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“Oh, I miss Frankenmuth,” I say wistfully.
When I was younger, my parents would take me to Frankenmuth, this charming Bavarian-style town in Michigan, where everything revolves around Christmas. There is a Christmas store that’s larger than a football field and a water park near the Christmas market.
“That settles it. We’ll go before the holiday.”
I blink away the tears that pool at the corners of my eyes and smile even though he can’t see me. “That sounds lovely.”
There’s a moment of silence before he asks, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I sniff quietly, hoping he can’t hear me breaking apart. “Oh, you won’t believe who I met today!”
“Oh?”
“Rhodes Bonavich was at the country club. He left me a crazy good tip,” I say with a laugh.
“Bonavich? My idol? Are you just messing with me?” Dad asks.
I grin and laugh again. “I should have asked him for a picture to show you. It was him. In the flesh. He seemed disappointed that Detroit didn’t make the playoffs.”
“Of course. They were so close. They had the wild card spot and they completely fumbled it. So many injuries. Although the players they called up from the Grand Marquee team have been really good.”
I listen to my dad ramble about hockey for the rest of my drive and try to stifle the growing ache in my chest when I think about my family.
“I just got home. I’ll try to call you tomorrow, okay?” I say as I pull into the parking lot.
“Thank you for the call, honey. Oh—your mom wants to say something,” he says.
I inhale a sharp breath and rush to say, “Tell her to text me. I really gotta go, I’m sorry.”
“Oh, okay. Have a good night, sweetheart.”
“You too, Dad. Take care of yourself,” I add softly.
“I always do.”
I bite my lip and take a few deep inhales, trying to get myself to relax. I’ve been avoiding my mother for almost a year now. Since I went home to find my dad in the hospital after his heart attack and found out we couldn’t pay the bills because she spent their entire life savings on a pyramid scheme. That, and also the fact that dad couldn’t work for a few months and his medical leave got rejected.
But the worst part is that my dad still doesn’t know about the pyramid scheme. This sort of news could put him in the hospital again and no matter what, I won’t jeopardize his health. I’ve done my best to help cover those bills so he can continue getting treatment and pay for his medication. That’s the only money I send to my mother.
The rest—well, that’s her fuckup and she needs to take responsibility for it.
When I open the door, the lights are off in the apartment. Brody and the guys are no doubt playing baseball with the rest of their league. I quietly thank whatever gods are out there for the one night of peace and quiet. I take a long bubble bath and fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. For some reason, my mind wanders to green eyes and strong forearms gripping the golf club.
CHAPTER FOUR
Levi
Petunia purrs loudly somewhere in the vicinity of my face. I groan and blindly reach out to pet her. I feel movement by my feet and open one eye to find Gus yawning and stretching. He must have snuck in in the middle of the night to join in on the cuddles.
“Hey buddy, glad to see you’re still alive,” I say, attempting to call him closer to me by patting the comforter and making random noises.
He stands, stretches, and promptly leaves.
“Little shit,” I grumble and let my head drop back on the pillow. Petunia meows and moves closer until she’s pressed against my chest. I fall back asleep to the sound and feel of her rumbles.
I don’t stay asleep long because my phone starts ringing. With a deep sigh, I swing both my legs off the side of the bed and cross the room to unplug my phone.
There are twelve missed calls from my agent. Twelve. Did I sleep through all of them?
