“Then what the fuck is the problem? You always wanted her for your wife. Everyone at the club knew how important it was for you to lay your claim to her, and now you’re behaving like a spoiled little brat. Why?”

“Because it’s fucking hard, okay? Is that what you want to hear? I don’t have the strength. I look at her, and she’s carrying my brother or sister. I don’t know. It’s weird. Not to mention, she wants nothing to do with me. I can’t even get close to her. I kiss her, and she tenses up. She doesn’t want me. What am I supposed to think? I totally understood it before. She’d never been with a guy and I was more than happy to wait, but she’s been with you now and I don’t see what her problem is.”

Preacher really wanted to hit his son some more. There were times he had to wonder if Bishop was his kid.

He had the blood test, and you know it to be real.

“Do you want me to be plain with you? She wasn’t fucking involved!” Preacher raised his voice. “She didn’t come to my room as a willing participant. Milly drugged her, put her in my bed, and I was too fucking drunk to realize it. I thought she was a woman given to me as a freaking gift.” He shook his head. “You know what, if you can’t see the truth then you have no right to her at all. Robin doesn’t deserve your hatred right now, and if you can’t deal with whatever fucked-up shit is going on in your head, then you can stay here.”

He got to his feet, ready to leave.

“I hate you,” Bishop said.

The words were said slowly, calmly, matter-of-fact.

Bishop tilted his head back and looked at him. He got to his feet, and Preacher saw the marks around his neck.

He didn’t care.

Sometimes, you had to be harsh with your kids, and Bishop was getting on his last fucking nerve.

“What did you say to me?”

“I hate you. I hate that you were her first, that the baby inside her is yours. You have everything you could want. All the women here want your attention, no one else’s. If you snapped your fingers, they’d all be coming to you, no one else, and yet, you took the one woman who was mine. Robin is mine. She will always be mine. Her cherry was mine, and you popped it. I fucking hate you. I hope she loses the baby. I hope she has nothing of you inside her. I want her to be all mine, but I know while ever she is pregnant, she will have a part of you, and what’s worse? She can’t even hate you for it.”