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“You gonna answer the fuckin’ phone if I call?”

Lannie paused; his hand hung in the air holding the bottle he was drinking from as he looked straight ahead.

I looked at the prospect hanging out to the side. He appeared more uncomfortable than me, if that were possible.

Lannie set his beer down and looked at Sal. “Yea, I’ll answer the phone.”

Sal nodded and downed his drink. “We’ll stay the night in Denver and leave in the morning. We’ve got a kid to deal with back home.”

“When you say kid...” Lannie started.

“He’s almost thirty. Knew what he was doing,” I corrected.

Lannie shook his head.

“Not your jurisdiction, Declan.” Maureen wrapped her arms around me. “It was good to see you.” Then whispered, “I like her.”

“Me too.” I chuckled.

Maureen smacked my chest and walked over to Sal. “Get rid of him, Sal.”

“Reenie!” Lannie groaned, and that made Sal smile.

He hugged Maureen, and I heard him whisper, “I plan to.”

I walked over to the table and set my hands on Freyja’s shoulders. She looked up at me and smiled. “Having fun?” I asked and leaned down to kiss her.

She rolled her eyes at me but didn’t answer.

“I’ll miss you,” Colleen said as she hugged me.

“Hey, it isn’t forever.”

“Yes, it is.” Beck grinned. “We like her. So, we’re keeping her. Besides, she has a nephew due in a few months. She needs to be here to meet him.” Beck grinned at Colleen, and she blushed. Colleen always wanted siblings. Now, she had a sister and a brother on the way.

I grabbed Colleen’s chin and turned her focus to me. “No bikers, Lollipop.”

Colleen rolled her eyes. She hugged me again and whispered, “I love you, Ducky.”

“Love you more, Lollipop.”

I caught Freyja’s eye, and she had a look I couldn’t discern. She smiled at me and though I smiled back; I was worried about the look on her face.

“Take care of my uncle, Freyja.”

“I will, Colleen.” She hugged my niece and said goodbye to the other women before we piled into the SUV.

The next morning, we boarded the plane. Freyja chose a seat away from the others. I couldn’t be sure she wasn’t separating herself from me, but I wouldn’t let her. We’d spent the night in bed, rather than talking. I sat in the seat next to her and once we were both buckled in, I took her hand and pulled it into my lap.

“What’s wrong?”

She smiled at me. “Nothing’s wrong.”

“You had a look on your face when I said goodbye to Colleen.”

Freyja set her hand over mine. “I was just thinking about what a wonderful father you would make.”

“How can you be sure?”