A few of the men laughed and cheered like it was a celebration rather than my apology. Waving them down, I rolled my eyes and rubbed my palms together again.
“She took over everything, and because of that, I let things slip. The club became an excuse for me to be violent when things went wrong with her, or she got hurt, or someone dared to burst this bubble we were in—the bubble I could never dream of being in.”
“Drew, you—”
“Shut up, Slater,” I warned quietly, cutting him off. His shoulders sank, as did his chin to his chest, and I could see by his tense body language that he wasn’t a fan of my apologizing for my happiness—or anything, actually. In Slater’s eyes, there wasn’t much I could do wrong, and if I were ever to slip, he would be the one to pull me back up to safety. He saw it as his duty. “I need to say this… just once, Slate. Please.”
He nodded slowly and leaned back in his chair, releasing a sigh.
“Nobody blames you for loving Ayda, Drew,” a brother named Stones said from the far end of the table. Stones was a man I’d never gotten too close to, but one whose loyalty was as apparent as his biting sarcasm toward his MC.
“We’ve all fallen for her,” Moose interjected.
“And the kid’s all right, too,” Ben, who barely ever fucking spoke, piped up. I wasn’t even aware he registered half the shit going on unless he was being told to fix up a motor, helpon a repo, or work on a bike.
“The Hanagans brought something to the club that was always missing, Drew,” Moose said in his deep, slow, almost-haunting voice. “Before them, we only had Autumn and the women out in that bar for female company. Autumn rarely came here, and those women… well, we ain’t exactly treated them with the respect they deserved, have we? Ayda coming here with a young brother in tow taught us how to respect women again. She reminded us how important it is to have someone like her around to keep us in line. She brought heart to the place.”
“She also reminded us which sex is really in-fucking-charge,” Jedd laughed.
“Amen, amen,” a few of the guys joined in, their rough laughter making me wish Harry was here to see it.
My smile rose as I studied each of them. “I was going to apologize for making her my only focus, and letting you guys fall behind again, just like I did when I decided to go inside for five years. But, I can tell from the way you’re all looking at me like goofy little pricks that you’ve all made her your focus, too.”
“We just don’t get the added extras you do.” Jedd chuckled, and he dodged quickly as I lashed out an arm in an attempt to hit him.
The whole table came to life, and I pointed a finger at each and every one of them. “And none of you ever will. Is that crystal fucking clear, ass wipes?”
A few jokes passed through the room, and I almost allowed myself to get lost in the comfort of it. Suddenly, my nerves were gone, and being at the head of the table seemed like the most natural thing on earth. The only one not to speak yet had been my father.
I turned to him when the noise faded away again.
“We have many things to discuss today. One thing I need totalk to you all about openly is the return of my father.”
Eric’s eyes shot up to mine, a look of worry etched on his face.
“When he first came back, I didn’t trust him,” I told them with honesty.
Slater shifted uncomfortable, the clearing of his throat his giveaway. Kenny scratched his etched-up eyebrow, and Jedd’s jaw tensed when I glanced around at them all.
“Every single one of you here already knows I didn’t trust him. You also know that the last thing I ever like admitting to is being wrong. So, get your cameras out, boys, and record this shit if you need to because here it comes.” I tilted my head and narrowed my eyes on my father. “Eric, I was wrong. I was wrong to think you wanted to hurt the club rather than save us. I was wrong to be angry with you for running away when I did the same thing after Pete. I’ve been wrong for a lot of things when it comes to you, and even though I still think you’ve got a million skeletons in your closet that will someday come back to haunt us both… as far as I’m concerned, you’re a part of this MC and this table now.”
“Hell, yeah.” Kenny nodded.
Eric blinked twice and swallowed hard, his eyes never leaving mine until I broke contact and glanced around the room again.
“Any objections?” I asked my fellow brothers.
And though some still looked uncertain, no verbal objections came, and I brought the gavel down on the table for the first time in a long time, enjoying the vibrations of power it sent up my arm.
“Next on the list… Road Captain.”
I put it to the guys that, if he was willing to accept it, Deeks was the man I wanted to take over the role of Harry Rogers. He was the man I trusted to lead the club out on the road, and the only man that could ever try to wear the same boots Harryonce had.
The vote was unanimous, and the hollering and cheering that came forth, along with the hands being banged on against the table, made my smile grow too big as I lost myself in a moment of temporary happiness with my brothers.
Tell them about the baby.
Tell them about the baby.
