Chapter Thirty-One #2
Tiny’s expression turned thoughtful as he looked at Birdie and said, “I wouldn’t have it any other way, darlin’.”
“I know,” she said. “Love you, Dad.”
“Love you, too.” Tiny paused, as if letting his words settle, before looking around the room again. “This place only works because of the people in it, and that’s all of you.”
“Hear! Hear!” someone hollered, and more Hear! Hears! rang out.
Tiny nodded to Dwight, standing by the buffet, and said, “We’d all starve to death if it weren’t for that man right there.
Dwight’s been feeding us every day of the year, whether we deserve it or not, for too many years to count.
So let’s all say thank you to the guy who keeps the biscuits coming and doesn’t complain when we eat like we’ve been lost in the desert for three days. ”
Cheers and applause rang out, and someone shouted, “We love you, Dwight!”
Dwight waved a hand dismissively and shook his head, but the pride in his eyes shone bright.
“We’ve got a lot to be thankful for this year.
Our family has expanded. We’ve welcomed new friends around the table, some who have healed, and others who are still healing.
” Tiny’s gaze moved around the room again, lingering for a moment on Crew, before moving on.
“Our family grows with every person who comes here. Though many leave to carry on with their lives, once they’ve been part of this ranch, they’re always part of this ranch, and that goes for everyone in this room. ”
Crew felt Birdie’s eyes on him and chanced a glance at her. The hope staring back at him pushed everything else into the background.
Tiny lifted a glass of water, drawing their attention. “Here’s to—” His gaze shifted, narrowing with what felt like anger.
Everyone in the room followed his gaze to the entrance.
Crew’s stomach dropped.
His father stood before them in a dark suit, a crisp white shirt, and a striped tie.
He looked cold and out of place among the warmth in the room.
His hair was grayer than Crew remembered, crow’s-feet etched the skin around his eyes, but the dismissive look on his face as he took in the room full of hardworking men and women hadn’t changed at all, making Crew’s blood boil.
Tiny started to come around the table, but Crew was already on his feet, heading toward his father. “I’ve got it. He’s here for me.” He had so much hatred for his father, he didn’t want to give him the pleasure of owning that title.
Crew crossed the room, every step heavier than the last. He stopped a few feet in front of his father. “What are you doing here?” he seethed, unable to restrain his cutting tone. “And how did you find me?”
“You’re my son. You think I wouldn’t have my people find out where you went?”
His smug arrogance got under Crew’s skin. “Being your son has done me more harm than good.” He rolled his shoulders back, tension crackling between them. Crew heard chairs sliding, low voices murmuring, but he didn’t take his eyes off his father. “You’re not welcome here. Go back to your family.”
Something flickered in his father’s eyes. Regret? Shame? He didn’t fucking care.
“Divinia left me for someone else,” his father bit out. “Took my son with her.”
A rough sound escaped Crew. “Tell someone who gives a damn.”
BIRDIE’S HANDS WERE shaking. Her brothers and the other Dark Knights were on their feet, standing at the ready in case of trouble. Even Dare, which surprised her.
She hurried over to her father, whispering harshly, “You have to do something. That man shouldn’t be here.”
Her father kept his eyes trained on Crew. “Crew can handle him.”
“You don’t know what his father put him through,” Birdie fumed. “That man is awful. If you won’t do something, I will.” She stepped forward, but her father caught her arm, tugging her back.
His eyes bored into her. “You believe in the magic of this ranch?”
“Yes, but—”
“That magic runs deeper than love, darlin’. Crew’s not the same man he was when he got here. Have faith in him. I do, and I have since the moment I met him.”
Her heart hammered, her chest aching.
“You don’t belong with these people,” Crew’s father said loudly. “You’re my family. I raised you. I taught you how to be a man.”
“The only thing you taught me was who I don’t want to be and how not to love,” Crew gritted out. “You are not my family. You gave up that right when you gave up on my mother and all but erased my dead brother.”
“What the fuck?” someone said behind him.
His father opened his mouth to speak, but Crew cut him off.
“The only one who doesn’t belong here is you. You’re so far beneath the people in this room, it’s pathetic.” Crew pointed to the exit. “Leave. Now. I don’t ever want to see your face again.”
His father stood visibly stunned for a few tense seconds, tension snapping between them like pulled wire. Then his father drew his shoulder back, lifting his head higher, and said, “You’ll regret this.”
“Not in this lifetime,” Crew said, and stood stock-still as his father left.
Birdie burst past her brothers and threw her arms around Crew, hugging him. “Are you okay?”
His arms circled her. “Yeah,” he said roughly, and kissed the top of her head.
“What the hell is this?” Dare’s anger cut through the room.
Crew and Birdie spun around. Crew stepped forward, putting one arm protectively in front of Birdie as Dare closed the distance between them, his face a mask of anger.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing with my sister?” Dare snapped.
“Take it down a notch,” Crew warned.
“You don’t tell me to take it down a notch,” Dare fumed.
“Then I will!” Birdie shouted, pushing past Crew and getting in Dare’s face.
“I’m sick of this bullshit. I’m with Crew, and I have been since before he came to the ranch.
” She ignored the gasps of shock ringing out around the room.
“I had to hide it from you and everyone else, because you’re so freaking angry all the time that you can’t look beyond the accident to see Crew for the kind, thoughtful man he is.
It hurts to say this, but he’s a better man than you are right now.
He has stuck it out here, taking your crap and trying to do right by you and Billie and our whole family to make up for the one mistake he made. ”
“Don’t fucking minimize what he did,” Dare seethed.
“I’m not minimizing it. It was a catastrophic mistake, and he’s accepted full responsibility for it.
I love you, Dare, but Crew’s my person. My one and only.
I deserve to be happy, and so does he.” Tears welled in her eyes.
“If you make me choose between you and Crew, as much as it hurts to say it, I will choose him.”
“Birdie,” Crew cut in.
“It’s the truth,” she snapped. “This is my life, not his. I get to choose who I’m with, and he’s the one who taught me that.
” She glowered at Dare, shaking. “How many times did you tell me never to back down when I believed in something? When those girls were mean to me in school, you told me birds were meant to fly and not to let them clip my wings. Remember that?”
Dare’s jaw clenched tighter.
Crew stepped toward Dare and said, “I don’t want to come between you and Birdie, but I love your sister, and I’m not going anywhere.”
Birdie’s heart skipped through the swamp she was wading in, and tears slid down her cheeks.
“You told me to man up or move on,” Crew continued.
“This is me manning up. I’m the one who got behind the wheel.
I deserve whatever you want to dole out.
You want to beat the shit out of me?” He smacked his own chest. “Go ahead. You want to demean me? Try to break me down? Give it your best shot, because there’s nothing you can say that I haven’t already said to myself. ”
“Am I supposed to feel bad for you?” Dare fumed.
“No, and I don’t expect you to ever forgive me,” Crew said evenly.
“But I hope one day we can be civil, because I’m only human.
I can’t change the past. I fucked up, and not a day goes by that I don’t beat myself up for it and wish I could take it back.
I’ll carry that grief until the day I die.
But I want you to know that before that night, I never had more than two drinks.
Ever. That doesn’t excuse what I did, but before you ruin your sister’s life, just tell me this: How would you handle it if the week before your wedding to Billie, she told you she’d been sleeping with your father and was pregnant with his baby? ”
Birdie’s heart climbed into her throat.
“Damn, mate,” Taz said, as “Holy shit,” “Damn,” and “Is he serious?” rang out around them.
Dare’s eyes narrowed, scrutinizing Crew.
“I’m not looking for sympathy,” Crew said. “I understand your anger. I just think you should know what was fueling mine that night.”
Billie went to Dare and took his hand, drawing his tight jaw and angry eyes to her. “We’ve made some pretty big mistakes in our lives,” Billie said. “I think Eddie is a testament to that.”
Dare looked stricken, the blood draining from his face.
“But if you make this one, you’ll lose your sister,” Billie said.
Dare stared at his wife, her words hanging between them. When he finally looked over, his eyes went straight to Birdie, his jaw clenched like a vise. “You sure about him?”
“As sure as you are about Billie.” Her throat thickened, and she looked up at Crew. “He’s my Viking, my sunflower, and my thing you don’t want to know about.”
“Jesus, Birdie,” Dare gritted out. Laughter rose around them, but Dare remained dead serious. “I trust your judgment. I’ll try to get past this and see what you see.”
“And work on your anger,” Birdie added quickly.
“Yeah, that too.” His gaze cut to Crew. “Don’t make me regret it.”
“I don’t plan to,” Crew said, holding his stare.
“Can you two stop now, please, because…” Birdie turned to Crew with her heart in her throat and said, “You love me?”
His expression softened. “I’m so in love with you, Trouble, I can’t see straight.”
“I love you, too, Ragnar!” She launched herself into his arms and kissed him, “awws” and “I’ll be damned,” ringing out around them.
As their lips parted, her heart was racing, and the high carried her over to Dare.
She knew he was conflicted and probably pissed, but she threw her arms around him anyway, and though he stood stiff, she said, “I love you, you big pain in my butt, and if you don’t hug me back and tell me you love me, you’re getting a black eye. ”
“You know I love you,” Dare said gruffly, his arms circling her. “But of all the men—”
“Unless you’re about to say ‘Of all the men in the world, how did I find the best one,’ you’d better keep it to yourself,” she warned.