I never truly understood what it meant to have a family until I moved in with the Tylers. The first couple weeks were such a huge adjustment because I did my best to stay out of their way. I spent most of my time tucked away in my room, even when they offered for me to join them for dinner, TV time, hanging out. It wasn’t until Miranda came into my room one day and asked ifI was unhappy and wanted to go back to live with Felicia that I fully understood what having a family meant. Miranda and Orlando wanted to spend time with me whereas Felicia basically ignored me.
Miranda was floored when I expressed what my life was like living with Felicia and assured me things would be different with them. Slowly but surely I became a part of their lives and allowed them to be part of mine.
They were my family, the only family I had before being drafted to the Sharks. So again, I couldn’t imagine life without them.
It was almost midnight when I pulled up to my parents’ house. As I sat in my rental in the driveway, I smiled as a rush of memories flooded my mind. Senior year, when we teepeed the house as a prank, because regardless of me being the coach’s son, I was a football player. Sophomore year when I crashed into the garage by putting the car in reverse instead of drive while learning and thought I knew everything. Then there was Christmas break of my freshman year in college when I used my parents credit card to fly home for one day because I was so damn homesick I couldn’t fucking sleep at night.
This house held so many memories for me. I laughed, shaking my head as I eased out of the driver’s seat of the rental, grabbed my bag from the back, and headed to the door, only for it to be thrown open. I was greeted by my father who blocked my entry with a scowl on his face and his arms locked over his chest.
I almost laughed because my dad was a big guy—six-three, easily two twenty, and still in fairly decent shape although his age showed with a bit of extra cushion around his stomach and the salt and pepper goatee and mustache. His bald head gave him a bit of edge. While I used to be intimidated by his stature and that same scowl he sent my way now, it had been years since I’d felt any type of intimidation.
“You’re in the middle of playoffs, Land.”
I grinned. “I know. So if you want to let me in, we can get this talk out the way and I can catch a flight in the morning to make sure Coach doesn’t kick my ass for missing practice.”
He grunted and stepped out of the way, allowing me space to enter. As soon as the door was locked again, he closed the space between us and pulled me into a hug. “Your mother’s gonna be pissed.”
I glanced toward the stairs and he smirked.
“Don’t get scared now.”
“I’m not.”
He chuckled and started toward the kitchen with me behind him after I dropped my duffle near the stairs.
“She asleep?”
“No, she’ll be down. I asked her to give me a minute with you first.”
I filled one of the stools that lined the island. My father moved to the refrigerator and removed a water for himself and one from the pantry for me, remembering I preferred mine room temperature. He also wrapped his hand around the bottle of Black Ops along with two glasses, which had me anxiously brushing a hand over my head.
“That bad?”
He nodded and placed everything on the island. I reached for the water first, downing half the bottle while he went for the Black Ops and poured two fingers in each glass, pushing one my way.
“Drink it.”
“Pops…” I frowned and he pointed to the glass.
“Drink it, Land.”
I sighed and did as he asked. We emptied our glasses, which he immediately refilled. When he tossed his second back, I didthe same. He returned the bottle to the cabinet, rinsed the glasses, and cracked his water open.
“So what’s this deal about me having a sister? Did you guys have a daughter before you adopted me that I don’t know about for some reason?”
I could see how they would be mysterious about having a child they’d possibly put up for adoption. Maybe she found them and they were building a relationship. I understood how that might cause problems considering they’d adopted and raised me. Maybe my presence in their lives was some type of way to seek redemption.
My mind turned over a million and one possibilities until my father laughed, as if that were somehow humorous. It wasn’t. The only other alternative was that my mom was pregnant now, and nah, fuck that. I knew how they got down, more than I wanted to because shit happened sometimes, but my parents having a kid in their fifties didn’t seem like a great idea. Was that why he wanted to talk to me first, to prepare me for seeing my mother pregnant?
“You’re our only child, so no.”
I frowned hard, trying to make sense of what the issue was until the worst possible scenario came to mind. While they were my chosen parents,shewas my biological one. I narrowed my eyes and my father nodded confirmation that I’d reached the understanding of how I had a sister.
“She had another kid?”
My father sighed and slipped his hands into the pockets of his sleep pants. “She did. Your sister Rylee. She’s six.”
I sat stiff, stunned, pissed, and confused. Why the hell would this woman have another child when she didn’t want kids? Or maybe she just didn’t want me. Hell, she gave me away without batting an eye. Orlando offered to take on the expense of sending me to football camp because I had potential to be somethinggreat. He also agreed to be responsible for getting what I needed and making sure I was at camps, practices, and training. My mother saw the Tylers as an opportunity to remove the one part of her life she never wanted, being a parent. She suggested that Orlandokeep me.
