Chapter 12
12
DAHLIA
I t wasn’t that long ago when I’d hoped my dad wouldn’t find out about Fox and me because I wanted more time as a couple before he tried to interfere. But after everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours, I raced across the clubhouse and threw myself at him when he showed up without letting us know he was coming.
“Dahlia, fuck.” He wrapped his arms around me and pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “I came as soon as I heard. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, my head still hurts a little.” I leaned back to peer up at him. “How did you find out?”
“I called him this morning.”
I turned to gape at Fox. “You did?”
“Yeah,” he confirmed with a nod. “Keeping him out of the loop about our relationship was one thing. Hiding what happened with the car bomb was completely different. He’s your dad. He deserved to know that you were hurt.”
“Relationship?” Dad growled.
“How come you didn’t tell me?”
Fox moved close enough to tug me against his side, ignoring my dad’s question to answer mine instead. “I didn’t want you to worry about how he was gonna react to you and me being together. Stress isn’t good for you, baby. You’re still recovering from a concussion.”
“What the fuck is going on here?” Dad glared at Fox. “I thought Dahlia got caught in the crossfire of something with your club while she was here to see her sister.”
I bit my bottom lip, then heaved a deep sigh of relief when my mom came inside the clubhouse with Molly. She was the only person who knew how to handle him when he was pissed. And judging by the look on his face, he was not happy to learn that another of his daughters had fallen for an Iron Rogue.
“How’re you feeling, my sweet baby girl?” my mom asked as she rushed to my side. “Should you be up and around already? Maybe you should go lie down.”
“I’m fine, Mom. Really,” I assured her with a soft smile. “Just a headache, but I took something for that this morning.”
“Not just a headache,” Fox growled. “You have a motherfucking concussion.”
Planting my fists on my hips, I glared up at him. “You two better not try to gang up on me. You heard Blade. He said that I didn’t have to stay in bed.”
“He also said not to tire yourself out,” Fox grumbled, nudging me toward one of the couches. “At least sit down. For me. Please.”
“And me,” my mom added.
I dropped onto the cushion with a huff. “There, happy?”
Fox perched on the arm of the couch, resting his hand on my shoulder. “Thank you, baby.”
“Yes, thank you.” My mom sat down next to me, with Molly on the other side. “You look better than I expected. I was so scared when your dad told me that you were hit by flying debris from a car bomb.”
“It really does sound worse than it actually was,” I assured her with a soft smile. “At least for me since I was knocked out. Fox had the hardest time since he had to see me like that and was stuck waiting for me to wake up without knowing if I would be okay.”
My dad crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Fox. “Now that my wife is satisfied that my daughter will be okay, how about you tell me what the fuck is going on here?”
“I’ve claimed Dahlia as my old lady,” Fox announced.
My dad’s gaze dropped to the leather vest I was wearing, and his eyes widened. “Fucking shit. I didn’t even have enough time to realize she was still in the United States and not flitting around Europe with friends so she could avoid my wrath, and you made her your old lady already?”
“Yup, I sure as fuck did,” Fox confirmed with a smirk.
Leaning against Fox’s leg, I beamed a smile at my dad. “You only have yourself to blame for your daughters throwing themselves into relationships at breakneck speed.”
His brows drew together. “How in the hell is this my fault?”
“Because you surrounded us with a bunch of guys who claimed their women as soon as they found them,” I explained. “Every story we heard growing up was basically love at first sight.”
“Yeah, you normalized it,” Molly added with a nod.
“In all fairness, we really did,” Mom agreed, patting my thigh.
Dad switched his glare to her. “Is this what I have to look forward to with Callie? If so, she’s never ever allowed to step foot on this damn compound. And none of the single members of the Iron Rogues can come to ours. No way in hell am I going through this again.”
“Good luck with keeping her away when her nieces and nephews are going to grow up here,” Mom pointed out.
“That better not happen any time soon,” Dad grunted. “My girls are too young to be having babies.”
My mom rolled her eyes. “They’re years older than I was when I got pregnant with Molly.”
Molly cleared her throat, and Dad’s gaze zeroed in on her. “Holy hell, please tell me the bastard didn’t knock you up already.”
“I sure as fuck did,” Maverick boasted.
“Fucking hell,” Dad muttered while Mom cheered and gave my sister a hug.
“A grandbaby? That’s wonderful news,” she cried.
“I blame you for all of this.” Dad pointed at Fox. “Keep your single men away from the rest of the Silver Saint princesses.”
Fox shook his head. “Not sure that’s possible.”
Dad’s eyes narrowed as a muscle jumped in his jaw. “You tryin’ to tell me you can’t control your men?”
“No.” Fox lifted my hand and pressed a kiss against the knuckle of my ring finger. “But if Dahlia wants a big wedding with all of her family there, I’m assuming that’ll include your men’s daughters since she grew up with them. And my club is the only family I have besides my dad, so they’ll be there too.”
“Well fuck,” my dad groaned, raking his fingers through his hair.
“Married?” I tilted my head back to stare up at Fox.
His eyes burned into mine as he said, “Having my property patch on your back isn’t enough for me, baby. I want my ring on your finger, my baby in your belly, and my mark inked on your skin.”
“You do?” I gasped.
“Of course, baby. I love you so damn much, I’m not sure it’ll stop there,” he warned. “I might come up with other ways to claim you.”
“You won’t get any complaints from me.” I sniffled. “Because I love you so damn much too.”
Leaning toward me, he pressed a finger under my chin so he could claim my mouth in a deep kiss. One that didn’t last nearly as long as I would’ve liked since my dad loudly cleared his throat to interrupt us. I reluctantly turned toward him and giggled at the look of resignation on his face.
“A grandbaby and a wedding.” My mom clapped. “My day turned from the absolute worst to the very best.”
Fox’s breath was hot against my ear as he whispered, “I think we can make her week even better if I managed to score her a second grandchild that’s due shortly after your sister is expecting Maverick’s baby.”
He was successful in his mission…we found out only one week later that I was also pregnant.