“No more twenty-three year olds,” he ordered.
“Okay, Dad,” Tabby replied quietly.
“Eighteen, no older,” Tack declared.
“Okay,” she whispered.
“No more booze.”
She pulled in breath.
Then she breathed it out on another, “Okay.”
“And definitely no more lyin’, to me, Tyra, Rush, anyone.”
She nodded.
“That last, darlin’, take it in,” Tack urged. “You earn our trust again and break it, you might find it hard to get back.”
Tabby bit her lip while she nodded again.
“You’re still grounded,” Tack continued. “No car. You go nowhere unless I take you, Tyra takes you or Rush takes you or Tyra and me send you to the grocery store or on errands. You also got chores.”
“Right,” she muttered.
“But you’re still goin’ shoppin’ today with Tyra.”
Tabby perked up.
So did I.
“Right,” she said softly.
I grinned at my man.
“After pancakes,” he stated.
“Okay,” Tabby replied.
Tack held his daughter’s eyes.
Then he said gently, “Got all the love in the world for you, darlin’, always. No matter what shit you pull. Never forget that.”
My lips quivered.
So did Tabby’s.
Then she whispered, “Me too, Dad.”
Tack kept looking at her. Then his gaze moved to me.
Then he moved back to the bowl.
We ate pancakes. I took Tabby shopping. I got some Brandi clothes. Tabby got some school clothes. We came back and Rush and Tack had fixed Tabby’s door. Tabby made dinner that didn’t go too well but we all ate it anyway while watching back-to-back episodes of Dog, the Bounty Hunter that Rush had taped. And, incidentally, it was another new favorite of mine, I decided this halfway through my first episode. This was partly because Duane Lee was badass and hot. This was partly because Leland was also badass and hot. But it was mostly because Dog and Beth were badass, sweet and freaking awesome. We went to bed. Tack woke me up in the middle of the night to make love to me. I made breakfast the next morning. Rush took off to hang with buds while Tabby got down to the chores her father gave her.
And now it was now, all was well and I was on the back of Tack’s bike.
All too soon, we swung off Broadway into the forecourt of Ride. When we rounded Ride, I was surprised to see the grill was smoking but the outside of the Compound was deserted.