“What happened to my babies? I don’t like that they’re both grown up.”
“Bam, honey, you knew they were grown women. Analise is getting married, she’s already living with Havoc. And now Barron has come for Emmalyn. It’s where she belongs, and it sounds like he handles her difficultness better than anybody else. This is a good thing.”
“I don’t like any of this,” Bam said, his voice petulant.
“Bramley!”
“Can’t help it,” he mumbled. He got up and opened their door, heading back into the living room. He made a beeline for Barron.
Barron who’d been relaxed, kind of meandering around the living room while he waited for Emmalyn, saw Bam coming and straightened his stance immediately, refusing to stand back, but at the same time showing respect for him.
“Barron, I’m gonna tell you exactly what I told Havoc.”
“Yes, sir,” Barron said guardedly.
“If you hurt her, I’ll kill you. Then your Daddy will come for me, and one of us will die. Then it’s a never-ending thing. Clan is torn apart.”
“I understand.”
“I know you haven’t done what Havoc did, so maybe it’s a little overkill, but she’s my baby.”
“I understand. And I give you my word, Emmalyn is safe and loved with me. I absolutely love her. I’ll give my life for her, without hesitation. And honestly, I feel like I need to say something to you, too. I want to extract a promise from you that if she runs and I track her down and lock her in my house until she agrees to stay, you won’t come after me. Because if she runs, I’m not going to just let her go. I flat out lied when I said I would. I’m not letting her go. I’m just tired of playing, and one of us had to cave and take the first step.”
“As long as it’s her anger making her want to run, I won’t interfere. If she truly doesn’t want you, I will be there to free her and deal with you.”
“I respect that.”
“Take care of her.”
“I will always take care of her.”
“You can both come back here anytime you need to,” Bam said.
“Thank you. But I believe we’ll be fine.”
Bam nodded, embraced Barron in one of his best-of-all-time bear hugs, then went back to his bedroom, taking Everly with him. When he put her down, she was smiling at him.
“What?” he asked.
“You really are a big teddy bear of a man.”
“I love my babies.”
“I know you do.”
“I know Analise and Havoc are good. But now I’m trying to believe that Emmalyn will allow Barron to make her happy. I know how hard she fights letting anybody in.”
“Emmalyn’s got the same heart we all do. She’s just very protective of it. She’ll find her way,” Everly said.
“I hope so.”
“And you forgot the best part…”
“What’s that?” Bam asked.
“Grand babies.”
Bam looked at her like she’d lost her mind, but then in his mind’s eye he saw himself surrounded by little babies all crawling around him and laughing that baby belly laugh all babies do so well. “Grand babies!” he said, his entire demeanor completely changed.
