“Go ahead,” I say. “I know you’re dying to grill me, so let’s get this over with.”
He studies me for a long moment. “You think it’s a good idea to go out drinking tonight?”
I bristle. “I told you, I’m just gonna have a couple of beers.”
“A couple,” he repeats.
“Yes.”
“With everything going on?”
“Everything?”
“Yeah, everything, specifically that little girl in there.”
I straighten. “I’ve got it under control.”
Pop doesn’t raise his voice. He never has to. “You sure about that, son?”
I exhale sharply. “I’m not gonna get wasted when I have Ruby to take care of.”
“I didn’t say you were.”
“You implied it.”
“I asked a question.”
I drag a hand through my hair. “I’ll be fine. It’s Caison.”
He nods once. “True.”
And something in me tightens. My word isn’t good enough, but of course he trusts Caison.
He leans back. “Now tell me why your mother and I are finding out about our granddaughter the same day she walks through our front door.”
There it is.
I look over my shoulder back toward the kitchen, where Ruby’s laughter rings out. My jaw tightens.
“Do we have to do this now?” I ask, turning back to face him.
“You think we don’t deserve an explanation?” he asks. “Eight years, Waylon. Eight years, and then you show up out of the blue with a four-year-old child you’ve never mentioned. No wife or girlfriend in sight. Who’s her mother? Where is she?”
I don’t want to tell him shit. Every instinct in my body screams to shut down, to deflect, to walk out. But I need this place. Need a job. More than that, Ruby needs stability.
So, I swallow my pride, hard.
“Her mom’s a dancer,” I say and bring my eyes to his. “In Vegas.”
He nods. His eyes saying what he doesn’t.Figures.
“We spent a weekend together,” I go on. “One of those weekends where everything’s a blur. I didn’t know if her name was real. I didn’t care.”
“And then?”
“And then four years later, she shows up,” I say. “At my apartment. With Ruby.”
I pause, jaw tightening as I remember the day.
