“Stick by her,” I urged and his back slightly straightened.

“I will, Tyra.”

And he would.

“Good, honey.”

He grinned at me, his eyes moved to the view and he took a sip of coffee before he announced, “I need more coffee. You think we gave them enough time?”

He was giving them time, like me.

Really a good kid.

But I needed more coffee too. I’d only had one cup and already a full morning. I was hitting emergency status on the caffeine level.

“You’ve been a member of this family all your life, only you can make that call,” I told him.

I got another grin and he decided, “We’ve given them enough time.”

Oh hell.

That meant it was time.

I nodded, we both stood and Rush did the gentleman thing again, letting me precede him to the door and I wished he didn’t. I was happy to drag my feet.

But we’d given them enough time. I knew this because Tack had his back to the door and it looked like he was preparing food. Tabby was close to her Dad, hip to the counter, talking to him.

I sucked in breath for courage, opened the door and walked through it.

Tack’s torso twisted and his eyes came to me. Tabby’s neck twisted and she did the same.

I opened my mouth to speak. I didn’t know what I was going to say but I did it anyway.

I didn’t get a word out.

Tabby came flying at me and this so surprised me, at first, I just stood there. Then I braced because she threw herself at me full body. I went back on a foot, my arms closing around her but her arms were already around me. Tight.

“Honey –”

“I almost got you hurt!” she wailed then shoved her face in my neck and burst out crying.

I looked at Tack. Tack tipped his head to the side.

“Jesus, bitches,” Rush muttered as he closed the door and squeezed around us.

I grinned at Tack then dropped my head so my lips were at Tabby’s ear.

“I’m fine,” I whispered.

“I’m stupid,” she sobbed into my neck.

“You aren’t. He was cute,” I told her, her body went still then her head jerked back and her watery eyes found mine. “He’s a complete and total jerk, but he was cute.”

“What?” she whispered.

“And too old for you,” I went on.

“I –”

“And he let me best him in, like, a second. So he’s also a loser.”

Tabby blinked.

“And, I’ll repeat, he’s a complete and total jerk.”

Tabby said nothing.

I placed one hand on the injured side of her head and slid my thumb close to her bruise.

Then I started talking and I did it quietly.

“I know we’re still getting to know each other. But I also know you’re a smart girl. I hate that you learned this lesson at all, much less that you did it at your age. But please, Tab, learn it. You can have family that makes you safe. You can have friends who’ll take your back. But the most important person and the one who’ll have the best shot at keeping you safe is you.”

She pulled her lips through her teeth and held my eyes but said nothing.

So I carried on.

“And the best way to do that is be smart.”

She let her lips go and whispered, “I was just havin’ fun.”

“You can have fun and be smart,” I replied.

She looked over her shoulder quickly then back at me but I thought it was a good sign she didn’t let me go.

“Can we not talk about this?” she requested softly.

“Darlin’,” Tack cut in and she looked back over her shoulder at her father as my eyes lifted to him, “if you think what happened last night could happen and you’d get off talkin’ about it, you best think again.”

“You and me are good,” she said to him. “You told me so last night and again not ten minutes ago.”

“That don’t mean we’re not talkin’ about it,” Tack returned, I felt her pull in a deep breath then she sighed.

I gave her a reassuring squeeze and let her go.

Her eyes came to me, they were timid before she let me go and stepped away.

“Sit your ass on a stool,” Tack ordered, “Tyra wants a word.”

I watched Tabby’s tongue run over her upper lip then she dropped her head and went to a stool.

There it was. She might be messed up but she was a good kid too.

Tack went back to whatever he was doing at the counter. Rush moved to slide my mug of coffee on the counter at the stool next to Tab’s then he moved to the opposite counter and leaned his back against it.

I took a stool.

“Okay,” Tabby rushed out, trying to head off the attack, “I know he was older but I liked him, like, a lot. And he was nice. And he was into me and not in a gross way. I didn’t think he’d ever do anything like that. You have to believe that. I wouldn’t have started seein’ him if I thought that.”

“He get you booze?” Tack asked the counter which I thought was a good play. An important question with an uncertain response from him at whatever Tabby’s response would be but not in your face.

“Yeah,” she answered quietly and I sucked in breath.

“Kids drink, Dad,” Rush said carefully, trying to soften the blow for his sister.

God, seriously. I liked that kid.

“Not born yesterday, Rush,” Tack muttered, still talking to the counter before he looked over his shoulder and leveled his eyes on his daughter. “He get in your pants?”

“Dad!” Tabby exclaimed.

“Tack,” I said softly.

“Jesus,” Rush murmured.

“Okay, can we not talk about this?” Tabby asked, sounding mortified.

“Asked you a question, darlin’,” Tack reminded her.

“God,” she muttered, putting an elbow on the counter and her head in her hand, “This is humiliating.”

“Tab,” Tack prompted.

“Handsome, how about you let me talk to her about that later?” I suggested.

“Nope,” Tack replied to me then to Tabby he prompted again, “Tabitha.”

Oh boy.

Tabitha.

She knew what that meant because her head came up.

“No!” she declared vehemently. “Why do you think he hit me?”

Oh boy!

Dragons were awaking, two of them, father and son so I decided to head this off at the pass.

“Right,” I stated and Tabby’s eyes came to me. “It happened, it was a drama that included bloodshed and baseball bats and we’re all lucky it’s over even though we’re not lucky the consequences are bruises, swelling and a hard-earned lesson. But it’s over.” I lifted my hand, wrapped it around Tabby’s neck and leaned into her. “Though, your lessons aren’t,” I whispered.

Tabby sucked breath in through her nose.

I kept going and did it gentle-like.

“Honey, I know you think I broke your trust last night but I didn’t call your Dad. One of the boys did. I also know I lost it and could have handled it better so that’s my lesson to learn. What you need to learn is, I’m with your Dad and it isn’t really cool to ask me to keep anything from him. Not anything. But especially not something to do with you. And especially, especially not when you’re in trouble.”

“I know, Tyra,” she whispered brokenly, “I heard you guys fightin’. That’s on me, too.”

I shook my head. “You have a lot on your plate, Tabby, don’t take that too. Your Dad was angry at me for what I did, not you. Yeah?”

She took in another breath then she nodded.

I gave her neck a squeeze. “But, the bottom line is, in this room there are a lot of people who love you. And you have to be you, you should have fun, live your life but you have to learn to do it smart and not put yourself in a position where people will worry about you or hurt because you’re hurt.”

She bit her lip.

I leaned closer.

“Honey, you’re you and the people in this room love you because of who you are. You aren’t who your Mom says you are.”

She sucked in a sharp breath.

“She has her issues,” I went on quickly. “I know at your age it’s hard not to take them in. But they’re hers. Let her have them. Don’t take them on.”

“Tyra –”

“That,” I cut her off, “now that you can talk to me about. I’m here and we can talk about anything you want to talk about. I cannot guarantee I’ll keep it from your Dad. What I can guarantee is, whatever I do, it’ll be in your best interests. It’s up to you if you want to trust me again. All I can say is, you can. I’ll have your back. It’ll just be my decision how I have your back.”

Her lips twitched before she replied, “Yeah, you kinda proved that last night.”

“Kinda,” I agreed, grinning.

Then her pretty face lost all its humor and she whispered, “I can’t go back to her.”

Tack joined the conversation at this juncture.

“You’re not.”

I dropped my hand from Tabby’s neck and we both looked at Tack.

“But, it’s not official, like, court official and if she gets wound up and –” Tabby started.

Tack turned fully to his daughter. “Darlin’, you’re not goin’ back to your Mom.”

“But it’s not official, Dad,” she returned.

Oh boy. There it was.

She’d been worried about this just like me.

Tack studied her.

Then he declared, “Right. So I’ll make it official.”

I blinked.

“You will?” Rush asked.

Tack shrugged and turned back to the bowl he was whipping pancake batter in as he muttered, “Yeah.”

“Court official?” Tabby asked and Tack looked over his shoulder at his daughter.

“Legal, babe, yeah.”

Tabby’s shoulders slumped with relief.

Yep. She’d been worried about this.

As for me, this was another thing Tack had to worry about which I didn’t think was great.

Tack turned away from the bowl, moved to the counter opposite Tabby and me and put his hands on it.

“No more twenty-three year olds,” he ordered.

“Okay, Dad,” Tabby replied quietly.

“Eighteen, no older,” Tack declared.

“Okay,” she whispered.

“No more booze.”

She pulled in breath.

Then she breathed it out on another, “Okay.”

“And definitely no more lyin’, to me, Tyra, Rush, anyone.”

She nodded.

“That last, darlin’, take it in,” Tack urged. “You earn our trust again and break it, you might find it hard to get back.”

Tabby bit her lip while she nodded again.

“You’re still grounded,” Tack continued. “No car. You go nowhere unless I take you, Tyra takes you or Rush takes you or Tyra and me send you to the grocery store or on errands. You also got chores.”

“Right,” she muttered.

“But you’re still goin’ shoppin’ today with Tyra.”

Tabby perked up.

So did I.

“Right,” she said softly.

I grinned at my man.

“After pancakes,” he stated.

“Okay,” Tabby replied.

Tack held his daughter’s eyes.

Then he said gently, “Got all the love in the world for you, darlin’, always. No matter what shit you pull. Never forget that.”

My lips quivered.

So did Tabby’s.

Then she whispered, “Me too, Dad.”

Tack kept looking at her. Then his gaze moved to me.

Then he moved back to the bowl.

We ate pancakes. I took Tabby shopping. I got some Brandi clothes. Tabby got some school clothes. We came back and Rush and Tack had fixed Tabby’s door. Tabby made dinner that didn’t go too well but we all ate it anyway while watching back-to-back episodes of Dog, the Bounty Hunter that Rush had taped. And, incidentally, it was another new favorite of mine, I decided this halfway through my first episode. This was partly because Duane Lee was badass and hot. This was partly because Leland was also badass and hot. But it was mostly because Dog and Beth were badass, sweet and freaking awesome. We went to bed. Tack woke me up in the middle of the night to make love to me. I made breakfast the next morning. Rush took off to hang with buds while Tabby got down to the chores her father gave her.

And now it was now, all was well and I was on the back of Tack’s bike.

All too soon, we swung off Broadway into the forecourt of Ride. When we rounded Ride, I was surprised to see the grill was smoking but the outside of the Compound was deserted.

Tack parked. I hopped off and he swung off behind me.

I got close.

“After you deal with the Russians,” I started, “can we take off on your bike?”

“Where?” Tack asked.

“Anywhere just as long as the ride’s long and we end it alone together.”