need to know, man to man, did any of you know about me?”
He’s asking if we ignored his existence when his father died. That death left him and his mom alone. He’s asking if we denied him a home after his mother went to prison and he was dumped into foster care.
I pull on my earlobe then mirror his position. “Isaiah, blood means everything to this family. If we had known about you, we would have brought you and your mother here and we would have taken care of both of you. If we had found out about you later, after your mother went to prison, there’s no doubt Cyrus would have taken you in. But because we didn’t know about you, we’re on the losing end of this. You’re too old for us to swoop in and take you in, but we want you here all the same. But the choice is yours. We want you to be a part of this family. I want you to be a part of this family, and I hope you’ll allow us to be part of yours.”
Isaiah stares at me for a few beats, longer than most people can stand, then nods like he’s come to some type of conclusion. I only hope it’s in my favor. He stands, so do I and he extends his hand to me.
The warmth overtaking my body is as good as it felt the first time the doctors placed Emily in my arms. I take Isaiah’s hand, we shake and when I pull him in for a quick hug, he leans in and gives me a pat on the shoulder. I draw back and cup the side of his head. “You’re family now, and there’s nothing we won’t do for you. Anything, anytime.”
A softening in his gray eyes as he does another nod in understanding.
“Ready for some food?” I say.
Isaiah chuckles. “Do you people always eat so much around here?”
On the picnic table is enough to feed an army, and I grin. Rebecca must have given the signal for the club to arrive. “Hopefully you’ll visit enough to figure out if it’s too much food or not enough.”
His eyebrows rise. “Not enough?”
Motorcycle engines rumble in the distance and I angle my head to the road. “You’re about to find out. Isaiah, your world is about to get a lot bigger.”
He smiles, just like my brother used to, and I start to make plans. Plans I hadn’t thought I’d ever make—plans to build Isaiah his first motorcycle. He’s a McKinley, and being around us, he’s going to need it.
“What type of Harley do you like?” I ask him, and his forehead furrows.
“I’m more of a Mustang Man.”
I shake my head at him. “That’s because you’ve never been on a bike. We’re going to have to change that.”
“Fine, but if I do that, then you’re taking out a fully loaded Cobra on a drag strip. Twenty bucks you’ll be changing your mind on your mode of transportation.”
Doubt that, but I like how easy the conversation’s flowing, so I take that bet and listen as he fills me in on the car he’s currently working on at his shop.
Chapter 26
Pigpen
Caroline pulls her car into the grass next to the line of bikes, and I’m surprised when she cuts the engine.
“Thank you for helping Addison,” Dust says from the backseat. Addison decided to stay with Mia. She gave Caroline a hug goodbye and gave Dust an even longer one.
“Thank you for involving me,” Caroline responds, but she looks at me instead of Dust. Then she switches her gaze to the backseat. “Addison said you’re going to visit her.”
Once a week was the rumor I heard, but I keep that to myself. I’m happy that Dust is breaking out of his shell, and I’m happier it’s for Addison.
Dust cracks open his door. “Yeah.”
“Would you mind if I came along sometime?”
I glance over my shoulder for his response. He looks at me for approval, and I nod.
“Sure,” he says, and he’s out the door before she has the opportunity to ask anything else.
“When you want to see her,” I say, “I can go with you. Dust isn’t much of a conversationalist.”
Her lips quirk up. “He’s a good man.”
“Agreed.”
“And so are you.”
That catches me off guard, and I do a double-take. Her gorgeous blue eyes meet mine, and for one of the few times in my life, I’m at a loss for words.
I’d love to lean forward, brush my lips against hers and