“What a life wasted on waiting instead of living it. That’s a hell of a thing to carry.” I exhaled slowly.
We fell into reflective silence. I thought back to that lunch at her parents’ house, how different her mom and dad were.
“But your dad’s a genial man.”
“He is. So much that I bet he retired early to give her a glimpse of that life, even if he’d never admit it.”
I frowned. “You think that’s why he fell into the Ponzi scheme? Trying to pad their retirement?”
She pursed her lips. “Maybe? I don’t know.”
And not knowing carried its own kind of weight.
The sun slipped low, fading off the lake. We sat shoulder to shoulder, picking through complicated histories while the evening settled around us.
“I still don’t see what that has to do with you.”
She shrugged. “Me neither. I spent years bending to her moods not realizing that I was the one stuck, going in circles.”
“That’s not fair to you.” A fierce part of me wanted to protect her from having to adjust to someone’s fantasies.
Later that night, lying in bed, I kept thinking how Mel’s family’s financial fallout had been a hell of a storm. But out of it, she was finally seeing how her mother’s bitterness had shaped her. How she’d carried weight that was never hers to carry.
The truth was simple: she didn’t have to anymore.
She’d chosen differently—to hold on to me, and not let go. She climbed on the bike, nervous, but willing. She held on to me, and to the moment we created, trusting me to navigate the twists and turns.
Chapter twenty-six
Mel
I stepped into the house a little after eight-thirty, hair still windswept from the bike ride, helmet line faint across my forehead. The air inside was cool and settled in once the doors were locked for the night. A faint mix of fabric softener and lemony polish floated in the air. The carpet, worn from years of use, muffled my steps as I passed the living room.
I stopped in my tracks. Dad was on the couch, the TV flickering across his face. He’d dozed off with it on. I reached for the remote, but his eyes blinked open.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Hey, sweetie.” He yawned. “Great win in Dallas this weekend. It must’ve been crazy.”
I smiled, but something lodged in my throat. It was the assumption beneath his words, how he hadn’t seen me all weekend, and thought I’d traveled with the team.
The back door opened, and my mom stepped into the kitchen. Her eyes landed on me as I answered, “Yep, it was intense. Tahoe played their hearts out, and it worked. The Cup is next week.”
She crossed the room. “Hey, Mel.”
“Hey, Mom.”
“I’m rooting for your team. You’ll get it,” Dad said.
“I’m rooting for that, too. It’d be a history maker. How about you? I imagine the golf course job is taxing after being out of work for a few years.”
“It is. But I like staying active, so it’s a great fit.”
That was how I’d always seen him. Not built for early retirement.
“I’m happy to hear that, and the bus stop right in front is a bonus. You couldn’t have planned it any better.”
“They might even keep me on after the other guy comes back. He was already stretched thin.”
