Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
B oon
I was running off two hours of sleep and an undisclosed number of cups of coffee.
My team had just gotten back last night around midnight, a state championship trophy sitting up front on the bus.
An impromptu party had broken out in the school parking lot as parents came to pick up their boys.
I didn’t blame them. I was feeling high as a kite right along with them.
Winning the World Series had felt pretty fuckin’ similar except this time I kept getting choked up like a total sap.
Kinsley and Shae had arrived to celebrate with the team, but I ended up leaving before everything wound down to get Shae to bed. The baby needed his sleep too.
“Are you kids ready?” Mom hollered down the hallway.
Kinsley’s door slammed and I heard high heels clomping across the wood floor Emmerleigh and her crew had refinished just a year ago.
I slapped my cheeks in the mirror to wake myself up and grabbed my suit jacket off the bed before heading into the living room.
Kinsley had on a short white dress she and Mom had picked out over a month ago for graduation.
I grabbed the royal-blue graduate robe and draped it over her shoulders.
“Don’t forget your gold cord, Miss Honor Roll.” Kinsley clearly didn’t get her brains from me. I was barely scraping by with a low GPA when I graduated. Baseball had been my life back then. It made me happy to see that Kinsley was more well-rounded.
Mom took a few pictures of Kinsley and me before I took some of her and Kinsley.
Then I left them to a long photoshoot of just Kinsley while I headed over to see if Shae was ready.
She was, of course, but she needed my help getting her shoes on.
Somehow she’d only gotten prettier with a swollen belly and matching boobs.
God, I loved her boobs when she was pregnant. Did that make me a pig?
“Ready to go, lovebug?” I stood, dusting off my suit pants and admiring the emerald-green sundress that pulled tightly across her belly.
She’d just started wearing actual maternity dresses instead of just oversized shirts and unbuttoned pants.
It highlighted how big the baby had gotten. I fuckin’ loved that too.
She patted my cheek, smiling up at me like I hadn’t fucked up her life by forgetting a condom that first night we were together. “Ready, bat boy.”
“Hey. You take that back,” I murmured as I kissed her.
Something had changed recently, and I was loving it. All her insults lacked their stinging power. They were half-hearted at best. I was hoping it meant she loved me back, even if she wouldn’t say it.
We left the house, hand in hand, picked up Mom and Kinsley, and headed for the football field for graduation.
We parked and headed to our assigned seats.
Cassie, Kinsley’s mom, was already there in a blue flowered dress, standing by herself at the entrance and scanning the crowd.
I hadn’t seen Cassie since last year when she dropped Kinsley off on my doorstep, but she looked well.
Blonde hair that now held a hint of gray, blue eyes with minimal wrinkles but not much warmth behind them, and slim figure like always.
When they saw each other, Kinsley and her mom both squealed and ran into each other’s arms. Shae tensed beside me, so I put my arm around her waist and pulled her into my side. Meeting the exes was never fun, so I had to remember to check in with Shae often today.
We all got seated and Kinsley left to join the lineup of graduating seniors.
The ceremony started and any chitchat among our group was shut down after I introduced the rest of my family to Cassie.
I didn’t miss the way Cassie’s gaze had dropped to take in Shae’s belly and then our hands clasped together.
Cassie sat in the middle of the row, next to me.
My brothers and their wives were in the row behind us.
Shae sat on my other side by Mom. Shae didn’t say much, even when I whispered in her ear occasionally.
When Kinsley’s name was called, my brothers and I stood up with the air horns we’d bought for this exact occasion.
Absolutely obnoxious and yet exactly what was expected from the Wolfe brothers.
Kinsley shot us an amused smile from the stage and then rolled her eyes. It was perfect.
I sat my ass down and felt like someone was sitting on my chest. Shae laid her hand on my thigh.
“You okay?”
I nodded, but couldn’t speak. My eyes filled with unshed tears. Goddamn, why was parenting so hard? How could I love someone so much and watch them walk away from me? How had I stayed away from her for seventeen long years and not seen the gift of her presence right in front of my own eyes?
The second I was able to get ahold of myself, I leaned over to Cassie and said what I should have said years ago. “You did a great job with her, Cassie. She’s amazing and that’s thanks to you.”
Cassie gave me a quick head nod as thanks, a tissue already shoved under her nose and tears on her cheeks. Words of gratitude were kind of meaningless, especially when I’d just thrown money at her and walked away over the years, but I had to start somewhere.
When the ceremony ended, a horde of people flooded the field and it took ten minutes to find Kinsley through the crowd.
She was with Tatum, of course, and I tried not to grind my molars about him being around.
Photos were taken, and by the time we were all sweaty and ready to collapse, we headed back to Mom’s house for a family graduation party.
Mom went back with Warrick and Em. Kinsley rode with her mom.
It wasn’t until we got in my truck that I realized Shae was shaking and her face was pale underneath the sunburn she was sporting already.
“Fuck,” I grumbled, grabbing a water bottle and handing it to her, along with getting the air-conditioning vents pointed in her direction. I shouldn’t have let her stand out there in the hot sun for so long. “I’m so sorry. I should have gotten you into the shade and found a chair.”
“It’s okay,” she said faintly, taking sips of the water and leaning her head back against the headrest.
I drove home as quickly as I could with all the traffic leaving the school.
I ran inside to grab crackers while she stayed in the cooled-off truck.
Everyone else got back and headed for the backyard.
I waved Mom away when she looked quizzically through my windshield. I motioned we’d be there shortly.
“You go ahead, Boon. I just need a few more minutes.” Shae’s hands weren’t trembling quite as badly, but there was no way I was leaving her when she looked ready to pass out fifteen minutes ago. “This is your family’s party. Go be part of it. I’ll be along shortly.”
I leaned over the armrest and cupped her cheek. “No chance, baby. We’re going in there together when you’re ready. You’re part of this family now, so stop with this ‘your family’ business. My family is your family. Got it?”
Her smile was genuine this time, not forced.
She nodded and shoved another cracker in her mouth.
When I was satisfied she wasn’t on the verge of heatstroke or passing out, I helped her out of the truck and we went around the back of the house to join the party.
She was a trooper, mingling and chatting when I knew her back was killing her and the heat was only rising as the late afternoon ebbed on.
“Let’s get you inside for a little rest, huh?” I finally whispered in her ear, steering her away from Em and Tully. She came willingly which told me I was spot-on with my rescue mission. I got her set up in the living room, feet up on an ottoman and a glass of cold iced tea in her hands.
She looked up at me with the kind of smile that made me feel like I was ten feet tall. “Thank you for taking care of me. I know you’re juggling a lot.”
I leaned down and kissed her. “I’m fine. You just need to rest and finish growing that baby, okay?”
Shae pressured me to go back outside and enjoy the party, so eventually I did.
Kinsley was in her element, soaking up the praise and attention from her family, as she should.
Then Tatum and a few of his baseball friends came over and the decibel in the backyard ratcheted up exponentially.
They were still high on their district win and graduating, testosterone pumping through their veins.
The sun finally started to dip behind the pine trees ringing the property and the temperature began to drop.
The rowdy boys began teaching Warrick and Colson some sort of dance which made them all laugh their asses off as they attempted it.
The rest of the adults naturally moved to the picnic tables closer to the house, leaving the loud ones to live it up.
Cassie ended up sitting next to me, both of us watching our daughter a few feet away.
“She looks so happy. I doubted my decision a lot, but she acclimated well here.”
I nodded. “She did. And it certainly gave us time to make some things right, so thank you for that.”
Cassie’s pretty face tipped into a humor-filled smirk. “I see you managed to knock up another cleat chaser. A black sheep never changes his ways, huh?”
The glare was instantaneous. “What?”
“Shae being pregnant,” Cassie explained. “Is history repeating itself eighteen years later?”
I jumped to my feet, rocking the entire picnic table and grabbing people’s attention around us. “What the hell are you talking about, Cassie? This is nothing like what happened with us.”
“Dad?” I felt Kinsley come up to my side, but I couldn’t spare her a look. I was too focused on Cassie and her bullshit comment.
“Shae is nothing like that. She doesn’t even watch baseball! I’ve known her since birth. Sure, the baby was unexpected, but he’s a blessing. And so is Shae.”
Kinsley stepped between us, one hand on my arm and the other on her mom’s shoulder. “Mom, this isn’t the same thing. They love each other and she’s my science teacher. Seriously, she’s a good influence in my life.”
Cassie held up both hands. “Whoa. Okay, sorry. My bad. I clearly made a wrong assumption.” She stood, offering me her hand in some kind of apology handshake. “I apologize for assuming my life’s story is repeating itself. Clearly I don’t know the whole story.”
Kinsley’s eyebrows were raised as she looked back at me, clearly hoping I’d take the apology for what it was and smooth things over. I was still holding on to the pissed-off feeling, but for Kinsley’s sake, I’d accept the apology.
I slid my hand into hers for a quick shake before letting go. “Apology accepted. Sorry for jumping down your throat.”
The conversation around us continued, but I had no interest in sitting next to Cassie and making uncomfortable small talk after that. I turned to my daughter instead.
“Hey, Tink. I got you a graduation gift. How about I go get it?”
Kinsley’s face lit up. “Yes, please!”
I headed up the three stairs and across the back deck and into the house.
“Shae? Want to give the gift to Kinsley with me?” She didn’t answer and she wasn’t in the chair I’d left her in.
I ran through the house but didn’t see her.
I grabbed the jewelry box off my nightstand and headed back outside.
I didn’t see Shae in the backyard either.
“Hey, Dad? We’re going to head out to the grad bonfire.” Tatum’s arm was already around Kinsley’s waist. Tatum’s friends had already migrated out of the backyard toward their cars out front.
I hustled over and gave her the present, while listing off my rules for the evening. No drugs, no drinking, and no driving if you broke any of those rules. “I expect you to get my daughter home safely, Tatum.”
He gave me a head nod. “Yes, sir.”
Kinsley waved the jewelry box in my line of vision, breaking my death glare at Tatum. “Can I open this now?”
With my head nod, she did, then gasped as she held it up so she could see it in the dim light. “Oh my gosh, I love it!”
I took the two-carat diamond solitaire necklace out of the box and helped her put it on while she held her hair off her neck. I wasn’t letting some lame boy try to impress her by giving her her first diamond. He’d have to bring his A-game to surpass my diamond.
“It’s one of the highest rated diamonds you can get, a true priceless gem, just like you, Kinsley.
” Despite Tatum standing right there, I said what I needed to say on the subject that had caused major arguing the last few weeks.
“I just want you to go to a college where you’ll thrive and become your best self. You deserve the world, Tink.”
Kinsley let her hair flop back down, her hand already feeling the diamond now lying against her collarbone. There were tears in her eyes. “Thank you, Dad. I love you.”
My ribs ached, hearing her say those three words so easily now. “I love you, too.”
Then she gave me a bone-crushing hug and the kids were off to the bonfire.
I looked around for Shae, wishing she could have been there with me, but didn’t see her.
I searched for a few more minutes before my brothers pulled me into a conversation that held me up for awhile.
By the time I lifted my head again to scan the crowd, the moon was high in the sky and Shae was nowhere to be found.