Truly, Madly, Whiskey(84)
“Pop, you let us believe you were a chauvinistic *.”
“Hey.” Bullet elbowed him.
“It’s okay.” His father gave Bear a hard look. “Better that you think I’m a chauvinistic * than Dixie think I don’t want her in the family business at all. That girl’s tough as nails, but she’s also as sensitive as a hair trigger. She can see how I am about protecting our girls, and that fits in her mind as who I am. But hearing I don’t want her in the family business for any reason? That would break her heart.”
He rested his cane against his leg and set a hand on Bullet’s and Bones’s shoulders, staring at Bear. “Get your ass in here. I don’t have three hands.”
Bear stepped into the group hug.
“When your grandfather turns over in his grave,” his father said, “that’s on your shoulders.”
“Thanks, Pop.”
“No, Robert. Thank you. You held this family together for so long, I forgot it wasn’t your job.”
The recognition he’d spent years telling himself he didn’t need made Bear’s heart feel full to near bursting.
Bullet broke away from the embrace. “Don’t tell him that shit. He’s going to get a big-ass ego.”
Bones cracked a smile. “Going to get?”
“I’ll kick his ass and take care of that.” Bullet slapped Bear on the back so hard he stumbled forward. Bear cocked a fist, and the three of them fell into a fake fight and ended up laughing.
When he walked out the door half an hour later, his father called after him, “Lunch, Sunday. Bring your little gal,” and he knew life as he’d known it had changed.
For the better.
Chapter Twenty-One
“COME ON, BABE. They’re not going to care what you wear. We’re just having lunch,” Bear called into the bedroom.
“Just one more minute, promise,” Crystal called to him. It was Sunday and they were meeting his parents at their house for lunch. She’d gone shopping with Gemma and Dixie Friday night and picked out a pretty wine-colored spaghetti-strap minidress with tiny off-white and black flowers. It was more feminine than she was used to, but she’d liked how she’d felt in the dress for Gemma’s wedding, and she wanted to explore that side of herself a little more. She paired it with black biker boots, a few long silver necklaces on black strings, and silver bangles, making it look edgier, but she was still a nervous wreck. Of course, that had less to do with the dress than it did with having lunch with his parents.
“Babe?” Bear appeared in the doorway. His lips curved up and his eyes blazed a trail from her head to her toes. “Hot damn. You look gorgeous.”
She fidgeted with the hem of the dress, thinking about how easy it was for guys to pick out their clothes. Bear always wore jeans and a T-shirt, with his leather vest thrown in most days. His tattoos were like permanent accessories. “Are you sure? Is it too girly?”
“Too girly? I don’t know what that means, but if it’s a bad thing, then hell no.” His arms circled her waist and he began kissing her neck, sending shivers through her. “Why are you suddenly nervous about what you’re wearing? You always look great.”
“Because we’re having lunch with your parents.” She hooked her finger into the waist of his jeans. They’d been through so much together, this should be easy, but it felt like another very big step. “Dixie will be there, right?”
“Yup, along with Bones and Bullet. But all that really matters is that I’m there, and I adore you. Have faith in me, and let’s get out of here.”
She grabbed her bag, and he draped an arm over her shoulder as they descended the steps. “You realize none of this matters, right?”
“Of course it matters. I’m a little nervous about talking with your dad.”
“Don’t be. Just be yourself.”
She gave him a wry smile. “I’m not very good at holding my tongue. And I love Dixie, so I can’t promise I won’t say something he’ll hate.”
“Babe, I love you, and I won’t ever ask you to be someone you’re not. You say whatever you feel like saying. I’ll always back you up.”
After everything he’d been through lately, the last thing she wanted to do was say the wrong thing around his family. He couldn’t know how much hearing that helped to tamp down her anxiety.
“Thank you, but I’m still a little nervous. Just keep in mind that if your father is as old-school, or club-driven, or whatever it is that causes him to think women aren’t supposed to have certain jobs, then you’d better not begin taking after him. Because then I’d have to kick your ass.”
He opened the passenger door of his truck. “Careful. I might enjoy feisty Crystal.”
Between stolen kisses and lascivious comments, he kept her smiling the whole way to his parents’ house on the outskirts of town. Bear drove down a long tree-lined driveway and parked behind two motorcycles and Bullet’s truck. Crystal took in the modest two-story brick home with a deep, welcoming front porch bordered by beautiful gardens. The house reminded her of the house in which she’d spent the early part of her childhood, giving her a sense of comfort.
At least that’s what she told herself as they walked hand in hand toward the voices coming from the backyard.