Page 25 of Adoring Delaney

“Christ, Dad! Listen to me. I fucked up. I don’t get to hold her—not anymore. I shouldn’t’ve ever touched her in the first place. I’ve spent years crawling through dirt and shit. I can’t get that off of me. None of it, it’s stained on my soul. She’s clean and beautiful and does not need to take my shit on.”

My father stood to his full height, shoulders back, and pinned me with his stare. His face transformed and he was no longer my dad, he was the vicious Special Forces soldier he once was.

“You must’ve forgotten who you were talking to. So I’ll remind you. Much like you, I crawled through that same filth. Unlike you I did it for longer. Straight up, son, I am proud of your service. I’m proud that you answered the call and raised your hand. I’m proud you forged your own path and went into the Navy and earned your Trident. I am proud of you. I know what those hash marks feel like. I know what it does to a man when you have to take a life, any life, even the vilest piece of shit, it still marks you. And as they pile up so does the weight. Unload that shit, son. Shrug it off and free yourself. What you did, the places you’ve been, the lives you’ve taken were not only needed but necessary to keep the ones you love at home safe. I got all the love in the world for you. My firstborn, my namesake, your very existence proof of the love your mom and I have. Never been more proud of you. But, man. The fuck. Up.”

“What the actual fuck? Man up? What do you think I’m doing? I’m walking away from the woman I love so she can have better.”

“No, you’re not. You’re walking away so you don’t have to face tragedy. You’re turning your back on the woman you love, the same way I did. You may not have spewed lies and venom like I did when I left your mom. But believe this, you didn’t have to. The mere fact you walked away makes it the same.”

My dad walked to the door and threw it wide. Jasper, Clark, and Levi all stood outside.

“You see these men.” I clenched my jaw wondering how much they heard, especially Delaney’s dad, Jasper. “You call them uncles. Do you know why?”

I remained silent in my humiliation.

“Not because I served with them. Not because each of them has saved my life, and I’ve saved theirs. Not because we share a bond forged by fire and death. These men are your uncles because they called me on my stupidity, and stopped me from making a mistake I could never undo. Your uncles are the reason I hold heaven. They’re the reason I wake up every morning with your mother by my side. They’re the reason I have you and Ethan. Without them….” Dad trailed off and spied a bottle of Jack, then looked back to me. “This would’ve been my life. Lonely motel rooms and booze. So when I tell you I’m proud, son, I am so fucking proud of the man you are it fills me with joy. Be that man. Be the man I know you are and get your woman. Fall to your knees and beg and when she turns you out, beg some more. Swallow your pride, your ego, and know when you finally hold her again it’s pure beauty, son. Nothing better. But you ain’t gonna get it sitting in a motel room drinking because you’re too much of a coward to face what’s happened. That’s not you. You’re not that kind of man.”

I nodded my head because there was no way I could speak. Now that my dad was done laying me out, his face softened and he continued, “First step, you need to talk to Jasper. He needs to know what happened to Delaney and why she broke. He’s been worried sick. After you help him sort his head, I suspect you’ll be going after Delaney. Good luck with that. We all have your back.”

My dad didn’t wait for my reply, he walked out and Jasper walked in, shutting the door behind him. He, too, gazed around the room, giving me the same lip curl as my dad.

Fuck.

“I take it my daughter tore you to pieces,” Jasper started.

I sucked in a breath, wishing my dad had left the door open and fresh air was expanding my lungs but instead the stench of whiskey, shitty motel room, and despair filled me.

“She was pregnant when Lowe took her,” I told him and watched as my uncle closed his eyes. “What he did to her was too much. She lost our baby. Two days ago when I went to her, she was in front of your beach house crying. I pushed and she told me. She was there, because it was her due date. We should’ve been holding our baby. Instead she was holding onto more pain and anguish than I’ve ever seen.”

His eyes opened, glossy with grief and loss.

“Fuck!” he roared. “Fuck!”

I waited until his narrowed eyes came back to me and my next statement died on my tongue.

“You gonna fix my girl?”

“Yes.”

“See to that, Carter.”

He turned, opened the door. It bounced off the wall, then he slammed it behind him.

The walls shook and so did my world.

I needed to find Delaney.

8

My week at the beach was up and I was dreading going home. Carter would be there, or at least I thought he would be. He’d said he was out of the Navy and home. I wasn’t sure which home he was referring to. His apartment in Virginia Beach, or Georgia.

If I’d thought I couldn’t face him before I really couldn’t now that he knew. I’d never seen a man brought so low. His body shook with sobs and his pain seeped from his pores and filled the room.

Tragic.

The end of us. I’d felt it, the love fading much like I’d felt my baby’s life slip away.

I finished cleaning out the fridge and looked around the kitchen my dad had redone for my mom a few years ago. Crisp white cabinets, granite countertops, new stainless-steel appliances. One could say, Emily Walker was spoiled. My dad would argue she was not, and he’d never be able to repay the beauty she’d given him. I loved that for my mom.

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