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“I’m not going anywhere without her. My son may be dead, but she is carrying a Mason child. She’s coming with me.”
Leia squeezes my hand tight as if she’s scared.
“I’m gonna give ya ten seconds to hobble back to that car and get yourself outta here,” I tell him, I ain’t gonna get no kick out of beating up an old man, but he’s givin’ me little choice here.
“Your husband hasn't even been buried yet and you're already whoring with this one.” Old Man Mason speaks to Leia directly, and all his chances just ran out. I thunder toward him and crack my knuckles across his jaw. He falls to the ground like a heap of fuckin’ bones and I lift him up and march him to his car, slamming him face-first into the hood.
“I warned you,” I tell him. “Your problem is, ya think you're untouchable, just like your son did,” I whisper into his ear. “You ever show your face here, you ever talk, or evenlookat my girl again, I will kill you.” I drag myself away, picking up his stick from the ground and throwing it at him as I walk back to Leia.
“You’ll be hearing from my lawyers. You can’t think I’m going to let you raise my grandchild among these animals.” Old Man Mason shakes his head as he practically crawls back to his car, and Leia takes me by surprise when she steps toward me, shoving me outta the way when I try to stop her. She leans her head in through his window and stares him right in the eye.
“You do that, you go to your lawyers, and I will drag up everything your son ever did to me. I’ll tell the courts how he beat me and raped me and how he could have killed me. We’ll do a DNA too, and I think you will find thatmybaby will be getting raised exactly where it’s supposed to be.” She’s got a smart, sexy smile on her face as she backs away from the car. When Old Man Mason shakes his head with disapproval again and starts up his engine, we all watch him leave.
“You know, there’s every chance he’s gonna go running his mouth to the whole town, now.” I step up beside her and place my arms around her waist.
“Let him, I’m gonna be a Carson, so the town better get used to it.” She holds up her hand to show Maisie her ring, and the squeal she makes has my ears ringing. Maisie flings her arms around her best friend, while my brothers come over to shake my hand. I see a little pride on Garrett’s face when he pulls me in for a hug, and Cole nods his head at me to let me know I did good.
“Congratulations.” Dalton steps up after them, still looking a little awkward.
“Thanks, bro.” I watch his lips hook up into a shy smile when I pull him in for a hug, and as all of us stand on the porch celebrating, Mom steps outta the house and everyone goes silent.
“What’s all the racket out here? I’ve got three sleeping babies inside.” She looks at us all for an explanation.
“Me and Leia are gettin’ married,” I inform her, taking Leia’s hand and waiting for what she has to say. I don’t know why, but I want her to be happy for us. I want her to take to Leia the same way she has Maisie because I’m done hating her. All I want now is to be happy.
“Well, I should think so.” Mom smiles warmly at her as she takes her hand in hers and looks at the ring I gave her. “Congratulations.” She kisses us both, and when everyone starts to pile back into the house, I hold Leia back so we can be alone for a second.
“You sure this is the kinda crazy you want?” I check that she knows what she’s letting herself in for.
“Wade, this iseverythingI want. Thank God for cheap bars and motel hookups.” She kisses me, and when she goes to pull away and follow everyone inside, I stop her by bending down and lifting her over my shoulder.
“That is not the story we are gonna be tellin’ the grandkids.” I slap her ass before I carry her inside, kicking the door shut behind me and getting ready to show this girl the future I’ve had planned for her since the day she came to this town and stole my heart.
“Well, don't just stare at it, cut it,” Savannah tells Dalton after he’s blown out the candles on his birthday cake.
It’s only been two weeks since we discovered he was our brother, and we’ve all done our best to make him feel part of the family. I can’t lie and say it hasn’t been tough. Learning that there's a whole different side to the man we called a father has been a struggle, but now everything is out in the open we can build on it, and ensure it makes us stronger. I’m even starting to see the benefits of having Mom around. She’s made life so much easier for Maisie and me with the triplets and I got no issue in admitting that, once again, my wife was right.
Having everyone here today to celebrate Dalton’s birthday feels like the beginning of our fresh start. The River Boys have shown their loyalty, they played a vital part in helping us with the Walker/Caleb cover-up, and the fact they're here today, celebrating with us, proves that they don’t just wear the brand, they’ve become a part of it.
“Can I, um, get a word?” Dalton leaves the conversation he’s been having with Tate and steps over to me, looking like he’s building himself up to somethin’. He nods his head toward the office and when I look to the other side of the room and see that Mitch has pulled out his guitar and seems to have grabbed everyone's attention, I guess now is as good a time as any.
I lead Dalton into the office and close the doors behind us, and when I take a seat behind the desk, he remains standing.
“I’ve been thinkin’. In fact, since I found out where I came from, all I seem to have done is think,” he admits. I’m about to tell him that I know how he feels, but he forces more words outta his mouth before I get the chance.
“He knew ya know. Your da…ourdad. He knew I was his.” He looks to the floor, refusing to give me eye contact ‘cause he don’t want me to see the hurt in ‘em.
“How ya figure that?”
“You remember I told ya ‘bout the night I took your sister to that party? It seems all kindsa strange thinkin’ about that now.”
I rub the bridge of my nose while I get a grip on how fucked up all this is. “I told ya what he did to me when we got home, how he took the whip to my back,” he reminds me. “I thought it was because we got back late, but now we know what we do…” He shrugs, leaving the rest for me to figure out.
“Jesus Christ!” I take off my hat and place it on my desk.
“Some of the stuff he was sayin’ to me while he did it makes sense now. He called me a sick bastard and told me I was disgusting. I figured, at the time, he was just being overprotective of his daughter… He knew, didn't he?” He looks up to me for some assurance, and all I can do is nod my head and feel real sorry for him.
“I guess we all gotta come to terms with the fact our pa was a bad man. It’ll hurt a lot less for me, ‘cause I never had any expectations. I always grew up without one. I don’t know why I thought I should tell ya this, maybe I just wanted to get it off my own chest.” He shakes his head like he’s mad at himself then looks back to the floor, and I immediately get off my chair and go to him, grabbing his face and forcing him to look at me.
