CHAPTER 45 Dex Bradley
Picture-Perfect Family
Light peeks through a crack in the blinds and angles across my eyes in the morning, and I squint as I try to open them.
I feel like I got hit by a fucking truck. Pain slices through my head when I try to lift it.
Fuck.
I’m not in my twenties anymore.
My twenties.
Ainsley is. She’s in her early twenties.
Why is she always right there at the center of my thoughts? Front and center.
I force myself up, and it takes me a second to remember where I am.
Oh, right.
Lincoln’s house.
Because he stopped me from doing something stupid last night.
He saved me a hell of a lot of trouble—a headache twenty times the size of the one I’m dealing with now.
I take a shower in the bathroom connected to my guest room, and I head downstairs, where I find Lincoln and his family eating breakfast.
They’re this picture-perfect family, one you see on TV or in the movies.
The wife is dressed and ready for her workday in her heels as she brings glasses of orange juice to the table for her three kids, including an eleven-year-old boy, a three-year-old girl, and a baby boy close to Jack’s age.
The husband is laughing with the eleven-year-old, and when the wife leans across the table to place a glass down, I catch the husband checking out her ass.
She bends down to kiss his lips, and a surge of jealousy rises through me.
We were just starting out, but I had that. For a mere moment in time, I had that.
And now it’s gone.
“Come join us,” Lincoln says to me, and I sit in an empty chair.
“Pancakes or cereal?” Jolene asks.
Both sound like they’ll come right up. “No, thank you.”
“Kids, this is Dex. He’s a player on my team. Dex, this is Jonah, Josephine, and Joey.” He points out each kid.
“Lots of Jo-names,” I remark.
“Jolene’s tradition. I wanted Brady, but she gave me a hard no.”
She rolls her eyes. “Who are you kidding? You wanted to name Joey Gronk. Can you imagine? A sweet little boy named Gronk?”
“Could bode well for his future,” I say, and I gratefully chug the glass of orange juice Jolene hands me that I didn’t ask for.
Jolene walks the older boy to the bus stop, and then she grabs the younger two to take them to their preschool. When it’s just Lincoln and me after he says his goodbyes, he asks, “You okay this morning?”
I nod. “Thanks for what you did for me last night. I was about to make a really stupid decision. How’d you know?”
“Your driver told your doorman, and he called me.”
Milton. Of course. He’s always looking out for me, and that’s why I’ve always thought of him as a father figure.
Meanwhile, my real father is the entire reason my relationship just ended.
Well, sort of. I guess my secrets regarding my father had a little something to do with it, too, and I’ll shoulder that part of the blame.
“I can see you’re hurting this morning, so I won’t make you do stadium stairs today. But I do want to talk to you about what’s going on. Can you explain to me why you thought getting drunk and then getting behind a wheel was a good idea last night?”
“I wasn’t thinking clearly.” I clear my throat. “I felt like I was okay to drive.”
“You weren’t.” His tone is pointed.
“You’re right. And I like to think if I’d have gotten behind the wheel, I would’ve been smart enough not to hit the gas.
” I like to think that. I have no idea if it’s true or not.
I haven’t always been known to make the smartest decisions, but drag racing down the Strip is probably a stupid decision stone-cold sober, too.
He sighs. “Well, I’m glad I was there to stop you, and the worst thing you’re dealing with today is a headache. Get your ass to practice, and get your life together, man. Okay? You have a kid in the equation, so it’s time to grow the fuck up.”
“I know. And my wife…she ended things with me last night. That’s why I was out doing stupid shit last night.” If there’s anyone I can be honest with about this, it’s Coach.
“Jesus, Dex. I’m sorry. I didn’t know. But that doesn’t change anything I said.
The things you were about to do last night are never okay under any circumstances, regardless of how much you’re hurting.
I get having a few drinks to numb the pain.
Trust me. But to go out and put other lives in danger? That’s never okay.”
“I know. You’re right.”
“So what are you going to do about it?”
I draw in a deep breath as I contemplate that.
I’m not really sure I have an answer, but I’m alone now, and I need to turn it around.
I need to be the role model I never had in a father.
I need to pull it together for my son. I glance at Lincoln, and I tell him that. “I’m going to step up for my son.”
He slaps my shoulder. “That’s what I wanted to hear.”
“I’m going to get my shit together.”
He nods. “If you need a place to stay while you figure things out…” He trails off, but the invitation is clear.
“I appreciate the offer,” I say with a nod. I can’t stay at the penthouse, but I also can’t stay here with my coach. He’s an authority figure, and I don’t want to be under his constant supervision.
There are other options, though.
Namely, Coach’s brother.
Once I get to the practice facility, I find Asher by his locker as he laces up his shoes.
“Can I talk to you?” I ask.
He finishes his task, and then he looks up at me. “What’s going on?”
“Can Jack and I stay with you for a few days?”
His brows dip. “What happened?”
“Ainsley and I are fighting. I just want to give her some space. Maybe a few days off while we figure this out.”
“Let me check with Des, but I don’t see why that would be a problem. She’s in her momming era and would probably love having an extra boy around who can make faces at Jake.”
“I realize it’s a lot to ask her to take on watching Jack, so don’t feel obliga—”
He holds up a hand to interrupt me. “She’ll love it. I’ll text her now.”
“Thanks, man,” I say. “You’re a good friend.”
“Don’t you forget it.” His eyes are on his phone as he texts his wife, and it feels like I’m finally taking control of this situation…even if it means I’m pulling further away from Ainsley first.