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When I walk backinto the gym, Hudson has his bag slung over his shoulder and is getting his ass handed to him by Imogen while Brynlee sits at the front desk, watching in pure fascination. Most kids would be scared of the yelling. But not Brynlee. When you grow up in a gym, you get used to raised voices.
Imogen looks ready to throw down. “Just because your sister’s dumb enough to—”
“Hey,” I call out and nod to my daughter, who seems to be captivated by the two of them. “His sister is one of the smartest women I’ve ever met. This isn’t your fight, Gen. Don’t you have to get to Kingdom?”
She spins on me. “You’re right. It’s your goddamn fault too, you moron.” She glances back at Brynn, then whispers, “Don’t you know how to wrap it up, big brother? Seriously, men!” Imogen grabs her keys from the desk in a fucking huff and storms out of Crucible with the door slamming shut behind her, like she has every right to be mad.
The fuck? I turn my attention on Hudson. “You” I point at Hud. “Don’t move.” Then I squat down in front of Brynlee. “Sweetie, can you go get your book bag from Daddy’s office? It’s time to go home.”
She hops down from the chair and starts to dash toward my office before changing her direction. Coming to a stop in front of Hudson, Brynn kicks his shin, then points her finger at him. “Don’t hit my Daddy again.” Satisfied she’s said her piece, my princess sticks her tongue out, then runs to my office.
I wait until I see her go through the door before I grab Hudson by the front of the Crucible t-shirt he’s thrown on. “Throw a fist outside of that cage again, and I don’t give a fuck how many titles you hold, you’ll never train another day inside Crucible. Got it?”
“Got it,” Hud grunts out through gritted teeth, and I let go.
He holds his ground, staring at me. “How long have you been sleeping with my sister?”
“You need to apologize to your sister. Then ask her your questions.” I don’t think he’d particularly like my answer.
Not satisfied, he pushes harder. “I’m asking you. My coach. My friend. The guy I’ve trained with for the last six years. The guy whose father trained me for two fucking years before that. The fucking father to my future niece or nephew.” To anyone else, Hudson Kingston would be threatening. He’s six-foot-four, two hundred and forty-nine pounds of solid muscle. But I’ve taught him everything he knows. I’m bigger, and I’m better. If we went toe to toe, I’d win. And I know, right now, he’s hurt and worried about his sister. So I’ll be nicer than he deserves.
“Talk to your sister, man. You already fucked up any chance I had of talking to her about anything tonight.” One of us might as well get some answers.
Brynlee comes running back to us with her pink backpack clutched in her arms and a smile on her face. My smile. My daughter has my green eyes and her mother’s strawberry-blonde hair.
I wonder briefly who this baby will take after.
Holy shit. A baby.
“Ready, baby girl?” I scoop her up in my arms. “Do you have Teddy? I don’t want to have to come back tonight.” This pink teddy bear is the only thing Brynlee wants when it’s time for bed, and I’ve had to come back here more than once at the end of a day because Teddy was missing. We tried having an emergency teddy, but Brynlee knew the difference right away.
That wasn’t a good night.
She pulls him out of her book bag and squishes him to her chest.
I press a kiss to her forehead, then look over her head at Hudson, who hasn’t moved an inch. “Call your sister. Fix this, Hud.” I move past him. “Don’t come back here until it’s done.”
“You can’t be serious.” Hudson’s training for his next title fight. And if there’s anything a fighter knows, it’s that every day counts.
“Try me.”
Later that night, once Brynlee is asleep and the house is quiet, I sit at my kitchen table, staring at my open iPad. Debating. It’s late. Well, in my world, it’s late. Anything after nine at night is late to me.
Brynn refuses to sleep past six on most days, and even if I do manage to get her to bed on time, there’s still a mountain of things that need to be done.
Sleep is a commodity.
I bought Crucible from my dad a few months before I found out about Brynlee. As soon as my parent’s house in Kroydon Hills sold, they bought a place on the beach in the Florida Keys. They fly up a few times a year and FaceTime with us all the time, but they’re enjoying their golden years on the gold coast of Key West. It’d be nice to have them closer. But they’re loving it.
Imogen wasn’t ready to live on her own, so she was staying with our older sister, Rylie, back then. But once I found out about Brynlee, Gen moved in with me to help me out. A month later, I was giving up my condo in Center City Philly for a big place in Kroydon Hills. It’s got a huge yard with a pool and a bigger swing set than even the local park has. It’s also got privacy, which is something I value. I may have chosen the life of a professional fighter and everything that comes with it. But Brynlee isn’t one of those things.
She’s everything.
I think back to those early days after Daria dropped Brynlee off.
All those nights of no sleep.
Of a crying baby.
