“I will not put up with any of that shit. Our bunnies get out of line, they’re gone. No second chances. Terror gave a couple a second chance, and it almost ruined a couple of brother’s lives. As long as we have single brothers, we’ll have bunnies, but they have to know their fucking place. No exceptions.” The guys all grumbled their agreement. I looked around for Ace. Demon saw me looking.
“If you’re looking for Ace, he went for a ride. I had Joker follow him just to make sure he’s okay. Don’t want the guy to hurt himself. Let us know if we can do anything to help. We all like Devyn and think she’s perfect for him. And we know what hurts her, hurts Jocelyn. We sure as hell don’t want anything to worry your woman. We waited too many damn years for you to find someone who would put up with your ass.” He grinned at me.
“Fuck you, asshole. For that I should let you tell Harley about Jocelyn.” He grew pale and shook his head.
“Hell no! That’s all on you. Good luck.”
After spending time with everyone, they all headed out. I went to my office in the compound. This was a call I wanted to make here in case Harley lost her shit. I didn’t want Jocelyn to overhear it if she did. I dialed her number, and she picked up on the second ring.
“Hey, Dad! How are you doing? I was thinking about you. It’s been a while since we talked. Are you guys coming this way before the wedding? Hunter and Emerson miss you. Heck, I miss you. How has it been going?” Her voice was full of happiness. God, I loved her and my grandkids. Hell, I even loved Terror. Not that I would ever admit that to him. I liked to keep him on his toes.
“I’m doing good, honey. Have all of you been doing okay? Nothing happening I should know about?” I didn’t think so or Terror would have given me a heads-up.
“No, we’re all good. Just getting ready for Smoke and Everly’s wedding and then right after that is Hawk and Nyssa’s. Whew, between weddings and babies, we never seem to stop.”
“I know. Every time I call, I expect to hear someone else is pregnant or getting married. You don’t have anything to tell me, do you?” I teased her. I wouldn’t be opposed to another grandchild. However, Emerson was only a little over a year old.
“No, Dad, I have nothing to tell you. We’re not even going to think about another baby until Emerson is at least two, maybe three. She’s a handful.” I chuckled. That was the truth. She reminded me of Harley at that age.
“Okay. I get it. Hey, I wanted to let you know I’m bringing someone to the wedding.” She got quiet.
“Who? A friend of yours?”
“Not exactly. She’s a woman I met. Her name is Jocelyn. I’d like to introduce the two of you.” The silence lengthened. Shit, this wasn’t going well.
“Dad, are you trying to tell me you’re dating someone? Really? In all the years since Mom died, I never knew of you dating anyone. At least anyone you introduced me to. Wow!”
“I’ve never dated anyone since your mom, Harley. And yes, I guess you could say we’re dating, but it’s more than that. I’ve claimed her as my old lady and she and her daughter are living with me.”
I waited a moment and held my breath. She let loose. “What do you mean you claimed her, and she and her daughter are living with you? What the fuck, Dad? You let some skank and her kid con you into keeping her around. She’s probably only looking for a baby daddy and is a gold digger. I’m coming over there to set this woman straight.”
I cut off her rant. “Harlow! Stop it. I don’t want to hear one more word out of you like that. I know this is a surprise, but I wanted to let you know and not just spring her on you at the wedding. Jocelyn isn’t a skank or a gold digger. She is a beautiful woman who is a fucking angel. Her daughter, Devyn, is too. In fact, Devyn and Ace are dating.” I decided not to tell her about that drama right now.
“Devyn is nineteen. Jocelyn works as a paralegal for Lloyd Sanders. Do you remember him? They’ve been here in Hunters Creek for about a year. Now, I know you need to get to know her, but I won’t put up with you being shitty to her, Harley. She’s coming to the wedding. I expect you to be on your best behavior because I plan on her being your stepmother! I haven’t asked her to marry me yet, but I will,” I growled. She was pissing me off. I hadn’t acted like this when she hooked up with Terror. I was a grown-ass man!
Terror spoke up. He must have been in the room. “Bull, we’d love to meet Jocelyn and her daughter. Bring them to the wedding. I promise Harley will be nice to them. She’s just stunned. I have to say I am too. In all these years, you’ve never even acted like you wanted a woman long-term.”
“Thanks, Terror. Baby girl, I’m sorry I sprung this on you, but I couldn’t come out to see you ahead of time. This was the only way I knew to tell you. I promise once you get to know her, you’ll love her. Devyn is in college to be a pharmacist. Jocelyn has been a single mom who raised her daughter all on her own, and she’s been through a lot. I’ll tell you more when we get there. I’ve got to go. Take care. I love you. Tell the kids I love them and give them kisses from me.”
“I love you too, Dad. I’m sorry. I’ll give her a chance. I promise,” she mumbled. I knew she wasn’t really sure if she meant that or not.
“Thank you. That means the world to me. Goodbye.”
“Bye, Dad.”
Whew! That hadn’t gone too well. I hoped she’d think about it and be more open-minded when we got there. One thing I wouldn’t allow was for her to hurt Jocelyn.
With this off my plate, I headed back to the house. I found Jocelyn in the kitchen baking, and Devyn was sitting at the counter. She looked terrible. Her face was pale, and her eyes were red. I went straight to her and gave her a hug. She clung to me. I kissed her hair. “Baby girl, I know you’re hurting right now, but know I’m here for you. And when you can, I think you should talk to Ace.” She stiffened. “Just talk. But no way are we going to allow you to go live by yourself somewhere. Do you hear me? It’s too dangerous out there. Just look at what happened to your mom. Everything will work out.” She just nodded.
Then I hugged and kissed my woman. She whispered, “Thank you.” I looked over her shoulder to find she was working with some kind of dough.
“What’s that, babe?”
“This is homemade bread. It should be ready for dinner later. Have you had anyone make it before? Harlow, maybe?”
“No. She could cook and maybe she does it now, but she never made homemade bread when she was here. Damn, how did I get so lucky? You amaze me, woman.” She laughed. I sat and watched her. It was nice to relax and just watch my woman making my house a home. Since she’s moved in, I’ve seen minor things change like throws on the back of the couch, a few knick knacks on the shelves and furniture, and placemats on the table. I cleared my throat.
“Baby, I was wondering. What do you want to do with the house?” She gave me a confused look. “You know, do you want to paint any of the rooms? Change out furniture? Maybe hang pictures or get other things. I want you to make this your home. I’m not attached to the way things are here. When I built it a few years ago, I just put in the things Harley said would be needed like the flooring, appliances, and things. But I left the walls white. Not because I want them that way, I just didn’t know what color to paint them. Decorating isn’t my thing. Your house was so nice and homey. I want you to have that here too. Anything you want, tell me.”