24. Jack
Chapter twenty-four
Jack
B eer. The sweet beverage that usually rewarded me after a long day.
Basically, the alternative to water back in my college days.
I drank so many cheap, American lagers that I had to move to the heavier, German beers when I moved back home because of how easily I would down a bottle with my dad.
Lenz didn’t need to see how comfortable I was chugging the liquid when I was expected to act like a full-blown adult post-graduation.
I hadn’t had a drink in months. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to, but the fact that Maggie hadn’t sipped a drop of alcohol since I’d met her made me hesitant to drink in her presence. Plus, my body had never felt better.
The question was, did I buy a case for myself to aid my mood for the alcoholic coming into town today?
Sure, I had discovered the liquor cabinet in the dining room that housed some incredibly overpriced whiskey and tequila, but I hadn’t so much as touched it since finding it.
Richard Rynne was a good man…mostly. I had spent the last two days trying to convince myself of that.
I respected that alcoholism was a brutal disease to deal with on top of becoming a single parent, but fuck, did I want to deck him for what he put Maggie through.
I had no idea how to take care of a kid with Maggie, let alone do it on my own.
He still didn’t gain any respect from me.
Blatantly passing through the beer aisle, I decided it was best if alcohol wasn’t so easily accessible in our house. If Richard asked for beer, he would have to admit that he wasn’t working toward getting better. He needed to hear himself say it.
I stocked up on Maggie’s favorite snacks.
Bugles, blueberries, the tangerine flavor of Topo Chico.
She was going to be stressed as hell for the next few days, dealing with her father and admitting to what the two of us had been doing for the last few months.
There was no doubt he would call my father, and they both would throw a fit over it.
My only response would be to ask them what they would have done, and call them out on whatever bullshit excuse they came up with.
I knew I was going to get an earful from Richard.
He was protective of his daughter, and I wasn’t exactly husband material in the years he’d known me.
In fact, I wasn’t close to it even when Maggie confessed her pregnancy.
But things were different now. Maggie and I were dominating the consequences of our accidental situation.
We were thriving in our new lives here. No one could call us irresponsible children.
Maggie worked almost full-time at the club’s polo and riding school while helping me with my horses.
I was playing for an incredibly successful patron, who had provided us with unmatched living quarters: a house twice the size of our homes in Pennsylvania, a fourteen-stall barn, and seven acres of pastures.
Our lives were together. I wasn’t taking shit from anyone.
Upon opening the front door with my bags of groceries, I found Maggie sitting on the couch, writing in her lesson binder.
She had developed a detailed system that measured her students’ progress and how far along they stood in the program.
It was adorable, and only something someone as passionate as Maggie would do.
I touched her shoulder to let her know I was home before heading to the kitchen to unpack the groceries.
“Hey,” she took an AirPod out of her ear. “What’d you get?”
“Just stocked up on the usual. Snacks, water, dinner, dish soap. Even picked up some lipstick to treat myself.” I hid my smile, taking the packaged steak filets to the refrigerator.
Just because I didn’t like my father-in-law didn’t mean I couldn’t impress him with my grilling skills. And I took steak to the next damn level.
Maggie laughed and padded into the kitchen.
She began taking a carton of eggs out of the reusable bag and opened it.
“Jack! You’re supposed to make sure none of the eggs are broken.
There’s a cracked one in here.” Her playful whine made me want to grab her neck and kiss her senseless.
I loved that smirky smile on her face. I loved that we were in a place where we could joke with each other.
“Sorry, baby. Guess I forgot.” She flinched at the pet name I had begun calling her.
A soft elbow punched my side as she made her way to open the fridge. She scavenged through it like she was looking for something, then turned back to grab more items to put away. “Thank you for doing this,” she whispered softly. “And for all of my delicious stress snacks.”
I smiled, and a blush crept up my neck. Maggie’s appreciation always punctured my heart in a way that made me so damn grateful that I had her as my baby mama.
My hand moved to grab her forearm before she could turn away.
Her brows lowered in confusion, and her breath caught as I leaned in and kissed her cheek.
Nothing more. Don’t even think about it.
I pulled away and avoided her steady gaze on me.
“I’m nervous, Jack.”
As much as I wanted to hug her and rid her of every worry clouding her mind, I felt it better to keep my distance. Hence, my aversion to looking at the beauty.
“You have nothing to be worried about. I promise. However he takes it, he’s still your dad. He’s still going to love you. He always will.” She took a deep breath, and I still couldn’t turn to face her. Instead, I busied myself by washing and chopping some of the fruit I bought.
“But I want him to love you, too,” her whisper barely traveled across the kitchen.
It was my turn to take a deep breath, letting my face fall into a frown. “As ideal as that sounds, you know he’s going to hate me even more than he already does. I knocked up his only daughter and screwed up her life.”
“Jack.” Her tone was telling. I probably shouldn’t have begged for pity, but what could I say?
Maggie’s soft spot for me was her only way of telling me she loved me back without words.
“We’re both going to do the best we can, and if he doesn’t like it, then fine.
He can deal with it in his own way. What I do expect from both of you, though, is respect. Can I trust that you’ll abide by that?”
I still wouldn’t look her in the eye. “Yes, I promise.”
“Can you tell me, instead of the strawberries?”
God, I felt childish. My eyes met hers. “I promise. I’ll kiss the man’s feet to make you happy, Mags.”
That earned me a small smile. “Thank you. And you’re sure you’re okay with having Ramón groom for you at the game so I can pick my dad up from the airport?”
“So long as he gets to see how badass I look out on the field. Make sure you park the gator close to midfield so he doesn’t miss any of the action.
” Richard’s approval of me needed to be earned bit by bit.
I was willing to do it for Maggie. What better way to convince your father-in-law that you can take good care of his daughter than by kicking ass on the polo field?
“Yes, I’ll bring him close enough so he can see you dominate every player out there. You’ll do great today.”
Mike and I were playing the twelve-goal tournament series.
We had a strong team with two other fantastic players.
The team worked well together, and we each gave each other our moments to shine.
As the Number Four player, or the team captain, I would make sure to amp up the guys so we had good morale.
Today, we played a team in the tournament that had only lost one of their three games.
It would be tough, judging that most of their players were flown in by their all-too-wealthy patron, whose head was almost bigger than his bank account.
But I wasn’t nervous. A challenge never frightened me, and I was determined to prove that to Richard Rynne.
Maggie
The drive to the airport was nerve-wracking.
I had nearly gotten into an accident, and I was only ten minutes into it.
I probably shouldn’t have been driving. My thoughts were off the road and on my dad.
I was almost five months along, and I looked a little more than bloated now.
My father wouldn’t notice as soon as he entered the truck, since the steering wheel blocked my lower body, and I wore an oversized sweater despite the heat, but he would definitely say something once I got out.
Maybe I wouldn’t have to say anything yet.
No, I had to. The truth needed to come out, especially before he saw Jack.
A cool-down period was necessary so he didn’t kill my fake husband.
My dad was understanding, but his reaction to a baby was impossible to gauge.
A car horn honked next to me, and I realized I needed to move my attention to something that didn’t scare me out of my mind or get me into a car accident.
Besides the surprise baby bomb, I was excited to spend time with my dad.
We had so much to catch up on, and he always told bizarre stories that ended with everyone laughing.
I hoped we could find peace as a family.
Whether he liked it or not, we would all be one for the rest of our lives.
No matter his feelings toward Jack, he needed to stay within his boundaries.
Yes, he was my father, and understandably protective of me, but that didn’t give him the right to blow up at my husband. My fake husband.
Ten minutes later, I pulled up to the pick-up area and waved to my dad, who was waiting near a pillar by the entrance to the airport. Per usual, a flask in his hand, leaning on the concrete pillar.
My heart sank.