Page 87 of Tusk's Fury

I reach out and take hold of her hand and tell her, “I’m really sorry you had to go through all that with your first husband.”

She sighs, her voice turning serious. “I’m not sorry. Not even a little bit. If it hadn’t been for that asshole, I never would have had your mother, and she never would have had you. The world is a better place for having you in it.”

Suddenly, my voice is serious too. “Do you ever regret running?”

“No. I was young when I had your mother, and my own parents wouldn’t let me take her when I left. I don’t regret leaving, but the biggest regret of my life was never getting the opportunity to get to know your mother or meet you.” Then she switches it up on me. “How about you? Do you regret leaving the church?”

“Hell no. If I hadn’t left the church, I never would have met Tusk or his boys. And I wouldn’t have a wonderful little daughter to name after the grandmother I never thought I’d meet.”

“She’s precious, all right. No one calls me Victoria, at least not often.”

Her old man moves over to stand beside her. “We all call her Queenie because she’s my queen.”

My grandmother tugs him down, and he squats beside my bed. “This is my husband, Rock.”

He reaches out to shake my hand. “It’s real nice to meet you. I want you to know that although you are Tusk’s old lady and under the protection of the Savage Legion, you’ll always be our granddaughter. As such, our club will be your second home if you want it.”

I pat him on the shoulder. “Oh, look how formal you are. That’s a really nice offer, and I gratefully accept. With any luck, we’ll spend lots of time visiting back and forth.”

The older man’s stoic face lights up. “I just knew you were gonna be down-to-earth like my Queenie. Now, if you need anything at all, you just tell me, and I’ll make my boys run right out and get it for you.”

Jasper speaks up, his voice somehow indignant and amused at the same time. “Hey pops, Slate and I aren’t prospects. Our fetching and carrying days are long over.”

Rock’s head whips around, and suddenly the one with a patch that says Slate is standing beside Jasper. “What my brother means to say is that we’d be happy to do whatever needs doing in the service of our niece, right, Jasp?”

He grumbles his agreement, not looking all that put out by his father’s expectations. I’m starting to think he just likes to argue with his old man.

I tell him, “I’ve already met Jasper, but it’s real nice to meet you as well, Slate.”

Slate is worlds more polite than his brother. He dips his head and tells me, “It’s good to meet you too.”

I smile because here I was thinking I was all on my own and my family is turning out to be larger than I ever thought.

Queenie takes Victoria from me because Tusk’s boys are crowding the bed. I motion for them all to come closer, and they swarm me. I can see that they’re all worried about me because they’re patting my hair and arms and asking if I’m okay.

I do my best to reassure them, but after an hour or so, Tusk shoos them all out. I give all the boys a hug and my baby a kiss before they leave. I notice that Queenie is talkative with the boys, but she’s not letting go of her namesake for love or money. She’s a proud grandma.

Tex and Clara come up and give me a quick hug as well. Clara whispers, “Your family has been great. I just thought you might want to know since this is a new situation.”

“Thanks for hanging in there with the boys. I think Queenie is okay with the kids.”

Tusk adds, “Evan and Levi are gonna let my boys bunk out on their floor tonight. Rigs has already made arrangements for it to happen. So, the two of you can go home and get some much-deserved rest.”

“Thank fuck,” Tex says. “I love your boys, and they’ve been on their best behavior, but I’m dying for a good night’s sleep.”

Tusk slaps him on the shoulder. “You deserve it. Thanks for being a righteous brother during these dark times for my family.”

Tex flashes him a quick grin. “Anytime, brother. Anytime.”

***

When the room empties out, Tusk wraps me up protectively in his arms. “It’s been rough the last few days. Tell me the truth. How are you feeling, sweetheart?”

“To be honest, I was terrified when we were in the mall parking lot. For a minute, I thought Harper was going to make off with me again. I’m glad you didn’t let them bring my daughter as bait.”

“There was no fucking chance of that happening. It wasn’t part of the discussion at any point.”

“I’m still confused about what he wanted with me. I had a childhood friend in the church tell me that she never saw him with a woman, never heard him talk about women, or even give sermons on women. It’s like we didn’t exist in his mind. There was just this Eve thing that didn’t seem to make any more sense to her than it did to me.”

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