Page 3 of Under the Mistletoe

“Diapers?” I shook my head. “Ah, hell. I need to get outta here.”

“You keep your ass put. Breakfast will be ready in five.”

The words had barely left his mouth when Stitch stepped into the kitchen and asked, “Did somebody say breakfast?”

“Hey, brother. I didn’t know you were coming by.”

“Wasn’t planning on it.” Stitch sat down across from me and ran his hand through his salt and pepper hair. “But I had to get out of the house before I lost it.”

“Lost it?” Dad turned and looked at him with concern. “Why? What’s going on?”

“Mia’s gonna have a baby.”

“She’s like seven months pregnant. That’s not exactly new information.”

“Actually, she’s eight months, but this is my Mia we’re talking about.” Stitch leaned back with a sigh. “How the hell did this happen?”

Unable to miss an opportunity, I chuckled and said, “We could call Wrath over and he could explain it to ya.”

“Ah, don’t get me started on his ass,” Stitch growled. “If he wasn’t so good to her and didn’t love her like he does, I’d put him six feet under.”

“Kind of hard to knock off your own son-in-law.”

“I know. I know. I’m telling ya, this whole thing is messing with my damn head. It was just a blink ago that she was put inmy arms for the first time. I ‘bout didn’t make it through that, and now, she’s about to have a kid of her own.”

“I don’t get what you’re worried about,” Dad replied. “Way I remember it, you did damn good when Mia was born. Hell, you never skipped a beat. You just did what you needed to do, just like you always do.”

“But this is different. I’m about to be agrandfather, and that’s not something I’m ready for.”

“You’re gonna be fine,” Mom assured him.

“You aren’t getting me.” He looked between the three of us, searching for the words. “Last night, I was watching TV, and this diaper commercial came on. Just a stupid, regular commercial. And next thing I know, I was getting a knot in my fucking throat. What the hell was that?”

“It’s fatherhood part two.” Dad chuckled, crossing his arms. “But you don’t gotta worry. This is gonna be a breeze. You don’t have to worry about all the late-night feedings or changing diapers at four a.m. You get to leave all the parenting BS to Wrath and Mia and sit back and enjoy.”

“Not sure I know how to do that.”

“You just gotta lean in, brother.” Dad chuckled as he told him, “It won’t be any time before this kid has you wrapped around his finger, just like Mia did. Just wait and see.”

“Yeah, we’ll see about that.” Stitch groaned, then glanced up, eyes fierce. “So, what about that breakfast.”

“Coming right up.”

Dad walked over to the stove, and five minutes later, I had one of his biscuits in my hand and my day was made. As soon as we finished eating, we said our goodbyes to Mom and headed over to the clubhouse. Dad wasn’t exaggerating when he said we were going to have a busy one. Hell, we were all over the place.

One minute, we were making plans for the upcoming holidays, and then, there was the big meet with Maltese. Heworked for Cardelli—a leader of one the most notorious Italian mafias, and he was coming to discuss a possible business opportunity. Dad called us all into church, and we’d just started to sit down when Bones turned to Stitch and asked, “Are we really considering this?”

Bones was Stitch’s son, and he’d taken Big’s place as the club’s hacker. Understanding his concern, Stitch gave him a stern look and said, “Prez wouldn’t have called a meet if we weren’t.”

“But now?” Bones narrowed. “Hell, the timing couldn’t be worse.”

“You worried you won’t get your turkey time,” Grim teased.

“That’s the least of my worries.” He turned to his father as he urged, “Do you know the kind of stuff Cardelli pulls?”

Stitch leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his broad chest, his expression hardening. “I know all about Cardelli and the shit he pulls, son. That’s one of the many reasons why we’re having this conversation.”

“But why waste our time?” Bones shook his head and grumbled, “Cardelli has no code. He takes out anyone who stands in his way, and that includes women and children. You really think we should trust someone like that?”

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