Page 118 of Deacon

I folded my arms, refusing to let a clean mug count as charm. “That’s manipulative.”

His grin came back, faint but unmistakable. “Effective, though.”

Before I could answer, Jade came back dressed and tying up her hair. She took in Jackson at the sink and me glaring beside him. “Wow,” she said. “He’s domestic.”

I covered my face with one hand, because apparently my daughter had developed a talent for finding exactly the wrong observation at the right time.

Jackson only smirked. “Your mama likes me useful.”

“Please stop talking,” I muttered, which made Jade laugh.

A knock rescued me from answering. Jade’s face changed enough to tell me she knew who it was before she hurried over. Cage stood outside with the awkwardness of a teenage boy trying hard not to show it. His eyes flicked past Jade toward me and Jackson, then returned to her.

Cage’s attention settled back on Jade, and some of the awkwardness eased. “Hey.”

Jade’s smile came quick and small. “Hey.”

Jackson straightened the second Cage stepped inside. He didn’t say anything, but I recognized the shift. Apparently fatherhood came with instincts he had acquired in under a week.

I elbowed him lightly in the ribs as I passed, earning a grunt. “What?”

I kept my voice low enough to spare Jade the full performance. “You are being weird.”

His brows lifted as if silence proved his innocence. “I ain’t said a word.”

“You were about to.” I knew him too well to be fooled by technicalities.

Jade looked between us, already exasperated. “We’re going out.”

“Fine,” I said. Whatever else was happening, Cage had always been respectful with her, and I refused to make this more embarrassing than necessary. “Just keep me updated so I don’t worry, and be back for dinner.”

Jade answered before Jackson could add another condition. “We will.”

Jackson tipped his chin toward Cage, all humor disappearing beneath the father he was becoming. “Take care of her.”

Cage met his gaze without flinching. “Always do.”

Jade made a face, caught between embarrassment and affection. “I am literally standing right here.”

“That you are,” Jackson said, completely unrepentant.

She groaned and caught Cage by the sleeve. “We’re leaving before either of you gets worse.”

“No bikes,” Jackson said before she could make it to the door.

Jade turned halfway back with the long-suffering expression of a girl burdened by ridiculous adults. “I wasn’t planning on stealing one.”

“Good,” he said. “’Cause I’d have to admire the nerve before I grounded you.”

She blinked at him, then at me, and I watched the meaning land. Jackson had stepped into fatherhood without asking permission for every inch of it, and instead of recoiling, something in Jade softened.

The joke about grounding had turned real somewhere in the middle. “Okay,” she said, quieter now.

Cage seemed to understand that the moment had shifted. “He just gave me my bike, but he hasn’t started teachin’ me yet, so we won’t be ridin’. You don’t have to worry about it.”

Something warm moved through Jackson’s expression. “Yeah? First bike?”

Cage nodded, and Jackson’s mouth pulled into a faint grin. “You always remember your first one.”