TWENTY-FIVE

Rowan

I’m so angry on Blake’s behalf.

His dad is such a douche.

Thank goodness Coach Vanek is a people person, and after many years of dealing with spoiled, arrogant, and sometimes difficult athletes, he managed to get Mr. Rourke out of there without much fanfare.

Unfortunately, the damage is done.

Except it’s turning into a blessing in disguise.

While the press is absolutely vilifying Mr. Rourke, they’re giving accolades to Blake for his self-control, the way he tried to protect his mother, and his professionalism in the middle of an embarrassing and slightly out-of-control situation with an inebriated family member. All of it was caught on camera, so there’s no way to sugarcoat Mr. Rourke’s behavior but Blake’s was exemplary, according to the masses.

People are far less focused on the negativity as they are to Blake’s response to the whole thing, and it’s turning out to be a good thing because of all the positive press he’s getting. He doesn’t see it that way, but he’s with his family tonight dealing with the fallout, and I’m on my way to pick up my dad from the airport. He made a last-minute decision to fly in for the next couple of home games, and while I’m happy to see him, the timing kind of sucks because this means no sleepovers with Blake this week.

“Hi, honey.” He gets in my SUV and leans over to kiss my cheek.

“Hey, Pop.” I grin as I pull into traffic. “How was the flight?”

“Nice and smooth.” He leans back in the seat. “How are you doing? The team is killing it!”

“Yeah, it’s been really exciting.”

“How’s your boss? He doing okay?” He knows everything that happened with the accident and Gene’s heart attack.

“He’s on the mend,” I say. “Still not sure if he’s going to retire or not, but I’m good either way.”

“You’re doing great things, honey,” he says. “Your mom would be so proud of you.”

I think of my mom a lot, and I hope he’s right.

“I miss her,” I say.

“Me too.” He sighs. “Anyway, I’m just glad I could fly out.”

“I wish you’d given me a little warning.”

“I didn’t know if I would have the time off and then I just booked the flight. If it’s too much of an inconvenience for me to stay with you, I’m happy to get a hotel or?—”

“No, it’s fine,” I say quickly. “I just don’t know how much time I’ll have for us to hang out. I work every day, even when we don’t have games.”

“That’s all right. I can find ways to amuse myself.”

I laugh.

Last time he came to town when I was working, he wound up meeting a bunch of guys at a bar on the beach and got so sunburned I almost had to take him to the hospital.

“Sunscreen is your friend!” I say, laughing.

“I promise.”

“How’s things at home?” I ask. “Have you met any interesting ladies?”

“Nooo.” He draws out the word like it’s offensive. “You know me better than that.”

“Mom’s been gone nine years,” I tell him. “You’re only in your mid-fifties. You shouldn’t spend the next twenty or thirty years alone.”

“I already had the great love of my life. I’m okay with being alone.”

“Being okay with it doesn’t mean it’s healthy.”

“Maybe not, but I’m fine. What about you? You’re a beautiful young woman—are you dating?”

Uh oh.

This is always dangerous territory.

Especially since I don’t want to tell him about Blake and me.

He was furious about what happened between us.

He’s definitely not going to be happy to hear we’ve rekindled the romance.

“Is there a man in your life?” he asks, suddenly intrigued.

I sigh. “If I tell you, you have to promise not to get mad.”

There’s a long, awkward silence as he ruminates that.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Rowan. Please don’t tell me you’re back with the Rourke boy.”

I grimace.

Yup, he’s still mad about it.

“He’s a man, Dad, not a boy. And he’s not the same teenager he was a decade ago.”

“Jesus.” He shakes his head. “I don’t care how old he is—I still want to kick his skinny ass.”

“He’s not so skinny,” I say, chuckling. “And you’d better not say or do anything to embarrass me. No one knows we’re involved, and it has to stay that way because I don’t want to lose my job.”

“You’re risking your job for this guy?” he demands. “Why, Rowan? You’re beautiful and successful and a great catch—you can’t tell me there aren’t any other men in Los Angeles!”

There are, but none that make me feel like Blake does.

That’s almost impossible to explain to my dad, though.

“Dad, I know you don’t approve, but I’m a grown woman and you have to let me live my life the way I see fit. It’s not serious yet, we’re kind of finding our footing again, and I promise I’ll be careful.”

That part, at least, is true.

When I told Blake I could forgive but I would never forget, I wasn’t kidding. It’s hard to not think about what happened in the past, no matter how good things are in the present. He’s promised he’s not the same guy he was then, and that’s fair because we were eighteen and both of us were a little immature. But I still worry about the emotional power he has over me.

“Well, he better not mess with you again or he’ll answer to me,” Dad rumbles, folding his arms over his chest.

I love his protectiveness, but I need him to give Blake a chance.

“Dad, you have to promise me you’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. He’s not the same kid he was when we knew him. We’ve both done a lot of growing up. Not to mention, he has enough going on with his dad without you starting trouble too.”

Dad seems to be considering that. “Yeah, I saw the stuff on the news about his dad. What the hell was he thinking? I mean, he was obviously drunk.”

“They don’t have a good relationship as it is.” I explain a little about what’s been going on since Blake turned pro. “Blake had no plans to invite them to any more games but then his dad called and apologized so he wanted to give him another chance. And it blew up in his face.”

“Well, to be fair, the only one who looks bad in this scenario is his father. Blake seemed to handle it with dignity.” He says the last part grudgingly.

But my dad is nothing if not fair, and I breathe a mental sigh of relief because this tells me he’s going to be open-minded.

At least, I hope so.

I take Dad to practice with me in the morning. It’s not the first time he’s been here and came to work with me, and a lot of the guys recognize him.

“Yo! Mr. Taylor!” Connor comes over and high fives him.

“Hey, Connor.” Dad and Connor do some fancy handshake thing that I can never figure out. How and when did my dad learn it when I never have?

“Mr. T!” Ivan comes over and gives dad a big bear hug.

“You doin’ okay, big guy?” Dad asks him. “I was nervous when you missed the first few games after the accident.”

“Eh. I’m Russian. We have very hard heads.”

“That’s for sure,” I say, just loud enough for Ivan to hear.

He just laughs.

While my father is busy saying hello to everyone, I go in search of Blake. I’d warned him my dad was coming in and also that he’s not all that pleased with him.

“Hey.” Blake meets me in the hallway near my office. “How’s things?”

“Dad’s fine, in his glory talking to the guys.”

“Should I avoid him?”

“No.” I shake my head. “Go over and say hello. Shake his hand. Be polite. Most people know we dated in high school, so it stands to reason you know my father.”

“Yeah, but…” He doesn’t have to verbalize his question.

“Dad knows. He also knows he could get me fired if he opens his mouth, so he’ll behave.”

Blake nods. “Okay.”

“You all right? How’d it go with your dad last night?”

“It didn’t. He passed out the minute they got back to the hotel, and I didn’t bother meeting up with them this morning. It’s a hassle.”

“Blake.” Dad comes around the corner and the two men eye each other.

“Nice to see you, Mr. Taylor.” Blake shakes his hand politely.

“You’ve been playing well,” Dad says. “I hope you’re keeping your nose out of trouble and focusing on hockey.”

“Yes, sir. I’m doing my best.”

“Dad, come say hi to Coach Vanek,” I interject, taking my father’s arm. “Blake has to warm up.”

“Take care, Mr. Taylor.”

“You too, son.”

I practically tug dad down the hall.

“What?” he asks. “I behaved.”

I laugh. “Yeah, I guess that’s as close as it gets to you behaving.”

“I won’t be happy if he hurts you,” Dad mumbles, staring straight ahead.

“Believe me, no one will be more pissed off than me,” I respond. “But it’s a risk I’m willing to take and you have to respect my choices.”

“I do. I just don’t have to like them. I’m your dad, Rowan. I’m always going to worry, always going to care. That’s part of the job. You’ll see. Someday you’ll have kids and you’ll realize that nothing is more important than their happiness, and nothing hurts you more than something that hurts them.”

“I know, and I love you, but I’m a big girl. Besides, who’s the guy who once told me his biggest regrets in life were the things he didn’t do?”

Dad sighs. “That’s another thing you’ll learn—that your kids pretend like they’re not listening, but then they turn around and throw shit back in your face.”

I chuckle. “Believe me, I always listen. But then I take the information, process it, and make my own decisions. Now, are you going to continue poking your nose in my personal life or go watch practice?”

“I suppose I’ll be watching practice.”

“Great. Love you, Daddy.”

“Love you too, honey.”

I watch him head down toward the ice and then go in search of Sunny. I have too many things to do to babysit my dad.

“Hey, Rowan, you got a minute to tape my shoulder for me?” Ivan asks.

“Absolutely.” I turn and head down the tunnel.

Dad and Blake are going to have to figure things out, just like Blake and I are.

One day, one step, at a time.