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I gave her another winning smile as she hurried off. “Never gets old.”
We shared another laugh, which felt damn good. Things had been bleak for a while there, with Robert Carter and his son kidnapping Ellie. But that shit was done, now. Carter and his pathetic excuse for a son were dead, Ellie and her boy were safe with Diesel, and the bunch of them made one big, stupidly happily family now. I’d never been happier for them, they deserved peace.
A shadow crossed the table as I was reminiscing, and Diesel and I both looked up.
“Nolo.” I blinked in confusion as I looked at my son. “Hey, what are you doing here?”
My son would always be my little boy, but with his black hair, olive skin, and those shoulders of his that he was finally starting to fill out from his previously lanky and tall frame, he looked every inch the pissed off man he was.
“I’m here because you didn’t respond to my graduation invitation.” He glared at me with eyes as green as his mother’s, the only thing he’d gotten from her in terms of looks, instead of my own hazel.
“Invitation? Of course, I’ll be there. What the fuck kind of question is that?” We had a few tough years when my ex-wife moved away, and it took us some time to figure out what our relationship would be, but we were in a good place now. At least I’d thought so. “Is there a reason I wouldn’t want to go?”
“No,” he muttered, dropping into the booth seat beside me like he was exhausted. “But you didn’t respond, and I wasn’t sure if something was wrong.”
I sighed and scruffed my palm over the back of his head briefly. Nolo had nothing to do with the Steel Demons MC other than being my kid, but he worried constantly about the things I got up to. “I didn’t realize it needed answering, I thought you were just telling me when and where to go. Obviously I’m gonna fucking be there. Hell, I’ll be the loudest fucker in that auditorium.”
My son flashed a half smile. “Good. I want you there, Dad.”
“I’ll be there. What’s next once you get the diploma?” My kid was a brainiac. He could just see the most intricate shit and turn it into something fantastic.
Nolo shrugged. “I’m thinking about getting a master’s degree in cybersecurity. I’ve already been accepted to a graduate program locally.”
“Holy shit, Nolo, that’s great!” Diesel smiled, celebrating by flicking a scrunched napkin across the table to hit my son on the nose. “That’s boss shit and big money, isn’t it?”
Nolo smirked. “Yeah, it’s both, and it’s a chance to flex my muscles as a cybersecurity expert.”
“Literally, it looks like it,” Diesel said. “Seems like you’ve been hitting the gym lately. You’ll be as big as your father in no time.”
Nolo sniffed and flexed his bicep. “Already am.”
I sniffed and flexed back. “Not yet, you’re not.”
Diesel snorted, scrunched two clean napkins, and lobbed them both at our heads. “Dumbasses.”
I grinned and grabbed Nolo around the neck, squeezing with a chuckle until he shoved at me to let go. “Nah, kid, I’m proud of you. You’re going places in this world.” I would be forever grateful to Meredith for moving back to town so that I could get to know my son, and watch him grow into the man he was becoming.
“Relax, Dad, Jesus Christ…” He shook his head, but he couldn’t hide the proud blush that crossed his cheeks.
“So, what about that girl you told me about?” I ask. “Will she be at the ceremony, too?”
Nolan’s shoulders sank and his head fell forward. “We’re not together anymore. She broke up with me, said I was a good guy, but she thinks we’re better as friends.” He sat a little taller. “I haven’t given up, though.”
Diesel’s gaze met mine and we shared a glance. “It’s too bad, but that just means you’re free to find the right woman when she comes along.”
“Yeah, maybe.” He pushed away from the table with a sigh. “I’ll see you guys around.” He took off.
“That was weird, right?”
Diesel shrugged. “Nothing strange about a kid not wanting to share his heartbreak with his old man, especially a tough son of a bitch like you.”
I grinned. “I guess.”
The waitress arrived with our food and more coffee, which we dug into like neither of us had eaten for an eternity. We ate in a comfortable silence until our plates were half empty before Diesel said, “Now that the Carter family is no longer a problem for us and the Foundation is in a free fall, it’s time for us to think about what comes next. With Ellie getting ready to have our babies any day now, I’m counting on you to step up.”
“Of course. But I have some specific ideas in mind,” I told him honestly.
“I’ll bet you do,” he laughed. “But hold that thought, that sounds like business that should be discussed during church with the others.”
