Page 116 of Shadow and Skulls

“So, you’ve known this whole time?”

“Dan, I’m happy you were there for my daughter.”

Aw, now we’re getting somewhere.Finally, I can put her guilt to rest. I take her hand in mine and look her in the eye. “And I’m glad you were there for mine.”

This makes her blush. She pulls away from me, letting her hair fall over her face.

“So, what made you change your mind? Why did you ask Jackson to let him back into the club?”

“Who says it was me?”

Jesse completely ignores my denial. “Tank thinks it was me, you know?”

“And that’s how we’re keeping it.”

She rolls her eyes, just like she did when she was a little girl. “Seriously?”

“He doesn’t need to know it was me.”

“I’ll only keep your little secret if you tell me.”

“Blackmail, huh?” Jesse will always hold a special place in my heart, but that doesn’t mean she’s any less a pain in my ass.

She just shrugs and goes back to working on my tattoo. “Whatever it takes, because I want to know what or who changed the big guy’s mind.”

I shake my head. “Fine. It was his ex.”

This makes her stop completely, setting the gun down on the tray. “What?”

“She called me. Said she got my number from JD.”

Jesse shakes her head in confusion.

I agree. “Don’t ask me. I don’t know what that’s all about. But anyway, she told me that Kelsie was someone special. Fuck, she wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t know.”

“And …?”

“And then she said Tank was someone who would cherish that. Nurture it, even.”

Jesse and I look at each other for a long time before she speaks. “A compliment coming from an ex is …”

“The raw truth.”

“Man, that had to be hard for her. Do you think she’s still interested in him?”

“Would I have encouraged all this if I thought that?”

“No, I suppose not.”

“It was the wake up call I needed. It made me take a step back. I looked at Kelsie as someone other than my daughter. Once I did that, I noticed the way her smile changed when she read his letters. I saw her in a different light.”

Jesse stands up and hugs me. “It’s okay, big guy. She’ll always be your little girl.”

“That’s the thing. She wasn’t mine when she was little. I wasn’t there to protect her back then, and I’m determined to make up for that.”

A tear runs down her cheek. “Do you think Bill felt the same with me?”

“I know he did.”

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