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“Okay, I love you both, but could we dial back the sexualtension? You’re my parents and it’s getting to me,” Josh complained.
“I know we’re in a club and that’s apparently a trigger forPops to turn into an unapologetic brat, but it’s gross. I say that with alllove and respect.” Grim groaned and sat back.
“I love freaking the younger generation out.” Pops lookedinfinitely pleased with himself.
“I’m glad you all find this amusing, but Nicole is introuble, and that means we’re all in trouble.” Dad was back to looking tense,his shoulders straight. “According to Chase there’s serious evidence againsther. You can’t expect me to not talk about this.”
“But you didn’t talk about it.” Josh was right back totense, too. “You went behind my back and planned how to deal with the situationwithout me or Grim being involved at all. I love you, Dad. I appreciateeverything you’ve ever done for me, but this is how you lose me. I am not achild. I am a fully grown man who you raised and trust with your business. Youdon’t get to hand over all the things you don’t want to do and then walk in andtell me how to run the place, and that damn straight includes my love life. I’mgoing to marry Nicole.”
“We’re going to marry Nicole,” Grim corrected.
“You can’t marry Nicole because Nicole doesn’t exist,” hisfather pointed out. “Son, you don’t even know her real name.”
“Her real name is Nora Holloway, but her name doesn’tmatter,” Josh countered. “I’m going to ask you something and I want you tothink about this. If you’d found out Mom was in the situation Nicole is in,would you have backed off? Or would you have trusted in the love you had forher? Would you have shrugged and moved on and hoped it all worked out for her?Or would you have fought?”
His dad went serious. “You know what I would have done.”
“Don’t expect me to be less of a man than you are.” Joshstood in front of the man he would look like when he was older. There was noway to deny that he was Jack Barnes’s biological child. It was in his hair andeye color and the build of his body. It was also in his stubborn will. But hewas his mother’s child, too. And beyond all biology he was Sam Fleetwood’s. Itwas his pop’s infinite patience, his quiet grace that took over. “Dad, I don’twant to fight with you. Grim and I need your help. I know you see me as a kid,but I’m not. I’m ready to start my family even if that means fighting whateverdemons are coming after Nicole. Even if it means fighting you.”
His father took a long breath and moved into his space.“There’s no fight here, son. None. I’m sorry. Grim, come here.” Grim moved in,and Dad wrapped them both up. “I’m proud of both of you. I know it was wrongand I should have talked to you, but it’s hard for me to stop trying to shieldyou from the world. You boys and your sisters are precious to me.”
“And Nicole is precious to us,” Josh said. “When you get toknow her, you’ll love her, too.”
Dad stepped back. “I know I will.” He looked at Grim. “Youall right, son?”
Grim stood there for a minute. “I don’t know. I feel weird.”
Pops was right beside him. “It’s okay, son. It’s calledemotion, and it’s hard to deal with. You’ll get the hang of it in another fortyyears or so. Josh handles it better because he wasn’t raised entirely byreligious zealots steeped in toxic masculinity. The masculinity he was raisedaround was open and honest, but it took us a while. Grim, you know it’s okay tocry, right? Ain’t no one here going to think less ofyou.”
Grim’s jaw went tight. “I love you. I don’t say it because Imaybe don’t feel like I should. Or I don’t feel like I deserve it. I’ve beenquiet because I don’t want to screw things up, but I’m mad, too. It’s all afucking storm inside me.”
Dad put a hand on Grim’s shoulder, looking him straight inthe eyes. “You don’t ever hold back on me because you’re worried I’ll kick youout or stop caring about you. Never going to happen. I know more than most thatfamily doesn’t have to be blood. You are my son, Jared. I’m human and I makemistakes. I expect you to love me anyway.”
“I do,” Grim said, and there was a sheen of tears in hiseyes.
“As Josh said, don’t expect me to be less,” Dad said andpulled Grim in for another hug. “I love you, son. Nothing’s going to changethat.”
There was a sniffling sound, and Grim hugged him fiercely.
“Would now be a good time to tell them that we changed ourwills and split the estate three ways?” Pops asked.
Grim sighed and looked more calm as he pulled back. “Ofcourse you did. I don’t expect anything like that. Dad, Pops, having you in mylife is more than enough.”
Josh rolled his eyes. Grim wasn’t very aware. “They’retalking about you. Years ago Lexi had them pull her out of the will since Dadgave Lucas their father’s estate.”
“She doesn’t do too poorly on her own. That was the funniestpart. I was worried about how hard a ranching life is, and then her booksexploded,” Dad said, sounding far calmer than he’d been. “No, Lexi asked thatwe leave everything to her siblings. To Olivia and Josh and Jared.”
Now there was no way to mistake the tears in his brother’seyes. “I don’t…”
It was his turn to give Grim a hug. “You do deserve it, andbefore you get worried, Olivia and I were in full agreement. You’re not leavingall this chaos to us. We need you.”
Grim held him every bit as hard as Nic had held on to theirmomma.
When Grim finally let go there was resolve in his eyes.“She’s mad at us. She thinks we betrayed her.”
“Yeah, well, I’ll be sleeping on the damn couch for a coupleof weeks,” his dad said, settling in next to Pops.
“Nah, she’ll give in once she realizes we’re all presentinga united front,” Pops corrected. “You just watch. Abby’s going to be our secretweapon when it comes to Nicole. Now let’s call in Ben and figure out what’sgoing on with that girl so we can kick whoever’s ass we need to and move on tothe baby-making part. I’m not joking. I miss having kids around.”
