AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The corner of Brady's mouth curls up. "Okay, that's better. So if it’s not a problem with the guys, did you suddenly realize you don't like Luna? Because she is amazing. You are never going to find someone better than her."
I scowl at him. "Of course I know that. I'm in love with her."
"Then none of this makes any sense."
I cross my arms over my chest. Now I completely understand the times when he just wanted me to leave him alone. Sometimes you know exactly what you did wrong and you just don't want to hash it all out.
"Dad, talk to me. I want to help if I can."
Yeah, this role reversal is surreal. Especially considering he has a long-term healthy relationship with Lydia and I’m…an idiot.
"Fine. You know what it is?” I ask. “They are fantastic together. The three of them. The guys are incredibly supportive of Luna. Since they came along, she's figured out that she can have the work-life balance that she desperately needed. They think she's amazing. She practically walks on water as far as they're concerned. They make her laugh. They help her with everything. The three of them are best friends, but they’re also really…"
"Hot together?" he asks.
I lift a brow.
He shrugs. “Come on. The sex has to be great, right? They’re all incredibly attractive, confident people.” He says it so matter-of-factly, I just find myself nodding.
“So, are you jealous?" he asks.
That is a fair question. But I shake my head. “No. I know that sounds weird. I actually really like the way they are with her. They treat her well, they make her feel good. And vice versa."
"So you felt left out?”
This is a strange conversation to be having with Brady, but I suppose it’s also a chance for me to expose him to being open-minded about relationships and sex in a healthy, positive way. I can’t let him think any of this is too embarrassing or awkward to discuss.
I shake my head. "Not that, either. Everyone was equally involved and respected and considered.” I clear my throat. “In the bedroom and out,” I say. “In any good relationship, it should be that way in all aspects. Like how Cam and Luna stepped in to help you out with the accident.”
“And you would have totally done the same for them.”
“Of course."
"I don’t understand the problem,” he says. “Honestly. Help me understand.”
"They don't really need me for anything. In a relationship, it has to be give-and-take," I say. "You have to be part of the two-way street. Or the four-way street if that’s the street you’re on. Everyone needs to contribute."
Brady stares at me for a moment. Then he starts to laugh. "Are you trying to tell me that you think you don't contribute? You? The guy who does everything for everyone? The dad to everyone around him?"
"I’m the actual dad for you. You see a different side of me."
He shakes his head. "You're the dad for everybody. You're the dad to all the guys on the team. Do you remember when Jack couldn’t get home for Christmas last year because his entire family got sick? You practically tied him up and threw him in your car to bring him home with us. And then there was the time Trey got really sick, high fevers and everything and you insisted he stay here, so he had someone looking out for him.
“And that time Wilder bought a bed that was too big to get into his apartment and you went over and took that huge-assed thing apart, helped him get it up three flights, and reassembled it.
“You’ve taught at least two guys to snake their drains. You taught a bunch to change their oil. You made the entire team volunteer to do yard work in the park last summer because a bunch of them told you they’d never mowed a lawn and you thought that was pathetic. You’re the dad to everybody on the team.”
He grins at me. But he’s also not done. “And what about Amara? She's your ex’s daughter. But the other day she told Dev, her actual father, that she wanted to go see her second dad."
I swallow hard. “That’s just things you do," I say. "Those guys are all away from home and their own dads. I’m a coach. I can't let my players just flounder. And Amara is your little sister. Of course, I’m good to her. It’s not her fault her mom is my ex.”
"First of all, your players are all grown men who make millions of dollars. They don’t need to change their own oil or snake their drains, or ever mow a lawn probably,” he says, laughing. “But you think it’s important they know these things and they respect you enough to listen. Plus, I think they like having someone treat them like a dad sometimes. They probably miss their own dads. And some of them didn’t have dads. You caring about how they’re turning out as men and not just players makes them feel good.” He gives me an affectionate smile. “And you love it. Because that's who you are. You take care of people, Dad. You let people lean on you. You want people to have what they need and be the best they can be. You’re there for people and if you can’t get something done, you know someone who can. And I guarantee that Luna, Cam, and Alexsei see it and feel it and want it in their lives."
I feel my chest tighten again and I have to actually blink fast because this is making me a little emotional. Not just the words, but that my son, the kid I’ve been worrying about and praying over and hoping, is turning out okay for almost seventeen years now, is telling me all of this.
I clear my throat. "So I'm a nice guy."
"You take care of people. And I don't care what Cam and Alexsei do for Luna, they don't take care of her like you do. Because you're you. Of course you have something to contribute."
