AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I shrugged. “Checked myself out this morning.”
He made a noise of disagreement but he said nothing. I’d tried to clean myself up as best I could but there wasn’t much to be done about the bruises on my face, or my sore knee that made me limp, or the stiffness in my shoulder.
“I wanted to talk to you about Dani,” I said.
Pete nodded. “Thought you might.”
I didn’t know what to make of that. He’d seen me with his daughter at Joey’s trailer. But he wasn’t throwing punches so I took that as a good sign. Now that I was standing at Pete’s front door, I realized I had no clue what to say. I thought I’d figure it out when I got here but the moment had arrived and the only words I had to give was the simple, bare truth.
“I love her, Pete,” I said. “You probably don’t want to hear that, and I don’t blame you for it. I’ve never…” I blew out a breath and shook my head. “Never thought I could fall for someone the way I’ve fallen for her. Thought I was too old and I’d missed my chance. Hell, I thought someone like me didn’t deserve someone as sweet as her.”
Pete remained silent as I spoke. I couldn’t help noticing that I was still standing outside and he hadn’t invited me in. Normally, I would have been in the kitchen or the backyard with Pete by now, a cold beer in hand, reminiscing over fond memories.
“I told her not to visit you in the hospital,” Pete said.
His words sliced through my heart. I hadn’t been in the hospital for long so it didn’t surprise me when Dani didn’t show up. They’d wanted to monitor me for a concussion or brain damage after my crash but I didn’t have the patience to sit around for that.
“I can’t say that I’m thrilled about you two,” Pete added.
I nodded. “If she was my daughter, I’d probably feel the exact same way.”
“Oh, I know you would. Anyone who came sniffing around your daughter would earn themselves a shallow grave. So, you can understand why I want nothing more than to break your neck and forbid Dani from ever seeing you again.”
I swallowed hard but I stood my ground. I knew this was a long shot. I knew Dani was too gentle, too good for me. It only made sense that her father would protect her from a man like me.
Pete sighed and shook his head.
“But Dani is a grown woman. She will make her own decision, whether I like it or not.”
He stepped back, pulling the door open wider.
“She’s in the backyard.”
Without hesitating, I stepped inside and made my way through the house. I found Dani on a lounge chair by the pool, her legs tucked up beneath her, wearing a soft, oversized blue sweater. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun and she propped her chin in one hand as she stared into the water. Her sleeve had slipped down to her elbow, revealing her wrist. A bruise encircled her skin where she’d been bound and it hit me like a kick to the gut that it only served as a reminder that I hadn’t been able to protect her from getting hurt.
Dani shifted in her chair and her gaze fell on me, still standing there at the door. Her eyes widened and she pushed herself to her feet.
I barely had the door open before Dani was in my arms, her mouth against mine in a kiss of relief.
“I’ve been worried sick,” she said, barely pulling away to speak. “Dad told me I should wait to see you in the hospital and give you some time to recover. And then I started to wonder if you would want me to visit at all since I’m the reason you got hurt and it just seemed - ”
I touched my fingertip to her lips to stop Dani’s ramblings. She regarded me with those blue eyes so big and unguarded and vulnerable, her hope plastered all over her perfect face for me to see.
“We need to talk,” I said.
Dani’s gaze flicked away and she tugged her sleeves over her hands.
“Okay,” she replied softly.
Gingerly, she perched on the edge of her lounge chair. I pulled up a chair of my own and sat across from her. She fretted at the cuffs of her sleeves, plucking at a fraying thread. I cupped her hands between mine and she finally went still.
“I haven’t…” I faltered, unsure how to continue. “I don’t know much about being a good man. I expected my life to be nothing more than my bike and defending my MC brothers when they needed me. For fifty-one years, that’s all I’ve known.” I squeezed Dani’s hands tighter. “Then you came along. And when I watched you get taken away from me, right in front of my eyes…” I shook my head. “I didn’t want to go back to the life I had before.”
Dani shifted her hands to interlace our fingers together.
“And no one else has ever made me feel as safe as you do,” she replied. “When you hold me, when you look at me, I feel like nothing can touch me.”
“But I didn’t keep you safe this time, Dani,” I countered. “I’m part of a motorcycle club. There will always be danger. I can’t ask you to step into that life.”
