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“We can watch that one princess movie in dad’s office when we get to the gym, and if you want to bring your Barbies, I’ll play with you.”
My heart softened at Maddy’s offer to her little sister. She knew the right thing to say all the time, and it was another punch in my chest. She shouldn’t have to worry about things like this.
“Let’s eat, get our stuff, and head out. Maybe we can ask Uncle Cole to bring us donuts.”
I had no shame in asking my best friend to spoil my kids; he loved it as much as they did.
All three girls squealed in excitement as they grabbed their toast.
* * *
My boxing gymwas located about a mile outside of town in the old lumber mill off exit five. A man named Kent Capson had owned this mill and had attended every single one of my fights. When I announced that I was retiring from boxing, he asked if I would ever consider opening a gym. Since I wasn’t fighting, and I was still so young, I decided it couldn’t hurt. Capson cut me a deal, and I sunk nearly sixty thousand dollars into the gym to get it renovated.
Pulling into the front spot, I jumped out of the truck and rounded it to help Mila unbuckle. She was still in her little booster seat, so she could do it herself, but the truck was tall and I wanted to be sure she didn’t get bold enough to try to open the door on her own and jump down.
“Uncle Cole is already here!” Mila yelled excitedly as I pulled her into my arms. My best friend’s silver truck was indeed parked two spots down and he was exiting the vehicle, his expensive sunglasses making him look like an extra inTop Gun.
“Did you bring donuts?” Seraphina ran up to him, trying to peek into the white carryout box. He tugged her to his side as he walked toward the door. Maddy trailed us, carrying her backpack and pulling her headphones on.
The sounds of fists slamming into heavy bags and loud music greeted us as we pulled open the door and strolled in. I had one guy who helped me open up shop on the weekends so I could sleep in and spend time with the kids, but since they were still on winter break, he was handling things for a bit.
“Here.” Colson handed the box over to Maddy and ruffled Seraphina’s hair. I walked to the office and set Mila on the couch, where she snuggled under a blanket and waited to be served a donut.
Once I set them up with their show, I walked back out and met Colson behind the counter.
“So are you ready for the meeting tomorrow?” Colson asked, leaning back while he sipped his coffee. Now that his sunglasses were gone I could see the bags under his eyes and how exhausted he looked.
“Nora still gone?” The woman he’d been pining over for nearly a year had finally agreed to date him, but because of some mix up, they came back from their trip to California in separate cars. Then Nora took off to the mountain and didn’t have a return date. I guess they were technically broken up right now, but like hell was I going to use that term in front of my friend. He was hurting, and it felt like shit watching him go through losing her. I was married at one point in my life…happy, in love. Still, the way Cole looked when he checked to see if his girl had called or texted? Honestly, I had never felt that before.
He looked like he’d lost a piece of himself. When I lost Lacey, it felt like I had finally gotten a piece of myself back. Maybe it was because of what she put us through. What she did to the girls. Maybe I just slowly fell out of love with her. Either way, every now and then I selfishly wondered what it would be like to feel that way about someone.
“Yeah…” he finally answered, clenching his jaw tight, “Haley keeps me updated when she calls and texts. Says she’s doing okay. I guess she’s healing, doing a lot of meditating up in some cabin.”
I nodded my head, unsure of exactly what to say. I figured moving away from the topic of Nora would be safest.
“So having Haley around…how’s that going?”
Colson had opened up to me over the years about his family. He hadn’t mentioned Haley much, just that she had ruined his life by being born––which was a little dramatic––although his history and what happened to his motherwasdramatic, so I kind of understood.
Colson sipped more of his coffee, shifting around, until he was perched on a stool.
“It’s actually been really nice. I really fucked up with her for so many years. I owe her a lot. Plus she’s always cooking and baking…and, even though I haven’t had much of an appetite, it’s nice to have the company.”
That was different, but I was thankful he had his little sister during this time.
“The meeting… You never told me how you were feeling about it.” Colson lifted his cup in my direction, as if he wanted to change the subject and put it back on me.
I chose that moment to move around the small space, so I could organize all the forms and binders. “I feel ready. I made sure the locker rooms were clean and looked presentable. All the gear has been organized, mended, and replaced. I did what I could so when they do their walk through it doesn’t look like a total shithole.”
Cole clicked his tongue. “It’s not a shithole; you’re just behind a bit on payments and need a backer. It’s completely normal for businesses to ask for investors.”
I tried not to let his comment burn, but Colson didn’t really understand because he was born into money. The kind of money that could buy an entire construction company from his boss. He had a trust fund—and the Hanes name––that opened doors most people didn’t even know existed.
He was a good friend, though, and I knew he’d help me prep for this meeting better than anyone else.
“You looked over the numbers? Are they going to bring anything up that I missed?”
Colson shook his head. “It all looked good, you didn’t miss anything. Just walk them through the gym and tell them how good of an investment this place is.”
