Page 39 of Beautiful Unity

“I definitely will.”

“Crow and Doc,” my dad said, nodding to the two strangers, “let me introduce you to my daughter, Queen.” He paused, letting the name sit in the space. I felt the goosebumps rise on my arms, and for the first time, I felt the shift as my dad deferred to me.

“It’s an honor,” the shorter of the two said. “I’ve heard so many stories; it’s nice to put a face to the name. I’m Crow, the resident clean-up guy, and this one’s assistant when he needs it.” He wrapped his arm around Doc’s shoulder. The older man nodded but didn’t say anything.

“Great!” Hank clapped and gestured for us to take the remaining seats around the long table. “Let’s discuss how these three did.” He grinned wide as my three boyfriends grimaced and took a seat. Bubba pulled me into his lap before I could take the empty one. I rubbed his beard and settled back in his arms.

Mack leaned forward and pointed a remote at a projector on the wall. He went through the rankings from their test, and all three guys scored close to one another, with Grayson slightly in the lead. He preened at me, but it dropped off when they went into round two. I glanced at Brooks when Mack stated he’d performed the best. His blush was too cute. I squeezed his hand, linking our fingers together.

“The standings after round two were Brooks, Bubba, and Grayson. Now, round three was graded as a team, but there were areas where you could gain individual points; in addition, the three of you completed a self-assessment.” Mack cleared his throat, glancing at Hank.

“We’ve run this exercise multiple ways over the years with prospects who’ve trained a lot longer than a day. And yet, none of those, not even Maddox and Darcie, came close to completing the scenario in the time you did.”

My mouth dropped open, and I looked at my guys. They were as shocked as me. Well, at first. Grayson’s smug arrogance immediately shone as he smiled and leaned back in his chair. Brooks blushed, and Bubba just grunted.

“What can I say? We’re pretty awesome,” Grayson said.

My dad snorted. “And so humble.” Grayson merely shrugged, and my dad couldn’t hide the slow smile. “The most interesting factor was how resourceful you were. You had more barriers against you than most recruits, yet the three of you didn’t seem hindered.”

“If you smelled my armpits, you’d disagree,” Grayson mumbled.

This time, I laughed, covering it with my hand. My dad pretended to ignore my outburst, but I caught the amusement in his eyes.

“I was wrong in my assumptions, and for that, I apologize. I wanted you to gain my respect through this, but as it turns out, I’m the one who needs to ask for yours. Darcie is a smart woman capable of choosing men worthy of her.”

“You have ours, sir,” Brooks said, and Bubba nodded. Grayson leaned forward, steepling his fingers together.

“We’d willingly do any task you needed to show how committed we are to Darcie.”

“Even go without your hair product,” Mack teased.

Grayson grimaced but nodded. “For Darcie, yes.”

“Good thing I’d never ask you to sacrifice it.” I smiled at him.

“And that’s why I love you.”

The table laughed, the tension evaporating as the men recounted how my three guys had solved the clues and came to Mack’s rescue.

“I was about to sneak out and visit Tiny when this one popped up in the window,” Mack said, laughing.

“When we heard that monstrosity try to start, we took off, but it was too late,” Rooster agreed.

“And then they managed to stay hidden. How did you do that?” Cueball asked.

The guys recounted the tale, and I listened as my anxiety bled out of me. I’d missed being part of a club. Of having this belonging and community. MCD and the Mavericks had been my life, and I’d felt lost and alone when it was gone.

“So who wins?” Grayson asked, nervously tapping his fingers on the table.

“It was unanimous on our end, with only one holdout on yours.”

Grayson frowned, staring at Brooks and Bubba. He reached around Brooks and smacked Bubba, barely missing me.

“Ow. What was that for?” Bubba scowled, shifting me further away.

“Why didn’t you pick Brooks to win, asshole?”

Bubba rolled his eyes. “Because I picked you, brother.”

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