AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Graham
After receiving Taeli’s text, Mom’s call, and Erin’s text, I prepare Caleb for what he’ll find when we make it to his home.
“I don’t understand why he’d come here,” Caleb says.
“I don’t know, bud, but you’ll get a chance to ask him.”
He nods and stares straight ahead until we pull up to the cabin.
When he spots his father on the porch, he exits the truck and marches up to him. I stay at his flank in case he needs reinforcement.
“Hey, son,” Damon greets.
“Dad,” Caleb responds.
“I just wanted to apologize for hurting you. I didn’t mean to.”
“I’m not mad at you because you hurt me. I’m mad because you hurt Mom. You made her cry. You’re supposed to be the one she can count on. The one who makes her feel good and safe,” Caleb accuses.
“Son, sometimes, grown-ups—” Damon starts.
“Don’t feed me a bunch of bullshit excuses, Dad,” Caleb shouts.
“Watch your mouth, young man,” Damon scolds.
“No.”
“Caleb!” Damon raises his voice, and Caleb flinches.
“Dad.” Caleb stands his ground and doesn’t so much as blink as he stares his father down.
Damon finally slumps and goes to a knee to look his son in the eye. “Look, I know I messed up. That’s why I’m here. I’ve apologized to your mother, and I owe you an apology too. I sorry, son. I had hoped the two of you would come home with me. That’s not going to happen, but you can still come home if you want.”
Caleb shakes his head. “No. I don’t want to go back. I like it here. I like seeing Mom smile and laugh. I like seeing her being treated like she matters. That’s the kind of man I want to be. One whose family knows they can count on me to be there for them. To love them. To teach them how to fish and change a flat tire. I want to come home to my family at night and actually be there with them. Eat dinner and talk about things.”
“I know I haven’t spent a lot of time with you. I work a lot. Too much. But I love you, son. You and your mother.”
“I love you too. I always will, but I don’t respect you anymore. Granna says that love is something you give your family freely, but respect is something they have to earn. We need both. Me and Mom. We need both.” His voice cracks on the last words.
I fight the urge to wrap an arm around him. I turn and see the same thing warring in Taeli as she clutches the seat in Jena’s car while watching her son confront his father.
“Granna is a hundred percent correct, and I promise to do better from now on,” Damon tells him.
Caleb walks the few steps that are left between them and into his father’s open arms.
“How long do we have before you leave?” Caleb asks.
Damon looks down at his watch. “Four hours. Not very long, son,” he answers.
Caleb shrugs. “It’s more than we had yesterday.”
Damon smiles at him. “That’s true. Do you want to go grab a burger or something?” he asks.
“Sure. Let me go to the bathroom, and I’ll be right back.”
He runs inside, and Damon watches as the door closes behind him. Then, he turns back to me, and I smile.
“What’s so fucking funny?” he asks.
I shake my head. “You wanting a second chance. Expecting one, like it’s your right to have it,” I answer.
“You think I don’t deserve one?”
“You were lucky to have the first chance, and you wasted it, so no, I don’t think you do.”
“You don’t know anything about me,” he snaps.
“I know you like to have your cake and eat it too. You had a fucking prize at home, yet you still needed to mess around with any woman who batted her eyelashes at you. You probably wanted to make your wife jealous. To stroke your ego. But a real man doesn’t make his woman jealous of other women. He loves her in a way that makes other women jealous of her.”
He leans into my face and repeats himself.
“You don’t know me.”
“Maybe I don’t, but I know men like you, and I think you deserve to have your ass handed to you for the way you treated your family.”
“You want to take a swing at me?” he asks.
I shake my head. “Nah, but I bet you want to take one at me.”
“I do.”
I walk toward him, and he takes a step backward. I extend my hand.
“I don’t want to punch you. I want to shake your hand and say thank you for letting her go.”
He looks at my hand like it’s on fire.
