“I’m going with Gunner,” I said, my free hand balled into a fist at my side. If it came down to it, I had no problem punching my brothers. And I was sure I could reason with my dad.
“I’m still your father, and it would have been nice to officially be told you two were seeing each other. Instead, I had to find out when I saw him hanging off a tree in our backyard.”
Gabriel shifted on his feet, and my eyes shot to him. He wasn’t usually the one to make the first move. That was reserved for Liam. He was their leader. My brothers were thick as thieves and loyal to each other. While I knew they loved me, I always felt left out.
“It was obvious they were together when we rescued them from the cabin,” Gabriel said.
“Is that why you didn’t try and kill him?” I asked, almost disappointed. Did they not care about me anymore? They’d beaten up every single boyfriend I’d ever had. Did me leaving mean they no longer considered me part of the family?
“You liked him,” Liam stated as if that was all there was to it.
“I also liked all the other guys you beat up.”
“You never cared about them. They were just a means to an end. Mainly to piss us off. But Gunner, now he’s different. You can’t hide your feelings for shit, Fey.”
I stared at him, agape. Because he was right.
Figuring Gunner was pretty safe from a beating from my brothers, I turned back to Dad. Disappointing him was still the last thing I wanted to do. I’d always been a daddy’s girl.
“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything,” I said. “But to be fair, I hadn’t heard from Gunner since he walked out of my apartment. I didn’t know if there was anything to tell.”
Gunner straightened up next to me and growled. “There was definitely something to tell.”
“I know that now.” I huffed.
“Will you come for brunch tomorrow? With Gunner? Your mother misses you,” my dad said and then cleared his throat. “We miss you.”
Food sounded good, and it would be great for Gunner to get to know everyone without the threat of dismemberment. Mom would keep them in line.
“We’ll be there, Dad.”
“Can I get a hug?” he asked and stood up.
I released Gunner’s hand and walked around the desk and into my father’s familiar arms. Maybe we would be okay after all.
My brothers didn’t like to be left out, and I received a bone-crushing group hug from them.
“See you tomorrow, Fey,” Liam said, the last one to release me.
He nodded at Gunner and left, Gabriel and Jude close behind. Jude flicked my ear when he walked past, and I punched him.
“Ugh, why do you always go for my ribs?” he complained.
“Because you never cover them,” I said, grinning.
He grumbled his goodbye and left, but not before narrowing his eyes at Gunner.
Dad had his head buried in the stacks of papers on his desk as soon as we walked out. A look back confirmed he’d already moved on from our conversation as if it had never happened. I wondered if Mom knew he was working late.
Gunner put his arm around my shoulders and kissed my head. “You good?”
“I’m good,” I confirmed and tipped my head back.
His lips found mine, and after a soft kiss, we walked to his car and drove to what turned out to be his apartment.
His heavily secured, penthouse apartment.
13
