36. Chapter 36
Sadie
Managing the gym from home was satisfying. I dealt with the numbers and the schedules, but I didn’t have to deal with the day-to-day things. Not the smell, not the rude trainers. I knew that wasn’t fair. Some of the trainers were decent.
I went in today so that I could give a paper to the new manager. I’d watched her for a few minutes and knew this was her calling in life and not mine. No one would dare step out of line on her watch.
She wasn’t in her office, so I left it on her desk. As I was about to leave, I spotted a man running on a treadmill. His back was to me, but everything in me froze. He was too familiar, but a stranger at the same time.
I took a deep, long breath. Lots of people looked the same from behind. Something told me this wasn’t one of those moments.
“Pat,” I said, loud enough people would hear, but not loud enough that it would startle people into turning if that wasn’t their name.
The man turned. His eyes went wide and mine narrowed.
He stopped running and stepped off the treadmill. His eyes went to the floor, and I marched over to him.
“What are you doing here, Dad?”
He gave me one of his lame half-smiles. “Exercising.”
“You live here?”
“Not in Lansing Falls. A small town nearby.”
I crossed my arms. “And you can afford a gym membership? You can’t take care of your own kids, but you can afford that?”
We had the attention of everyone now.
“Things change,” he said, rubbing his neck.
“And you still didn’t come back.”
“I had to leave, Sadie. You and Alyssa were better off without me.”
My laugh came out sharp. “It didn’t feel that way when I was working two jobs just to scrape by.”
“You have your grandma.”
“Who had to come out of retirement to care for us… And then died.”
He flinched.
Good. He should feel something.
“I have a little bit saved,” he said. “I can help.”
“Too late,” I said.
Cole came in. He looked around, but no one was working out; they were all watching us.
“Hey, Pat,” Cole said. “You ready to sweat?”
I poked Cole in the chest with my pointer finger. “You train him?”
He tilted his head. “Yes?”
“Of course you do. How is this happening?” I put my hands to my head, realizing I was causing a scene, and it would all get back to Tiffany Hart.
Cole was still confused. “What’s going on, Sadie?”
“Nothing. I’m going. I’ll see you at dinner.”
“Wait, Sadie,” Dad said. “I really am sorry. I’m weak. When your mom died, I panicked. I didn’t know what to do, so I left.”
“Patrick Levit,” Cole muttered. “Why didn’t I connect that?”
I chewed my lip. I wanted to run and maybe scream. But mostly, I wanted to fall into my dad’s arms and cry.
I sniffed. Great. I barreled into my dad, wrapping my arms around him. “I hate you,” I cried. “But I still love you.”
He squeezed me tightly. “I wanted to come back. As soon as I left. But I was scared. I knew you would all hate me.”
The tears kept coming.
“I’ll make it up to you,” he said. “You and Alyssa. Do you have an apartment here?”
I looked up at him. “We have a house.” I stepped back and touched Cole’s arm. “I guess you already know Cole. We got married last month.”
He blinked. “You’re married to a Lansing Falls Hart? That’s a story I want to hear. Cole seems like a good guy. Way better than I ever was.”
“He is,” I said.
“Can I see Alyssa?”
I moved my jaw from side to side. I wasn’t sure how Alyssa would react.
“Just let me apologize,” he said. “Please.”
I nodded slowly. “You can come by in a few minutes. Cole can bring you. I’ll talk to her first.”
I turned and walked out of the building before I could change my mind. The air outside felt too thin. I took a long breath and tried to steady myself.
How was this happening? What were the chances?
Cole had taken me to the city to buy a car last night. I climbed in and started it. My hands were shaking, so I sat there for a minute until they weren’t.
Then I drove home.
Alyssa was at the kitchen table doing homework.
I went straight to the pantry, grabbed a package of Oreos, and sat beside her, holding them out.
She didn’t look up. “Oh great. What’s wrong?”
I tried to smile. I probably looked like someone had just told me the world was ending. “Why would something be wrong?”
“You sat down, and you brought cookies.”
Fair.
“Do you ever think about Dad?” I asked.
Her pencil stilled. She stared at the paper for a second, then twisted the eraser between her fingers. “Sometimes.”
“Do you hate him?”
She tapped the pencil lightly against the table. “No.”
I moved my head to the side. “Why not?”
She shrugged. “He was always a little… troubled. Grandma said he struggled. With mental health.” She paused. “I’m mad at him. But I still wish he would come back.”
I swallowed. “He’s in town.”
Her head snapped up. “Here?”
“Yes.”
Tears spilled down her face. “Where? Can I see him?”
“Cole’s bringing him.”
She shot out of her chair and ran toward the front door.
I grabbed a tissue, blew my nose, and followed her outside.
We stood in the driveway together. She kept scanning the road like she might miss him if she blinked.
“Is he going to stay?” she asked.
“He said he’s living nearby.”
She slipped her hand into mine. I squeezed it. Cole’s car turned onto the street, and we stepped off the driveway onto the grass.
The car stopped, and Dad got out.
Alyssa didn’t hesitate. She ran.
“Daddy!”
“Lyssa!” he said, catching her and lifting her into his arms before pulling her tight against him.
She cried into his shirt. I stood there, frozen, tears blurring everything. I wasn’t sure what I felt.
Relief.
Anger.
Gratitude.
Fear.
But mostly… hope.
Cole
I passed the platter of chicken to Pat. Everything felt fragile, and I worried about talking too much and ruining the calm.
I hated that Pat had hurt Sadie and Alyssa. That part of me wasn’t going anywhere. But sitting here at our table, watching him listen to his girls like they were the only two people in the world, I believed he was sorry.
They were all talking softly, trading stories from before everything fell apart. I mostly stayed quiet and observed.
I didn’t have many clients at the gym yet, so my after-school schedule was flexible. I’d started training Pat a week and a half ago. It was still wild to me that I hadn’t connected the last name sooner.
Alyssa was animated, explaining her plan to become a bodyguard as if it were already a done deal.
Pat looked amused. Proud, even.
Sadie looked tired, but lighter than she had earlier. She’d started out tense, but slowly warmed up.
“Any boys I should be scaring off?” he asked.
Alyssa rolled her eyes. “I wish. There’s only one boy I wanted to give my heart to, and then we moved, and now he’s ignoring me.”
I smiled at the drama that was teenagers.
“Now I make myself feel better by watching the football team practice.”
He chuckled. “You sound like Sadie. She used to like the players, too.”
Sadie grimaced. “I wasn’t like that.”
“Sure you were. But I think you liked to watch the basketball team.”
Sadie’s eyes jumped to mine.
I put a hand to my heart. “Basketball? Ouch.”
She giggled. “I’ve changed my preferences.”
Pat’s brows lifted. He looked between us, clearly trying to piece things together.
“I coach the high school football team,” I said.
“Ah. That explains it.” He nodded slowly. “I’d love to come to a game sometime. I played a little football back in my day.”
“That would be great. We’d love to have you.” I glanced at Sadie. She nodded. I hoped this would turn into the family reunion Sadie and Alyssa needed.