Page 68 of Jumping In

“Her birthday dinner?”

Mr. Lawrence nods. “It’d be nice to have us all sit down together, and I have a feeling my daughter wants to share something with us you already know about.” He raises one eyebrow and stares me down.

I shake my head. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about, sir.”How the fuck does he know?

“Sure, son.” He gets up from the couch and reaches out for my hand, which I take, and then he turns toward the door to exit the shop. “See you Sunday.”

I watch him leave and then pull my phone from my pocket to text MJ, checking when she’ll be back and telling her about the visitor I just had.

Chapter 25

MJ

My phone pings on the bar top in front of me. Glancing at it, I see a text from Mac pop up. Then another, and another.

“Sorry, Shan, let me check this real quick,” I say.

She was in the middle of venting to me about how she’s not sure she wants to work with Blake at the restaurant. Work has barely started and apparently they’re already at each other’s throats. And he’s not even paying her.

She wipes the bar down, prepping for her shift later today. Hal doesn’t know what he has and I’m hopeful Blake and Austin will snatch her up for their place.

I tap into the message thread with Mac and almost drop my phone as my jaw follows.

“What’s wrong?” Shannon asks, noticing my reaction. She instantly comes over to read my texts upside down.

“Apparently my dad went to the shop to talk to Mac.”

“What the fuck?”

My thoughts exactly. I read through and he doesn’t give me much, just that Dad was there, and they had a pleasant talk. He said he’d tell me more when I got home. Home meaning his place. That awakens the butterflies in mystomach, and I grin to myself.

“Uh, that face is telling me you need to go see your man like now, girly!”

Leaning across the counter, I hug my best friend. “Thanks, Shan. I’ll text you later!”

I walk toward the door to let myself out and turn back. “Oh, and Shan? Give Blake a break. He’s not really an asshole like you think.”

She huffs out a breath, rolling her eyes as I turn back to the door and head out to my Jeep parked out front.

I startle Mac when I show back up at the shop much earlier than planned, but he takes the time to sit down with me and share how the conversation with my father went. There are tears and smiles and confusion, but he shares why my dad has had such a hard time accepting Mac with his supposed criminal status. I didn’t even know I had an uncle, but I’m assuming this is the story Dad said he’d share with me one day. But what floors me the most isn’t the estranged uncle, but that Dad told Mac he didn’t really care if I went to law school or not and he wouldn’t force me to take over the firm if I didn’t want to.

The leather cushion groans as I tuck my legs underneath me, repositioning. Mac is sitting on the couch next to me, his legs spread wide and his elbows resting on his thighs. He has his hands clasped in front of him and he’s popping his knuckles as his left knee bounces. “Mac?” He looks over at me, a loose strand of hair falling into his face. “You okay?”

He tosses his head, flicking the loose strand of hair back in place. “Yeah, just . . .” he trails off. I nod my head slowly, urging him to continue. “It doesn’t feel real, I guess?”

I tilt my head to the side, my hair falling over my shoulder, and he closes his eyes, taking a deep breath.

“Earlier you said you were staying. I’ve heard you say you’re staying in town a few times now. I know you’re working on stuff with Blake and Austin, and I’m not worried you’ll find something more permanent and sustainable. But I guess . . .” He bites his lip and leans his head back.

I unfold myself and lean into his space, placing my hand on his thigh and pressing down to stop him from bouncing his leg. “You guess what?” I ask.

He looks out across the shop and then back at me. “I guess, what happens when you tire of the small-town life? You said you like it here and want to be here, but what if that changes? What if you get sick of me?” He looks at me with pain in his eyes and I roll my lips together, taking a deep breath.

“Hey,” I say. I reach up, holding his face in my hands. “Mac, look at me.”

His blue-green eyes lift to meet mine and I smile.

“That’s never going to happen. I love you. I’ve missed you all these years and while I’m sad we missed out on all that time together, I think it also made me want to cherish the time we have now. I’m not going anywhere. Oakridge is small, but we can travel; go stay in Cedar Bend for a bit or go wherever for vacations. I’m here for good, honey.”

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