Chapter 20
Gavin
“And for Lane, a brand-new mouthguard!” My mom Elaine is playing Santa this year, and as soon as she pulls the purple and white guard from the red sack, my mom Kenny throws a sock at her.
“You did not get him a mouthguard for Christmas!”
“You got him socks!” Elaine argues. “This has the Champions logo right there in the middle. Isn’t that fun?”
“Mom, I told you I’d protect my teeth.” I pull her into a hug, then I make a fist and noogie the top of her blonde head.
“Patrick Lane Knight!” She squeals, and my dad chuckles from where he sits in his recliner, a stack of gifts on his lap.
It’s Christmas morning, and we’re opening gifts at Dad’s house in Wilmington. My half-brother Finn is sitting on the floor with his back to the couch in front of my half-sister Sabrina, who sits beside her dad Slayde, my mom Kenny’s second husband.
My family can get a little confusing with all the halves, especially with my two moms insisting we keep everybody close. I’m not complaining—I love my big, twisted family.
“That gift is rank, and you should stop dead-naming Gavin,” Sabrina grumbles under her breath.
“Easy, Tiger.” Slayde scolds his daughter in a low voice, giving her a nudge. “It’s Christmas.”
A former boxing champ, Slayde’s past is pretty dark, but he loves us as much as we love him. He also works at my dad’s private investigation firm as one of their lead trackers.
“I’m just saying, he asked us to call him Gavin.” My teenage sister pushes her long dark hair behind her shoulder. “We should respect his wishes.”
“Good grief, Bree, we respect your brother.” Kenny fusses from where she sits, looking more like Sabrina’s twin sister than her mom.
They’re both petite with pale skin, dark brown hair, and big blue eyes. The blue eyes are the only thing I got from my mom Kenny. Otherwise, I look exactly like my dad.
“What is dead naming?” Elaine frowns from where she’s digging in the bag again.
“Calling him Lane instead of Gavin,” Sabrina explains.
“My sister, the social justice warrior.” I lean forward to tug her foot. “I don’t expect them to remember after all this time.”
Elaine drops her hands looking up at me with sad eyes. “Does it really hurt your feelings, Laney? I’ll try to do better.”
“It’s all good.” I wave her away. “Aren’t you going to open your gifts, Dad?”
“I’m too busy enjoying the floor show.” He picks up a small box, turning it in his hands. “I hope this isn’t jewelry.”
“Open it!” Kenny cries, and I guess it’s from her.
He tears the paper back then shakes his head. It’s a pewter badge that opens like a locket to reveal a picture of all of us in it.
“That’s different.” He turns it so we can see.
“Found it on eBay,” she explains.
“I think it’s cute,” Elaine jumps in, taking it from him to study.
We continue unwrapping our gifts, sitting on the floor beside the Christmas tree, and it’s good to be here with my family. My mind jumps ahead to next year and a little baby ripping through all the paper, looking for gifts. It tugs a smile at the corner of my lips.
I guess next Christmas might be too soon for a baby to be walking, then I realize I don’t even know Haddy’s due date.
My stomach tightens, and I remember her face, her worried eyes, the way she told me then fell straight into the bushes.
“What are you grinning about?” Dad nudges me with his foot.
We’re all lying around now inspecting each other’s’ gifts, being together.
I glance up at him, thinking about our past and how our mixed-up family came to be. “Can I talk to you about something?”
His brow lowers, and he uncrosses his foot to stand. “Anybody want some coffee? Gav and I are treating.”
Five yeses ring out.
We take everybody’s orders, and he gives me a nudge as we start for the door. “See if Starbucks is even open. We might have to improvise.”
We do manage to find a coffee shop that’s open, and while we wait for all the different specialty items to be prepared, I decide to come clean.
I’ve always been able to talk to my dad, and he’s good at keeping things between us until I give him the okay to share. Probably because he’s a PI.
“What’s on your mind, Gav?” He takes a sip of black coffee.
I’m having the same, but with cream. “It’s this girl I know, Haddy Bradford. She’s actually one of my roommates. I really like her a lot, but I kind-of blew it.”
Dad’s brow lowers, and he takes another sip of coffee. “How’d you manage that?”
“Remember how I was dating that girl Karen in college?” He nods. “Haddy was her roommate, and she got this wrong idea about me back then.”
He’s watching me intently, and I shift in my seat, embarrassed to say the next part.
“I found out Karen was cheating on me, and I kind of lost it.” The back of my neck grows hot, and I reach up to rub it.
“I slept with some sorority girls, but it was before we’d officially told people we were broken up.
Karen twisted it around and said that was why it ended, and Haddy believed her. ”
Dad exhales a low hmm, leaning back in his chair and pressing his lips together. “She believed her friend over you.”
“She didn’t really know me. She’s really, really smart, so she studied a lot, worked in the science lab.” I look at the paper cup in my hand, remembering how excited she got telling me about her work. “I was so busy with hockey, I just put my head down and powered through it.”
“And now you want something different?” Dad’s eyebrow arches, and I nod, glancing up at him.
“I don’t know how to change her mind. I did sleep with those girls, but I never cheated on Karen. I never would have.”
“I know you wouldn’t.” Dad reaches out, giving my shoulder a squeeze, then he shakes his head with a chuckle. “It’s pretty crazy how much you’re like me… without even knowing it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ahh…” He exhales heavily. “Before you were born… before I even knew your moms, I proposed to this girl, Stacy. We were going to be married, and one day, I got home early to surprise her with flowers and all the things…”
He looks down, and I sit straighter, my eyes widening. “No.”
His lips tighten, and he nods. “Yep. I walked in on her with some other guy.”
“Dang.” I shake my head. “I’m sorry.”
“Then I went on my own rampage. I was determined to do everything differently, and I tell ya, I got into a lot of trouble. I almost lost your mom Elaine over it.”
“You were acting that way with Elaine?”
“No, nothing like that.” He holds up his hands. “It was more like, my past came home to roost, and she was rightfully upset about how I’d acted. She left me over it.”
“But…” I point in the direction of the house and back to him. “You were able to fix it. How?”
“I wallowed in guilt for a little while. I beat myself up for being an idiot.” He looks me straight in the face.
“Then I got off my ass and went and got her. I showed her how much I loved her. I showed her the man I really was, that I’d never let her down again.
Anything she needed, any time, I was there for her. ”
My jaw tightens, and I look at my hands, thinking about what he’s saying. “You were there for her.”
He gives me a nudge. “You’ve got an advantage I didn’t have. You live in the same house.”
Nodding, my mind is miles away, on the coast in south Alabama.
My chest aches, and I know what I have to do. “Would you apologize to the moms for me? I’ve got to go.”
A smile splits his cheeks, and he pats me on the back. “Sure thing. Good luck, son. I believe in you.”
It’s after dinner when I pull into Newhope, and Cooters & Shooters is all lit up and full of people. I’ve never been here, but Mav has talked about it so much, I feel like I know the place.
The ride share driver helps me with my luggage, and I give him an extra tip before walking to the door. The “closed” sign is out, but they’re all inside playing music and laughing.
It looks like the entire Bradford clan is here, and my eyes go to her at once. She’s standing beside a man about my size who must be her father. She has his eyes, even though her hair is darker. His arm is around her back, and she leans her head on his shoulder.
My chest twists, and a smile curls my lips. She’s so relaxed and happy here. I can tell this is her safe place, her home, and I want to be a part of it.
It’s more than that. I want to be the place she goes for safety.
Walking to the glass doors, my palms are a little sweaty, but I wipe them down the front of my jeans before reaching out to try the handle. It’s locked, but Mav sees me and lets out a yell.
“What the hay?” He runs over to unlock the door, flinging it wide and pulling me in for a bear hug. “Bruh, what are you doing here?”
Shit, I’d been thinking so much about seeing Haddy again, I didn’t give much thought to a good excuse for appearing on their doorstep.
“You talked about this place so much, I wanted to see it.” I give him a shove, as Gigi jogs up to where I’m standing.
“Gavin!” She throws her arms around my neck, and I give her a hug. “Merry Christmas!”
She’s a little wobbly, and I chuckle. “Merry Christmas to you. I’ll have what you’re having.”
“It’s this ginger-spiced hard cider.” She puts her hand on my chest, leaning closer. “I’m addicted! I’ll get you one.”
She dances off to hook me up, and like a little earthquake, my eyes meet Haddy’s. She’s still standing with her dad, but a smile is on her lips, and she blinks at me a few times before walking over to where we’re standing.
“Gavin…” She stretches up to give me a hug, speaking low in my ear. “What are you doing here?”
“Couldn’t stay away, Princess.” I give her a wink, and her cheeks flush a pretty color. “Figured you could use some support abstaining.”
“Abstaining?” Her eyebrow arches, and our roommate appears.
“See what you think.” Gigi shoves a copper mug of hard cider into my hand. “Aunt Allie came up with it, and it’s delicious. It warms your whole body.”
I lift the mug at Haddy, and her eyes narrow.
“Sure you don’t want some, Hads?” Gigi turns to her cousin.