Page 152 of Bad Run

“Please call me Dawn.” Mom waves us inside.

“Thank you for inviting me to join you ladies for lunch.” Lance laces his fingers through mine as he leads me into my childhood home after the two most important women in my life.

As we make our way to the dining room, I glance around. To my relief, my father isn’t here. Not surprising. He could be on his deathbed, and he would still rather be in his office at the stadium.

Over her shoulder, Mom admits, “Lunch is a pretense. How else are Juju and I going to get to know you?”

Lance barks a laugh. “I appreciate the honesty. And the meal.”

Mom leads us to the dining room, where the entire table is littered with different dishes full of food. She points at each plate. “I know you have a game tonight, so I whipped up some grilled salmon, chicken, steamed rice, a veggie mix, pasta salad, and a strawberry cake for dessert.”

“Geez, Mom, are you planning to feed the entire team?” I ask in awe. My mom is an excellent cook, but she went overboard.

Her eyes light up. “Do you think they would come?”

“If you say food, every player on the team will show up.” Lance chuckles, pulling out a chair for me to sit in. I take my seat, and he grabs the chair beside me, while Mom and Juju sit across from us.

For the next hour, my mom and Juju fire questions at me and Lance.

When did we meet? Who proposed to whom? Are we in love? And when they run out of questions about our relationship, they switch to grilling Lance. He handles their nosiness perfectly. Not at all disturbed or mortified by their poking and prodding, he tells them all the important details.

At one point, when he speaks about his family, mainly his father, I sense his demeanor change. It’s imperceptible to anyone else, but I see the tightness in his jaw and feel the flinch in his palm. Lance will never say it out loud, but the estrangement between him and his father hurts him deeply.

The front door slams shut in the distance, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

“Dawn?” my father calls out.

My mother’s eyes widen with surprise. “I did not tell him you were here. I swear.”

My dad’s footsteps grow louder as he gets closer, and my stomach flips.

Oh no, oh no. This isn’t happening.

“Relax, Gwen,” Lance whispers in my ear. “Remember our deal.”

I look at my husband as though he lost his damn mind, but all he does is wink at me.

Did he do this?

Before I can ask Lance what the hell he meant by that, my dad enters the dining room, looking tired and rumpled. His hair is messy, his face is unshaven, and he has bags under his eyes. This is not the Ted Montgomery I’m used to seeing. My dad is a businessman first. He’s composed. Intimidating and confident.

When Dad’s green eyes connect with mine, his shoulders sag in relief.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re here.” He rushes toward me, tugging me out of the chair and into his arms, into the same teddy-bear hug he would give me as a child. The one that always made me feel protected and safe.

“I’m so sorry, baby girl.” Dad sniffles, hugging me tighter. “So damn sorry.”

“I’m sorry too, Dad.” Tears cloud my vision as my arms wrap around his hulky frame. A small wave of guilt washes over me for not having been honest with him in the first place. “I should have tried talking to you.”

“No. You have nothing to be sorry for; it was all me,” he says, shaking his head. My father pushes me away to look me in the eye. “I was wrong. About so many things. I never should have kept you from holding an executive role like your brothers. You are more than qualified and deserving of such a position.” Dad clears his throat, looking around the room, at the women in his life, before looking back at me. “It has been brought to my attention that I favor your brothers in certain situations, and there is no excuse for that. But I hope you know I love you, Gwenny girl. Probably more than your brothers, because you’ve never given me a reason to worry like those fools.”

Tears streak my cheeks as I look up at my dad, remorse and regret shining in his watery eyes. The anger that I’d been holding on to washes away. I’ve never known my father to apologize, let alone admit to wrongdoing.

“About time you noticed,” I sniff, wiping away my tears.

“You’re right. I should have seen it sooner. Seen you sooner. You are intelligent, hardworking, strong, and far too patient to put up with my bullshit. You can’t quit. I won’t let you. Everyone sings your praises in the front office. You’re amazing and doing an amazing job. I’m sorry for not saying that sooner.”

“Thank you. That’s all I ever wanted to hear. I love what our family has created with the Evaders, and I want to be a part of that legacy.”