Page 100 of The Long Game

Daphne pushed out a deep breath and let her hands fall to her lap. “It’s not my place to say anything, but yes, Jack’s past may prove problematic.”

“You mean his criminal conviction?” Grady asked, tone casual.

Daphne glanced at Colton.

Jack smiled at Daphne. “It’s okay. They both know everything.”

“Okay, I’m glad I’m not speaking out of turn here, but the bio family can easily discover your history, Jack.”

Grady pushed down his anger and spoke in a calm, level voice. “And that’s a problem?”

“It could be. It certainly won’t make this any easier.”

When Jack tried to pull his hand away, Grady held on tight.

“You know the whole conviction, let alone the length of time he spent in jail, was utter bullshit, right?” Grady asked, hoping Jack heard the reminder, too.

And maybe he didn’t do a good job keeping the anger from his voice anymore.

He wasn’t mad at Daphne. He was angry because using this against them wasexactlywhat his family would do. The idea that they could not only hurt him and Colton again, but dragJackinto their bullshit made Grady’s vision go red around the edges.

Not just because it was hideously unfair to drag it all back up, but because it might make Jack leave.

“I do know that,” Daphne said gently. “But I want to be realistic here.”

“I appreciate that,” Grady said, squeezing Jack’s hand. “I do. But we’re going to have to find a way to make it work.”

“But—”

“Jack’s part of our family,” Colton said, steel in his voice. For the first time since they’d arrived, he wasn’t trying to appear bored.

Grady squeezed Colton’s arm, connecting the three of them. He was happy Colton saw Jack that way, but also terrified of what Jack was going to do next.

He made unwavering eye contact with Daphne, hoping she’d understand his conviction. “Jack’s presence in our lives is nonnegotiable. We have to find a way to make sure it’s not an issue.”

“I’ll do some research and come up with suggestions of how we’ll respond if it’s raised as an issue,” Daphne allowed. “And for what it’s worth, I’m happy for you. All of you,” she added to Colton.

Colton nodded once and slouched back into the chair with his coffee clutched high against his chest. Grady wanted to hug him and promise it would be okay, but Colton wouldn’t appreciate the audience, and Grady wasn’t in the habit of making promises he wasn’t certain he could keep.

Also, he was afraid if he took his hand off Jack’s, Jack would be on his feet and out the door, martyring himself and severing their relationship in the name of saving Colton, before Grady could get a word in edgewise.

He focused on making sure Daphne had everything she needed to go forward, desperate to get them out of there and home.

They wrapped up with a round of handshakes and promises to send documents in both directions, Grady keeping one eye on Colton and another on Jack. Stepping out into the bright July sunshine and summer heat was a relief until Colton took a last, loud sip of his coffee, chucked it into the trashcan on the sidewalk, and blindsided them. “If I have to leave, I will.”

“What?” Jack said, spinning to face Colton.

“No,” Grady said firmly, feeling like everything was slipping out of control. “That is not going to happen.”

“You two can’t break up,” Colton informed them, like he got to make the decision.

“We’re not going to,” Grady said.

Jack, Grady noted, didn’t say anything.

Colton didn’t miss that fact, either. “Twenty bucks says that if Jack thinks it will save meandyou from the Assholes of Alberta, he’ll martyr himself in a red-hot second and dump your ass.”

Grady could hardly argue since he’d been low-grade panicking over the same thought for fifteen minutes. To hear it spoken aloud, though, took his breath away.

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