Six weeks. He hadn’t seen or touched her in six weeks.
It had felt like fucking forever.
He moved closer and leaned in to brush a kiss over Dyna’s dark hair. “Hey, monkey. Daddy missed you.”
He didn’t pull away immediately. Instead, he took that opportunity to inhale Jemma’s scent and feel her warm breath stir his hair.
Her daddy missed you, too.
“Didn’t want you to think we didn’t need you,” he admitted.
She lifted one dark brow. “We?”
He straightened and took a step back. He had no idea why she was here. Why she was back. And to remain that close he might not be able to resist taking her mouth and showing her just how much he had missed her. “Dyna. Me,” he said instead.
“Took you a month to start texting me.”
Did that upset her? Piss her off? If so, she shouldn’t have left in the first place.
She shouldn’t have just walked away.
Again, he kept that shit to himself and said, “Wanted to get my shit together first. Have somethin’ to offer you. A reason for you to come home.”
In truth, Dyna and Cage should’ve been reason enough for her to come home.
Maybe they were. Maybe they were why she was here now.
”Also had to convince your big-ass brother and your smart-ass cousin I was worthy of you. That was the hardest part.” When she didn’t say anything, he asked, “Where’s Tessa?”
“Her and Saylor took the night off. They’re going out and having some fun.”
“So, they’re goin’ to Crazy Pete’s,” he guessed. Where they could be watched and protected.
Jemma laughed ever so softly. “Yes.”
It was one of the rules both Trip and Judge made for the girls. Even though they were too young to drink legally, they could play pool, darts and sing karaoke without anyone worrying. More often than not, Reilly joined them.
He didn’t want to talk about Saylor or Tessa. He wanted to find out what the fuck was going on. What finding Jemma in Dyna’s room meant. To him and to his baby girl. “Where’d the furniture come from?”
“Storage.”
“It’s yours.”
She tipped her head. “It’s mine.”
“You don’t need it?”
“I need it and plan on using it.”
Thank fuck he was smart enough to read between the lines. He did his best to keep his next question calm and under control. “Why now?”
“When I lost a patient the other day, I was reminded of something important I’d forgotten.”
“What’s that?”
“How precious the time is with the people you love. You shouldn’t waste the time you’re given.”
“So, you put your stuff in my place. Without askin’ if it was okay.”
“Did I need to ask?”
He smothered a grin. “Put Dyna down.”
“Chris...”
“Put Dyna down, Jem.”
Her gaze searched his face and with a single nod, she put Dyna in her crib and tucked the teddy bear that was propped in the corner next to her. The one he had clung to all those years ago.
Rook had found it hidden away in the garage a few weeks back.
“Got no idea how it got there,” his brother had grumbled as he shoved the dirty stuffed animal into Cage’s chest.
“You probably stole it and hid it to torture me, you fucker.”
Rook had laughed. “Yeah, seems about right. But look, coulda burned the damn thing. Lucky I didn’t, now you can give it to my niece.”
That was exactly what Cage did. He cleaned up his bear, the most treasured possession of his childhood, and gave it to his daughter.
She loved it.
He loved her.
He loved Jemma, too.
He only hoped she loved him back.
He also hoped the furniture meant one thing.
She was home.
For good.
But he needed to hear it from her.
He also needed to touch her.
Actually, he needed more than that. But her telling him she was home for good was a good start.
The rest could come later.
Not too much later, though. Because by that time Tessa might be home. And what Cage wanted to do with Jemma was going to take time and a lot of noise.
He wasn’t going to hold the fuck back. He didn’t want her to hold back, either.
He’d fucking missed her.
They had a lot of lost time to make up for.
“Gonna kiss you,” he murmured as he cupped her face and tipped it up to his. “Guessin’ that’s all right with you.”
She looked serious when she said, “I’d be pissed if you didn’t.”
“I need to hear it, Jem.”
“What?” she whispered, her eyelids getting heavy.
“Why you’re here.”
“I asked my director if she could move the area I cover closer to home.”
“Home?”
“Here.”
“You hate Manning Grove. You hate the club life.” He needed to be sure this was what she wanted.
“You’re right, I do. But I love you and Dyna more.”
All the oxygen rushed from his lungs. “Love me?”
“Yes.”
Oh, thank fuck. “Love my girl?”
“Yes. But she’s not your girl.”
“She ain’t?”
“She’s our girl.”
Yeah, she was. “Gotta promise me, Jemma.”
“Anything.”
“That you won’t leave. No matter what happens, no matter how hard life fuckin’ gets. No matter how much this town reminds you of your past. You gotta stick. I need you to stick. Dyna needs you to stick. Six weeks was like a goddamn lifetime. Can’t do it again.”