiser stopped in the middle of the street.
Two SUVs screeched to a stop behind the cruiser. Carson and Lincoln’s vehicle. Just knowing that his Daddy had arrived was the assurance that Sam needed. No matter what happened, Sam was safe. His father might see this interview, but he couldn’t put his hands on Sam ever again.
Trick caught Sam’s hand and pulled him toward the door of his shop. “Come on, let them take care of this.”
Was it wrong that he was relieved that others were stepping in? Maybe. Probably. Sam didn’t care. He allowed Trick to usher him inside and with Adam never leaving his back, Sam was covered. He was okay. It would all be okay.
Hovering inside the door, Caden and Mickey waited. As soon as the door shut behind them, Caden threw himself in Sam’s arms.
