He doesn’t talk much about what he did, doesn’t like to be reminded, but when he does, you can see the love he holds for his wife, her hurt consuming him, despite the fact that they're happy now, working on their marriage.
“How is Ashley?” Dagger asks with sincerity, and Trigger smiles softly.
“She’s good, loving the veterinary practice, especially working with Brit, threatening to bring animals home, which I have told her, if that is what she wants, then right on. She’s slowly learning to forgive me every single day. There will be times she’ll doubt herself, doubt us, but I try to make sure to squash those thoughts. I ensure to answer her calls instantly if she calls, even while on a run, and I know things will never be the same becauseof me, but I can sure as fuck try to make everything even better. I was an idiot, I was selfish and I’ll never take her for granted again, her or our kids,” he admits before looking at me, “When you know, it will knock you on your ass or as in my case, scare the living shit outta you. You have all of us brothers, and we will step in to make sure you don’t make our mistakes if we see you’re going down our routes.”
“I won’t need that, brother, because I won’t be falling for anyone,” I say softly, hoping he doesn’t go back in on himself.
Ever since he found out about Ash, he’s struggled mentally—something he admits is selfish, since it was Ashley who went through the ordeal. She coped with a miscarriage and found out her husband had an affair. Even if he didn’t screw the bitch daily as we thought, he still dipped his stick inside her. Bringing it up fucks him up a little and I don’t want him to go downhill again.
Ash and their kids don’t deserve that, and honestly, a small part of me knows he doesn’t either. He’s punished himself enough.
“If that is so, then why won’t you meet Caleb's teacher?” Doc asks with a smirk, and I still, my body tensing.
Son of a…
“Wait, what teacher?” Slicer asks, his cut momentarily forgotten, and I glare at Doc, who I really fucking wish had a shift at the hospital today instead of being here, to keep his mouth shut.
He answers ignoring my glare, “Caleb's second-grade teacher, whose classhechose to be in and his father hasn’t met yet.”
Slicer raises a brow my way but I just shake my head as Trigger decides to dig into my misery, “She’s only been at the school for a few months and all of us brothers have basically met her and think she’s fucking awesome but idiot here,” he points his thumb my way, “refuses to meet her after Caleb mentioned how amazing it would be if he and Ms. Robins got together. ThenLyra, Ms. Robins’s cute little girl could be his sister and he would always protect them because apparently Lyra doesn’t have a daddy.”
Okay, so Lyra is a fucking cutie, I’ll give him that much.
I’ve met her a couple of times, and I swear she’s the cutest kid around with her icy blue eyes that suck you in and make it hard to say no to her.
If she asked me for a puppy, I’d probably give in instantly, but that doesn’t mean I need to meet her mama, though.
The brothers all grin my way, and instantly, I’m on the defensive.
I say, “I’m telling Ash you said you didn’t like her cooking last night,” getting back at the dick, who grumbles, “Low blow, brother,” and I smirk as he complains, “She’s tried to perfect that spicy chicken for two weeks. Pretty sure she put in three whole chili peppers last night. My ass was on fire all night, and I’m starting to think she’s doing it on purpose.”
The brothers laugh while Dagger raises a dark brow my way, and I know he’s about to give me a grilling.
“You know you have to meet your son's teacher eventually, right?” he says, but I just shake my head.
“No, I don’t. Dad can do conferences and if Lyra is having a playdate, Dad picks her up, or her uncle, or whatever he is to her, drops her off and picks her up again. I don’t need my son getting the wrong idea,” I admit, and Dagger smirks, but I ignore the look and the pinch in my stomach at the thought of the guy who is continuously doing the errands where Lyra and Caleb are concerned for their playdates, a pinch I don’t fucking understand.
“How uh, how do you feel when Lyra is around?” Trigger asks out of the blue, and I frown at him.
What the fuck?
"Brother, that sounds really fucking bad,” I state, glad Thunder isn’t here, because who knows what that idiot would say.
Trigger shakes his head, “You know that isn’t what I meant!”
“Not the point, you should have Ash help you reword shit,” I say, and he rolls his eyes and demands, “Answer the damn question!”
I sigh, “She’s sweet, and I have the urge to protect her.”
And I do. She has admitted to me that she doesn’t have a daddy, and I have the urge to protect her, to make sure no one hurts her. I feel like she belongs to me and not in that creepy kind of way, but like she’s my kid which is really fucking weird and another reason why I refuse to meet her mama.
Trigger grins wide, and I just shake my head at the idiot as my phone rings, and I mutter, “Saved by the fucking bell,” making the brothers scowl, but they soon laugh when I grumble, “Or not, it’s Dad.”
For weeks, he’s been trying to get me to the school, and normally, I’m all for whatever dad needs me to do, but this one is a big fat no.
Sighing, I give the finger to the brothers as I answer, “Dad, is Caleb okay?” as I walk over to my Harley, the brothers' laughter following me.
“Yeah, he’s good, he somehow managed to convince Ms. Robins and me to allow Lyra to come over for dinner tonight. The girl is so fucking sweet, and I nearly gave in and let her on my bike, but your mama reminded me her mama would have my balls.”
