He shifts and glances out the door. “Yeah. Teller trusted him a lot.”
“I never understood why he and Rock were sent to prison or any of that stuff. But things went downhill after that, and I missed them.” I shrug. “I missed being around the club, period. But you know all that.”
He peers down at me and lifts an eyebrow. “And?”
“Fifteen years is a long time. Like, more than half of my life. I can’t imagine what starting over after losing so much time feels like. How hard it must be.”
“Club’s been doing everything we can to help him.”
“I know.” A warm sensation spreads through my chest.
“Well, as much as he’ll allow.” Blake strokes his hand over his beard. “He’s a grumpy son of a—”
“He’s got plenty of reasons to be angry.” I squint up at him. “Besides, can he really be grumpier than Wrath?”
“Definitely.”
Laughter spills out of both of us for a second, then Blake turns serious. “I wasn’t trying to upset you, beautiful. And I trust you can handle anything—”
“I know.” I squeeze him again. The annoyance of a few minutes ago is replaced with love. It means a lot that Blake wanted to warn me, even if it might have been uncomfortable for him.
“Cookies!” Alexa stomps her little feet against the kitchen tiles. “Aunty T!”
Laughing, I pull away from Blake. “Yup, we’re headed there in a minute.”
Alexa scowls up at us. A minute isn’t good enough. Blake leans over and scoops her into his arms, making her squeal with delight. “Settle down, Cookie Monster. The baked goods aren’t going anywhere.”
She narrows her eyes but Blake stares right back at her. After a second, she cups his cheeks and pops a loud kiss on his nose.
“Sure, Daddy gets nose kisses. I get attitude.” I lean in and kiss Alexa’s cheek. She grabs my hair in both hands and lands a sloppy kiss on my nose. “Aw, thank you.”
“Okay, coat.” Blake sets her down. “And boots. Meet me at the front door in five.”
Alexa races to find her things and get there first.
“Hey.” I grab Blake’s hand as he leaves to follow Alexa.
He raises his eyebrows.
“Thank you.”
“For?”
“Being you. Giving me a heads-up. Not letting me walk in blind.” I take a breath. “All of the above.”
“You and me.” He holds out his fist and I tap my knuckles against his. “We’re a team.”
“Team O’Callaghan,” I whisper.
“You know it.” He presses a quick kiss to my forehead and swats my behind. “Now, let’s move out before Cookie Monster has a meltdown.”