Dark Guardian (Black Hoods MC #3) - Avelyn Paige Page 0,58

frown, but wait for her to finish.

“But I know I love him very much. And I love you and Kevin very much too.” She’s never told me she loves me before. We’re still so new, and everything has been so crazy. But she loves me. Those words hit me like a rocket, sending jolts of happiness through every single part of me.

But she’s not done yet. “The four of us have been through more together than most biological families have been. No matter what happens between Mr. Judge and me, nothing will ever change that. We’re a family. All four of us. That family will grow as we do, but there will always be the four of us, no matter what. Okay?”

Natalie swallows and nods, her eyes filled with tears.

“You okay with that, Kev?”

Kevin stares out the window. “Yeah, that’s cool.”

All I can see of him is the side of his cheek, and it’s flushed a bright pink that’s not usually there. Grace’s words hit him as hard as they’d hit me.

“Oh, we’re here! Turn into that coffee shop right there.” Grace’s quiet, reassuring voice is gone, and now it’s just plain excitement radiating off of her.

“What’s going on, woman?” I ask, turning and searching for a place to park.

“You’ll see.”

Once I park the truck, she turns to me, her face bright and beaming. “I have a surprise for you. For all of you. Come on.”

Her excitement is infectious, but I’m not a big fan of surprises. I get out of the truck, my mind whirling with all the different ideas on what sort of surprise could be waiting for us inside a coffee shop.

The kids and I follow her inside. Pausing, she looks around before making her way to a couch and loveseat set up with a coffee table between them.

I frown when I see the man sitting on the couch jump up as Grace approaches. I know this guy. It’s Ty something or other. We’d shared a jail cell recently. But how the hell does he know Grace?

Ty has a young boy sitting on the couch beside him, his face covered in chocolate from the donut he’s shoving into his mouth.

“Ms. Halfpenny,” he greets with a nod, his gaze darting over to me with recognition. I relax a little at the formality. She obviously doesn’t know this guy well if he doesn’t even use her first name.

“Mr. Jackson,” she returns, her voice suddenly all business. “Thank you for meeting me.”

“Yeah,” he replies, a little irritated. “I don’t know why you wanted to, though. The judge still hasn’t ruled on my case.”

Grace moves and waves us closer, inviting us into their conversation. “Mr. Jackson, I’d like you to meet my boyfriend, Eugene Grant.”

He looks as confused as I feel. “Hey,” is all he says.

Kevin curls his lip and looks to me, clearly not understanding what the hell is going on, either.

“Okay, Grace, that’s enough. What are we doing here?”

Grinning, she claps her hands together with excitement. “Okay, I’m sorry. I’ve never done anything like this before.” She turns to Mr. Jackson. “I don’t work for DFPS anymore. But, before you left, your file was on my desk and I took a peek at it.” Jackson’s brow smooths out, and the same hope I’d seen on Natalie's face earlier is on his now.

He glances down at his son, and then looks back to Grace. “Do you know who my parents are?”

She grabs my hand. “Tyson Jackson, I’d like you to meet your biological father, Eugene Grant.”

Ty gapes at me as I gape at Grace. “What the fuck are you talking about, Grace?”

She places her hand on my chest. “Mr. Jackson has been petitioning the court to unseal his records. He was adopted when he was two years old, but his mother had surrendered him to DFPS as an infant.”

I cross my arms, trying to keep my voice as calm as possible. “I don’t have a son, Grace. My son died. He passed away before he was even two months old.” I’d told her this. Why is she doing this?

But she isn’t listening. “No, Eugene, she lied to you.” What did she just say? I stare at her, unable to breathe. “Your son never died. She relinquished him, claiming that she couldn’t care for him any longer. She gave him up to the state.”

A punch in the dick would’ve hurt less than those words. My gaze slowly moves to the man standing in front of us. I take another long look