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“Thank God,” Sword chuckled. “It’ll be good to have some company.”
Dad pointed at the big man. “You’re still in the doghouse, you know.”
“Come on! Cylone and Magenta both forgave me for attacking Chloe when I first met her. So did Foster.” Foster was Sword’s eldest son. He’d witnessed Sword’s outburst when Chloe had come to Bones. He was in his late teens now but had always been fiercely protective of his mother. When he’d seen how upset Magenta had been, the boy had refused to let Sword in the house until he made things right with Magenta. Magenta had refused to forgive Sword until Chloe forgave him. It had been a tense few weeks for Sword’s family. Now, though, Sword had embraced his eldest daughter, the daughter he hadn’t known he had, and Chloe seemed to adore him just as much.
“Doesn’t mean they should have.”
“Dad, you’re always looking for reasons not to like Sword. Just as he’s probably doing the same. It’s time you back off and let us live our lives.”
“Now, Dawn. I have no problem with you girls living your lives. I just happen to think the men you chose could be better.”
I stuck my chin up, poking my dad in the chest with my finger. “You saying you didn’t teach me good judgment?”
“Of course, I did. But your heart isn’t something I can teach.”
I stared at my father for a long time, trying to read in his face what was going on in his head. Then I saw it. The smallest gleam in his eyes.
“You asshole!” I shoved at his chest. “You don’t think Ice isn’t good enough for me. You’re happy I’m with him! Why are you pretending otherwise?” I turned to my mother. “Not cool, Mom!”
“Now, now, my dear. You can’t expect an old man to not protest when he has to put his beloved daughter in the hands of another man. But your Ice there knows the score. He knows who I am and that I won’t hesitate to kill him if he does wrong by you.” When he said that last part, he gave Ice a hard look. “I also happen to know he’s a good man. I’ve watched him grow up and Cain is a trusted ally.”
Ice grinned, not in the least perturbed. “She’ll be my world.” His smile broadened into a huge smile. “Daddy.”
El Segador barked out a laugh and Samson snorted.
“Think you might have met your match in that young pup, El Diablo.” Rycks was all kinds of amused, as was everyone else if the smothered chuckles were anything to go by.
“Indeed.” Dad clapped Ice on the shoulder. “Come, everyone! Let’s celebrate! Tomorrow, we’ll band together to help in the clean-up.”
Everyone shouted their approval and moved inside. Turned out, my father had prepared a feast. He’d approved of the match all along. Ice had told me about his conversation with my father before, and I had no doubt Dad had needed to have time to adjust to the idea of me being with Ice. Once he’d processed, he’d realized Ice would be a good match. Not only was Ice part of a club my father approved of, Ice was now president. A powerful man.
Dad pulled me into his arms and hugged me fiercely. “Ice is a good man. He will protect you as ruthlessly as I ever could.”
“You have a funny way of showing your trust.” I sighed, but I had a smile on my face.
“I had to make sure he wouldn’t cave to anyone regarding you. Even me.”
My mother was beside us, pulling me away from Dad and into her arms. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. You know your father loves to test people. This time, I agreed with him.”
Ice took me from my parents, pulling me into his arms and kissing the top of my head. “No hard feelings,” he said. “Dawn is worth any interrogation or test you can throw at me. I’ll figure out a way to pass and keep her.”
“Good.” Dad gestured to the clubhouse. “Let’s celebrate.”
Epilogue
Ice
The next few days were filled with work, work, and more work. I loved every second of it. I took that time to get to know Dawn better and found she was a force to be reckoned with. She was equal parts her mother and father with interesting, beautiful bits of her own unique personality thrown in for good measure. While her mother ran the clubhouse -- where they prepared food and a place to crash for many of the homeless and displaced people in the community -- Dawn ran the mobile distribution trucks while they handed out water and non-perishable items. To say I was proud was a vast understatement.
When it was finally time to head back to Kentucky, Dawn was as exhausted as I was. But it was a great tired. I’d helped people who needed it, and my woman had been by my side the whole time. Yeah. We were going to be an unstoppable team.
