Page 14

ACE

I hardly slept that night. I tossed and turned, worrying about Dylan and his approaching shift. When I did manage to drift off, I dreamed of Harley.

At least I was in my own bed this time. As the clan alpha, I was the sole permanent resident of the alpha house, nestled on the west side of the lake.

It was too much space for me, but typically, the alpha had a family to support.

The house was a three-story cabin with enormous glass windows that faced the lake, so the entire home flooded with sunlight in the morning.

The bottom level was an open-floor plan with a large back deck and a wooden walkway that led out to the lake.

The renovated kitchen opened to the living room, with its enormous plus sectional, and a dining room table near the windows.

If the clubhouse was where the clan hung out, my home was where we had our serious, private meetings.

I stayed on the second floor in the biggest bedroom with the best en suite bathroom.

There were four bedrooms on both the second and third floor.

I used one downstairs as an office, and another upstairs as storage.

The remaining rooms were open to clan members who needed a place to crash, either because they drank too much at a meeting or pissed off their mates, which was much more likely.

That was going to change a bit, though. The clan members would only have two rooms on the third floor to crash in now.

Hawk and I had spent most of yesterday afternoon cleaning up the two open rooms on the second floor.

I made my way downstairs and into the kitchen, squinting against the bright morning sun. I put the coffee on, then checked my phone. I saw Hawk’s text right before I heard his car pull up.

“Hey, Ace!” Hawk called as he barged into the house with Bella on his hip.

Mia followed after him with a brown bag of groceries.

They must have come from the farmer’s market.

Bella did love looking at all the fresh vegetables.

“You didn’t tell me yesterday that you banned Blakely.

I had to hear it from Striker. How’d she take it? ”

“Ah, sorry, I was too caught up in the work, I guess. She took it about as good as she could’ve,” I said. “It’s the least I could do.”

“Does that mean Harley will be sticking around?” Hawk set Bella down. She started chattering to herself, then toddled into the kitchen with her arms outstretched.

“I don’t know. We’re just trying to get through Dylan’s first shift. Hey, Bella-boo,” I said as I swept my niece into my arms. She laughed in delight, then tugged at my beard—her latest obsession.

“It’s nice that Bella gets to spend some time with her older cousin, though,” Mia said as she began to unpack the vegetables. “Hawk’s always wanted a big family.”

“I’ve always wanted whatever family I have with you, Mia,” Hawk said immediately.

Mia smirked and shot him a knowing look.

Hawk sighed. “Okay, yeah, I thought a big family would be nice. I’m excited to be an uncle, what can I say?” The coffeemaker chimed, and Hawk dutifully pulled out three mugs. “I wish Sean was here, too. To meet Dylan.”

I sighed and ignored the familiar pang in my chest. “You know that’s not going to happen.”

“I know,” Hawk said. “A man can dream, though, right?”

“Stick with the good dreams—like the distillery. How are things going with that?” I set Bella down and she toddled off to press her face against the big glass windows.

“Moving right along,” Hawk said. “I’ve got some lawyers reviewing the last of the investment documents."

“Chop these onions, will you?” Mia said. “We’ve got a lot of prep to do if you don’t want to be cooking the whole time Dylan and Harley are here.”

“Right, right,” Hawk said.

Mia moved a stack of vegetables to the counter to wash them in the sink.

I pulled out some eggs to start making a quick breakfast for us.

As I beat the eggs, Mia nudged her hip against mine.

“We swung by the clubhouse, and Blakely was there getting the last of her things. She looked… Well, she looked like shit.”

“That’s about what I’d expect,” I said. I knew being banned was a serious blow to her lifestyle, but I had no room in my heart to feel bad for her. After what she’d done, after what she’d taken from me… She was lucky I’d only banned her.

“How are you handling everything?” Mia asked.

I huffed a short laugh. “Honestly, I feel like I could wake up from a dream at any moment. It’s hard to believe I have a son. But I’m okay. I’m good, really.”

Mia peered at me. Sometimes, I thought she had the same lie-detection powers I did.

“Really,” I continued. “I want to get to know him. Help him with his shift. I feel like if this goes well, I could get to be a regular part of his life. That’s all I want.”

“That’s all?” Mia asked. “No thoughts about your fated mate being back in town? After ten years?”

My dragon rumbled. As if I could forget. “I can’t focus on that right now.”

“Fair enough,” Mia said with a sly smile. “But motherhood has done well for her, hasn’t it? She looks good.”

“Understatement,” I grumbled. Mia laughed brightly, and I shuffled away to scramble the eggs.

By noon, we’d had breakfast and coffee and had successfully put together Mia’s pasta salad recipe, and I was marinating some steaks to grill in the afternoon.

“Whoa!” came a small voice from outside. “Is this seriously his house?”

I grinned and strode from the kitchen to the front door. I opened it just as Dylan was lifting his hand to knock on the door. Behind him, Harley offered me a small smile in greeting.

The sight of her took my breath away. She was dressed simply in a white T-shirt and jeans that hugged the curves of her hips and thighs.

Her auburn hair was in two simple braids that fell to her shoulders, with a few strands framing her round face and bright blue eyes.

My dragon huffed. He wanted me to fit my hands into the dip of her tiny waist and drag her close.

My gaze fell to the pale skin of her neck.

I cleared my throat. Now was not the time. There would never be a time. This was about my son, who was nearly vibrating with excitement on my doorstep.

“Come in,” I said, waving them inside. “We’re nearly done prepping lunch.”

“We?” Harley asked.

“Uncle Hawk!” Dylan shouted. He bounded inside, and Hawk caught him in a laughing headlock. Dylan cackled in delight, then wriggled out of Hawk’s grip to hug Mia and Bella.

“He’s really taken to them. I think family is what he’s needed.” She sighed ruefully. “He’s been looking forward to spending time with you since you left yesterday. I don’t think he slept a wink.”

She was standing next to me, smiling as she watched Dylan. I wanted to wind an arm around her waist, so I crossed my arms over my chest to resist the urge. “I was pretty excited, too.”

“This place is crazy,” Dylan said. He spread out his arms and spun around, then stared up at the big windows and the high rafters in awe. “You live here? Mom, you didn’t say Dad was rich!”

Harley rubbed her forehead with the heel of her hand. “Well, it’s complicated.”

I hummed in acknowledgment. The money that had bought me and the clan such nice homes was the same money that had led me to be behind bars for seven years. I would’ve given this home up in a heartbeat if it meant I could’ve spent Dylan’s childhood with him… And with Harley.

“I’ll get the grill going,” Hawk called, giving me a knowing grin. “You want to give them a grand tour?”

“There’s something I want to show you,” I told Harley and Dylan. “If you don’t mind?”

“What is it?” Dylan asked, eyes wide with excitement.

“Cool your jets, kid,” Harley said.

“It’s worth being excited about.” I grinned. “This way.”

I led Harley and Dylan up the stairs to the second floor. My room was at the far end of the hall, and the bedroom next to it had been converted into my office. I pushed open the door to the third bedroom, which had been a guest room for clan members.

“Check it out,” I said.

“Whoa,” Dylan whispered. “No way.”

Hawk had spent all yesterday afternoon with me converting this bedroom.

We’d switched out the queen bed for a lofted double bed and stuck some bean-bag chairs under there, plus a television and a video game console.

There was open floor space, a new desk, some bookshelves, and even some Lego sets.

Hawk and I had even strung up some color-changing LED lights, since Mia said they were popular among kids.

Dylan looked at me, wide-eyed. “Is this…”

“It’s your room,” I said. “If you ever need to stay here.”

Dylan surged forward and wrapped his arms around my middle.

He squeezed me with a surprising amount of strength—well, not surprising, considering he was a dragon shifter and also my son—then let go before I even realized what happened.

“This is amazing!” he said, then bounded over to the video game console to look at the games I’d picked out with Hawk’s help.

I cleared my throat around the sudden lump that had formed there. Harley was lingering by the door, her hand over her mouth.

“Sorry if it’s too much,” I said quietly. “I don’t want you to think I’m trying… trying to fix everything with money. I want to make sure there’s a safe place for him to stay.”

Harley dropped her hands and smiled. It was a small, sweet smile. A genuine smile. God, I’d missed that smile. “I’m not going to complain about you spoiling him,” she said. “It’s… Wow, it’s a lot to take in.”

“I set up the room next door for you, too,” I said. “Didn’t get you a Playstation, though, so if you were expecting one of those…”

Harley’s eyes popped wide. “You did?”

I nodded. “I meant what I said at Liz’s. If you need another place to stay, you’re always welcome here.”

Dylan laughed with delight, and we both watched as he examined the Lego sets on the desk.

“He really needed this,” Harley said. “Thank you.”