Chapter 51
It was after dinner on Sunday night, and as Jamie downed yet another glass of champagne, he wasn”t entirely sure how he”d survived the non-stop fuckery that had taken place during the previous two and a half days.
”I hope when the bards and storytellers of the future recount this particular Justice adventure, that they get the details right,” Alex remarked to the small gathering of cigar-smoking men Jamie found himself a part of.
Drae snickered and blew a smoke ring above his head. ”Luckily, these bards and storytellers you speak of will have a veritable smorgasbord of photographic evidence at their disposal. This isn”t like the old days when our shenanigating fuckery stayed on the down low. Nowadays, there are receipts!” He cackled.
Parker Sullivan, the lawyer known for smooth-talking eloquence, offered his two cents in the form of a cacophonous belch.
Maybe Jamie chose this moment to make an unsolicited announcement because he was certifiably drunk and surrounded by the chief rabblerousing minstrels of Justice—or perhaps he was just nuts—he wasn”t sure. It didn”t matter. Once he went for it, there”d be no takebacks or do-overs.
”I dropped five figures in a jewelry store today.”
This announcement was met by silence and stunned expressions.
”Wanna see?” he asked.
”Fuck, yeah,” Alex yipped.
Jamie reached into his suit”s inner pocket and withdrew a ring box. He cracked it open for Alex”s inspection.
”Platinum setting,” he explained. ”Carat and a half with the side stones. Matching bridal rings.”
”Matching?”Drae asked. ”As in a bride”s and a groom”s ring?”
”Is that a problem?”Jamie asked.
”Dude,”Drae replied with an arrogant huff. ”Read the room. We all wear wedding rings.”
”Because we aren”t stupid,”Parker added.
”You did good,”Duke Winston assured him. ”Well done, Doc.”
”So you”re going to ask Becca to marry you?”Alex wanted confirmation.
”Yeah, but first, I need the kid”s blessing.”
Everyone nodded approvingly.
Alex”s brow furrowed. He brought the cigar to his lips. As he inhaled, the tip glowed, casting a gentle light on his face. He gazed into the distance as he exhaled.
”Your timing is interesting,”the big man said. ”Isn”t this a little fast?”
Jamie was prepared for the question. He even had a ready response.
”Life looks different for a guy after forty. Plus, Rebecca and I are not twelve. We know what we want.”
”Instant fatherhood,”Duke interjected. ”Big fucking responsibility,”he said in a commanding voice. ”Huge,”he added.
Parker chimed in. ”You sure you”re up to it?”
Drae said nothing, but his expression indicated his interest.
”I”m not just up for it—I”m the only one. They need me—both of them. And I need them. Can”t get any simpler than that.”
They were outside the venue, where Family Justice was energetically celebrating a happy elopement. Summer in Vegas was a lot like it was in Bendover—hot days and warm nights, so he was used to it. But as the group of men stared at him, he felt nervous sweat break out on his neck and dampen his collar.
Alex sat forward, stubbed out his cigar, and rose. He looked bigger than normal. Jamie wasn”t sure if that was because everyone was sitting or because of the tailored suit he wore—it didn”t matter—the point was that the big man appeared even bigger.
”No time like the present.”
That”s all the man said.
Jamie blinked. He scrunched up his face and mumbled, ”What is?”
”Time to get Kori”s blessing. Come on, Doc. Let”s go.”Alex made a hurry-the-fuck-up gesture.
Duke blew a massive smoke ring and laughed. ”Better do what he says.”
He saw Parker and Drae fist-bumping from the corner of his eye while sharing a smirky chuckle.
Assholes.
Alex clapped his hands. ”Stand and be counted, James Hunter.”
Fuck.
His spine stiffened from the full-throttle authority blasting him in the face. He smashed his cigar in the ashtray, stood, and adjusted his tie.
While he pulled himself together, he saw Duke go to the French doors leading back inside.
”Looks like the gals are line dancing with the younglings.”He chuckled. ”They”ve dragged my Paulie into action.”
Alex marched him into the decorated ballroom too quickly for Jamie to devise a plan. Feeling like a nervous kid following his dad into an unknown situation, he kept up without knowing where they were going.
”What the Cowgirls Do,”by Vince Gill, was thundering from the speakers.
Laughter and the occasional high-spirited ”Ye Haw”came from the dance floor.
He spied Rebecca, looking like she was having the time of her life. Kori and Phoebe energetically danced nearby with Duke”s grandson Paul and the always entertaining Bella Jensen.
After crossing the floor, Alex pulled him into a short hallway.
”Well, you fucking made it, Doc.”
Jamie frowned. What did he mean?
”Even if you didn”t realize it then, you came here looking for a fresh start. Beginning again is a Bendover specialty.”Alex”s eyes held him like a tractor beam. ”And now here you are. The moment is upon you, Jamie. What happens next is everything.”
Oh. Right.
Jamie nodded. Now he got it.
”You”re a good man who put up with a lot of shit to get here. I applaud the ferocious effort you put into clinging to your isolationist tendencies. But we wore you down, didn”t we?”Alex snickered. ”We”re nothing if not tenaciously annoying about the Family Justice thing—you resisted way longer than most.”
”I have a reputation for being a pain in the ass, so I was just giving you guys a chance to reconsider.”He gave a half smirk.
Alex pinned him with a fierce look. ”You got fucked over by the very people you thought had your back no matter what. The situation with your ex-wife aside, a man”s team isn”t supposed to be stabbing him in the back. I would have gone to ground, too. Fuck those shitheads.”
Jamie”s emotions squeezed. The betrayal in his darkest hour by his fellow officers would always hurt.
”Letting us in required brass balls. Frankly, dude, watching you resist has been quite entertaining.”Alex clapped him on the shoulder. ”It takes a big man to put the past in the past.”
”I guess you”d know, huh?”Jamie murmured.
”Indeed.”Alex”s expression softened. He looked almost fatherly. ”Not that it matters, but I”m damn proud of you.”
Then, the big daddy of Family Justice offered Jamie his hand. ”Welcome to the family.”
Emotion clogged Jamie”s throat as they shook hands.
Alex inspected him from head to toe and even brushed off the shoulders of his suit jacket.
”You got this?”Alex asked.
”I still don”t know what this is, but yeah, I suppose.”
Grabbing him by the arms and spinning him around, Alex pointed at a pair of double doors.
”That”s a holding room. Sofas, chairs. That kind of thing. You wait in there, and I”ll get Kori. You can”t move forward without her blessing, so …”
Performance panic set in. He didn”t have a speech prepared, and really, was winging it a smart move?
”Is this the right time, Alex? I mean, it”s someone else”s wedding reception. Aren”t there rules about these things?”
”Justice eats rules for breakfast and shits ”em out by lunch. What matters is who you”re with—not the timing. No single person here isn”t in your corner or Becca”s. That makes this the perfect time and not for nothing, Doc, but this is the kind of sappy shit the ladies love. Pull it off, and you”ll score massive bonus points.”
The pronouncement was made with a cocky smirk and a knowing wink.
”Bonus points sound good,”Jamie laughed.
Alex shoved him toward the holding room, then turned around and went back into the ballroom.
”This is it,”Jamie muttered to the empty room.
His nerves weren”t due to feelings of hesitation or uncertainty. He”d spoken his truth with the guys. Rebecca needed him. So did Kori. And he needed them. The feelings of belonging and trust they gave him were all he”d ever wanted.
Getting the moments right was enough to give any guy the willies. These things were important, and he was damn sure going to do whatever it took to give his two girls the best memories they deserved.
His two girls.
Holy. Shit.
The double doors flew open, and in danced Kori. A grinning Alex followed her.
”Woot! Woot!”the energetic twelve-year-old exclaimed. ”Jamie! Hey! What”s up, Doc?”
Alex closed the doors. He crossed his arms and planted his feet. His pose reminded Jamie of a sentry.
Kori looked back and forth between him and the big, serious-faced man guarding the door.
He cleared his throat. ”I believe the Major is here as your, uh, advocate. Like a Justice guardian,” he feebly explained.
”Yep,” Alex boomed.
”Oh-kay,”Kori mumbled. ”Am I in trouble? Did I do something stupid with the twins?”she asked Alex.
”Absolutely not,”Alex gruffly replied. ”You”re their favorite babysitter.”
”And you”re not in trouble,”Jamie quickly added. ”If anyone is on the hot seat, it”s me.”
”Cool,”she chuckled. ”I like it when the grown-ups squirm. Are we gonna sit down or keep standing?”
”Sit,”Alex commanded—so they did, with him standing nearby.
Kori dropped onto a loveseat—he faced her from a chair a few feet away.
”This last week has gone pretty good, wouldn”t you say?”he asked.
”You mean with you and my mom?”
”I mean with the three of us.”He laced his fingers to emphasize his point.”It”searly days, but I think we make a cool unit.”
She agreed with a nod. Then she looked at Alex before adding, ”It”s weird though. Seeing you and my mom all happy and whatnot instead of tearing each other”s butts open every five minutes.”
Alex choked back a laugh.
Jamie gave the sentry some eye shade—not that doing so wiped the grin off Alex”s face.
”Aside from the butt tearing, you”re okay with us giving it a go—being together—you know, like a family, aren”t you?” His delivery was too clumsy for words.
Kori grew serious. ”I”ve never had a family. Not really. Not like you mean with a mom and a dad.”She blushed. ”I kind of like it.”
”Me too, kid,”he assured her. ”Me too. And that”s why I needed to talk to you.”
He cleared his throat and managed a smile. ”I”d, uh, like us to be a real family. An official family—with all the bells and whistles. And to do that, I need to know that I have your blessing to propose.”
”What?”Kori shrieked as she leaped straight up and off the loveseat. ”You”re gonna propose?”
”Only with your blessing. It might be me and your mom getting married, but this is about you, too. Can you see us as a family with me as the stand-in dad?”
”You wanna be my dad? For real? Is that what you”re saying?”
”Kid, you got a shitty deal. So did your mom. I want to change all of that. What do the kids call it? Flipping the script? That”s what I want—husband, father.”
She rushed him and grabbed hold of him for a hug.
”Is this a yes?”he asked, hugging her back.
She nodded against his chest and sniffed. Was she crying?
Then she ran to Alex and did the same thing—hugging him with all her might.
”Thank you for watching out for me,”she told the big man.
”You and your mom are family,”Alex said, his voice thick with emotion. ”I”ll always have your back.”
Jamie swept the sober moment aside with a chuckle.
”Okay, kid, look—we live in litigious times. A nod isn”t enough. I need to hear the words.”
”Are you joking?”she laughed. ”I”m here for all of it—hubby and stepdad. Wait! You know what? Crush that stepdad nonsense. You want to be the dad? Fine! Own it, Jamie! Be the dad.”
He grinned so broadly his face ached.
”Wanna see the ring?”
”Yes, sir!”
He pulled out the ring box again and showed her.
Kori gasped and gave him a walloping high-five.
”I”m getting a dad!”