The Merricks were about family loyalty and being nuts, managing to do those closed off emotionally, which was only part of them being nuts. But Dave was an ex-cop. So not for a second did Garrett doubt what his dad was saying about Cher was true.
“No shit?” he asked quietly.
“This would be the part where my son’s head was up his ass, you didn’t notice. Think probably the whole ’burg did. But you didn’t.”
Fuck.
“No one said anything,” he noted.
“Boy, Cher’s had it bad for you for years. Don’t know why no one else said anything. Just know why I didn’t. And I woulda said somethin’ if I thought you were in the place to do somethin’ about it without breakin’ her. But I thought you were still tied up in Mia.” Another lip quirk before he lifted his coffee mug in a pseudo-toast Garrett’s way. “Seein’ as you’re not, I’ll repeat, I’m glad you finally got your head outta your ass.”
“Things have not gone smoothly with Cher, and Mia’s only part of that,” Garrett shared.
Dave shook his head knowingly. “Things that’re worth it never do. You got a woman where it goes smooth, you get rid of her. There’s no passion in smooth. There’s no challenge in smooth. You got smooth, that mean’s she’s bustin’ her ass so you can sail along without a hitch in the road, which in turns means she’s all about lookin’ after you rather than gettin’ what she needs out of the deal. Man’s no man at all, he doesn’t meet his woman’s needs. Woman’s no woman at all, she doesn’t got it in her to look after gettin’ what she needs. That might not make sense to you until you live it, so I’ll just boil this down, son. Smooth is boring.”
Garrett grinned at his dad. “I wouldn’t know. Not sure I’ve ever had smooth.”
His dad shook his head again. “Rough road you’ve been travelin’ wasn’t about that. Journey you took with Mia…” He kept shaking his head as he trailed off, then he grinned back. “But a woman who throws down in a bar full of people when she hears your five foot three ex shoved you, that’s the good kind of bumpy.”
Garrett hadn’t heard that. “Cher threw down with Mia because she shoved me?”
“Oh yeah.”
It was then, Garrett shook his head but he did it still grinning.
“Lucky for you, you’ve already proved you’re a hardass, so Cher defendin’ you at J&J’s isn’t a hit to your cred,” his dad teased.
“She thinks she’s the ’burg’s tough chick,” Garrett told him.
“She’s not wrong. Then again, life is life, so in this town, she’s got a lot of company.”
It felt good to know his old man liked Cher.
But he had to get to work and he had something he needed to get from his father, so he had to get down to it.
“I’m dreamin’ about her, Dad,” Garrett shared.
Dave’s grin turned to a smile. “Now, son, not sure your old man is up for hearin’ detail on that.”
“No,” he said low. “I’m dreamin’ her dead.”
Dave straightened. He paled. And he shut his mouth.
Garrett straightened too. “Now is not the time to close down on me. I thought I had this mess in my head like Rocky had it in hers—worried, me bein’ the man in the situation, the cop, that someone I loved would lose me like she worried Tanner’s occupation would take him from her. She was there when what happened to Mom happened, so her mess was compounded by guilt she wasn’t able to stop it.”
When he mentioned his mom, he saw his father’s mouth get tight.
But he didn’t quit.
“I’m seein’ from these dreams I’m not worried someone will lose me. I’m worried somethin’ I do will put Cher in danger.”
“Like I did to your mother,” Dave forced through tight lips.
“Like what happened to Mom,” Garrett returned. “You didn’t do it to her. It happened to her.”
“Because of what I did.”
“Because of what was happening,” Garrett said firmly. “You didn’t do dick, Dad. Except your job.”
Hold On
Kristen Ashley's books
- Holding the Dream
- Dance Upon the Air
- High Noon
- Moon Island(Vampire Destiny Book 7)
- Illusion(The Vampire Destiny Book 2)
- Upon A Midnight Clear
- Son Of The Morning
- MacKenzie's mission(MacKenzie Family Saga #2)
- Loving Evangeline(Patterson-Cannon Family series #1)
- A Billionaire's Redemption
- A Convenient Proposal
- A Dishonorable Knight
- A Headstrong Woman
- A Passion for Pleasure
- Atonement
- Beyond a Doubt
- Beyond Control
- Cavanaugh on Duty
- Colton's Dilemma (Shadow Breeds)
- Conceal, Protect
- Conflict of Interest
- Confessing to the Cowboy
- Dreams Don't Wait
- Explosive Attraction
- Find Wonder in All Things
- Forbidden Fires (Bondage & Breakfast)
- Galveston Between Wind and Water
- Game On
- Gone with the Wolf
- Honor's Players
- Illusions of Love
- Intaglio Dragons All The Way Down
- Just One Song
- Living London
- Lone Wolf (Shifters Unbound)
- Love Resolution
- Lyon's Crew
- Mountain Moonlight
- Need A Want Companion Novel
- Of One Heart
- Once a Bad Girl
- Once a Thief
- Once Again a Bride
- Once and Again
- Once Touched, Never Forgotten
- Once Upon a Kiss
- Once Upon a Prince
- One Desert Night
- One More Kiss
- One More Sleepless Night
- One Night of Misbehavior
- One Night Standoff
- One Texas Night
- Only Love (The Atonement Series)
- Operation Endurance
- Primal Bonds
- Questions of Trust A Medical Romance
- Reflection Point
- Retribution
- Savage Redemption
- Second Chance
- Secure Location
- Someone I Used to Know
- Son of a Preacher Man
- Soul Bonded
- Sunset Seduction
- Sweet as Honey (The Seven Sisters)
- Sweet On You
- Tempting Cameron
- That Carrington Magic
- The Bridgertons Happily Ever After
- The Demon's Song
- The Dragon and the Pearl
- The Lone Rancher
- The Millionaire Cowboy's Secret
- Translation of Love
- Twisted Perfection
- Vision In White
- When Love's Gone Country
- The Lost Tycoon
- Down on Her Knees
- Love, Your Concierge
- A Demon Made Me Do It
- Campbell_Book One
- The Lady of Bolton Hill
- Born to Ride_A Clubhouse Collection
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- Blood on Copperhead Trail
- Passion and the Prince
- Top Secret Twenty-One
- Dungeon Royale
- Make Me Bad(Private Lessons)
- My Fair Billionaire
- Writing Our Song:A Billionaire Romance
- Kissed by Moonlight
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- The Masterful Mr. Montague
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- Every Second with You
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