Paul sighed. "I wish I could make it better for her. There's nothing worse than seeing one of your children in pain and not being able to stop it."
"I could kill him for her," Fury offered.
Vane cleared his throat.
"Well, he could have an accident," Fury tried again. "Humans have those all the time."
Patrick gave an evil laugh. "I have a shovel."
"Screw that," Paul said before he sipped his wine. "I have a gator in the backyard."
They all laughed.
Joyce returned and sat back down. "Sorry about that."
"Is she okay?" Bride asked.
"She will be. It just takes time."
Vane sensed Bride's sadness. He squeezed her thigh comfortingly.
"I probably shouldn't have brought Vane. It was insensitive of me."
"Oh bah!" Joyce snapped. "You didn't do anything wrong, Bride. We wanted to meet him." She smiled at Vane. "This is Deirdre's issue, okay?"
Bride nodded.
They finished their meal in peace while Patrick and Paul bantered back and forth. Then Joyce brought out a pecan pie and a four-layer chocolate cake.
Bride cut a small piece of pie.
"Don't you want any cake?" Vane asked. "I know chocolate's your favorite."
She stared at it longingly. "No, I better not."
Before she could pass it over, Vane set a slice down on her plate.
"Vane!"
"You wanted it. I know that look."
She rolled her eyes at him and picked up her fork. "Thank you."
Vane nodded. He felt her mother watching him. Glancing over, he received a grateful smile from Joyce, who reached over and gently patted his forearm.
It sent the strangest sensation through him. Was that what it was like to have a real mother's touch?
After dinner, Bride decided she had tortured Vane and Fury enough for one day.
"We probably should head back," she said.
"What?" her father asked. "No game?"
"You and Patrick can watch the game, Dad."
To her utter shock, her father actually pouted.
Bride gave him a hug for being so kind to Vane and Fury. "I'm going to go say goodbye to Deirdre. Be nice to the guys until I get back."