Page 75 of Saving Grace

She nods and I plant a kiss to her forehead, holding her to my chest briefly before turning her on her feet and ushering her toward the back door. As she clears the door, I spin back.

Her mother is staring at the ground. Her face is almost as distraught as her daughter’s.

So, I fire at the patriarch—what a fuckin’ joke—of their messed up little family.

“Do you have any idea what it cost your daughter when you washed your hands of her?”

He tilts his chin up. “Like I explained toourdaughter, those were her choices, son.”

I step forward. “I amnotyour son. And you are grossly out of line. Instead of protecting your only daughter, youronly child, and swallowing your fuckin’ pride, you chose to let her fend forherself in a world she wasnotprepared for. Hold up, there’s a choice. You chose to abandon her when she needed her parents the most. News flash, asshole, you never stop needing your parents. The roles may change over time, but they still exist. She went through hell and hadno one. Not a single fuckin’ soul. Not one miserable person to help her. So, you can take your pride and your ridiculous standards and get the hell outta dodge. You ain’t welcome here. Not now. Not ever. Get back in your car, and fuc?—”

A firm hand clamps down on my shoulder.

Harry.

“Your son needs to watch his language and learn some respect,” Brian hisses.

“Like you watched over your daughter? Respected your daughter?” Harry growls. “You heard the man.” His gaze drifts to me and back to the worst parents on the goddamn planet. “Leave.”

Helena speaks up now. “I’m sorry, Mackinlay. I really thought we could move past this.” She glances at her husband, but then her eyes drop. It occurs to mehe’sthe roadblock here. He’s the reason Grace could never see her mother and was disowned. Rage flares in my core. My hands turn to fists.

“I don’t see anyone movin’.” Harry sets his shoulders back.

It takes everything I have not to slam my fist into Brian’s snotty face.

“Well, this was a colossal waste of a trip,” Brian says, grabbing up his wife’s hand. She falters, struggling to keep up with his long gait as he stalks back to the car. When the car starts up and drives away, Harry turns to me.

“Not too bad for a first mate, son.”

I can’t help the strangled chuckle pushing up my throat. God, I was so close to decking the asshole. He can take a damnnumber. Along with anyone else who ever puts a foot wrong around Grace.

Line the fuck up.

No fucker is going to make it past this wall. She’s mine to protect and love. And I don’t plan on wasting another second doing anything else.

Grace is quiet on the ride home. The truck is loaded up with her gifts and leftovers that are gonna feed us for weeks. But it’s hard to say no to Ma. Harder tonight, after the gigantic clusterfuck with Grace’s parents.

I know my mother, and she will be housing guilt somethin’ fierce over this. The copious amount of leftovers is her way of trying to make things better. It was all Ma could do. I’m not sure what will happen now, but until the Westons take the time to listen to Grace, they are not welcome. She has gone too long without someone lookin’ out for her.

“Do you think they’ll get a flight straight away?” she says softly, looking out the window into the darkness flying by.

“Reed and Ruby put them up.” I wish they hadn’t, but Laws insisted burning bridges is not going to help anyone. A trace of the anger I felt standing in front of her douchebag of a father remains. I tamp it down. My focus can’t waiver from drivin’.

“Oh.” Her hands wring in her lap.

“You did nothing wrong, Grace. Not a damn thing.”

The Chevy hits a pothole and the rig shakes. A flash of green and grey whips through my mind. Frowning, I grip the wheel tighter. That hasn’t happened for a few weeks. I thought I wasmaking progress. I can only put it down to getting riled up over this whole shitshow. Like hell I’m lettin’ that two-bit hack of a man make his daughter cry—again.

“What are you thinking about, Mackinlay?” Her face is tight with concern.

“Ah, nothin’ much.” I give her my best smile.

She gives me an incredulous face and cants her head. “Sure,nothin’ muchhas you white knuckling the wheel there.”

I glance down at my hands that are indeed strangling the wheel, and my grin slips. I loosen my grip and force the smile back onto my face. After all, it’s the girl’s birthday.Don’t screw it up, Mack.

Just don’t.

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