Dad removes his glasses, rubbing his eyes. “And it’s… what? Serious?”
“Yes.” I nod. “I love him.”
Silence ensues as Dad just stares at me in the wake of that admission. I can tell he wasn’t expecting it, but neither was I when it happened. And that seems to be the trouble with love; it seems to come out of nowhere and when you least expect it.
“He has adaughter…” he whispers after a moment, not a hint of judgement in his tone.
“Lucky,” I say with a fond smile. “She’s… amazing.”
He rubs his chin contemplatively. “Did you know?”
I shake my head. “No one did.”
Dad looks off into the distance, shaking his head to himself. “God, I hate that he felt like he had to keep such a huge part of his life a secret…” For a moment, he looks sad as he says, “I want my players to know they can talk to me about anything. Maybe I’ve been too hard.”
I shake my head. “No, Dad. It’s not that. Happy was protecting her. He’s such a good dad,” I say in response, and when my father meets my eyes again, I offer him a small smile. “He’s a lot like you.”
“A good dad you couldn’t even tell you had a boyfriend?” he retorts.
“It’s not that Icouldn’ttell you,” I say with a wry smile. “I tell you everything, you know that.”
He huffs, but I can see the hint of a smile in his eyes.
“It just… it happened so fast.” I shrug. “One minute we were just casually fuck?—”
“Whoa!” Dad holds a big paw up in the air, stopping me mid-word, looking at me like I’ve lost my mind. “C’mon now, I’m not that good of a dad…” he murmurs.
I snap my mouth shut, clamping my lips between my teeth in a sheepish smile. “The point is, I didn’t mean to keep it from you. It happened really fast, and I’m sorry you had to find out the way that you did.” I offer him a warning look as I continue, “But please do not take this out on Happy, because I meant whatI said. I love him. And I’ve never loved anyone before. So… let me have my moment.”
“Honey,” Dad says, offering me a long-leveled look, “I’ll tell you exactly what I told Slater this morning when he sat where you’re sitting right now, looking like he was about piss his pants.”
“Happy came in here?”
Dad nods. “He did. And I gave him my blessing. Told him I was happy for y’all.”
My shoulders fall with a relieved exhale, and I lift my chin a little higher. “Well, good. Because I’m happy, too.”
“I’ll tell you what else I told him,” he continues. “If he so much as even thinks about fuckin’ around, Iwillfind out, and I will not hesitate to kick his ass.”
I bite back my smile, shaking my head at my father. “And I would expect nothing less from you, Dad.”
“How was the wedding?” Dad asks, changing the topic.
“I never want to see that woman again,” I say honestly.
And, because my dad knows me, he doesn’t ask why, or what happened, he just knows that I wouldn’t say that just to say it.
“Okay.” He nods. “Well, if she reaches out, I’ll have that fight for you.”
I swallow hard around the lump that wedges itself in the back of my throat. And I’m not sad about losing my mother; I’m sad that I gave her more than what she deserved.
“Thanks, Dad.”
He nods again, sliding his glasses back on. “Now get the hell outta here because I have a playoff game to prepare for tomorrow.”
I smile, hopping out of my chair, pausing to ask, “With Alex…out”—I sayoutbecause no one has confirmed his career is over yet. It’s more than likely over, considering the extent of his injury, but it’s bad luck to say it before it’s officially confirmed—“is Happy going to start tomorrow night?”
With a sigh, Dad drops his chin, offering me a warning look over his glasses.
