“I won’t let some man make a fool out of me with puck bunnies.”
“Even better,” she cheers, her voice hopeful. “The second your father cheated, I should have dumped his ass, but it’s hard when you have kids and you’re trained in a vanity career that you’re not even interested in.” She pauses a second. “Want to know a secret?”
“Sure.”
“That first time, I collated evidence. I know, from the outside looking in, you might have thought I just let him get away with murder, and then I was as bad as him when I committed adultery too. But that wasn’t the case?—”
“Mom, you don’t have to?—”
“No, Denver. Listen to me. It’s important to me now that you’re interested in relationships that you know what’s what.
“I documented every damn thing he did, not just all the women but things I overheard, business or otherwise, and I gave it to my lawyer. I wasn’t afraid to blackmail his ass.”
“Mom!” I chortle.
“What?” I just know she’s preening. “He deserved it. Jackass. Now, I have to go. Be safe, baby. That’s more important to me than grades in your finals. Love you.”
Touched, I whisper, “I love you too.”
When she cuts the call, I bite my lip. Then my cell buzzes.
Callan: Denny, you okay?We still on?
I hesitate over how to answer, but then I realize if I don’t tell him the truth, he’ll just think I’m unreliable.
Me: Alec, the captain of the hockey team, kind of accosted me
Callan: WHAT?! Where are you? Are you safe?
Me: I’m in the quad. I’m fine. Honestly. It just freaked me out. He didn’t even do anything, but I wanted to talk to my mom
Callan: That asshole! I’m leaving the library now
Me: You don’t have to do that!
Callan: Of course I do! Send me your location
And even though I’m chiding myself for being dumb, Zach and now Mom’s warnings weigh heavily on me.
So I hit send.
I’m pretty sure it’s an overreaction and that I’m being overly sensitive, but I feel only relief when I see Callan scurrying out of the building a few minutes later…
TWENTY-EIGHT
THE PERILS OF GERIATRIC SPERM
“Denver!”When Dad sees Zach sitting next to me on the couch, he dips his chin. “Hey, son.”
Some would say that he’s not the kind of guy who was meant to father daughters…
I’d agree with that statement.
100%.
Zach’s jaw clenches and he keeps his attention fixed on the TV. He’s been in a mood since the whole team got together in an effort to oust Dyers and Alec to no avail when they learned their coach had called in sick.
Zach insists that one of the team betrayed them by spilling the deets of their mutiny and that’s why the coach went AWOL. As crazy as it sounds, I have a feeling he’s right.
