Page 269 of The Daddy P.I. Casefiles: The Second Collection

“You missed her friend the drag queen,” I observe.

“Point is?—”

“I get the point.” I rap my knuckles on the table. “I think we should stop there, boys. This isn’t going to happen.”

Bud flips his folder closed. “We can work out the living situation, Mac.”

“Thanks, but that’s not the issue. I’m not giving up Brenna.”

Stape gives me a long, unfriendly look. “You just said the thing between you is new. She’s just a girl. She’s half your age. Plenty more where she comes from, if that’s what you’re looking for. She’s not worth throwing away the brotherhood for. Hell, she’s a criminal. She may have gone straight for now, but they always revert to type.”

“I understand why you’d feel that way,” I say evenly, although nothing inside me feels even. I want to roar at this unbending ex-cop for condemning my sweet sammie. For not seeing the wonderful woman she’s grown into. For ever thinking women are interchangeable. For thinking that our age differencecheapens what’s between us. But it’s pointless. There is someone here who will always revert to type, but it’s not Brenna.

“Mac.” Walter blows out a breath. “We think you’d really fit in here. The brotherhood’s worth it.”

Maybe to some, but not to me. Not if I have to give up the woman I promised I wouldn’t disappoint. And any brotherhood that would ask me to give up my woman is not one I want to be a part of.

It stings. I do want this. I’ve been more relaxed over the last two days than I have been in months and that’s not just because the situations with Naomi and Bren have improved. It’s because I’m back with a group of men I know have each other’s backs and would have my back if I became one of them.

But there are other brotherhoods. More accepting brotherhoods. I just have to find them. There isn’t another Brenna.

That thought makes my decision crystal clear.

“Thanks for the offer, fellas. I appreciate it. I hope you’ll still think of me for charity rides.”

There’s a chorus of “yes” and “of course” around the table. Not from Stape, though, who is glaring at me. I’ll have to ask Brenna if he’s said anything to her and if he has, make sure she knows I disagree with him very, very strongly.

I make a point to shake every man’s hand before we leave the room, even Stape’s, just to show there’s no hard feelings.

As we head back down the hall towards the bar, Walter falls into step with me. His beefy hand settles on my shoulder. “I wish you’d reconsider, Mac,” he says, low enough it’s only for my ears. “I hate to see you backing the wrong horse.”

“Thanks, Walter. I’ve made my decision.”

If he knew me better, he’d know that once I make a commitment, I never back out. I’ve made a commitment to Logan, who means more to me than any of these men ever will.And I’ve made a commitment to Brenna, who could mean more to me than anyone but my daughter.

He gives my shoulder a squeeze but releases me before we reach the bar. My eyes immediately seek out my sammie. She’s still sitting at the table with Erin and they’ve been joined by the redhead who was serving behind the bar. Bren’s laughing. She looks relaxed and happy; none of the tension I’d expect if Stape had blown his attitude her way. As soon as her gaze meets mine, warmth floods into those brown eyes. She grins that cocky grin that shoots me straight through the chest.

I definitely made the right choice.

We end up needing a ride back to the motel, not because either of us has had too much to drink, but because Bren’s so sore she can’t sit on my bike. She gives it a try, my bold girl, but when she straddles the seat, all the color drains out of her face. In the actinic safety lights of the bikers’ parking lot, her face looks like unripened cheese. I offer her my hand and help her off the bike.

The hang-around, Chris, drives us back to the hotel, carries my saddle bags into our room even though I didn’t ask him to, and asks when we want to be picked up in the morning. After checking with Bren when she needs to be back at her shop, I ask him to pick us up at nine.

He pushes his hands into his baggy jeans and nods. “I guess we won’t be seeing much of you after this.”

Thatcirculated fast. “We’ll be back for charity rides. Hopefully by then you’ll be back on two wheels.”

He smiles sheepishly before saying good night and ambling back to his primer-orange pickup truck.

“Mac?” Bren asks softly from behind me.

I should have known she wouldn’t miss that.

“Yeah, sweetheart. Let me get the salts and we’ll get you into a bath. That’ll help with the soreness.”

“Thank you, sir, but what did he mean by that?”

“Let’s talk about it in the bath.”