“Daisy needs space, and while I’m here, I can’t give it to her. She has to, I don’t know, get her shit together, I guess. I’m not sure. I love her, Dad. I love her so much it fucking hurts to see her in any kind of pain.”
He didn’t want Anthony going with the Nomad Chapter. There were still many risks. The Skulls’ reputation was cemented long ago, and the thought of his son being in the thick of it didn’t feel right to him.
But from the look on his face, Lash knew he had no choice.
“We’ll talk after Christmas.” He held his hand up, as his son was clearly going to dispute it. “After fucking Christmas. That is final. You don’t leave. You don’t make any final decisions until I say so.”
“Did you allow Tiny to make those kinds of decisions?” Anthony asked.
Lash smiled. “Son, why do you think I’m standing here right now? I knew when to be a wiseass, and then I knew when to shut the fuck up and be a man. I suggest you do the same.”
Chapter Three
Angel stepped back and looked at the tree in her living room. It was a deep green. Lash and Anthony had picked well. There was something going on between her husband and their son. Anthony looked even more miserable than usual.
She kept a smile on her face, as even Connor looked pissed. He loved going out and picking trees. His glare came and went in between coughs. Poor boy. Her children, no matter how old they got, would always be her kids, her babies. She loved them all so much.
Chloe, her daughter, sat on the sofa. “It’s a pretty one,” she said.
“Who would like cookies and hot chocolate?” Angel asked.
All three kids raised their hands.
She gave Lash’s hand a squeeze and then made her way into the kitchen. Lash wasn’t far behind her. She poured out the milk into three mugs, and then looked at him. “Want one?”
“Yeah, I do.”
Angel chuckled. Her hot chocolate even worked on her husband.
With five mugs measured out, she poured the milk into a saucepan and placed it on a gentle heat.
“Do you want to tell me what is going on with everyone?” she asked.
“It’s nothing.”
“You and Anthony picked a beautiful tree and now won’t stop glaring at each other. That tells me that something is going on.” She grabbed her Santa spatula and stirred the milk in the saucepan to keep it from scalding. She’d already made a batch of fresh chocolate chip cookies, and they were once again in her themed jar.
She really did love this time of year. Having Christmas all around her filled her with so much joy.
Lash looked behind him and then turned toward her.
“Anthony is thinking of joining the Nomad Chapter.”
“Oh,” Angel said. “He is?”
“Yes. Don’t worry, I’m going to talk him out of it.”
Angel felt disappointed. She loved her children so much. She looked toward the doorway and sighed. “But what if he needs it?”
“Angel, come on, babe. You and I both know that’s not what he needs.”
“True, but he feels like he needs it.”
“You want him to go away?”
“No, definitely not. He’s our little boy, but … what if this is something that he needs?” She could quite easily be selfish and get Lash to talk Anthony out of it, but that didn’t feel right to her.
Lash sighed. “You do know there’s still a lot of danger out there. The Nomad Chapter has to deal with The Skulls’ reputation.”