Page 17 of Property of Player

After she takes our order and walks away, I lean across the table. “You want to pay this chick a visit?”

My father drags a hand down his face, his eyes scanning the restaurant. “Let me think about it. Maybe I’ll just pass the info on to Edwards.”

I lift my coffee to my mouth. “Good, because I’m not Sherlock Holmes.”

Dad grins. “Not even close.”

“You heard from Sissy yet? Beck said you were trying to get a hold of her.”

He checks his phone. “I was. It pisses me off when she doesn’t respond.”

“She’s a teenager.”

“That’s not an excuse.”

“And yet… you never reprimand her.”

“I don’t need you to tell me how to parent. Someday you’ll see how hard it is.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

He huffs a laugh. “You’ll knock some chick up eventually, whether or not you mean to, and she’ll come calling with a baby on her hip.”

“Bullshit. Not when I wrap my junk.”

“TMI, son.”

“Beck and Pony are upset about you selling the house. You caught that, right?”

He sighs heavily. “I did, but it was time. That place had a lot of good memories, but for me it had become a mausoleum.”

“I understand. It’s why I moved out of the place I shared with Debbie. Beck and Pony, not so much. To them its like losing mom all over again.”

“I know. I thought about telling them before I did it, but they would have tried to talk me out of it, and I didn’t want to be talked out of it.” His eyes meet mine. “I’ve mourned her death for four years. It’s time I start living again.”

“So, the beach, huh?”

“I find peace there. Did you know your mother and I always talked about finding a little place on the beach someday? I wish I could have given that to her. Maybe she’s with me. Sometimes I still feel her presence. You feel that with Debbie?”

“Nope.”

“Well, you weren’t together for as long as your mother and I were. She and I? That was true fucking love, son.”

I nod. It was. Our home life was always my rock. No matter how crazy things with the MC got, I knew my parents were solid, and they would never leave each other.

Dad cocks his head. “I thought you had that with Taylor. I never could figure out why it didn’t last with her.”

It wouldn’t do any good to tell him now. “That’s in the past, and the last thing I need to do is drag her into this life. I’ll never put another woman in danger again.”

He folds his arms. “You don’t need to remind me. It’s a guilt I live with every day. Their deaths are on me, not you, son.”

“We did that. I’m every bit as much to blame.”

“Bullshit. The buck stops with me.”

I slump against my seat. Just when I think we’re communicating, he does shit like this. It’s like he throws up a wall, and I can’t talk to him once he does.

“What? You think I’m being a stubborn ass?”