Her eyes open wide, and Dad stiffens before he asks me, “You’re okay?”
I nod. “I got a call a couple of weeks ago. He was released. The news left me on edge, but when I didn’t hear from him, I forgot all about him until he showed up today.”
“What did he want? Is there going to be trouble?” Dad asks.
“Surprisingly, no.” I repeat the conversation I’d shared with Trick. “I believe he means it. He wants to change. Live a decent life.” I glance at my parents’ stunned faces. “I knew you’d want to hear the news in person. But there’s another reason I came by.”
“We’re listening,” Dad says.
I rub my hands together and despite being uncomfortable, because I’m not an emotional guy, I need to tell them what Trick’s visit stirred up. “I never thanked you. At least, I don’t think I did. Not the way I should have. You took in a troubled kid, gave him a home and something else he’d never had. Love.”
“Oh, Lucas. You gave us something we desperately wanted.”
I clench my fists as I ask, “Why me? You had plenty of kids coming through before me. So… why did you want to adopt me? It couldn’t be because I was the easiest of all.” I try for levity, but they shoot me a serious look that says I failed.
“I can answer for me,” Mom says. “You needed me. Don’t get me wrong, all the kids I’ve been lucky enough to have in my home have needed me. Us. But I sensed I could help you in different ways. I took one look at your angry, hurt, confused face and I wanted to give you everything you missed out on for as long as you’d let me. And I wasn’t thinking until you aged out. I meant as my son.”
A lump rises to my throat and stays there. Once I dropped that angry, hurt, confused shield she’d mentioned, I wanted everything she could give. I sensed a connection and now they’re just Mom and Dad.
“As for me, maybe it was the judge in me, but I saw the path you were headed down and I wanted to alter it for you. And then I wanted to see the man you would become. Also, as my son.”
Mom smiles. “I think what we’re both trying to say is we felt a connection to you and a need to make it permanent.”
“I felt it too,” I manage to say. “After seeing Trick, I needed to come here. To thank you for changing my life before it was too late. Before I had to spend time in prison like he did.”
Mom pulls a tissue from a box on the long table behind the sofa and blots her eyes. “Now come here. And don’t thank us for something that was meant to be.” She extends her arms toward me.
I rise to my feet, and a hug fest follows. I don’t normally get emotional, but I needed this and my parents deserve to know how I feel about them.
“I’ll tell you what you can do for me, though,” Mom says, crumpling the tissue in her hand. “Find yourself a nice woman, get married, and give me some grandbabies.”
“Jacinda! Leave him alone.” Dad stands, walks over to me, and slaps my shoulder. “Ignore your mother. You do things at your own pace. But expect some hassling from your mom if you don’t hurry it up.”
I let out a laugh. “It’s funny but when I was young, there were just so many women in my view, especially after we opened the club. But the last couple of years, I’ve been selective but haven’t made any relationships work.”
“You’ve had a relationship? I’ve never met anyone!” Mom sounds insulted.
I shake my head. “That’s because there’s been no one I’ve wanted you to meet.”
Until now. I think about Rainey, how well we click, how she fits in my life in ways I didn’t understand I needed. Except there’s Jack. Her family. And my past standing in my way. And since I’ve come here to open up, I might as well go one step further.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Shoot,” Dad says.
Thanks to my partnership and friendship with Jack, they know the Dares. I’d met Jack when I was still in between sneaking out and causing trouble for my parents and the incident with Trick and the guys that changed everything for me.
“You know Ian and Riley Dare pretty well, right?”
“Of course. Problems with Jack?” Dad asks.
“Not in the way you’re thinking.” I rub my hand over the bottom of my face, feeling the stubble from lack of shaving. “I know they had issues with me back when Jack and I became friends.”
Mom’s gaze narrows. “That was a long time ago.”
“I’ve been working closely with Rainey.” I leave it there, hoping one of them will put two and two together and not make me spell out my concerns.
Mom shakes her head. “You’ve grown up. There’s no reason for them to have a problem with my son dating their daughter. Is that what’s happening?” she asks, excitement in her voice, and I realize my mistake immediately.
