Page 33 of Adoring Delaney

“I didn’t really think slow was an option. I’ve seen Carter.” She giggled. “Tuesday also told me if Jason hurt me again, she’d buy a pig farm in Montana and feed your brother to her swine. Just thinking out loud, Carter may be a little more difficult to take down, but I think we could do it.”

“Thanks,” I whispered.

It felt good to talk to Mercy. I had a lot of friends, most of them through work, none of them I could talk to about this. I loved my little sisters, but I hadn’t been honest with them about Carter over the years and they wouldn’t understand without a weeklong explanation about the last eight years.

“This is what friends do. What family does. I’m always here to listen,” she returned. “So you gonna go for it?”

“He’s picking me up tomorrow at six for our first date.”

My declaration was met with Mercy’s very loud laugh. It took her a minute to recover and while she was belting out her hilarity I sat back and smiled.

I still wasn’t a hundred percent sure about Carter’s crazy plan, but what I was sure about was, if I didn’t take the chance not only would I be lying awake in my bed one year from now, I’d regret it for the rest of my life.

11

“You got a minute?” Jasper asked, walking into my new office.

I’d spent most of my day learning the ins and outs of my dad and uncles’ consulting and security business. All four of them were pleased I’d come to work for Triple Canopy. Over the years they’d made a name for themselves and they had more business than they could handle.

Their consulting schedule alone was enough to keep them busy for the next year. Now that I was there, I’d be taking over most of the tactical training for Law Enforcement. Leaving the other two new hires to handle the private security side. I had no interest drawing up site plans and installing alarms. I’d also made it clear; I didn’t want to play babysitter and escort to their rich clients.

Brady, the man who’d rushed into a blazing fire to save Tuesday, would keep control of the personal protection operation. He’d proven himself in a big way to my family, therefore he’d earned more responsibility and a permanent place in the company. He was well-liked, and after meeting him, I, too, thought he was solid.

I glanced at my watch before answering, “Yeah. I’ve got about ten.”

Jasper closed the door, and took a seat across the desk from me. His long legs stretched out in front of him, ankles crossed. He looked relaxed, but I knew better. I’d seen him half a dozen times today, had sat in two meetings with him. He had something on his mind, and I had no doubt Delaney was front and center.

“Em said you were at Delaney’s last night. How’d that go?” he asked without delay.

Much like her daughter, Emily Walker was a spitfire. How she’d known I was at her daughter’s house last night was anyone’s guess. Maybe motherly intuition. Or maybe she, like everyone else, knew how much I adored Delaney and I was done fucking around. I didn’t know, and I didn’t much care, and I also hadn’t thought she’d keep that fact from my Uncle Jasper.

“She agreed to go out on a date,” I told him.

“A date?”

The look of shock was comical, because well, the state of play was amusing. Delaney and I had never dated, not once had I taken my girl out. Yet we’d been together for years.

“Yep.”

“And she agreed? That fast? I figured you’d be pledging your case for at least another month.”

“‘Agreed’ might be a stretch. I talked her around then left before she could retreat.”

Jasper’s jaw was tight. His eyes piercing. He had something to say and it was going to piss me off.

“Maybe you should—”

“Please know I say this with respect. I’ve struggled with my relationship with Delaney for years. Part of that struggle was about you and how the rest of the family would perceive our relationship. We were raised together. I’ve always thought of you and called you uncle, your wife my aunt, your son and other daughters my cousins. But never not once had I ever looked at Delaney as my extended family. It ate me up inside what everyone would think. That was the first excuse I told myself. Why I was holding back, when I knew she was it for me. I know you all saw it, saw me struggling loving someone but not allowing us to have what we both wanted.

“And I gave her everything I could. I admit, it wasn’t enough, she deserved more, and that ate me up, too. But I didn’t let her go. I’m not a father.”

Fuck, that hurt to say, knowing that I should’ve been.

Jasper winced and I continued, “I imagine if I was and the man who’d been jackin’ around my daughter was sitting in front of me, I’d tell him to stay the fuck away from her. Again, respect, but that isn’t going to happen. We’re starting over, moving forward, and not looking back. She’s mine, Jasper, and you damn well know it.”

Jasper’s face was still set in stone and he was studying me with a father’s critical eye. It pissed me off he was looking at me with scrutiny instead of trust. I shouldn’t have to explain myself to anyone but Delaney. But I’d fucked up, and now I was paying the price.

“I’ll give you one more thing,” I sighed. “I’ve never lied to your daughter and I’ve never made promises I couldn’t keep.”

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