Chapter 28
Jordan
Iwatched out the window, trying to catch another glimpse of Ricochet. It didn’t matter that I was angry with him, I still needed to see him. Shaking my head, I forced myself to look down at my lap. “Thanks for coming to get me, Dad.”
The panic had mostly subsided while I’d waited on the street for my ride.
My heart was already settling into a normal rhythm again.
I’d almost gone back to speak with Ricochet.
To clear everything up. In the end, I hadn’t, because I was too confused about everything and unwilling to trust myself or him.
I knew where this behavior led, and ignoring things would eventually hurt those I love.
“Anytime, Pumpkin,” he replied. His calm brown eyes landed on me. He wanted to ask me what was wrong, but knew I needed a few minutes.
It wasn’t hard to see that I’d overreacted, I already knew that, but seeing Ricochet lay Trent out and just start beating on him had terrified me.
It was far more intense than anything Dan had ever done.
It wasn’t a drunken brawl. It was just plain frightening.
I’d known better than to try to get in the middle of it and pull Ricochet off the other man.
I didn’t want to accidentally catch an elbow to the face.
No thank you. So, I’d just stood back and waited.
I hadn’t even bothered to call out to my boyfriend to get him to stop. He wasn’t going to.
It wasn’t even that I cared about Trent. Honestly, if it wasn’t for my hang ups about the men I date fighting, thanks to Dan, I probably would have been rooting for Ricochet to do more damage. Trent was a snake and he had been egging Ricochet on.
But from the first crack of fist into bone, I’d been ripped out of the moment and shoved back into that night.
The sounds from the bar, the grunts of pain, and then Dad’s face when he’d been lying in that hospital bed.
The fear had overtaken me again and no matter what I did there was no convincing myself that it was different.
How could I trust Ricochet to control his temper?
It was obviously on a short leash if he let a few taunts get to him like that.
I wasn’t even judging him. I really would have liked to hit Trent too for some of the stuff he was saying to my boyfriend, and about my friend. But I didn’t. I’d controlled myself. It was more than just Trent. He could do this with anyone, lose his temper like that.
“Okay, Pumpkin,” Dad said, breaking into my thoughts and bringing me back to reality.
Looking up, I realized that we were parked in his and Mom’s driveway.
“What happened?”
“What do you mean?”
He gave me ‘the look’. He wasn’t buying my innocent act. The man knew me far too well.
I sighed and told him what had happened.
Dad pursed his lips as I fell silent, thinking through it all. “So what’s the problem?”
Staring at him in shock, I asked, “What’s…what’s the problem?” I repeated, completely baffled.
Dad shrugged, shifting on the seat so he could see me better. “Sounds like your young man stood up for you. And his sister. And himself. What’s the problem?”
“Dad.” I searched for the words. For how to explain to him why I was so scared. “First off, Ricochet isn’t just a ‘young man’. I mean, he’s only twenty-eight, but he was a Navy Seal. He’s strong. Knows how to fight.”
“Okay?”
Huffing out an exasperated breath, I fought for the words. “He needs to be able to control himself.”
“Did he kill the guy?” Dad’s brow arched up and his lips twitched.
“Well…no. I mean some other men pulled him off him.”
“But he knows this…Trent fellow?”
“Yeah,” I said, hesitating. I wasn’t sure where he was going with this.
“So, theoretically he could track him down anytime and pummel him to death?”
“I…guess.” Folding my arms over my chest, I narrowed my eyes. “What are you getting at?”
“Look, Pumpkin. I’m not going to lie. I’m thrilled you found a man like him.” He gave me an encouraging smile.
“You don’t even know him.”
“A veteran. Strong. Loyal. Protects his lady, which just so happens to be my daughter. Yeah. I’m fine with you dating him.”
I shook my head, blinking in shock. “He’s in a motorcycle club.” My inside voice was berating me for telling him anything negative about Ricochet. But honestly, this was the one hang up I expected my parents to have about my new boyfriend. Better to just get it all out in the open now.
“I know.”
Scowling at him, I muttered, “How?”
“You think I haven’t looked into every man you’ve spent your time around?” He gave me a chastising look, as if I should have known better. “There really haven’t been many…”
“After Dan, I just sort of-”
“Lost the ability to trust yourself.” He sighed and wiped a hand over his mouth. “I haven’t known how to talk to you about this. I should have left you home that night.”
“Like I would have stayed while you went to bail my ex out of the newest trouble he’d gotten into.” Mom and Dad had always made it clear that they hadn’t approved of Dan once he started drinking and getting into trouble.
“True,” he chuckled. “We raised you to know your own mind. That means stepping back and letting you make your own mistakes. Answer me truthfully. Do you really not see a difference between that night with Dan and what just happened with Ricochet?”
Shame coated my words as I whispered. “I do. But…how do I get over all of this?”
“All of what? It was one fight. Guys like that are going to live for fighting, Sweetheart. It’s kind of who they are.”
“What do you know about MCs?”
He laughed. “I was young once, you know.”
I gave him a questioning look.
“I may have prospected for a club once.” My jaw dropped, but he just kept going. “But, I met your mother and even though I liked to throw fists in my youth, I was starting to grow out of it. So, I walked away.”
“You…never told us any of that.”
“You, Noah, and Jenna are more like your mother. Thank God. There was no point in bringing any of it up.”
“So you don’t care if I date a biker?”
“I’m alright if you date that biker.”
Staring at him suspiciously, I pressed. “Why though? I thought it was going to be a fight to get you to accept him. Noah already read me the riot act about being with him.”
“I have my ways of finding things out, but the events from today just proved me right. He’s a good man and he’ll do whatever he has to in order to protect you and his family. That’s what matters most. At least to your mother and me.” He patted my shoulder.
“You don’t care that he lost control and-”
“Jordan,” he said, cutting me off. “I love you. You need to let what happened with Dan go. Taking a damn pool cue to the chest would have knocked anyone for a loop, but I wasn’t in any real danger.
Stop worrying about me, I’m not as fragile as you seem to think.
And something else you need to realize is,” he searched for his words before continuing, “yes, I like that he’s willing to lose control and beat the shit out of a guy that was obviously harassing the two of you.
It’s your job to stay in control and to keep him on an even keel most of the time.
During those few times when there’s a threat?
I want a man who’s going to step in front of you and be willing to lay down his life for yours.
For your future children. Call me selfish, but that’s what I expect of any man who wants to marry you.
He wasn’t drunk, he wasn’t looking for a fight.
The fight found him and he took care of it. ”
“Dad,” I said, a little choked up. “No one said anything about marriage.”
He shook his head, a soft smile on his face. “You don’t know much about men, Pumpkin. That’s okay, you’ve still found a good one. Do me a favor?” When I raised my brows, he cupped my cheek. “Don’t make him suffer for too long before you forgive him.”
With that he got out of the car. Before he went inside, he poked his head back in. “Oh, and I don’t know how much longer I can hold your mom back.”
“Hold her back from what?” I asked, wary.
“She’s dying to invite him over so she can grill him in person,” he warned me. He winked, then went inside the house, leaving me to think about everything he’d said.
I sat in the dark car, wondering how my dad could see everything so clearly when my own feelings were so muddled. It hadn’t taken me long to realize I’d made a mistake, but to see it from someone else’s perspective, someone I trusted, made me feel a lot better.
Dad clearly didn’t see an issue with what Ricochet did.
That meant the problem was with me. How could I get past the fear of those I loved getting hurt every time some asshole picked a fight?
How was I supposed to move forward with Ricochet, knowing that being a part of his club meant he’d be putting himself in danger more often than most men?
Somehow, I had to adjust my mindset. I just wasn’t sure how to do that.
I thought back to the fight tonight and realized that while I stood there watching, it was the past, not the present, that had terrified me.
I wasn’t at all scared that Ricochet was going to lose and that Trent was going to come after me.
Maybe that was the place to start. With trusting Ricochet.
It’d been so long since I’d been in a relationship, I wasn’t sure how to do it anymore. If he could forgive me for bolting tonight and the many screw ups I was sure I’d make in the future, maybe I could learn to accept him the way he was and get over this fear of mine.
Feeling a little better, I got out of the car and went inside to spend the evening with my family. I had to work tomorrow, and that was probably a good thing. Give both of us a chance to really cool off. Maybe afterward I could see if we could talk.