Chapter 23 #2
He pulled back to look at my face. “They're your family, Joy. They love you.”
“I know. That's what makes this so hard.” I rested my forehead against his chest. “They're going to be so hurt that I kept this from them.”
“Then we'll deal with that when it happens.” He pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “Come say hello to everybody who’s going to help.”
“Joy, I’m stunned you haven’t forced Graham to buy furniture yet,” Roan teased as I walked into the barren living room.
The four other men chuckled.
“I’d heard stories, but I never believed it could be this bad,” Jase Drakos said. “How long have you lived here, Graham?”
I looked at Nash Rivers, the Jasper Creek sheriff, with amusement. He’d only just been voted into office when I’d left for London, so I didn’t know him really well.
“He’s lived here for over a year.” Simon shook his head with exasperation. “And all he has to sit in is a recliner?”
“Hey, it’s not that bad. He’s just choosy,” I defended Graham.
Simon stepped forward and smiled at me. “You’re too sweet for this lug. How are you doing?”
I felt myself blush. “I’m doing fine.”
“That’s good, sweetheart. Don’t worry about anything. We’ve got you covered.”
“And we’re going to keep Graham from getting his ass kicked when your dad and brothers arrive,” Roan added dryly.
Graham shot him a look. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“Hey, I've seen protective fathers and brothers in action,” Roan shrugged. “You're going to need all the help you can get.”
“Speaking of help,” Jase said, looking around the living room. “Where exactly are we supposed to sit for this family meeting? On the floor?”
Graham's jaw tightened. “I'll grab the patio furniture.”
“This is really kind of ridiculous,” Jase muttered, following Graham outside. “You've been living here for over a year, and you only have one chair?”
“I had priorities. And don’t forget, I have barstools,” Graham called back.
“Yeah, clearly none of your priorities involved comfort,” Roan said.
Within ten minutes, they'd dragged in the outdoor table and chairs and other furniture, arranging it all around the space. It looked ridiculous, but at least everyone would have a place to sit.
Graham paced around the room as I went back into the kitchen to plate the brownies.
There was a knock on the door. At least they hadn’t pounded on the door.
Graham snagged a brownie off the plate and had demolished it before opening the door. He smiled and welcomed my dad and brothers inside.
“What’s with all the people?” Seth asked belligerently.
“Poor guy needed backup,” Randy scoffed.
“Pipe down,” my dad said as he walked further into the room and took the plate of brownies out of my hand and shoved it into Randy’s hands so he could give me a bear hug.
Then Randy shoved the plate at Seth, and he hugged me. Seth turned, and Graham took the plate from his hands, then Seth hugged me.
“Now what’s this all about? And why did you miss dinner last night?” Seth demanded to know.
“Why don’t you make yourself comfortable?” I waved at the couch. Dad headed to the couch, and so did Randy. Seth opted for one of the chairs. I turned to Simon, Jase, Roan, and Nash. “All of you,” I glared.
They all headed into the living room and sat in the remaining seats or leaned against a wall. When Jase headed for the recliner, Graham chased him away. “Joy, sit down,” Graham indicated the recliner. He remained standing.
“We’ve got a problem,” he announced to the room in general. “It’s a story that started when Joy was in London.”
“London?” Randy parroted.
“London,” I answered. “I had a stalker. He was persistent.”
“How persistent?” Randy asked.
“It lasted for seven weeks before the Smythes brought in the police.”
“That’s bullshit,” Seth exploded. “Didn’t they understand that shit only escalates?”
“Calm down. We’ll get to that,” Graham answered.
Seth turned to Dad. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“I already talked to Graham. I trust he’ll explain everything.”
Randy, Seth, and I all gave our dad a double take.
“You talked to him?” Seth's voice rose. “When?”
“This morning. For over an hour.” Dad's tone brooked no argument. “He called to ask my permission to court Joy properly.”
My heart stopped. Graham had done what?
“Your permission?” Randy spoke up for the first time, his voice just as hostile as Seth's. “Isn’t it a little late in the game? Haven’t you and Biker Boy been knocking boots for a while now, Joy?”
Graham growled. “You—”
“Randy! Keep a civil tongue in your mouth.” My dad glared at my brother. “Graham is a good man who is taking responsibility for her safety.” He looked directly at Graham through the screen. “Which I appreciate.”
Graham turned to look at me, his gaze was gentle and kind. Then he turned back to my dad. “Thank you, sir.”
“So, you just decided you liked him after talking to him for one hour?” Seth's face was getting red. “Without knowing anything about him?”
“I know plenty,” Dad said calmly. “He's former Navy, served his country with honor. He works for a man that I think very highly of, and has good friends who are willing to help protect my daughter. And most importantly, he loves Joy.”
“How do you know he loves her?” Randy demanded.
Graham stood up even straighter, and when he spoke, his voice was steady and sure. “Because I told him so.”
My breath caught. Love. He'd told my father before he'd told me. My heart slammed against my ribs. The word ricocheted through my chest, leaving me dizzy.
Randy snorted. “Words are cheap. What does that actually mean?”
“It means,” Graham's voice went steel-quiet, “that your sister is the most important thing in my world. It means I'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe, even if that includes dealing with her jackass brothers.”
This time, the silence stretched until my dad cleared his throat.
“Which is all well and good, but right now we need to focus on keeping Joy safe.” He looked at each of his sons. “Boys, I need to tell you something about what happened to your sister in London.”
My stomach dropped. I'd hoped we could ease into that part.
For the next ten minutes, Dad calmly explained everything I'd told the women in our family the day before. I watched my brothers' faces cycle through disbelief, horror, and finally, white-hot rage.
“You were stabbed?” Seth exploded, shooting up from his seat and taking three steps toward me. “You were in the hospital for three days, and you didn't call us?”
“Seth, calm down,” I started.
“Don't tell me to calm down! You could have died, Joy! You could have fucking died, and we would never have known!”
Graham was suddenly in front of me, nose to nose with Seth. “Watch your tone.”
“Excuse me? Who in the hell do you think you are?”
“I'm the man who's going to protect her from now on,” Graham said, his voice deadly quiet. “And I won't tolerate anyone yelling at her, including her brothers.”
“You won't tolerate?” Randy stood up and stepped forward, shoulder to shoulder with his brother. “She's our sister!”
“And she's my woman,” Graham shot back. “She's been through enough without you two making her feel worse about decisions she made when she was twenty-one and scared.”
“Stop it!” I stood up, my hands shaking. “All of you, just stop it!”
The room went silent again, all eyes on me.
“Seth, Randy, I know you're angry. I know you're hurt that I didn't tell you. But yelling at me isn't going to change what happened.” I took a shaky breath. “And Graham, I appreciate you defending me, but they have a right to be upset.”
Seth ran his hands through his hair, the fight going out of him. “JoJo, we just… we love you. The thought of you going through that alone…”
“I know.” Tears burned behind my eyes. “I'm sorry. I should have called, but I was scared and confused, and I thought I was protecting you.”
“By keeping us in the dark?” Randy's voice was quieter now but still pained.
“By not making you worry about something you couldn't fix. In all fairness, Graham has told you about what is currently going on.”
Dad leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “What's done is done. Right now, we need to focus on the current threat. Boys, sit back down.” After a minute, Randy and Seth took their seats. “Tell me what you know.”
For the next thirty minutes, Graham, Simon, Roan, Jase, and Nash laid out everything. The flowers, the texts, the investigation into my London stalker, and the security measures they were putting in place.
“So, you think it's the same guy?” Dad asked.
“We don't know yet,” Simon said. “But we're not taking any chances.”
Seth crossed his arms. “We want to be part of this investigation.”
“No,” I said immediately. “Seth, please. You'll just make things more complicated.”
“Our sister is being stalked, and you think we're not going to get involved? For fuck’s sake, you already have half of Jasper Creek right here.”
“You're going to trust us to handle it,” Graham said firmly. “Joy doesn't need the added stress of worrying about your safety, too.”
“Our safety?” Randy laughed harshly. “We can take care of ourselves.”
“Against a stalker who's already proven he's willing to use a knife?” Nash spoke up for the first time. “This isn't a bar fight, gentlemen. This is someone who's potentially unstable and definitely dangerous.”
“Which is why we’re going to be involved. Joy’s already been wounded once; it’s not going to happen again,” Seth said stubbornly.
Dad held up a hand. “Boys, let me think about this.”
“There's nothing to think about,” Randy said. “Joy's in danger. We’re in.”
“Randy's right,” Seth agreed.
I looked at Graham, seeing my own resignation reflected in his eyes. There was no stopping them.
“Fine,” Dad said finally. “But you follow their lead. These men were special operations, and they know what they’re doing.”
Seth looked like he'd swallowed something sour, but he nodded.
Now that the heavy part of the conversation was over, I got up and grabbed the half-demolished platter of brownies off the table.
Good thing I’d baked a double batch.
I went into the kitchen and got three Tupperware containers and handed one to Randy, Seth, and Dad.
“You call us any time, day or night. I don’t care if it is just a squirrel that scares you, you got it?” Seth said as he kissed my cheek good-bye.
“I promise.”
Soon they were all leaving, with Jase complaining that he wasn’t leaving with brownies. After he mentioned his eight-year-old twins at home, I immediately loaded him up, while Graham frowned.
As he shut the door on the last man, he turned to me, still frowning.
“What?” I said, crossing my arms.
“There are hardly any brownies left.”
“At least you’re no longer worried that my brothers are going to kill you.”
He pulled me close and threaded his fingers through my hair. “Small mercies. How are you feeling about all this?”
I sighed and decided to tell him the truth. “Like I want to run away and hide.” I looked up at him. “Did you really ask my dad for permission to court me?”
His cheeks flushed slightly. “Old-fashioned, I know.”
He kissed me then, soft and sweet and full of promise.
When we broke apart, I rested my forehead against his. “Take me for a ride.”
“What?”
“On your bike. I need to feel the wind and freedom. I want to forget about everything for a while.”
Graham studied my face, then nodded. “Let me get you a helmet.”
Twenty minutes later, I was wrapped around Graham's back as his Harley roared to life beneath us. The vibration of the engine, the power between my legs, and the solid warmth of the man in front of me combined to chase away every worry in my head.
We rode through the Tennessee hills, and for the first time in days, I felt truly free.
Whatever was coming, whatever my stalker had planned, whatever chaos my brothers would bring, I could handle it.
As long as I had Graham.