He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and slapped my back harder than anyone else had. “Love you.”
“Love you too, Dad.”
He backed away.
I spied the other package on the bar. “Who else is getting their patch tonight?”
A strange look stole over Dad’s face and he sighed. “I want Cal to tell you about that.” Before I could respond, he tipped his head back and bellowed, “Callous!”
“I’m standing right here, Dad,” I muttered.
He smirked at me. “It's hard to get anyone’s attention on a night like this.”
Cal sauntered our way with a gleam in his eye I’d never seen before. It was part resignation, part knowing, and part… disgust, if I wasn’t mistaken.
Suddenly, my hands went clammy and I felt nervous around Cal for the first time.
He glanced at Dad. “You tell him?”
Dad shook his head. “No, I want you to do it.”
Cal gave Dad some side-eye and ran his hand over his mouth. “This is not the way things are normally done… Bluff.”
Dad nodded once. “It was your mother’s idea.”
“And Abby’s,” Cal muttered.
Dad glanced past me for a moment as he weighed his words. “Your mother can be…resourceful.”
Cal barked out a laugh. “You ever tell Trixie that to her face?”
A devious smile crossed Dad’s face. “Yeah, when she’s sucking my cock.”
“I’m standing righthere, Dad,” I said.
He smiled at me. “Yeah, but you’re one of the brothers, so get used to it.”
Shit.This had also been an upside to joining the Memphis chapter…far less likely to overhear Dad share about his sex life.
Cal chuckled. “He’s right, Bluff. This isn’t how we normally do things.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
Cal put his hand on the package. “Each brother decides when he’s ready to put his patch on his woman.”
My heartbeat picked up and I forced myself to concentrate on his words.
“Your mom told people at the hospital that you and Alexandra were getting married. She ranted last week about how whenever you earned your patch, they should save time and money by just ordering your woman’s cut at the same time.”
“Nobody approved that, because it’s supposed to be your call,” Dad said.
Cal nodded once. “When Abby put in the order for your cut, she recalled Trixie’s rant, and ordered one for your woman.”
I felt Dad’s gaze on me and turned my eyes to him as he said, “I still say we return it. If I were in Cal’s shoes, and this were for Jasmine, I’d have raised holy hell.”
Cal shook his head and leveled a serious look at me. “No. There isn’t a better man for Alexandra than you, Bluff. This might have been Trixie’s idea, but she’s right. You have my blessing.” He paused and held up a finger. “But I don’t want to be here when you put this on her.”
I gave him a chin-lift. “Is that why Aunt Mallory isn’t here?”
