Free Shield My Heart (Heaven Hill Book 9) by Laramie Briscoe

countin’ on me right now, and while I’m not perfect, I have to put them first. No matter what.”
    Samuel walked over, putting his hands on Dalton’s shoulders. “Now’s the time for you to be the man your daddy couldn’t be. You worry about your family and you let me take care of me.”
    That wasn’t what he’d wanted to hear at all. “No, don’t you understand?” He shook his head. “For everything you’ve done for us, you’re gonna be this kid’s grandparent—I can’t let you handle Calvert on your own. I refuse to sit back and watch him hurt you. That’s why I took a leave of absence. We’re gonna fix this shit, and then we’re gonna be a family. We’re going to have the things we never did.”
    Dalton could tell Samuel didn’t believe him; he didn’t believe it would be that easy. Truthfully, neither did he, but he wouldn’t let his uncle face this himself. They were family, and family faced shit together.
    If there was one thing the Heaven Hill MC had taught him, it was that.

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Chapter Twelve

    M andy laughed, bringing her arms around her stomach. “What did you tell him?” she asked Tatum, still giggling. Her younger sister was something else. She’d gotten the best parts of them all; feisty, spicy, head-strong, and fiercely loyal. Mandy noticed for one of the first times how grown-up she looked. Gone was the shoulder-length bob cut she’d worn for years. In its place was longer hair, worn curled, as silky looking as anything that could be done in a salon. The makeup was darker now too, more professionally done, in colors that suited her. Looking at her fingernails, Mandy also noticed Tatum sported a manicure—something she wouldn’t have been caught dead having a few years ago. It wouldn’t be long until Tatum would be ready to leave the nest and maybe bring home a man of her own.
    Mandy could remember being her age and being so in love with Dalton she couldn’t see straight. Not much had changed. Except now that love was twisted up in anger, and she hoped at some point she could have that love again, the way it had been when they were younger.
    She shrugged, pursing her lips in a smile that would one day bring a man to his knees. Not just any man though. He’d have to be a damn good man, and he’d have to respect Tatum and the rest of the family. “That both my dad and brother have done jail time, and if he ever wanted to try to lay another girl he should probably get the fuck away from me.”
    Denise sighed, trying to be patient with her youngest. She was doing her best, but she looked up to the men in the clubhouse so much. “Language, Tatum. Just because you’re a teenager doesn’t mean you can talk like that dad and brother you love so much.”
    “Seriously, Mom? I’m not giving it up in the bed of a truck to some guy who thinks kissing me for five minutes is foreplay.”
    “Oh Jesus.” Mandy laughed again. “You know too much about this stuff to be seventeen. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders, please keep it. Don’t let someone force you into doing something you aren’t sure you want to because they want you to.”
    Mandy felt like she knew her sister wouldn’t do anything she didn’t want to, but she also wanted her to know it was okay not to.
    “Trust me, Mandy. I know what I want, and who I want.” She winked, a smirk on the flawless face of hers.
    “For the love of God,” Denise pleaded from where she sat. “Please don’t let your dad hear you talking like this. It’s bad enough I have to hear it, but I at least know when you’re joking. He doesn’t. Don’t give him a heart attack.”
    Tatum crossed her heart. “I promise.” She stood up and pulled her hair on top of her head. “Besides there’s nobody at school I like. I kinda like older men.”
    And with that, she was gone.
    “What the hell did she mean by that?” Mandy questioned as she watched her sister’s retreating back.
    Denise was pensive. “I’m not sure, but I have