“Troy.”
“Mr. Brooks-Young,” I say to both of them, not really knowing how to greet them otherwise. I shake their hands.
Maybe that’s the sign of a promising start?
“I know you know my dad, but this is my mom, Sutton.”
“It’s nice to meet you both.” She shakes their hands. “I’ve heard a lot about you both.”
“I’m afraid we haven’t had the pleasure yet.” Carter’s voice is warm as he drops down into the seat beside Alex.
The fact that he’s sitting on the outside makes me think he might keep Alex in the booth if this goes sideways. At least I’m hoping that’s what he’s doing. He definitely seems to be the more reasonable of the two.
“You wanted to talk to us?” Alex sinks back into the plastic seat of the booth and crosses his arms.
“Alex, dear. Tone it down.” Carter’s voice is curt as he pats his arm. “Hear the poor kid out. He looks heartbroken.”
He tries to whisper but does a bad job of it. At least I was right in that he seems to be on my side.
“I know I’m not your favorite person, but Angie ismyfavorite person. I love her more than you know, sir,”—thatgets me a slight quirk of Alex’s lips—“and I don’t want our families’ history to get between us.”
“It’s a fairly weighted history,” Alex mumbles.
Carter reaches over and grabs his hand, pulling it into his lap.
“Mr. Brooks-Young?—”
“Look, I’m the problem here,” Dad interrupts. “Don’t take it out on the kids.”
“So I’m supposed to ignore you for the rest of my life?” Alex says. “You treated me like shit. Words have power, Hollins. You used yours to hurt people.”
Carter shakes his head at him.
“I know.” Dad hangs his head, staring at his coffee cup. “I was the worst kind of person to you, and I wanted to reach out and apologize to you more times than you can imagine.”
I know all about my dad’s past. He told me about it when I was in high school. If he hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have believed him. He’s not that same guy. I only hope that I can make Angie’s parents see that. See the good person that he is. What a kind and loving man he is for his family.
Getting angry at him won’t help the situation.
“Why didn’t you?” Alex asks.
“Would it have made you feel better if I absolved myself? Besides, I didn’t think you’d believe me.”
Alex shrugs a shoulder. “I don’t know if I would have. Especially back when we were still playing.”
“Look, I know you have no reason to trust my words now, but I’ve changed.” Dad reaches over and takes Mom’s hand. “I’ve been working with your foundation at my high school.”
“What?” This gets Alex’s attention. “How did I not know about this?”
“Because I had my assistant coach do everything at the time. I didn’t want people to know.”
“Why not?”
“Because it wasn’t about me. It was about helping others.” Dad scrubs a hand over his brow. “I’m not proud of my playing days. Vegas was a hard team to play for and they rewarded dickish behavior. Encouraged it, even. I fed into it. The dirtier the better. When Troy came along, I realized that wasn’t the kind of person I wanted to be. I didn’t want to raise my son in that environment. The day he was born was the day I retired from the league. The things I said to you? I’m ashamed of myself and have done a lot of work to make sure I never make anyone else feel like that. Or any of my players.”
“I can’t get over that you’re working with Team Rainbow.” Alex messes with the rubber bracelet on his wrist that has his organization’s name on it. “Not much gets by me there. It’s my baby.”
“I know how to be discreet when needed.” Dad smiles at him. “I want us to be able to move past our history, Alex. I’m sorry for the things I said and did when I played. It might not mean much to you, but I truly am. And I hope you’ll consider accepting it to let our children be happy. Troy here is a better man than I’ll ever be.”
