Her heart had settled into a normal rhythm again. Snippets of memories of this man teased the back of her mind.
“He’s okay.”
“Thanks, sweetheart. A real ringing endorsement.”
“He’s one of the best men I know. The other is my grandfather.”
“An upstanding man. I checked him out. Not a single person in this town has a bad thing to say about him or the Bowden family. You’re in good hands, baby girl.”
Yes, she was.
“So, uh, where have you been? Besides jail?” she asked.
“California. Texas. Nevada. Arizona. Sometimes jail in one place or another. I’ve done some bad things in my life, but I never hurt anyone more than myself. Though there are a few crazy women out there who’d tell you different.”
“Do you have any kids?”
“Never been that lucky. Maybe that was a good thing back in the day, but I sure do wish I’d gone the family route. Maybe if I had someone who needed me, counted on me, I’d have done better by them than I ever did for myself.”
“You stole a doll for me.”
“You remember that, huh?”
“You snatched it right off the shelf, pulled off the tag, and stuffed it inside your jacket. You walked out of the store like it was nothing.”
“Not my finest moment.”
“It’s the only doll I ever had. My father took it from me, tore off her head, and burned her body. I kept that doll head for a long time.”
“Why’d he do that, baby girl?”
“Because hurting me made him laugh. I thought you were him. I thought he came back, or I hallucinated him. I thought I was going crazy,” she admitted, making him frown and Blake come forward and put his hand over hers on the truck door frame.
“I’m sorry, baby girl. I thought maybe you remembered me, and all I did was bring back bad memories. Maybe that’s exactly what I did, but you didn’t remember, did you?”
“Not until you said I named you Lumpy.”
“Anyone want to explain that?” Blake asked.
“He came in and out of my life when I was real little. Every time he showed up, he had a bashed-up face. Swollen. Lumpy. I can’t remember ever not calling him that.”
“It became my biker name. I only wish I’d been more your Lumpy than the bar fighting Lumpy who showed up on your father’s doorstep drunk and broken and miserable and looking in all the wrong places for something to make me feel better. You always did though, baby girl. I loved seeing you and that sweet smile of yours. I’m real sorry about your parents. Sorry you had to put that no-good brother of mine down.”
Blake’s fingers slid across her neck and into her hair. “That’s over now.”
Gillian grabbed Blake’s hand, turned it, and checked the time on his watch. “Oh God, we’re late. Uncle Lumpy, I’m sorry, we’re supposed to be at Blake’s brother’s house for a family get-together. Um, do you know where Three Peaks Ranch is?”
“I’ve been out that way a few times. Seen you ride, baby girl. You’re a natural. Like me on my bike, you love the wind in your face.”
She smiled. “I’d like it if you came to see me again. Justin will want to meet you.”
“I don’t want to scare the boy.”
“I’ll talk to him. Tell him who you are.”
“I’d like that. I’ll let you get to your family thing. I hope when you see me again, you won’t see him.”
“I don’t think I will anymore.” She felt a weight lift, and she squeezed Blake’s hand to let him know she was okay. His eyes softened when he read the relief that washed over her, knowing she wasn’t crazy.
A car honked behind them. Someone waiting for the gas pump.
“Better get a move on. Nice to see you, baby girl. Blake, you treat her right, or I’ll break your face.”
Her uncle walked away without a backward glance.
“I think he meant that,” Blake said.
“My father slapped me once when he was visiting. He beat my father bloody and knocked him out. He spit on him. They were both drunk and high. He left. We moved again. I never saw him again, but I wished all the time for him to come back. One day, I stopped wishing.”
He cupped the back of her neck and leaned in for a soft kiss. “Do you want me to take you home?”
“No. I’m fine. Really. I want to meet your brothers and sisters.”
Blake, Gabe, Caleb, and Dane sat around the living room waiting to get this show on the road. All the guests had gone down to where the wedding would be held in ten minutes. It was a last chance for the brothers to be together before Gabe married the woman of his dreams, the love of his life. Blake couldn’t be happier for him.