Her breathing slowed.
Bear said:
“Good.”
Grant stared at him.
“What exactly is your relationship with her?”
Bear replied:
“I met her at breakfast.”
Grant blinked.
Ruby looked at Bear.
Dale laughed.
“Are you kidding?”
Bear shook his head.
“No.”
Grant’s confusion turned to suspicion.
“Then why did she call you Dad?”
Bear looked toward Ruby.
“Maybe she needed one.”
No one spoke.
Ruby’s eyes burned.
Grant recovered first.
“You have no idea what you're involving yourself in.”
Bear nodded.
“Could be.”
“She has serious emotional problems.”
Ruby looked down.
Bear said:
“Okay.”
Ruby looked up.
Grant seemed surprised.
Bear continued:
“People with emotional problems still get to decide where they live.”
Grant's smile vanished.
“You are encouraging a vulnerable young woman to reject her family.”
Bear looked at Ruby.
“Did I tell you to reject anybody?”
Ruby shook her head.
“No.”
“Did I tell you to go anywhere?”
“No.”
“Did I ask you for anything?”
“No.”
Bear returned to Grant.
“Seems like she's deciding.”
Dale slapped one hand against the counter.
Enough to make Ruby jump.
“She's coming.”
Theo stood.
Not fast.
Not threateningly.
He simply rose from his stool.
Six foot four.
Dale looked at him.
Theo said:
“Don't hit the counter.”
Dale stared.
“Sit down.”
Theo glanced at the coffee.
“No.”
Mack stood too.
Grant looked toward the door.
Then at the three bikers.
“This is intimidation.”
Bear remained seated.
“No one's blocking you.”
Grant looked.
True.
The entrance remained clear.
Customers were not surrounding them.
Nobody had touched either man.
Bear continued:
“You can leave whenever you want.”
Grant pointed toward Ruby.
“With her.”
Bear shook his head.
“That's the part you're not understanding.”
Grant’s voice hardened.
“You think because you're bigger than me—”
Bear laughed.
It was the first time.
“No.”
He shook his head.
“I'm old enough to know size doesn't settle much.”
Then his phone vibrated.
Once.
Bear looked at the screen.
Ruby noticed his expression.
Nothing changed.
But his thumb moved across it.
Grant saw.
“Calling somebody?”
Bear placed the phone face down.
“No.”
That was technically true.
He was not calling.
The message read:
Units 2 minutes out. Subjects confirmed inside Bluebird. Maintain distance. Do not escalate.
Bear had recognized Grant the moment he entered.
Not from Ruby.
From a police bulletin.
The Black River Riders had spent the previous night at a volunteer fire hall organizing an interstate charity ride.
Several local businesses and community groups had been briefed by Officer Rachel Morales because investigators believed two men connected to an active harassment case might be moving through the region.
The alert was limited.
Two photographs.
Names.
Vehicle.
Instructions.
Do not confront.
Call police.
Bear had stared at Grant’s photograph because something about his polished expression annoyed him.
Now that face stood six feet away.
The moment Bear recognized him, he texted Mack under the counter.
Call Morales. Quiet.
Mack did.
Bear's “Call me Dad” idea came after.