Page 53 of Playing With Forever

“That.” He jabbed an angry finger at me, and I stiffened. “That right there is what we always wanted for you. Welcome to the family, Evan.”

His welcome sounded more like he was condemning me to hell. But it was his feet pounding through the house as he made a hasty exit that had me coming out of my chair.

“I’ll go talk to him,” I told Josie, then looked at Lindy. “Be back.”

I was at the front door when I heard Josie say, “Kane’s not mad. At least he’s not mad at your dad, he’s mad at his.”

I had no idea what I’d be walking out to. But Kane, with his palms on the hood of his Ram, with his head bowed and his torso heaving, wasn’t it.

“We can talk, or I can give you a minute. Up to you, bud.”

With a mighty breath, Kane whirled on me.

Eyes wild, unmasked fury marking his face, agitated movements. None of those were good; all three together were seriously not good.

“You know,” he stated.

“If you’re asking if I know if your dad leans toward controlling, then yes, I know.”

“Leans toward controlling,” he huffed. “Is that what she called it? The man’s a prick.”

Perhaps Josie didn’t know how much animosity her son held for his father. Or maybe she did, and we just hadn’t gotten around to talking about it yet.

“Yeah?” I prompted.

“He didn’t lean toward anything. He’s a straight-up control freak, bossy to an extreme, weak, and arrogant. You put all those together, and they equal abuser. The asshole bitched about everything. She worked full-time and took care of us… exclusively. That dick couldn’t be bothered to take us to school, or a practice, or pick us up. I don’t remember him even going to the grocery store, forget cooking a meal. But God forbid she put something on the table that didn’t meet his standards you'd think she put dog shit in front of him.

“Our house was spotless, not because that’s how Mom wanted it. No, that’s what he wanted, but do you think him being a whole-ass grown man with working limbs ever picked up a broom or a dust rag or did a single dish—fuck no, that was a woman’s work. For as long as I can remember, she was a single mother working her ass off with another adult in the house that made her miserable and caused her more work. She raised us alone. She taught us how to be the men we are.

“And that shit in there, the way you were with her, that’s what my brother and I wished she had when we were growing up. And then after she divorced his cheating, lying ass, that’s what we hoped she’d find. But she never did. She went back to school, got more degrees, gave us more time, and then when we were both grown and out of the house, she buried herself in work.”

Kane stopped and looked at his feet.

“Then it’s good she has that now.”

“Yeah, it really fucking is. But wanting her to have it, hoping she’d find it, and then seeing it are very different things. And seeing it hit me square in the goddamn heart how much she didn’t have with the dumbass.”

I had nothing to say because I agreed with him, though I wouldn’t badmouth the man’s father. Even though Josie's ex deserved it. Good or bad, the man was still half of what made Kane, and that shit wouldn’t be right.

“Did she tell you he’s been married three more times?”

“No.”

“I only met the first. By the time number two and three came along, I was old enough to refuse to see him. And I only know about the third because DJ told me. DJ only knows because Dad waltzed his ass into DJ’s work and ambushed him. But yeah, four wives. He treated number one the way he treated my mother, so it’s a fair assumption he did the same with three and four. Number two divorced him for the same reason mom did, the asshole was fucking around on her. Again, can’t know for certain, but a man doesn’t cheat on his first two wives and then suddenly become a saint, so I’d bet he cheated on them, too.”

It'd be a safe bet to make.

“I fucking hate him for what he did to my mom.”

Josie would despise that.

“I don’t blame you.”

Kane’s eyes locked on mine. “I’ve given you plenty of ammunition to jump in and shit-talk your woman’s ex, and all you have to say is, ‘I don’t blame you.’”

“Right now, we’re not talking about my woman’s ex. I have strong opinions about that man, ones I won’t share with you or your brother. Right now, we’re talking about your father, and that man is off-limits to me. It’s not my place to talk shit about him, my place is to stand here with that man’s son and listen as he lets go of some pretty heavy shit.”

Kane scrubbed his hand over his face and tipped his head back to look at the sky.