Bear (Silver Saints MC)

I shrugged even though he couldn’t see the gesture. “I wasn’t paying that much attention. It wasn’t my woman, so I left the worrying up to their men.”

The front door opened and shut, so I assumed Patch had arrived. I told him which bathroom we were in and ended the call. Some of the color had returned to Alyssa’s skin, and she sat up with a little more strength. I scooped her into my arms and stood, then set her on the counter next to the sink.

“We’re having a baby,” I said as I cupped her face and stretched my lips into a wide smile.

“Holy crap,” Alyssa breathed, her face lighting up and her green eyes sparkling. “Pregnant!”

“Who the fuck is pregnant?” a deep voice bellowed from the entrance to the bathroom.

Fucking hell. It was the sheriff.

11

Alyssa

It wasn’t easy to get anything past my dad. He was too observant to miss much, especially when it came to me. So it only took him a split second to notice our positions and how Garrison had been holding my cheeks. “Alyssa, pumpkin, I need you to step into the hallway please.”

Garrison’s hands dropped, and I slipped my palm against his, interlacing our fingers. “I’m not going anywhere, Daddy. My place is with Garrison.”

My dad looked like he was about to have a heart attack, his face turning purple as a vein in his temple visibly throbbed. “You’re an eighteen-year-old girl. Your place is in school, not with a biker who’s more than old enough to know better.”

Maybe it was immature of me, but I rolled my eyes. “Eighteen is past the age of consent, and you know I’m basically already done with school.”

“I might not be able to arrest Bear for what he’s done, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let this stand. You never should’ve been out here alone with him in the first place, and he should’ve kept his damn hands off you.” My dad glared at Garrison. “I let my daughter stay with the Silver Saints to keep her safe, not so she could keep you entertained in exchange for protection.”

“What the hell did you just say?” Garrison rumbled, his body shifting to block me from my dad’s sight. “I don’t care if you’re the sheriff or her father. If you talk about Alyssa like that again, you’re going to find yourself six feet under.”

“I didn’t–I wasn’t—” I peeked around Garrison’s back at the crack in my dad’s voice. When his green eyes met mine, they were filled with remorse. “I didn’t mean that the way it came out. It was supposed to be a verbal jab at him, not you. Never you, pumpkin. You gotta know that.”

“Of course, I do.” I shoved at Garrison’s back to make enough room so I could jump off the counter.

“Careful, baby.” He wrapped an arm around my back to make sure I didn’t hurt myself. Then he tried to pull me close, but he wasn’t fast enough to stop me from darting forward to give my dad a hug. “Dammit.”

Although tension was thick in the air, I giggled as I pressed my cheek against my dad’s chest before tilting my head back to smile up at him. “Sorry, he tends to get a little growly over me. Kinda like you do with Mom, huh?”

This time, he was the one who muttered, “Dammit.”

“Uh-huh, I figured that might get you thinking.” I went up on my toes to give him a quick kiss, and then I darted back over to Garrison’s side.

Once I was settled against him with his arm around my back, Garrison focused on my dad. “I don’t expect you to like Alyssa and me being together, but she’s mine, and nothing’s gonna change that. And I will always do whatever is necessary to protect her, even from you if necessary.”

A muscle jumped in my dad’s jaw. “I would never do anything to hurt my daughter.”

“Then don’t ever come into our home again and say shit that’ll upset her,” Garrison ordered.

“Your home?” my dad echoed, his brows drawing together.

I bounced up and down on the balls of my feet and clapped my hands together. “Yeah, I just found out this morning that he bought the place for us because of how much I love it here. How awesome is that?”

“That true?” he asked.

“Yeah, the deal just went through yesterday,” Garrison confirmed. “She made it more than clear she loved the place. Got lucky ’cause it was a short sale, so I could afford it and didn’t have to search for somewhere else she’d like half as much.”

I beamed a smile at my dad, who heaved a deep sigh as some of the anger left his expression. We weren’t out of the clear with him yet, but I knew that Garrison buying my dream house went a long way with him.