February came faster than Riley had thought it would. December was a blur of danger, death, and the beginning of healing. January was hoping for recovery.

But she had something to do, something she had promised for February. She couldn’t put it off any longer, and he had called her first.

Riley walked into the little sandwich place on the town square. She’d avoided it since her last talk with Haley. She never came back to it.

Today, she was meeting her dad, though, and it was a nice place to sit for a talk.

“Riley,” his voice reached her, soft and sad. She also heard just the tiny bit of hope in it.

She looked over at him and swallowed. There he was, her father. Keith Stern. Brown hair with a hint of gray in it, strong build, older face, wrinkles she still wasn’t used to.

He’d helped them. Now, she needed to give him a chance.

She wanted to, even if Brenton hadn’t promised that he would give a gentle push for her to try.

“Dad,” Riley whispered, walking over to him as he stood up from his seat.

“I quit my job,” he told her hurriedly. She stopped in her tracks and let that register. “I thought a lot about it. And I heard your Pride finally told everyone that you were out of the game. And I heard what you all did with the information I gave you…”

“Woah, Dad. Stop. Stop for a minute.” She held up a hand and walked over to him. “You quit the SSTF?”

“I did,” Keith huffed.

“Why? They meant everything to you. The mission, catching… criminals.” Riley couldn’t just come out and say ‘Mom,’ but they both knew who she was referring to.

“Because they weren’t everything to me,” Keith whispered, “and it took me too long to see that what should have been my everything was something I pushed away, thinking I couldn’t handle it. And how they treated you? I should have known back then. I should have stepped up and backed out of the mission to go back to you. I failed you. In so many ways. So, I quit before they could fire me for cleaning up everything that happened in December. And for helping it all happen.”

Riley was at a loss for words. She tried to make the mental jumps to figure out what changed. He must have noticed because he just helped her walk out, and then they were wandering the small, town square.

“I’m not comfortable with what happened in December, but I would like to be a part of your life again, if you’ll have me.” He mumbled, looking a bit guilty. Scratch that, he looked very guilty.

Riley had something they needed to clear up, though.

“If it happens again, will you run for the hills?” She asked him softly. “If the Pride goes out and does it again. Can you live with knowing your daughter is completely okay with killing someone who threatens who she loves? Can you accept that?”

“I…”

“We’re wild animals, Dad, wild souls who will do what we need to do to protect each other. I’m okay with that being in me. I’m okay with knowing that I’m capable of violence and ruthlessness in the effort to protect them. I’m okay with knowing they are capable of those things to protect me. I need you to be okay with it, too. Or at least accept it.”

This was too important. Riley held her breath. She would walk away from him if he couldn’t. There was no going back for her. There was no rewinding the clock to the content, semi-lost woman she had been. There was nothing she wouldn’t do to protect what was hers. Her men were her territory, and she should would fight to the bitter end, no matter what.

She couldn’t do less than that anymore.

“I can accept it,” Keith mumbled after a long silence. “Because I should have done it… years ago for you… for our family. And because I didn’t, we lost our family, each other.”

“We did,” Riley agreed.

“I was a coward, and while I’m uncomfortable with knowing what you can do, what your boys can do… I respect it. You all are strong. And I want to be a part of it. I won’t get in your hair… I have no ground to stand on, I won’t butt in where I’m not wanted, but I want to be around. I want to meet this daughter I lost because of my own idiocy.”

“And Mom?” She whispered.

“Her enemies will track her down, eventually. She’s gone to ground. Though… have you seen her?”

“Once,” Riley admitted to him. “I told her I was staying with the guys. I didn’t want a psychotic mother over them.”

“When?” Keith frowned at her.

“I’ll show you the tape later, but last April. It’s a story,” Riley snorted.

“So… I’m not looking at being a grandfather, am I?” Keith shifted uncomfortably. Riley raised her eyebrows and gave him a wide-eyed stare.

“No. No. No, no, no.” Riley shook her head, terrified at the idea. “At least five years of no craziness, before any ideas of that.”

“That’s good,” Keith coughed. “I’d like to get to know all of them before I even consider thinking of any of them as sons-in-law.”

“Well…” Riley sighed. Already she was feeling better about this. He seemed willing, and she knew she was. After everything, it was time to fix things. He was giving away something that meant so much to him and meeting her on her ground. She would give him a chance. “There’s something you should know.”

And she told him the plan Andrew came up with, and how she was doing it.

He only groaned.

“I guess I’ll just have to get used to them. There’s no chance you’re ever leaving them?”

“Not a chance,” Riley laughed. “Not a chance in hell.”