“You are a man talking to my daughter. I know everything I need to know about you, Ash. The same way I knew when you were a teenager.” He walked toward me. “I’m sorry that life’s been hard for you, son.”
The word “son” hit me straight in my chest.
I didn’t know what to say.
“You’re scared of losing my daughter,” he stated. “I get that. I’ve been scared of that with her, too, ever since the accident that took her mother. Hell, even longer than that, probably. I’ve been scared of losing my daughter since the day she took her first breath.”
I lowered my head, ashamed of the fact that he was right. “I didn’t mean to fuck this up with her.”
“Yeah, well, that’s part of being human. We fuck up. Thenwe forgive. Then we heal. Together. So you got a little spooked, so what? Apologize. Try again. Stay even when it’s scary. Especially when it’s scary. Because that’s what love is... staying even though you know tomorrow isn’t promised, because you’d hate to miss even a second with that person. Love is staying. So Ash... please stay with my daughter. I think she needs you just as much as you need her.”
“What if she doesn’t forgive me? This isn’t my first fuck up.”
“Yeah, and it probably won’t be your last. And she’ll probably be pissed at you. She’ll probably cuss you out. Take it all in. Let her be mad. Let her yell and then stay. Stay again, and again, and again. That is how you heal. By staying.” He gave me a slight nod before he began to walk toward his car, but something made him pause his footsteps. He looked at the house and gestured toward the basketball hoop above my garage. “You play basketball?” he asked.
“I do. Do you?”
He puffed his chest out “All-star in high school,” he said with a smug smile as he dusted his shoulder. “Took the team to state and won.”
I laughed. “All right, I see, I see. I used to play in school, too, before...” My words faded off, because I knew I’d struggle to get the final words out. I played before Rian passed away.
Greyson must’ve noticed my discomfort, but he nodded in understanding. “I get it. I couldn’t play for a while after Nicole passed away.” He glanced around the street before clearing his throat. “Want to play a quick game? First one to twenty-one wins.”
I smirked. “No offense, old man, but I’m probably going to beat you. I play basketball almost every week with my friends. You might have been an all-star in high school, but you don’t have those same high school knees anymore,” I joked.
“Oh, a cocky one, eh? This old man here is ready to show you how good my knees still are. Grab a basketball.”
I did as he said. I grabbed a basketball from the garage as Greyson took off his jacket and loosened his tie. He then began to roll up the sleeves of his button-down shirt to prepare for the game.
“Again, first one to twenty-one wins. Want to put a bet on the table?” he asked, stretching his arm over his chest. “If I win, you have to talk to my daughter tonight.”
I arched an eyebrow. “OK. Just to be clear, you’re not going to win, but I accept that bet. But regardless of the outcome of youlosing, I’ll make sure to talk to Karla tonight.”
“Swear?” he questioned. That word meant more to me than he knew. It made me think about all the promises Karla and I had made to each other over the years.
I nodded. “Swear.”
He grabbed the basketball from me and began to dribble. “All right. Game on.”
We played for a while, and to my surprise, Greyson kicked my ass. What kind of damn vitamins was that old man on? How had he managed not only to beat me but to do it in record time? Also, the guy didn’t even break a sweat. He was dunking on me as if he was in the NBA, leaving me out of breath as I collapsed against the pavement.
“Geez,” I breathed out, wiping the sweat from my brow. “I apologize for doubting you.”
He walked over to me with a smirk and held his hand out toward me. I grabbed hold of him, and he pulled me up without any effort. Not to be dramatic, but I wasn’t a little guy. What kind of workouts did that man do? He hardly sweat during the whole game.
Greyson kept holding my hand for a minute and locked eyeswith me. “Talk to my daughter tonight. Even if you’re scared. It’s OK to still do things even if you’re scared.”
I knew he was right, and I knew Karla and I had to have a conversation before the end of the day—even though I was terrified of that talk.
I thanked him as he wrapped me into a hug and patted my shoulder before he said, “If you ever need someone to talk to, don’t hesitate to reach out to me.” He then began to walk off toward his car to drive away. Before he opened his driver’s door, he turned back toward me. “Oh, and by the way, I think you have a visitor in your place. I dropped them off to say hi.” Without giving me time to ask him what he meant, he hopped into his car and drove away.
With curiosity, I headed toward my front door, and I turned the knob. It was already unlocked. How did Greyson get something—or someone—into my home? And moreover, who the heck would he let into my place?
My first thought was Karla. Did he manage to get her into my place so I could apologize to her? I walked into the house, and my chest tightened as I saw a very familiar person standing in the middle of the kitchen.
“Maa?”
My mother turned around to face me, and for a split second when her eyes locked with mine, I saw my little brother. “Hey, son.”
