Chapter 5
Bronson
Cole climbed into the truck as we followed Madalyn and Lila to Gushers.
“Did you really say that to that little fucker?” I asked.
He chuckled, “Oh yeah.”
I waited, but he didn’t expand further on that; however, I wanted to know why.
“Why?” I asked.
I felt his head snap toward me and then felt his eyes on the side of my face, “Why?”
I nodded, “Yeah. Why’d you say anything to him at all?”
“Dad, I don’t get what you're asking.”
I sighed, “You only stand up for Madalyn and me. Which I get because it’s how I raised you. But why do you do it for Lila?”
“Ain’t never had anyone in my life that would go balls to the wall for me. You do it because you're my dad. I appreciate it. But... coming from someone who does it because she truly cares... yeah, I’ll get real upset if anyone messes with her. Cause hurting her would hurt me.”
Those words.
The power of those words.
I swallowed.
Feelings unlike anything I’ve ever felt before raced through me.
Anger.
Honor.
Pride.
Love.
Fear.
“Okay,” I said.
Okay. Fucking Okay.
How in the fuck did one single word explain everything I was feeling?
And I knew it did because I caught a smile on his face from the corner of my eye.
We were both silent as we parked beside Lila’s car in front of Gushers.
Cole and I hopped out, and when I saw Lila’s door start to open, I growled, “Don’t you fucking dare.”
The door stopped moving.
I made my way to Lila’s door as Cole made his way to Madalyn’s side.
I grabbed the door handle and then opened her door for her, “When you're around Cole and me, you wait for us to get your door. That clear?”
And when the door cleared, she looked up at me with those crystal baby blue eyes of hers that felt as though she could see straight through to my very soul.
She nodded, “Okay.”
After she climbed out, I read what was on the back of her shirt again, then I asked, “When did you get that made?”
She looked over her shoulder at me as she stepped up on the curb, “After his first game.”
I nodded, “Okay, but why that saying?”
She looked up at me as I stepped up on the curb at her side, and then she looked at Cole and Madalyn.
“Can y’all give your Dad and me a minute?” she asked them.
They nodded, then moved a few steps away.
Then once they were moved away, she lowered her voice, those baby blues locked onto mine, “I was sitting there at his game and overheard a few of the football moms. They were bragging about their kids. And then one of them said that it was sad that the best player on the team didn’t have a woman there cheering him on. ”
I growled at that.
She nodded, then continued.
“That it must have been something he did when he was a kid to make his mom leave. And Cole was near them, and I knew he heard every word.”
Then she snickered, “So, I had this shirt made and a few others. I went to his practice, walked by that group of women, stopped in front of them, and let them read the back of it. Then I turned my head to them and said, talk about my boy like that one more time, and you’ll find out how much power one of the founding families in this county has.
And for your information, that twat was a bitch who didn’t deserve to have the title of Mom.
Get your facts straight before you talk about him. ”
I processed her words, then recalled the night after a certain game.
Cole had walked through the door, walked right up to me, and said, ‘Thank you for moving us here, Dad.’ I thought he was talking about the team, his friends.
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
He had been talking about Lila.
Fuck.
Me.
“Done?” I heard Cole call out.
Lila looked around me, smiled, and nodded, “Yep. I’m hungry enough I could eat a horse.”
Madalyn chuckled, “Great minds think alike.”
I stepped in pace with Lila as we moved toward them, then I asked, “How are the two of you still hungry?”
They both shrugged.
I shook my head.
As the four of us walked into Gushers, I felt every pair of eyes on us.
Everyone said hello to Lila as we walked through the restaurant, and a few pairs of eyes came to me. The feminine kind.
I paid them no heed.
I was done with all of that.
Madalyn was looking at her menu, then she leaned into Lila’s side, “How good is this?”
I watched as she scanned the menu and looked at what Madalyn was showing her, and then she threw her head back and started laughing, “Sweetheart, you don’t want to know.”
“Now I gotta know,” Madalyn’s eyes had a twinkle in them.
Cole chuckled, “Same.”
“Fuck it. So do I.” I said.
Lila’s eyes twinkled, then she called out, “Pete? You got a minute to come out here?”
“That my Lila girl?” an older man’s voice called out.
“Sure, it is. You know her voice by now,” Darla said as she came to our table and took our drink orders.
Pete came walking over to us and looked at Lila. “What’s up, sweetheart?”
“Can you explain how this came to be on the menu?” Lila asked with laughter in her tone.
He looked at the menu, then he too threw his head back in laughter.
Darla was snickering as she folded her arms and waited for Pete to share.
He was still chuckling as he shook his head, “Y’all ever see that old movie with Chevy Chase called Funny Farm?”
The kids shook their heads, and I did because I’ve never seen it.
“Well, watch it. Ethan watched that movie with us at our house when we were watching them a long time ago, so Frank and Misty could have a date night. And Ethan wanted to know what they tasted like. So, we added them to the menu to get a laugh out of it.”
I looked at Lila, “You got plans tonight?”
She looked at me, tilted her head, and said, “I did. I rearranged them to be with the kids today and tonight.”
“So, in other words, you're ours tonight?” I teased.
Her eyes twinkled, then she bit her lip and nodded.
“Great game, Cole. Heard everything over the radio.” Darla gushed at Cole.
I watched as my boy’s cheeks pinked. “Thank you, ma’am.”
“Ma’am? How old do you think I am?” she asked with a wink.
He chuckled.
I bumped my shoulder with his.
Then a sudden sound filled the space.
Lila pulled her phone out, hit a button, and rummaged in her purse.
Then she pulled out a little kit.
I frowned, “What was that? And what is that?”
Cole looked at me, “It’s her insulin.”
Lila nodded as she opened the pack and grabbed what looked to be an alcohol wipe.
“What for?” I asked.
Because how did my kids know this and I didn’t?
Then I wanted to smack myself.
Cause they spend a lot of time with her, dumbass.
“I have diabetes. This is my insulin shot.”
I nodded, “Sorry you have that.”
She shrugged, “Could be worse.”
I lifted a brow at that, “How so?”
She snickered, “I could be allergic to chocolate.”
Madalyn giggled, “Right!”
I sat there as I watched Lila use the alcohol pad on her stomach, then she grabbed an injector, took in a breath, and then pushed it in.
I made a mental note to do some research when I get home that night.
The moment our food came out, we all dug in, just then my phone rang.
I frowned as I pulled it out, because no one called me this late.
Seeing Clutch’s name, I hit the button and brought the phone to my ear, “Everything okay?”
He sighed, “Yes and no.”
“Elaborate,” I said.
I felt Lila’s gaze on me, and I looked at her with a wink.
“Little shit head thinks he’s still something else. Challenged a big fighter to the ring. Gotta get a handle on that.”
I sighed. “I’ll take care of it.”
He snickered, “And I know you will.”
After we hung up, we finished eating.
Then I paid.
Twenty minutes later, we walked into the house, and I said, “Okay. Go find the movie, buy it if you have to, I’ll get the popcorn started.”
We were all on the couches in the family room as we watched the movie.
Certain scenes had all of us chuckling.
And then I felt it... as if the moment Pete had been referring to was about to come on.
Lila’s eyes went to Madalyn, as the main character sat at the bar top and ate those things.
And the moment he found out what they were, Madalyn’s face went green, so did Cole’s, and if I had to guess, mine did too.
Cole and I both winced and placed our hands over our balls.
Seeing our looks, Lila burst into laughter so hard she was snorting.
Fuck me.
Adorable.
Her eyes came to mine as she was still laughing.
But there was something in those crystal baby blue eyes of hers.
Something I’ve never seen before.
And it was something that terrified the fuck out of me.
***
What was a man to do when everyone who was supposed to love him... didn’t.
***
After I walked Lila out to her car and thanked her for the day she spent with us, I tapped the roof of her car and headed back into the house.
I pulled the card I had been given from my back pocket as I walked through the house and locked it up tight.
I had just started up the stairs when I heard Madalyn call out, “Lila made it home.”
I nodded to myself.
Cole shouted, “Good.”
I stopped at Madalyn’s door first and saw her shifting through the bags on her bed.
All four of them, I frowned, “Didn’t buy more than that?”
She looked over at me and smiled, “Lila told me that you can accessorize and do all kinds of things with different outfits. I’m going to give it a try.”
I winked, “Okay, precious. Get some good sleep.”
She smiled, “You too, daddy.”
Then I moved down the hall to Cole’s room.
As I stepped into his room, he was towel-drying his hair.
I walked over to him and then handed him the card.
He frowned, then took it, and I watched as his entire frame froze.
“Wha.. wha... what is this?” he asked.
I told him about a man named Marcus DuPointe who had approached me at his game.
“Holy. Shit.” He said.
I chuckled. “Think about it. Yeah?”
He nodded, “Yeah, but... I’m going to go to college first.”
I winked, “Proud of you, son.”
Cole
As dad walked down the stairs, I counted down in my head, ‘Three, two, one,’ and there she was.
Madalyn came bursting into my room. “Have you called her about it yet?”
I shook my head, “No. Think it’s too late?”
Madalyn snorted, “For us? Yeah, no.”
I chuckled, nodded, then pulled my phone up and scrolled to Lila’s name.
I put it on speaker so Madalyn could hear too.
She answered on the fourth ring, “Hey, sorry, was talking to the girls. You okay?”
“Yeah. Madalyn is here, too.” I told her.
She giggled, “So, what’s up?”
“Dad got handed a card tonight,” I said as my thumb traced over the words on the business card.
“I know. How do you feel about it?” she asked.
“I mean, I’m floored. You know?” I asked.
“Yeah, I would be too. But do me a favor. Yeah?” she asked.
I nodded, “Yeah.”
“Okay. This is something my Mom told me to do a long time ago. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and then let the silence invade your system, and if you see nothing but a career in football in your head, then that’s the path you take. If it’s not, then it’s not the right path for you.”
I looked at Madalyn, and then we both did what she said.
And through it all, she didn’t speak.
Not until she heard me say, “I can see it. But I also see other stuff.”
“I get that. But at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is what will make you happy. You never work a day in your life if you're happy with what you do.”
But what neither kid knew was that at the sound of soft feet running across the hall, Bronson was walking back up the stairs, leaning his back against the wall, and eavesdropping.
And he, too, did the same thing she had suggested to Cole.
And then... he walked down the hall with a smile on his face.
Preparing to make her his...
... Until a nightmare woke him up.
The kind of nightmare where he was on his knees on a long stretch of asphalt as he watched in horror as her vehicle went up in flames.
Fuck.
They say dreams show you the future.
No way in hell was he going to make her his only to lose her too soon.