Page 59 of All This Time (Blossom Peak #1)

Fletcher

A New Pact

“Fletcher.”

I walk into my father’s house to find him sitting in his recliner, his full leg cast propped up on the footrest. He was released from the hospital a few days ago, but I was still in Charlotte dealing with the aftermath of the week before.

Laney let me know that he made it home, and checked on him last night, even though she didn’t have to.

My angel.

“Hey.”

“Thank you for coming.”

Taking a seat on the couch across from him, I keep my walls up because there’s no telling what my father will say. I’ve learned over the years never to underestimate him and always be prepared for a fist to swing in my direction.

“I can’t stay long. I have plans with Laney.”

He smiles, but I can tell that it’s painful for him. “She loves you.”

“Yeah, she does.”

Nodding, he stares down at his hands in his lap.

“I could tell when she was with you in the hospital. And when she came by last night, she made sure to give me a piece of her mind.” It’s so strange to hear him speak completely sober, almost like there’s a completely different person sitting in front of me.

I can’t fight the proud curl of my lips. “I’m sure she did.”

“I’ve thought about what you said and honestly? The thought of never speaking to you again is something I couldn’t live with.”

My throat grows tight. “Well, you know what you have to do then.”

He nods. “I do. The hospital gave me a list of rehab centers they recommend, and Laney did as well.”

“You have a problem, Dad.”

He shoves a hand through his hair before turning his eyes on me. “I do. I always told myself that it wasn’t that big of a deal, and contrary to what you might think, I’ve been doing better over the past few years. But then you showed up out of the blue…”

I cut him off, instantly irritated. “Don’t try to blame this on me. It’s a goddamn miracle that you hadn’t gotten in an accident until the other night, let alone that you didn’t kill that couple in the other car.”

His jaw tightens. “You don’t get it, Fletcher.

Seeing you live out your dream, seeing the man you’ve become and the success you’ve achieved?

All it’s done is remind me of all the ways I fell short.

I’m fucking jealous of you!” he shouts before his lips begin to tremble. “There! Does that make you happy?”

I stand from the couch. “You think hearing my own father tell me that he’s jealous of me makes what you did okay?”

“No! It’s not okay. I’m a piece of shit, all right! I fucking admit it.” He pounds his fist into the arm of his chair. “But I want to do better, be better. I don’t want the rest of my life to feel like this—this shame, this regret, this hatred for me that is so clearly written all over your face.”

And that’s when it dawns on me. Laney may have hated me for the past twelve years for something that I couldn’t control, but I’ve done the same to my own father.

His actions? They weren’t about me. They were about him.

If I’m going to move on with my life, I have to let it go. I have to find a way to forgive him—not for his sake, but for mine.

“Then get help.”

“I will. I—I promise.”

“Good.”

“Son?” he says as I turn my back toward him, preparing to leave.

“What?”

“I’m proud of you,” he croaks out, making my eyes sting. “You are ten times the player I ever was.”

I glance over my shoulder, fighting back my own tears. “And I’ll be ten times the father you were too. We’ll talk again once you’re clean,” I say, and then leave him there all alone, wondering if he’ll actually follow through on his promises for once.

I want to believe him. The boy in me will always want a relationship with his dad.

But all that matters at this point is Laney, and our future. So that’s my focus until I can start to trust my father again.

***

Laney jumps into my arms the second I get out of my truck and crashes her mouth to mine. “God, I missed you.”

“This is such a better greeting than the last time I returned to Blossom Peak.”

She giggles against my lips before a moan travels up her throat, egging me on to kiss her deeper and harder.

Fuck, I missed her too. More than I’ll ever be able to articulate.

“Thank you again for my postcards.”

While I was away, I sent her a total of three postcards, and fuck if she didn’t have me tearing up when we talked about them on the phone late at night. “You’re welcome. I’m glad you loved them.”

She leans back in my arms as I carry her up to the main building at Hart Winery. “I can’t wait to show you later just how much.”

Groaning, I find her lips again as we walk inside, but a throat clearing to my left has me pulling away from Laney’s mouth, only to find George Hart standing in the main tasting room, assessing us.

Laney slides down my body, concealing my cock that’s straining against the zipper of my shorts. “Uh, yeah. I probably should have said something earlier, but…”

George extends his hand. “Fletcher.”

I nod, shaking his hand. “George.”

He shoves his hands in his pockets. “I know you’re in love with my daughter, but do you mind keeping the PDA to a minimum when you’re around me? That’s still my little girl.”

Laney rolls her eyes at him, but I nod. “I can do that, sir.”

George clears his throat. “I want to apologize to you, Fletcher.”

“Why?”

“For not seeing what I should have seen when you were a kid.”

Laney rubs my arm at my side. Dropping my eyes to the ground, I clear my throat of the lump developing there. “It wasn’t your responsibility.”

George steps closer to me. “That’s where you’re wrong. It was. Any adult should be watching out for a child, especially when that child is part of the family. I’m sorry, Fletcher.”

Meeting his eyes again, I reply, “Thank you.”

“And because I think of you as family, I hope you’ll understand why I’ve asked you to be here.”

I look over at Laney and she squeezes my hand. “It’s okay. I think tonight has been a long time coming.”

George leads us through the winery back to his office. When he opens the door, I find my three best friends sitting around a blackjack table, along with three other men I vaguely recognize, chatting lightheartedly. But as soon as they see Laney and me holding hands, the room goes silent.

Laney presses up on her toes, planting a kiss to my cheek. “Don’t be nervous.”

Rhonan speaks first. “Laney, I know you’re all in love with Fletcher, but that doesn’t mean I want to see it.”

Laney plants her hands on her hips. “Get used to it, Rhonan. I’ve waited a long time for this,” she says, looking back at me and winking over her shoulder.

“Now, should I stay out here in the hall in case I need to call the police to break up another fight, or can I leave while you all talk and promise not to kill each other?”

I meet Rhonan’s eyes, seeing the same remorse in his that I feel in my own chest before turning back to Laney. “I think we’ll be okay, baby.”

“You’d better.” She presses up on her toes and kisses me once more before turning and leaving the office.

George clears his throat. “Let me introduce you to some friends of mine.” I follow him deeper into the room. “This is Anthony Gonzalez, Brian Thomas, and Henry Collins. Gentlemen, I’m sure you remember Fletcher Adams.”

Anthony stands up from his seat first to shake my hand. “We’ve actually met before when you were younger, and I’ve been following your career. Congrats on the success.”

“Thank you.” I reach out to shake the hands of the other two men as well, and that’s when I realize I’ve also met them.

“I’ve asked my friends to be here tonight to hopefully get through to you guys,” George says as he takes his seat at the blackjack table. It’s at that moment that I glance in Henley’s direction as he acknowledges me with a nod, and then when I take in Elliot, my chest fucking hurts.

He looks like shit—dark circles under his eyes, his hair a mess, and a beard growing on his jaw that he clearly hasn’t shaved since the wedding.

“What is there to get through to us about?” Elliot grates out. “I think we can all agree that we aren’t as good of friends as we thought.”

“Elliot,” I start, but his glare makes me pause.

“No. Don’t try to come up with some excuse, Fletcher. You fucking lied to us all, not only about Laney, but also about Tori. I was acting like a lovesick idiot while you knew she’d left.”

Sighing, I fold my hands together and rest them on the table in front of me. “You’re right. I did. I kept shit from all of you, but I wouldn’t take it back.”

He tilts his head at me. “Really? So you’re perfectly fine with lying to your best fucking friends?”

George chimes in. “Can I say something really quick?”

Elliot leans back in his chair, his icy glare still apparent. “Fine.”

“You know, the four of you remind me so much of Anthony, Brian, Henry, and myself.” George chuckles. “Best friends from a young age, but that doesn’t mean that our friendship has always been perfect.”

Anthony nods. “In fact, I don’t think we realized what true friendship was until George lost Elizabeth.”

Rhonan looks back at his dad. “What is he talking about?”

George leans forward. “It’s easy to think being someone’s friend is enough when life is good.

But when life gets hard, or in my case, borderline unbearable, that’s when friendship is truly tested.

” He juts his chin toward the other three men.

“If it weren’t for them, I’m not sure I would have survived losing my wife. ”

“But you were strong after Mom died,” Rhonan says.

“Because of them, son. Anthony came over and dragged me out of the house. He took me to her grave, made me talk about her, and made sure that I was fucking eating.”

“And after you left for the Marines, I took your father to a therapist,” Brian says. “My wife is the one that suggested it, but I’m the one that picked him up for his appointments and took him home to make sure he actually went.”

“You never told me this,” Rhonan says.