Mac barked out a laugh, and Sal snapped his gaze toward me before he took a step back. I smiled, thinking how much he was like his son. I looked over my shoulder at Darcy, then back to Sal. “You can’t kick her in the balls. You can’t even touch her. She’s his mother, and despite being pissed at her, and likely not wanting to talk to her right now, he will at some point. And if you do anything to her, he’ll never forgive you.”
“He won’t fucking forgive me now, and I didn’t fucking do anything wrong,” he snarled, looking at Darcy again.
“He will. It will take time, but he will. She’ll help him understand.”
“What?” Darcy gasped behind me.
I turned around and glared at the woman myself. “You owe him that. You owe them both that. They both have fathers who are desperate to have a relationship with them, and neither of them will give an inch, and that’s your fault. You need to fix it.”
“She’s right, Darcy,” the sheriff inserted.
She opened her mouth to speak but another loud knock on the door made us all freeze. The sheriff walked over and opened it to find Jingles on the other side. I smiled at him. “I knew he wouldn’t come.”
“Grace,” he began, trying to defend his president.
I shook my head. “It’s okay, Jingles, honest.” I looked back at Darcy one more time. “I knew it would be too much.” I turned back to Jingles. “Colleen is coming with us.” I pointed to her bag, then looked at Sal. “She’ll fix it. If she doesn’t, I will.”
“And what about your father?”
I shrugged. “Depends on what he has to say. But it won’t be tonight.”
“Can I hug you?” My eyes snapped up to Sal’s. I felt the burn of tears but blinked furiously as I stared at the ceiling. The factthat he asked me before putting his arms around me told me he knew what happened. I nodded, and when I found myself pressed against his chest, I wrapped my arms around his waist and asked, “Can you be my dad?”
“You’re my son’s woman. I’m already your dad.” He kissed the top of my head and stepped back.
“Grace,” Darcy called.
I shook my head. “I will encourage him to talk to you. But you made your decisions, and it sounds like you’ve owned them. I won’t tell him how to feel.”
I didn’t let her answer; I hugged Maureen and said goodbye to the others before walking out the door with Jingles. He opened the passenger-side door for me. And once he and Colleen were inside with me, I blew out a long breath.
“Well, tonight has been interesting.”
Jingles threw his head back and laughed as Colleen chuckled in the backseat. “Interesting is one word for it,” he said.
“Is Uncle Stephen still at the clubhouse?”
“He is. Brandy will put him in a room for the night.”
“But he’s sitting in the main room waiting for me to come back,” I muttered as I stared out the window. I couldn’t talk to him tonight. King needed me. I needed him. So much more than I ever realized.
“I have instructions to sneak you in through the back and deliver you to his room without anyone knowing.”
“Like a dirty secret?” Colleen huffed.
Jingles opened his mouth, but I placed a hand on his arm. He stared down at it before smiling at me. I smiled back. I was getting there.
“No, everyone in the clubhouse knows we’re together. You’ll be staying in my old room. King knows I don’t want to talk to my father,” I told her as I looked over my shoulder.
“Yeah, we’re gonna need to talk about that. There is so much I don’t know,” Colleen said.
“You and me both, sister. You and me both.”
Jingles drove into the lot and pulled around back. We snuck inside, and Jingles offered to show Colleen her room while I made my way to the third floor.
I crept upstairs and stood in front of his door. I turned the knob and stepped inside. I didn’t see him at first, didn’t register the water running until it turned off. I closed the door behind me and clicked the lock.
He stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped low on his hips. Water droplets clung to his skin, and my mouth was suddenly dry. I now fully understood the meaning of a thirst trap, because I was fucking thirsty. I wanted to lick the water off his chest. The hum coursing through my body surprised me. I honestly didn’t think I would ever feel aroused again.
