Chapter 23 #2
Doyle huffed, rubbing his arms like he’d gotten a chill or something. “I’d be bored out of my mind here. But I’m glad you’ve found a place that fits you better. Even if it does mean I have to get on a plane to get one of my Paxi hugs.”
I thought about the mornings I sat on the porch with my coffee. The way Pops had found his footing here faster than I'd expected. The way Bellport had this quality to it that made strangers feel like family.
“You’re welcome to come for a hug anytime you need or want one. And I’ll reach out to you anytime I’m up that way. You can’t get rid of me so easily, D.”
Doyle nodded with a smirk. “Enough sappy feelings. I don’t want to cry. Daddy wants to try all the baked goodies he can while we’re here. Do you know a place or two?"
From inside the house, Pierce yelled out, "Don’t put that all on me, boy. You want some too!"
Some things never change.
Pierce and Doyle had a field day hopping from place to place. We visited every single location that my traveling app showed had any type of dessert.
Seven restaurants in total.
Not once did either man complain. Pops was over the moon, greeting people left and right, some by name and others he grew to know well by the time we left each stop.
I stayed back, watching it all unfold. The two parts of my life coming together in a way I couldn't have expected.
Admittedly, I missed my Princess Pack friends. Missed the life I had built.
But I wouldn't trade it for anything. Not with my new team being so welcoming, and having Grizzly—the boy of my fantasies come to life—right beside me. Plus there was the Bellport family and all the Daddy friends Jake, Bellamy, and Royce had introduced me to.
I'd even been invited to a Bellport family dinner. Of course, I hadn't taken them up on it. I wasn't brave enough to face all of them just yet. Jake was going to make it happen, though. He seemed rather curious about me and Grizzly, more so than anyone else.
Eventually, Doyle got drowsy enough that Pierce said they would head to the hotel. Pops offered them the option to stay with us, but I could tell the couple wanted their own space. Once they were gone, Pops and I sat on the back porch, watching as the sun dipped below the trees.
"I always liked your friends," Pops murmured, eyes closed and head tilted back.
"Yeah, well, they like you too. I can't think of too many other people who would be fine with being led around town."
Pops snorted. "Oh, they loved it. So did you, even if you were rather quiet."
I'd been quiet for other reasons.
Pops had met Grizzly. He'd known about my crush for a long time and had been supportive, encouraging me in every way.
But… I hadn't told him about Grizzly's vision. That was something I didn't feel I needed to share yet. As time went on, I realized I was hiding it from him. I never hid things from my father. It just wasn't something we did. Lies had a way of biting you in the ass, and we never wanted that.
I’d asked Grizzly if I could share his diagnosis. My boy had been fine with my pops knowing, since he knew how close we were. In fact, he wondered why I hadn't said anything to him yet. With his blanket approval, I knew it was time to sit Pops down and explain things.
"I actually wanted to talk to you about something," I started, turning to face him.
He peeked one eye open, looking at me. "Uh oh. You've got your serious voice on."
My brow dipped. "My serious voice? What does that even mean?"
He sat up, his elbow going to the armrest as he propped his chin up.
"It means whatever you're about to say is something you think I'm going to react badly to, but will probably turn out to be no big deal. Or it’s something that I find fascinating and will want to be involved in. The only question is, what’s the source of this?
Is it Doyle and Pierce and their visit, or does this stem from baseball? "
When I didn't make a move to answer, he snapped his fingers and said, "Grizzly. This is about your boy, isn't it?"
It was uncanny how he could do that—pull the truth out of thin air like a freaking magician.
"It is about Grizzly, and I put off telling you because I didn't want to break his trust. My boy is fine with you knowing. Now it’s time to share."
Pops nodded, his expression open, like I could tell him anything and it would be fine.
I took a deep breath, then went about explaining everything from Grizzly's vision problems to the projected path of the loss.
I explained how I wanted to be not only his Daddy but his partner in life, which meant being his caretaker.
It was vastly more than I thought I would be doing in my twenties, but it was also the only future I could see.
The only way I would be happy was to have Grizzly beside me through my baseball career. There was no one or the other.
Pops stayed quiet through it all. At the end, he dropped his hand down and leaned forward, bringing himself closer.
"You're a fucking idiot sometimes, son."
I startled. "Excuse me?"
He waved his hand like he was clearing the word away.
"I don't mean to offend you, but did you really think I would be upset by this? The man has an eye disease that’s stealing his ability to see. Why would that make me angry? Why would I react badly? I'm a pretty cool dude. Laid back. Friendly. And you’re obviously in love with him. Even without that factor, I’d want to know ways I could help him and make his life easier.
I'd probably stay up all night researching.
It's just who we are. The Wells men are fixers and helpers. "
"And apparently idiots," I added.
He smiled, all the heaviness of the moment before gone.
"Look, son, I wasn't trying to be a jerk, and I don't really think you're an idiot, but you really don't need to worry about this type of thing.
I will support you and Grizzly however I can for as long as I'm on this earth.
You don't have to do this alone. I'm not going to be there when you're his Daddy, of course, because we've agreed on that, but I can be there for driving to appointments or reading him a menu.
This isn't you and Grizzly against the world. You have family, and so does he."
I didn't have the heart to tell Pops that Grizzly didn't have family in that sense. Then again, the Bellports had adopted him. The Blue Jays seemed to love him. I'd heard more than one story about what a great agent he was and how big of an advocate he could be.
Grizzly was loved immensely.
The notion that I was falling into had long passed. Pops was right. I was in love with my boy.
I knew that for the long road ahead, I would be there for him, just as I knew he'd be there for me if the roles were reversed. Now it was just about convincing him to let me help.
For such a sweet, soft boy, he was really bullheaded.