Chapter 23
A Father’s Love
Motown
Thanksgiving Day….
Tessa’s parents are set to arrive any minute, and she’s been dusting the same bookshelf for the third time.
She fussed over the table setting and threw out three pies before finally being satisfied with the pumpkin pie she’s going to serve.
Etain and Sasha want to help, so they’re each bringing a vegetable dish, and Sasha, who is an awesome baker, is making a pumpkin cheesecake.
There’s enough food to feed an army. The only issue is that Tessa’s place isn’t really big enough to hold all the Redemption Riders, her parents, and us without having to move furniture out of the way.
Hawk offered to have everyone at the clubhouse, but Tessa wanted the first Thanksgiving with her parents and me to be at our place.
Roar and Drifter came early to help me move the furniture around and set up tables and chairs. Then Tessa worked her magic, creating a long dining table setting that Martha Stewart would be proud of.
The place looks amazing, but if Tessa keeps going the way she is, she’s going to wear herself out before her parents even get here.
“Babe,” I call her from across the room. Her head jerks up. “It’s perfect. You need to relax. It’s going to be fine.”
Tessa straightens her spine, puts a hand on her hip, and tosses her hand out, exclaiming, “Fine! I don’t want fine, Motown.
I want warm, inviting, and loving. My mom will be great.
She’s like that. You know, go with it.” She twirls her hand in the air for flair.
“But Dad, he’s…” She struggles to find the words.
“He’s a father who loves his daughter and wants you to have it all,” I finish for her, crossing the room and touching her cheek lightly. “Let him do his thing. You might be surprised by how well it will go.”
The doorbell chimes, and Tessa jolts. She scurries to the door to let her parents in. I can’t help but chuckle. Tessa’s adorable all the time, but she’s so damn cute right now that I wish no one was coming for Thanksgiving and I could have her all to myself. I’m a selfish man when it comes to her.
“Mom, how much stuff did you bring? I told you all we needed was you,” Tessa says, taking packages from her mother.
“I bought the bread you like so much. I know how you love fresh rolls. And I picked up some of your favorite jams and jellies from Mrs. Tallis’s shop. You love your jam on toast,” her mother replies. I come to take the boxes out of Tessa’s hands so she can give her mother a proper hug.
“I’ll take those, babe,” I say, then I look at her mother. “Pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”
“Mom, this is Matthew Motown Hockley, my boyfriend,” Tessa introduces me proudly, her face beaming.
Mom takes one look at my massive frame, and her jaw drops. It takes her a second, but she finally says, “Hello, Motown. It’s nice to meet the man who’s stolen my little girl’s heart.”
“The pleasure is mutual, Mrs. Honeybush.”
“Danielle. Please call me Danielle,” Tessa’s mother says sweetly.
“Danielle, can you move inside so I can carry in the forty suitcases you packed for a week’s trip?” comes a voice behind Tessa’s mother.
“There are two, count them, two suitcases. And one of them has your clothes in it, Peter. I’m hugging my daughter. Do you mind?”
“She’s my daughter too, and I’d like to see her as well,” Peter retorts. Danielle quickly moves out of the way to let her husband through.
Danielle is petite, like her daughter, with delicate facial features, but her hair is a lighter shade of brown than Tessa’s dark brunette.
Peter is a tall man, and apart from the slight belly he has from eating his wife’s good cooking, he’s fit.
Tessa has his eyes, but that’s about as far as the resemblance goes.
“I can take those,” I say, reaching for one of the suitcases. He reluctantly releases his grip and lets me take it from him.
He’s sizing me up. Normally, I wouldn’t give a shit what people think of me, but this is Tessa’s father, and she loves him, which means I’ll make an extra effort for my girl.
“We have the guest room made up for you,” Tessa jumps in, and quickly leans into her dad to give him a kiss on the cheek. “Motown will take the bags into the room while you relax for a while. How was your trip?”
I’m happy to give the three of them time alone.
I drop their bags in their room and give them a few more minutes before joining them.
As I walk down the hallway, I hear Tessa say, “Dad, I love him. I get that you’re being protective, and you only want the best for me, but promise me you’ll get to know him. ”
“Who said I wouldn’t?” he exclaims gruffly.
“Pete, I swear to God, if you cause problems on our first visit after your daughter has gone to all this trouble to introduce us to her man and their friends, you’ll be sleeping in the spare room for a month,” Danielle warns.
“I haven’t said two words to the man, and suddenly I’m the villain,” Peter responds.
“That’s right, you didn’t. You didn’t say hello or even a simple thank-you when he took our bags. That’s just rude,” Danielle carries on.
“Dad, all I’m asking is for you to talk to him before you pass judgment. But no matter what you think, he’s the man I love, and he’s in my life,” Tessa states.
I make sure they hear me coming as I return. “The guys will be here soon, Tessa. What do you need me to help with?”
Peter stands up. “I was hoping you’d show me around the neighborhood. Been sitting for too long. I need to stretch my legs.”
And there it is: the talk.
The look of suspicion on both Tessa’s and her mother’s face was priceless. I thought Danielle was going to reach out and throttle her husband, but she kept her fists tightly clenched in her lap.
“We’ll be back soon,” I tell Tessa, then bend to kiss her sweetly and whisper, “It’s going to be okay. Relax.”
Tessa gives me a nod, but she’s not relaxing until we return. I grab my jacket and follow Peter out the door. We get as far as the sidewalk when Tim, the kid next door, sees us and comes running over.
“Motown! Motown!” He waves me down.
“What’s up, Tim?” I clap a hand on his shoulder. “You’re all out of breath.”
“Dad’s out of town and won’t be back until dinner. Mom is busy inside, and Terry is being a pest. Mom forgot the cranberries at the store, and I want to go get them for her, but my bike chain came off. I’ve been trying to get it back on.”
“We have lots. I’m sure Tessa won’t mind sharing,” Peter says.
Tim’s face drops. “Let’s go have a look at that bike.” Instantly, I get a smile from the kid.
It doesn’t take long to get the chain back on, and Tim’s soon racing down to the corner store to pick up cranberries for his mother.
“It was never about the cranberries,” I tell Peter as I wipe my hands clean on the rag I grabbed from our garage.
“Tim’s father works an hour away, and his commute is crazy.
Jean, Tim’s mom, is with the kids most of the time and works part-time.
Tim sees how much his parents are working and wanted to do something nice for his mother.
It isn’t the same to hand him a bowl when he wanted to do it himself. ”
Peter smiles, and it’s huge. It’s the first time since he got here that he’s shown any kind of warmth toward me.
I’ve gotten to know mostly everyone on the street, and since Tessa is loved by all, the neighbors stop in often to say hello.
We don’t get very far when I see Greg Fallon standing over the hood of his car while his family sits inside.
“Try it again,” Greg shouts over the hoopla of kids getting impatient to be on their way. The motor does a slow groan but doesn’t turn over.
“I’d better call my mother and tell her we won’t be able to make it,” his wife, Ally, says with a resigned sigh.
“Excuse me, Peter,” I say and go over to Greg. “Having trouble?”
“Yeah, but I don’t want to take your time on the holiday,” Greg answers, wiping a hand over his brow.
“Hey, Motown,” the kids shout.
Their oldest son, Flynn, asks, “Can you fix it? Grandma’s alone this year with Grandpa gone.”
It was a huge loss to their family. Tessa tells me that Ally was a mess when her father passed, and her mother was devastated. They’ve been trying to get her to move closer to the family, but she doesn’t want to leave the house where she lived for forty years with her husband.
“Let’s see what I can do,” I reply. Greg moves behind the steering wheel, and I ask him to give the car another try. It’s his battery, but even with the battery replaced, I would want to check out the starter. I’d hate for his family to get halfway there and then be stuck at the side of the road.
“What do you think? Is it hopeless?” Greg asks.
“One sec.” I hold up my hand and make a call to Hawk. “Yo, I know you’re on the way over. Can you bring the loaner for Greg? The family is supposed to be with Ally’s mom, and their car is giving them trouble.” Hawk agrees immediately. “We’ll boost it in the morning and bring it to the shop.”
“I can’t believe you did that,” Ally says on the verge of tears.
“You’d better get your stuff out of the car and ready to load again.” I chuckle.
I introduce Peter to Greg, Ally, and the kids, and once Hawk arrives, he greets Peter first and tells us that he dropped Etain off at Tessa’s so she could help out. Together, we load the car, Peter pitching in as well, and Greg and the family are on their way.
“We’d better get back,” Peter says, clasping a hand on my shoulder.
“I thought you wanted a walk?” I remind him.
“Let’s cut the shit. I wanted to know what kind of man you are.
Now I know. My little girl’s safe with you.
That’s all a father wants,” Peter states.
“And if we don’t head back, my wife is going to lose her mind.
She’s tiny, but she can be downright scary when she gets angry.
” He lets out a wholehearted laugh. Hawk and I join in.
Now that the ice is broken and we’re all relaxed, I learn that Peter is a pretty handy guy and wants to come to the shop tomorrow to help with Greg’s car.
When we get back to the house, Peter goes to the kitchen to pacify his wife, who is ready to give him a verbal thrashing, but one look from Peter and a kiss on the cheek, and she settles right down. I guess Tessa has more of her mother in her than I thought, I think to myself.
“Is everything all right?” Tessa asks with a worried expression.
“All good, baby.” I stroke her hair and kiss her forehead.
“Was Dad horrible?”
“A father loves his daughter and wants to know she’s going to be loved and protected. That’s what I’m going to be like when I have a baby girl. Your dad is great. We’re great. Pretty soon, we’re going to have lots of hungry Riders to feed. What can I do to help?”
“Men, out of the kitchen!” Tessa commands. She hands me a bowl of nachos and salsa and shoos me out of the way.
Eventually, the guys are sitting in front of the big screen television watching football, but I keep my eye on Tessa, just in case she needs me. She knows when I’m watching because she blows me a kiss from across the room.