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“I’m saying we had a lot of time to think. Cam needs her dad. And I want the man who was willing to fight bloody to protect his family.”
“But the club—” I started.
Abby shook her head.
“Doesn’t matter. Yes, it worries me. But that’s the price I pay for caring about the people I love. Your club helped me get you here. And your club hasn’t left the waiting room.”
She shifted closer, clasping my hand with both of hers now.
“I let my fear make me blind, Joel,” she went on. “I let it control me. That club is the family you always deserved when you were growing up alone and I’m sorry I didn’t see it sooner. They’re part of you. I can’t make you choose them over us.”
“Are you sure?” I whispered.
“You’re the one who should be running for the hills,” Cam pointed out. “If you promise to stick around, you’re gonna get a pain-in-the-ass sixteen-year-old girl following you everywhere.”
Abby ducked her chin, regarding me through her lashes. Watching me with her steady hazel eyes.
“If I promise to stick around,” I countered. “You’re going to inherit eight really cool uncles to hang out with.”
“That would beawesome,” Cam said.
Abby smiled to herself, her eyes sparkling. I brought our clasped hands up, resting them against my chest.
“Show me those baby pictures,” I said.
Epilogue
Abby - Five months later
I would never get tired of seeing Joel in my kitchen every morning, his sweatpants low on his hips, and a thin white cotton t-shirt that clung to him so perfectly I could see every ridge and valley of muscle in his back and shoulders.
I found out he was a die-hard breakfast man—something I never got a chance to learn about him before since his arrest cut our time together short.
“Something smells good,” I said as I stepped into the room.
Cam sat at the kitchen table, hunched over her food as she ripped into a piece of bacon. Her plate was piled with a stack of pancakes swimming in maple syrup, with thick pieces of buttered toast on the side.
I slid my arms around Joel from behind, kissing the back of his neck. His skin was warm and he smelled like coffee and leather.
“Pancakes, bacon, and toast,” I said. “Thank God you finally agreed to move in. The only breakfast I make is cold cereal and protein bars.”
Joel offered a piece of toast over his shoulder and I accepted it.
“I can’t let my girls go hungry,” he replied.
My heart warmed at his words. I loved it when he called us that.
“Hey, Dad,” Cam said around a mouthful of food. “Did Uncle Rooster find a bike for me yet?”
“He’s been scouring junk yards for weeks,” Joel replied.
“And?”
She stopped mid-chew, her eyes wide with anticipation.
“He finally managed to dig one up for you.”
“Yes!”
