For the first time in my life, I saw a bit of a father in him. He was sincere. This wasn’t a facade. This was Maverick in his rawest form. This was him, being a dad to me.
“I don’t care about that shit—” I started.
“You care about him,” Maverick countered, pointing back toward the house where the warm light spilled onto the porch. “If shit like this gets out, in our business? Those old guard bastards will run with it. They’ll bury you. And him. And I don’t know how to make that not happen, Si.”
I snapped. “So you want us to hide it? Pretend it’s not how we feel? Guess what, Dad? Caring what the business, what you would think, cost me Cal once before. And I’m not letting it fucking happen again.”
I stepped into his space, my voice shaking.
“The only way out of this shit is either a ring on his finger or two fucking body bags.”
Maverick sighed again, his hand on his hip as the other raked through his greying hair. “Jesus, Silas. Don’t be dramatic.”
“Dramatic? I’m not being dramatic! I’m being honest!” I snapped again.
Maverick didn’t say anything back. He closed the space between us both, and for the first time in years, he grabbed me in the tightest bear hug possible and held me.
“I love you, son,” he said, his voice cracking. I didn’t even need to see him to know he was crying. I felt it in the way his shoulders shook against me.
I was so stunned, I didn’t hug him back at first. And when I did, I broke too.
“Dad, I—”
“Don’t you dare say sorry, Si,” he stopped me, pulling back just enough to look at me in the dark. “You say it way too much.”
We pulled apart, and he grabbed my face in his hands, forcing me to look at him. “He makes you happy?” he asked.
I nodded with a sniffle. “Yeah. He does.”
“That’s all I need to know,” he said as he hugged me again. “I know I haven’t always been the best father for you, and I’m sorry. But don’t you ever, ever think I’ll stop loving you. For any reason. You hear me?”
He gripped me tightly, shaking me slightly to drive the point home.
Our attention was pulled away when the back door opened. We both looked toward the house. It was Scott, hesitantly walking out onto the porch, followed closely by Cal, who looked ready to fight. They couldn’t see us clearly in the dark yard.
“You two good?” Scott called out into the darkness.
“We’re good,” Maverick yelled back, his voice thick. He tossed an arm over my shoulder, steering me back toward the light. “We’re good.”
We walked back up to the porch. Scott was clearly guarded, ready to defend me, but his face quickly softened when we stepped into the light and he saw I wasn’t upset anymore.
Maverick cleared his throat, shifting instantly from emotional dad to… Dad.
He turned to Cal. He crossed his arms over his chest, narrowing his eyes.
“So,” Maverick said, his voice dropping to that low, intimidating rumble. “Callum. You plan on sticking around?”
Cal didn’t flinch. “Yes, sir. I do.”
“Uh huh,” Maverick nodded slowly. “And you know my son is… high maintenance? He’s got a temper. He’s stubborn as a mule. And he’s got baggage.”
“Dad!” I groaned, covering my face. “I am literally almost thirty. What the fuck is happening?”
Scott rolled his eyes, leaning against the railing. “Mav, are you serious right now?”
Maverick shot Scott a look. “If one of the twins brought home a…this,” he gestured vaguely at Cal, “you wouldn’t be doing exactly what I’m doing?”
Scott paused. He looked at Cal. He looked at Maverick. “Yeah. Point taken. Never mind. Carry on.”
