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“He’s her father ?” my mother asks, and her voice is all high and screechy and definitely judgmental.

“Yep,” I confirm as I merge back onto the highway to head toward Troy’s house.

“Oh, God, Coop. What are you going to do?”

“I told her this changes everything and we can’t be together. And then I ran like a fucking coward.”

She clears her throat, but I can’t be bothered to care that the F word isn’t her favorite word. “Why does it change everything?”

“It just does,” I mutter.

“But why? Are you scared of telling Troy?”

“Scared?” I say, my tone more mocking than I mean for it to be. “I’m not scared of anything.” It’s a lie. There’s plenty I’m scared of, and right now I feel like I’m living a nightmare.

“Right,” she says. “And I’m the Pope. But listen, honey, only you can decide how this is going to play out.”

“I know, and that’s the whole problem. I can’t stop thinking about how my choice here is to potentially screw over the entire Heat organization or to screw over myself. Don’t you think I need to take one for the team…literally?” I ask.

She huffs out a laugh. “Stop making yourself out to be some martyr.”

“I’m not,” I protest. “I’m just trying to do what’s right.”

My phone beeps to let me know another caller is trying to get through, but I’m driving and focusing on the road, so I ignore it, opting to continue my conversation with my mom hands-free.

“You weren’t concerned whether or not it was right before. Why do you care now?” she asks.

“Because it’s more than just her and me now,” I say. I signal a lane change to get around a semi, and I pick up the pace to get back a little faster since I promised Troy I’d be back soon to go to the stadium with him. It’s the one thing I’m holding onto right now—seeing my new home, the place where I’ll spend more time than anywhere else as a new season is on the horizon. “It’s a friendship that spans more than a decade. It’s my boss , Mom. It’s the entire team dynamic when I made a commitment to lead that team.”

“Where did you see it going before you found out about Troy?”

I suck in a sharp breath, and my voice is soft when it finally comes out to answer. “I saw it going all the way. I saw us in the long haul. She’s young, sure, but it just felt right between us.”

“Then why does Troy being her father have to be the end of it? Why can’t you just be honest with him?”

It’s a valid question. “I know Troy, and I know how he’ll react.”

“Maybe he’ll surprise you,” she suggests.

“Right. How kindly would you take to me telling you I had an affair with Janice Roberts?” I ask, naming her best friend.

She’s quiet a beat, and then she exhales loudly. “Okay, fine, point taken. It would be weird. But Janice Roberts is fifty-eight, which puts her at twenty-five years older than you, so it’s a little different.”

“Is it, though? Is it the age gap that makes it weird, or is it the fact that she’s your best friend?”

“I get it, honey, but I also saw you with her, and I don’t mean with her, with her, but I saw how you were on your own when she was part of your life the weekend after you met her. You were different. You were the Cooper you used to be before your injury, before that damn Stacy dragged you down. You were light and free. And now everything’s heavy again. I can feel it in your voice.”

“It is heavy, Mom. I feel like my heart is breaking.” My voice breaks at the end just to really drive that point home, and I’d be mortified if I was talking to anyone other than my mother.

“I’m so sorry, baby. I wish I could make it all better for you.”

“Then make it better,” I whisper.

“I love you,” she says. “I’m here no matter what you decide, but that’s the thing. Only you can decide.”

“I know. I’m almost back and I need to call Kaylee, so I better go. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Take care of yourself, okay?” she says. “Your mom worries about you.”

“I will. I love you.”

We hang up, and I instruct my truck to call Kaylee Olson next.

“Cooper Fucking Noah,” she answers, venom in her voice.

“Shit. What did I do now?”

She giggles. “I’m teasing. What’s up bestie?”

I let out a heavy sigh. “It’s been a day.”

“It’s barely noon and you’re already having a day?” she asks.

“Yeah,” I mutter.

“What happened and whose ass do I need to kick?”

“I don’t really want to talk about it, and I guess if there’s anyone who deserves a kick in the ass, it’s me,” I admit.

“How can I help make it better?” she presses.

“I’m not sure. Distract me with work?”

“You got it. Is your girl still interested in coming to work with us?” she asks. Her tone is careful, as if she senses that the girl is at the root of my issues.

I clear my throat. “I’m pulling that particular offer.”

“Oh, Coop,” she says, and the sympathy in her voice is exactly why I didn’t want to talk about it. I don’t want anyone’s sympathy. I’ll get over it. I’ll move on. “What happened?”

“Her dad is Troy Bodine.” My tone is flat, and I hear her gasp. “Can we just…” I trail off and sigh. “Can we not talk about it right now?”

“Ben will be home a little later. Do you want to talk to him about it instead of me?”

“No,” I say with a frustrated sigh. “I don’t want to talk to anyone about it. I just found out this morning, I told her we couldn’t move forward from it, and that’s it. End of story. On a separate note, I have an idea for SFK and a huge local sponsorship opportunity if you’re interested in setting a time to chat.”

“I’d love to. Name the time and the place, and I’ll be there,” she says.

“I’ll text over the details once I have them. Thanks, Kay.”

She pauses. “I’m here for you, you know. You don’t have to go through this alone.”

“Thanks,” I murmur, and then I say goodbye and end the call just as I pull up in front of Troy’s house. I stare at the house a beat. Her truck is in the circular driveway. It wasn’t there last night. Maybe things would be different if it had been—if I knew who she was before I even got to town.

Maybe things would’ve been different if I would’ve known before we even had our first night together. Then I wouldn’t have allowed myself to fall for her and I wouldn’t be in this situation now.

I keep trying to figure out the lesson here, and I think it’s that I should always lead with who I am, and I should expect others to do the same. I can’t escape Cooper Noah the All Star, and maybe it was wrong to ever have tried.

I put my hat back on, backwards this time since I’m not trying to hide from anybody, and I glance at my phone and discover the call I missed was from Gabby. She didn’t leave a message, and she’s probably wondering where the hell I ran off to.

But I have an appointment scheduled with her dad, so the big talk that I’m already dreading will have to wait a little longer.