“He’ll have company, too,” Joel said from behind Preston.
Next to my father stood Micah.
“What the hell are you doing out here? Didn’t your wife just have a baby?” I glared at my brother.
He nodded with a scowl on his face. “Jodi said I needed to come down here to help straighten you out. But you better make this shit quick because I need to get home to my wife and son.”
The pain in my heart doubled, and it felt like someone had punched me in the gut. Micah’s words reminded me of what I’d wanted with Lena. Hell, what I still wanted. But for whatever reason, she didn’t want the same.
For weeks I’d tried to figure out what the hell had gone wrong. She loved me. She told me she did, and then she completed her album and tossed me away like yesterday’s news.
“Fuck all of you.” I started in the direction of the bar, brushing past Joel and Micah.
I pushed through the door of the bar. I made a beeline for one of the back booths and took a seat.
Minutes later, a beer slid in front of me, and I took it to the head before slamming the empty bottle on the table.
“Another one.”
A second bottle slid in front of me, but as I lifted it to my mouth, a massive hand stopped me.
“Don’t get too far ahead of yourself, son.”
I stared into my father’s intense gaze and slowly lowered the beer back to the table. “The least you can do is let me drink my problems away.”
“Night’s still young.” He took the beer out of my hand. “Drinking ain’t gonna take that pain you’re feeling away.”
My lips tightened, but I didn’t say anything.
“Believe me. I’ve tried to drink the pain away more times than a cat’s got hair.”
I rolled my eyes at my father’s nonsense sayings. “I’m not in the mood for your old man wisdom tonight.”
“Watch your mouth, boy,” he grunted. “Lucky as hell you’re my youngest, and I like you the most.”
Micah grunted. “You told me last week you liked me the most.”
Frowning, Joel looked toward Micah. “I told Ace the same thing the week before I told you.” He shrugged and turned back to me. “What’s up your craw?”
I glared at him. As if he didn’t know.
“Woman troubles, huh? I know all about that.”
I wasn’t in the mood to tell my father that I didn’t want to hear about his relationship with my mother. The only relationship I’d ever known him to be in. I was sure he’d dated other women since her death, but he never brought any of them around my brothers and me. Not once.
“What’s your gut telling you?”
I reared my head back. “What?”
“Your gut? The wolf’s instincts are unrivaled. You know what’s true in your gut.”
I couldn’t answer that question. My damn emotions and head had been all over the place in the past month. My initial reaction to seeing Lena walk away was disbelief, followed by anger, and right then, as I sat in the bar, all I wanted to feel was numb.
In the distance, I heard the television over the bar turn on.
“The Ricky Auburn Showis about to come on,” someone in the bar said.
My father, brother, and Preston began talking about some bullshit. Preston told them about the new athletes we recruited. I was only half listening.
