Page 29 of Double Fault

Sadness seeps into my bones at the disappointment emanating from this little girl. Sure, we have a good time together, but I’m not her parent. She’s down to one, and she clearly just wants him to show up. This adjustment has to be rough for her after his time off.

With a yawn, she eyes the door, as if she can’t help but hope he’ll step through it at any second.

He doesn’t.

Frowning, she stands. “I think I’ll go to bed.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to wait for your dad?”

She looks at the door again, then back to me. “No.”

“All right. Want me to tuck you in?”

“I’m okay,” she says softly, leaning in for a hug. “Night.”

Closing my eyes, I squeeze her tight. I hold her for a long moment, silently imbuing all the tenderness I can. Then I watch her cross the room and disappear.

Once the door latches softly behind her, I settle back on the couch and wait.

CHAPTER 9

NOAH

I ease the door open,not wanting to wake Maddie or Sabrina. My day ran far longer than I expected. I feel like complete and utter shit, both for letting my daughter down and because I’m exhausted. My lack of stamina won’t help me during these first few matches, and shit if that doesn’t scare me.

I trained as much as I could during my time off, but clearly not enough, and now I’m dealing with the consequences.

Once I’ve confirmed that the door is locked, I turn, ready to fall into bed. A figure in the living room startles me, and I nearly jump out of my skin. Shit. Sabrina is perched on the couch in the low light with a glass of wine in her hand, watching me closely.

Fuck.

Averting my gaze, I run my fingers through my hair. “I should’ve let you know I was going to be late.”

I don’t have to look at her to know she’s pissed.

“Don’t worry about me. I wasn’t the one who was heartbroken when you didn’t show up or even text to say you’d be late.”

I close my eyes. Those words are a fucking knife to the heart. “I didn’t have access to my phone.”

She takes a delicate sip of wine, her focus never wavering. The intensity makes me squirm. Dammit.

Why the fuck did I let Fisher convince me to hire her?

“I should’ve figured something out,” I finally say.

She’s barely said a word, yet I feel like I’ve been read the riot act. By a woman half a decade younger than me, no less.

The disappointment lingering in the air is thick enough to suffocate on.

“Listen.” She sets her glass on the coffee table, then homes in on me. “I had horrible, absentee parents. I had to raise myself?—”

My stomach drops. Is that what she thinks of me? That I’m an absentee parent? “What?—”

She holds up a hand, stopping my tirade. “You’renota horrible father. It’s obvious you love Maddie with all of your heart, but you still have to show up for her. You told her you’d be here to put her to bed, and when you never showed, she was hurt. Things like that… they add up.”

Dropping into a chair at the table, I pick up the bottle of wine and take a swig straight from it.

“You’re right. Things were so much easier when Annie was alive.”

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