Page 87 of Until Joy

Graham opened his laptop and pulled me down onto his lap in the single recliner. “You okay?”

“No, but let's do this anyway.”

He kissed my temple and opened the video call. Within seconds, three familiar faces filled the screen. My dad sat in the middle, his salt-and-pepper hair neatly combed and his expression serious. Seth and Randy flanked him, both wearing the stone-faced expressions that meant trouble.

“Hey, Daddy,” I said softly.

His face immediately softened. “Hey there, baby girl. How are you holding up?”

“I'm okay.”

Seth's gaze shifted to Graham. His expression hardened. “You must be the biker.”

The words dripped with disdain and I felt Graham's muscles tense beneath me.

“Seth,” my father said sharply. “I've talked to Graham. He's a good man.”

“You talked to him?” Seth's voice rose. “When?”

“This morning. For over an hour.” Dad's tone brooked no argument. “He called to ask my permission to court Joy properly.”

My heart stopped. Graham had done what?

“Your permission?” Randy spoke up for the first time, his voice just as hostile as Seth's. “Isn’t it a little late in the game? Haven’t you and Biker Boy been knocking boots for a while now, Joy?”

Graham growled. “You⁠—”

“Randy! Keep a civil tongue in your mouth.” My dad glared at my brother. “Graham is a good man who is taking responsibility for her safety.” He looked directly at Graham through the screen. “Which I appreciate.”

Graham's arm tightened around my waist. “Thank you, sir.”

“So, you just decided you liked him without meeting him?” Seth's face was getting red. “Without knowing anything about him?”

“I know plenty,” Dad said calmly. “He's former Navy, served his country with honor. He is part owner of a thriving business and has good friends who are willing to help protect my daughter, and most importantly, he loves Joy.”

“How do you know he loves her?” Randy demanded.

Graham shifted beneath me, and when he spoke, his voice was steady and sure. “Because I told him so.”

My breath caught. Love. He'd told my father before he'd told me. My heart slammed against my ribs. The word ricocheted through my chest, leaving me dizzy.

Randy snorted. “Words are cheap. What does that actually mean?”

“It means,” Graham's voice went steel-quiet, “that your sister is the most important thing in my world. It means I'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe, even if that includes dealing with her jackass brothers.”

This time, the silence stretched until my dad cleared his throat.

“Which is all well and good, but right now we need to focus on keeping Joy safe.” He looked at each of his sons. “Boys, I need to tell you something about what happened to your sister in London.”

My stomach dropped. I'd hoped we could ease into that part.

For the next ten minutes, Dad calmly explained everything I'd told the women in our family the day before. I watched my brothers' faces cycle through disbelief, horror, and finally, white-hot rage.

“You were stabbed?” Seth exploded. “You were in the hospital for three days and you didn't call us?”

“Seth, calm down,” I started.

“Don't tell me to calm down! You could have died, Joy! You could have fucking died and we would never have known!”