He pushed his hands into her hair and hung on tight, his eyes drilling into her. “More than you could ever know.” He crushed his mouth to hers, kissing her like he was pouring everything he had—heartache, confusion, and a sea of other emotions—into their connection. When their lips finally parted, he kept her there, lip to lip. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I love you so fucking much. I want you to stick around for a hell of a lot longer than a while, baby girl, but I’ve been alone for a long time. I can’t promise I won’t screw up like this again.”

To Diesel, honesty was love, and she was so full of his, she could taste it. “Well, I can promise that I’ll call you on it every time until you realize you’re no longer a lone wolf.”

He smiled and touched his forehead to hers. “I don’t know where to go from here.”

She didn’t know if he was talking about their relationship, or the other parts of his life now that he knew Axel was his father, but either way, her answer was the same. “That’s okay. We’ll figure it out together.”

Chapter Nineteen

DIESEL PACED THE yard in front of the cabin Sunday morning with his cell phone pressed to his ear, talking with Tiny, telling him everything he’d learned. He and Tracey had gone over the significant parts of his mother’s diary last night after they’d cleaned the cabin, and they’d talked about all of it. Well, Tracey had talked and he’d mostly nodded or shaken his head, but it had helped, hearing her thoughts on what his mother must have been feeling. She was right about his mother protecting him and about it probably being a blessing in disguise that Axel had known he couldn’t handle fatherhood. Diesel could have spent his life trying to win the love of a man who wasn’t capable of giving it. The way Tracey admired his mother’s strength had made him see his and Tracey’s relationship more clearly. She had been hurt by his actions, and she’d still flown across the country to be there for him. He’d told her he might fuck up, and she was still there, believing in him, loving him. Last night, while she lay sleeping in his arms, he vowed to do everything within his power to make sure he never hurt her again.

He finished relaying the details to Tiny. “So it looks like your brother was my old man.”

“How’re you feelin’ about that, D?”

“It’s a lot to process, but I’m glad I know. I wish Axel had known, but I can’t change that.”