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“You drove her here, I’ll drive her home,” Mack says, crossing his arms over his wide chest.
I look at Flint when he lets out a snort. He’s smirking, but as our gaze connects, he exaggeratedly rolls his eyes in the direction of his friends.
“Tabby, when do you think we might hear the news?” he asks her.
“It’ll be a few days before I can get down to Salt Lake City. I’ll call each of you once I know more.”
I’m not quite sure how it was decided without an actual fight, or a coin toss, but Mack gets the honor of driving me home.
Pulling the seat belt on, I timidly ask him if he’d like to join me for dinner at the diner and am pleased when he suggests the small Italian place instead.
Of the three men, Mack is the one that I know the least about and I’m definitely not comfortable questioning others for information about him—especially since he seems happy to spend time with me anyway.
After I text Royce to let him know where we are and we place our order, we sit in awkward silence for a few minutes.
“So, you used to be in the Northern Grizzlies, then you retired?” I ask him and I can tell he’s trying to keep the smile off of his face.
“Not exactly retired. More like injured reserves, but I contribute when I can,” he replies. “See, I lost part of my leg in an accident a while back. After that, I was in rehab and therapy for a time and decided to change gears. So to speak.”
Since it’s early and we’re the only table here right now, the food comes out right away and we take a moment to dig in.
“That’s right, you taught Charlie before she came here,” I say to pick up the conversation and am surprised when he laughs.
“I didn’t teach Charlie much. Her grandfather taught her as she was growing up, I maybe just fine-tuned things during the course.” I’m quickly coming to notice that Mack is pretty modest, especially compared to some of the larger-than-life men I’ve met through Royce.
“I wonder if any of my teachers ever thought that about me? Somehow, I doubt it,” I muse aloud, continuing when he raises his eyebrow in question. “Oh, I learned how to bake at home, so it was always: ‘a pinch of this’ or ‘season to taste’. When I got to culinary school, they were very, disciplined, I guess is the word I’m looking for.”
“Well, as long as they didn’t suck the fun out of it for you…”
“Oh, I think one or two of my instructors tried. I just pushed through and tried to keep calm, but there were definitely others who’d leave class in tears.”
“Which is the most important lesson, because whether you work in a kitchen, an office, or anywhere really, getting flustered under pressure doesn’t do anyone any good.”
“Hmm, I never knew my grandfather, but my uncle repeats this line from him: ‘clear mind, clear path’. Granted, my uncle’s kind of an asshole.” I whisper the last part to Mack, and he barks out a laugh.
“Do you have any cousins?”
“Yes, Trinity. She’s more like a little sister and I miss the hell out of her. My uncle’s getting remarried this winter and that’s been hard on her,” I answer, pleased that he asked me about my family so I can reciprocate. “How about you? Do you have children?”
He gives me an intense look that makes me blush, before he shakes his head and looks away. “Naw, it wasn’t in the cards, I guess. I wasn’t interested in settling down before my accident, then I wasn’t great company for years afterward.”
When the waiter stops by, Mack asks for the check and waves off my attempt to pay for our meal.
“Molly, I’m just an old guy with not much to show for all the miles I have on me, but I want you to know, that if I am your father, I’ll be really happy. I won’t push a relationship on you, I haven’t earned the right to do that. I’ll be around though, as much as you’ll let me.”
“That sounds good to me,” I answer, getting all choked up.
Mack stands up, reaching a hand down to help me to my feet before drawing me into a huge bear hug.
Chapter 13
Royce
Almost immediately after I get a text from Jasper, I grab my pint of beer and walk back to his office. I was hoping to see Shade around here, wondering if he knows what’s going on.
Knocking on the worn wooden door, it opens, with Shade’s hand still on the knob as I take a step inside. Jasper is seated at his desk and Flint’s on the leather couch; looking around I’m not sure what to do until Flint nods at the chair positioned between him and the desk.
Jasper finally looks up from a notebook as I’m sitting down. “Um, you wanted to see me?”
