Page 83 of Love, Lies, and Whiskey

“No. They come in and out as they please. They have doggy doors.”

Lucas looked up at the house. “This place is cool, back here in the woods.”

“There’s a creek behind the house and a lake up in the woods. When I was a little kid, my grandfather used to take me camping back there.”

“I’ve never been camping.” He threw another stick for the dogs. “I think Mom’s afraid to go camping because she’s never gone.”

That saddened him, but not because he thought Juliette was afraid. She loved the outdoors. He was sad she’d never gone. “Is that something you want to do?”

He shrugged. “Kinda, yeah.”

“I’d be happy to take you both camping sometime. Here or somewhere else if you’d like.”

Lucas didn’t respond as the dogs barreled over with sticks in their mouths. Sadie plunked down beside Lucas, and he threw the other dogs’ sticks again.

Doc wanted to get through to him, but he knew better than to push. “I have something I think you might find cool. It’s from when your mom was here that summer. Mind coming inside for a second?”

“I guess not.”

The dogs followed them in, sticking to Lucas like glue as he walked through the living room, trying awfully hard to look like he wasn’t checking out the pictures of Doc’s family. “What’d you want to show me?”

“It’s this way.” He led him to the bedroom and lifted the area rug, showing him the heart with his and Juliette’s initials carved into the floor.

Lucas looked at it with confusion.

“There was an old cabin here the summer your mom and I met. We used to hang out there, and I carved that into the floor of that old cabin right before your grandfather yanked her out of here. When I tore down the old cabin years later and built this house, I couldn’t get rid of it. It’s one of the only tangible things I have from that summer.”

“Why are you showing it to me?”

“Because I want you to know that I’m not just some asshole who knocked up your mom.”

LUCAS WAS QUIET on the way home, and Doc feared he might have overwhelmed him. After they’d left his house, he’d seemed interested in seeing the rest of the ranch. They’d driven by the main house, the paintball field, and each of his family member’s houses.

When they pulled down the driveway, Doc said, “I hope seeing the ranch and meeting Sasha and my father weren’t too much for you.”

“It wasn’t. The ranch was cool. That paintball field is huge.”

“It’s a good one. Sasha and Cowboy love paintball. Every few years they expand the field.”

“That’s awesome.” Lucas parked by Juliette’s truck, and after cutting the engine, he stared down at the keys and said, “Do you think Sasha meant what she said about coming to watch me ride?”

“She wouldn’t have suggested it if she didn’t. My family—our family—doesn’t fake anything well. What you see is what you get. Sometimes it’s suggesting to go see you ride, and other times it’s calling you out for being a dick.”

Lucas eyed him cautiously. “But your dad welcomed me to the family, and he doesn’t know me.”

“Because that’s how he feels. You’re half Whiskey, which means you’re Tiny’s blood. In our family, that’s all that matters.”

“What if they think I’m a jerk?”

“I can tell you without a shred of doubt that we all think that about each other at one time or another.”

Lucas smiled.

“Look, you’re a good kid going through a hard time. But even if you weren’t a good kid, and you were stealing or treating people badly, you’re still family, and we don’t turn our backs on family. Not if you’re a jerk some days, or if you’re going through a rough patch and need to be handled with kid gloves, or if you’re turning into an asshole and need to be tough loved.”

Lucas looked down at the keys in his hand again.

“I’m sure the idea of a big, loud, welcoming family seems weird and overwhelming because it’s been just you and your mom for a very long time. But you can trust that the love we will show you is real. Your mom was out of our lives since she was sixteen, but when you went missing, my family showed up for her. No questions asked. My father rallied the club, and my mother sat with your mom until you were safely home.”