Page 86 of Toxic

“This is your girl?” the older version of Toxic said, looking over at his son. “She’s too pretty for you.” That made me laugh. He raised a brow at me, looking too much like his son for comfort, then said, “I wasn’t joking, Darlin’. I’m Daryl.”

“Hi, I’m Billie. Oh-” I broke off as he wrapped me up in a hug. After a brief pause, I put my arms around him and sank into the embrace. He wasn’tmyfather, but there was no doubt that this was a dad hug, the type that made you feel loved and protected. And apparently it could come from dads who weren’t your own. Who knew?

Not me. But one thing I did know was that I was going to love Daryl. I smiled up at him when we finally pulled away. “Thank you.” My cheeks heated, because I had no idea why I was thanking him. For being so welcoming to me? For the hug itself? For giving me six point five seconds of a feeling I hadn’t had since my own father was still alive? I had Gramps, but that was a grandfather’s love. It was just a little different.

He tucked me up under his arm—another thing that reminded me of his son—and grinned. “My pleasure. I’ve been waiting a long time for this asshole to bring home a girl.”

“You remember she’smygirl, right Pops?” Toxic grumbled.

But Daryl didn’t let me go. And I didn’t mind a bit. I just waved at Toxic as he led me along, following the women as they chatted.

Toxic caught up and walked along my other side. Everyone was here, plus some people I hadn’t met yet, but they were all dressed fairly casual and between the girls chatting with me and Daryl keeping me close I wasn’t feeling as nervous anymore.

I watched with a confused smile as Toxic walked across the lawn and as he went, he reached into his jean pockets and tossed out money. The dollar bills and coins landed in the grass. “What’s he doing?”

Dani laughed and nudged Jenny. “Ugh,” Jenny said. “They’ve taught those girls to pickpocket so well that most of us have given up and just dump our pockets the second they come near us.”

I watched, trying to smother my laugh with my hand, as Gabby snatched up a five-dollar bill, while Taylor and Cassie argued over a ten, and Caitlyn went around collecting the coins. “I love them,” I told Jenny, giving her a wide smile.

Her face softened. “Me too. They’re seriously the best.”

Seek sniffed a little. “They’re all growing up too fast.”

Jordan let out a little groan, making us all look over at her. “Sorry. Sorry, I was just imagining all these kids as teenagers…”

Everyone had a look of horror on their face.

“As a man who raised two shit-raising little boys,” Daryl said, cutting into the conversation, “I can tell you the teenage years are hard. But then they grow into adults.”

“And it gets better?” Sloane asked, looking hopeful.

Daryl’s deep laugh vibrated my entire body. “Hell no. In my case, it got worse.” He jerked a thumb over to where Toxic was standing, talking with the other MC members. “But by that point you get to be friends with ‘em at least. Don’t get me wrong,” he said, squeezing me a bit closer to his side, “you’ll always be their parent. But you’ve taught them right from wrong and now anything they do is on their own ass, so you get to relax a bit and build a new relationship with them.”

“Somehow,” Jenny said, “that actually makes me feel better.”

“Dex!” Susie let out a bellow that made me jump a bit. She had the mom-voice down perfectly. “Put that downright now!”

Looking past Daryl, I saw the boy tilt his head back, toward the sky, and I just knew he was giving a groan of frustration. Gwen’s son, Sean, nudged him, then they ran off to get into more mischief. I’d already noticed that Jenny’s girls were so over the top they got caught a lot of the time, but Dex and Sean weresmart enough to fly under the radar. It didn’t mean they didn’t get into trouble all on their own. I’d caught them out at my ranch chasing down the baby pigs.

I’d made it into a game for all the kids after that. The piglets were used to me grabbing them, but still loved to squeal like they were being murdered each time, so it wasn’t harmful to them, and it was a blast for the kids.

“Sean! Don’t you get your clothes dirty!” Gwen called out to her son as he and Dex ran off. She rolled her eyes when she faced us again. “It’s impossible. He was dirty two minutes after I put those clothes on him. It’s like his super power.”

Seek looked over at where her son was sitting on Hush’s lap while they ate off a plate of food. “Where did they-” She sighed. “I’m so sorry, Jenny. I must have forgot to tell Hush not to eat until it was time.”

“They’re used to being able to just show up to a barbecue and eat as soon as the food is laid out,” Kit said with a shrug.

“Trust me, it’s way better that way,” Eva told the group. “Fancy dinners are so…stuffy.”

“It’s okay!” Jenny insisted. “That’s exactly what we wanted. This isn’t anything formal.” She looked around, tears filling her eyes. “I just wanted to spend the day with my family.”

Seek coughed, then groaned. “You’re going to make me cry.You’repregnant. You have an excuse. What’s mine?”

“You’re sweet?” Sloane offered.

“Maybe you’re pregnant again,” Dani pointed out.

“Jesus, don’t say that!” Seek gasped and lightly smacked her in the shoulder. Smokehouse had their little girl, but Seek was still gentle about it.

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