Page 76 of The Heart We Guard
“Understood.”
The door closes behind him with a click.
“What I did back there was a dick move. It was thoughtless. It hurt you. And I am deeply sorry.”
Ember looks at me with surprise. “Leading with an apology. That’s rare for you.”
I bite down on the temptation to argue with her, since it will only make things worse. “I probably deserve that.”
She raises an eyebrow. “What the hell has gotten into you? You remember what happened the last time you knocked up a woman you weren’t in love with?”
She sits down on the edge of their bed, which is neatly made. On the side table, there’s a photograph of her and Atom together at the cabin Atom owns in the middle of his lands, and my daughter looks so fucking happy, my heart could burst.
“You’re right. But you’re also wrong. You open to listening?”
Em bites down on her lower lip for a moment, thinking the question through. “Sure.”
I sit on the armchair by the window. “There are a million places I could start. But I guess the first one is, I’ve made some great decisions that have turned out badly. And some bad ones that have become the best decisions I could ever have made. And I think part of our lives is figuring out how to navigate that. It was a really bad idea to be careless with fooling around without condoms and that kind of shit when I was young. But having you—fuck. Can’t imagine where I would be if I didn’t have you. You’ve got no idea how many bad decisions in life I’ve pulled back from because I’ve thought of you. What would happen if I died? What would happen if you died?”
Ember sighs, but I see the tension in her shoulders soften.
“Getting shot was a fucking awful thing. Still in some discomfort because of it, but it gave me some long overdue clarity. I’ve fucked up as a father and need to make that right with you. And second, for the first time in my life, I’m all in with a woman who isn’t convinced I’m the one for her.”
Ember’s eyebrows lift. “She didn’t just fall at your feet?”
I shake my head. “Doctor Greer Hansen wouldn’t fall at anyone’s feet. And I’d kill anyone who tried to make her.”
“I watched you fight. With Mom. I remember how what you did unraveled her. And it took her years for her to find herself again. I witnessed Mom being disrespected. I wouldn’t wish thaton another woman, Dad. You don’t have it in you to be faithful, and I accepted your flaws a long time ago for the sake of having a relationship with you.”
I take my daughter’s hand. “I’m a grown ass man, Em. It’s about time I started acting like it.”
23
GREER
While Jackal and Shade have been attentive company, I’m relieved when Butcher re-enters the room Shade informed me is used for church. Church is, apparently, where important business takes place, which I took as code for nefarious deeds they don’t want anyone else to know about.
Butcher looks tired, and my first thought is to reach out to him and offer some comfort.
But much of this mess is of his own making, and I’m not here to clean up after a man.
He offers me his hand, and I take it, letting him tug me to my feet. We end up inches apart, fully in each other’s space, and he puts his arms around me in an unexpected hug.
I put my hands on his back and feel his body relax as it eases against mine.
“Thank you,” he mutters quietly at the side of my neck.
I pat his back. “You’re welcome.”
He sighs and releases me. “Thank you, brothers.”
Shade nods.
“Anytime, Prez,” Jackal says. “An honor to look out for your woman.”
A part of me lights up at the thought of being Butcher’s, but there’s also a long-ingrained part of me that objects to being labeled as anyone’s anything.
“In that case,” Butcher says, “can you arrange for someone to go back to the hotel and grab Greer’s cases from the front desk, please? We said a man would be back to pick them up later. Bring them over to the house when you’re done?”
