Page 45 of Riding Danger

“Yeah, my dad’s been teaching me some stuff.”

“Why don’t you keep your grandmother company until bedtime. I’m going to take your dad out for a drink.”

He stood and smiled at my son. It was like another piece of my heart melted. I never knew any of my grandparents. Well, I never knew my father so his parents were never a factor. And according to my mother, her parents threw her out when she fell pregnant with me. Yeah, I didn’t win the familial lottery. But it looked like my son did. And for that I was grateful.

Before Ethan could run off to his grandmother, I called him back. “Don’t I get a good night hug before I leave?”

Without hesitation, he ran back to me and wrapped his arms around my middle before looking up at me. “Don’t let Grandpa scare you off. He’s a really cool man.”

“I’m sure he is, kiddo.” I kissed the top of his head. “Don’t stay up too late.”

As he walked past his grandfather, he raised a brow that could only be described as an attempt to be stern. “Be nice. My mom likes him.”

Harry smiled at his grandson then gave me a hard look. “Let’s take your truck to the Reverse Cowgirl.”

“The what?” It wasn’t like I hadn’t heard of the place, it just didn’t seem like a place Harry would frequent. Also, I never wanted my woman’s father to utter the words ‘reverse cowgirl’. The thought made me shudder.

“It's a bar in town. My daughter, Maggie, owns it.” He walked ahead of me toward my car. “She’s working tonight and my wife insisted that Maggie be present when we speak to you.”

We?

Oh, right. He’d mentioned that he’d asked Jason to join us. I unlocked the car and we both climbed in. Even though I had GPS on my phone and the onboard system of the car, Harry still gave me instructions. Not that the place was hard to find. Nothing in Marina De Ferrier was.

Inside, the Reverse Cowgirl was as cliché as the name suggested. Fake Texan memorabilia. The staff wore blue jeans, plaid shirts and brown cowboy hats. All the decor had a look of worn down wood and exposed nails. But if you looked closely, everything was plastic and painted to look worn. It was unapologetically fake and I couldn’t help but smile. The decor might have been plastic imitation, but there was no pretentiousness.

As we walked in, Harry ahead of me, he waved at the bartender I knew to be Shiloh’s sister, Maggie. Harry looked around the bar and spotted where he wanted to go. “Follow me.”

Like there was any chance of me doing anything else. Not that I said that. Harry led me to a table. Jason sat there with another man who looked familiar. He’d been at the hospital the night Shiloh had been shot. I just couldn’t remember his name.

Jason was on top of it though. As he stood to give that half hug thing he pointed to the other man. “I believe you met Theo at the hospital.”

“Ah, yes.” I took the man’s offered hand. “You’re Tiffany’s brother.”

“I am.” Theo motioned for me to sit and then moved so Harry could be directly opposite me. “And you’re Shiloh’s…well I’m not sure what you are to Shiloh. But you’re Ethan’s father.”

“Yeah. As for Shiloh. I’m just hers. That’s all.”

All three men looked at me just as Maggie arrived with two pitchers. She smiled at me. “I hope you don’t mind but my dad ordered for you. I think it's supposed to be a sign of dominance or something. You let me know if he gets overbearing. I’ll stick my mom and sisters on him. I’m the nice one, so I don’t scare him.”

Harry raised his brow at his daughter. “I wish everyone would stop letting Ryder think I am scared of my wife.”

“And your daughters.” Maggie’s smile dropped as two men walked in by the door. “Dammit. That’s the last thing I need tonight.”

“Do you want us to chase them out?” Theo tracked the two men as they walked up to the bar. “I don't know why you ever got involved with that family.”

I noticed that neither Harry nor Jason took their eyes from the men either.

Maggie glared at Theo. “I can take care of myself.”

Harry shook his head and looked back at me. “You say you’re hers. What exactly does that mean?”

Both Theo and Jason sat back and folded their arms as they waited for my answer. “It means she’s it for me. I am well aware of my reputation, and I’m not saying it wasn’t earned. But there is a reason I avoided committed relationships for the last decade. As much as I believed Shiloh was not an option, I wanted what I had with her. What I felt when I was with her. She’s it. My one. All I need to do is convince her that I am worth it.”

“Are you?” Harry still didn’t look convinced. “Because I am convinced that no man is good enough for her. What makes you think you’re different?”

“All I can say is that I intend to work every day to be worthy of her.” I knew who I was, and that I would never be good enough for her. “She’s the damn trifecta. I am just lucky she let me into her orbit.”

Harry narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean, trifecta?”

---