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Garrison’s hands dropped, and I slipped my palm against his, interlacing our fingers. “I’m not going anywhere, Daddy. My place is with Garrison.”
My dad looked like he was about to have a heart attack, his face turning purple as a vein in his temple visibly throbbed. “You’re an eighteen-year-old girl. Your place is in school, not with a biker who’s more than old enough to know better.”
Maybe it was immature of me, but I rolled my eyes. “Eighteen is past the age of consent, and you know I’m basically already done with school.”
“I might not be able to arrest Bear for what he’s done, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let this stand. You never should’ve been out here alone with him in the first place, and he should’ve kept his damn hands off you.” My dad glared at Garrison. “I let my daughter stay with the Silver Saints to keep her safe, not so she could keep you entertained in exchange for protection.”
“What the hell did you just say?” Garrison rumbled, his body shifting to block me from my dad’s sight. “I don’t care if you’re the sheriff or her father. If you talk about Alyssa like that again, you’re going to find yourself six feet under.”
“I didn’t–I wasn’t—” I peeked around Garrison’s back at the crack in my dad’s voice. When his green eyes met mine, they were filled with remorse. “I didn’t mean that the way it came out. It was supposed to be a verbal jab at him, not you. Never you, pumpkin. You gotta know that.”
“Of course, I do.” I shoved at Garrison’s back to make enough room so I could jump off the counter.
“Careful, baby.” He wrapped an arm around my back to make sure I didn’t hurt myself. Then he tried to pull me close, but he wasn’t fast enough to stop me from darting forward to give my dad a hug. “Dammit.”
Although tension was thick in the air, I giggled as I pressed my cheek against my dad’s chest before tilting my head back to smile up at him. “Sorry, he tends to get a little growly over me. Kinda like you do with Mom, huh?”
This time, he was the one who muttered, “Dammit.”
“Uh-huh, I figured that might get you thinking.” I went up on my toes to give him a quick kiss, and then I darted back over to Garrison’s side.
Once I was settled against him with his arm around my back, Garrison focused on my dad. “I don’t expect you to like Alyssa and me being together, but she’s mine, and nothing’s gonna change that. And I will always do whatever is necessary to protect her, even from you if necessary.”
A muscle jumped in my dad’s jaw. “I would never do anything to hurt my daughter.”
“Then don’t ever come into our home again and say shit that’ll upset her,” Garrison ordered.
“Your home?” my dad echoed, his brows drawing together.
I bounced up and down on the balls of my feet and clapped my hands together. “Yeah, I just found out this morning that he bought the place for us because of how much I love it here. How awesome is that?”
“That true?” he asked.
“Yeah, the deal just went through yesterday,” Garrison confirmed. “She made it more than clear she loved the place. Got lucky ’cause it was a short sale, so I could afford it and didn’t have to search for somewhere else she’d like half as much.”
I beamed a smile at my dad, who heaved a deep sigh as some of the anger left his expression. We weren’t out of the clear with him yet, but I knew that Garrison buying my dream house went a long way with him.
“You didn’t even let the poor girl out of the bathroom?” Patch called as he walked into the house, making me wish yet again that I’d made it upstairs to the privacy of our en suite bathroom before my second round of puking for the day. When he came up behind my dad, he chuckled. “Ah, a confrontation with the dad and not a celebration of the good news. I guess I’m not sorry for interrupting then ’cause this might help.”
He moved to stand at my dad’s side and tossed a leather vest to Garrison. “Thanks, man.”
Patch jerked his chin up. “Figured since I was headed this way to check on Alyssa, I might as well do double duty and serve as the courier for the shit you needed too.”
“Damn glad that you did.” Garrison slipped the vest onto me and traced his finger over my back once it was in place. “Property of Bear. Looks fucking good on you, baby.”
“Aw, you had this made for me?” I sniffled, thrilled with my third surprise of the day. The perfect house, a baby on the way, and now Garrison was making me his old lady. I’d been looking forward to the day when he officially claimed me ever since he’d told me about how things worked in his motorcycle club.
“Property?” my dad sputtered, his reaction the opposite of mine. He looked as though his head was about to explode again.
“Yeah, I didn’t think making Alyssa my old lady would hold a fuck of a lot of weight with you. But I figured this would.”
Patch tossed a ring box at him this time, and I gasped, pressing trembling fingers against my lips. “You want to marry me?”
We both ignored my dad, who muttered, “He damn well better if he knocked you up.”
Garrison flipped the top of the jewelry box open with his thumb. “I don’t justwantto marry you, baby. I’mgonnamarry you.” He shot a glance at my dad. “No shotgun needed unless it’s what it takes to get you up the aisle.”
Tears streamed down my cheeks when he pulled the diamond solitaire out and slipped it on my finger. “My dad won’t need his shotgun. I’d run up the aisle to you if I had to.”
