Page 69 of Tight Spot

After the baggage I threw at Ken’s feet a couple weeks back, I couldn’t bring myself to return my dad’s call. Then I needed time, but for once in the last twenty years, it seemed my dad wasn’t willing to give me the space anymore. He’d been calling every day.

Since I didn’t need him showing up announced, like other family members tended to do, I needed to deal with it.

“Yeah. See you Sunday?”

She grinned, and for the first time, I was wondering if it was a fake smile. She hadn’t sounded like she wanted to go, but I’d assumed it was nerves. Maybe I’d been wrong. “I’ll be ready by one.”

“Good. See you then, Hailey. Have a good night.”

“You too.” I ended our FaceTime call and brought the phone to my ear. “Hey, Dad.”

“Are you planning on avoiding me forever?”

Awesome start to a conversation I didn’t want to have. I didn’t apologize. Probably another first, but since I realized my dad was the asshole to blame me for his wife’s affair and I’d let him, for all these years, apologies no longer felt so necessary. “Figured I’d take a play out of your own playbook for once.”

“What does that mean?”

There was no point in explaining. The day he kicked my mom out, Dad vanished in his own way. Worked longer hours when he should have been flying less. Suddenly taking international flights when he’d always promised he never would. They were longer, meant more time away. He lost his wife and quit giving a shit about his kids, making me not only believe he blamed me for the explosion of our happy family unit, but that he’d never really liked us all that much, either.

Odd that I was now having the same doubts about Hailey.

Perhaps I should see a shrink.

“Nothing, Dad. What can I do for you?”

“I was calling to discuss this new woman in your life.”

He went silent. I wasn’t telling him anything without him actually asking a question.

“And?”

“I’m not sure this is the right time for you to get involved with someone. Your season is starting soon.”

It was never the right time for me to get involved with anyone. First it was high school, and I couldn’t let a girl distract me from a scholarship. Then it was college, and I needed to focus on the pros. Then it was my rookie year, and I needed to earn my spot.

Now, I was almost thirty, staring down the end of my career, something that hardly ever lasted after a tight end was thirty-five. I had max five years left. Realistically, more like two. I made a shit ton of money which affected our team’s salary and trading cap and while I was good for this season, I wouldn’t be surprised if they started to ask me to reduce my salary next year to bring in new talent. I’d do it, to finish my career in Nashville, but that didn’t mean the end wasn’t in sight.

It was almost like my father enjoyed the thought of me alone and miserable my entire life—like I’d made him be.

“Not quite sure I need your opinion on women, Dad.” My mother had destroyed him. He’d never dated as far as I knew. His opinion of women sullied for eternity.

He sighed like I was the one exhausting him instead of the other way around. “I’m worried.”

“Don’t be. Anything else you need?”

“You talk to her lately?”

“What do you care? I mean, honestly, Dad. You bitch at me if I talk to her and then you always want to know if I’ve heard from her. You haven’t seen me in well over two years and Crystal in ten. How about we just stop acting like you give a shit about either of us, and you keep doing what you’ve done best since Mom fucked a neighbor and leave, yeah? It’s not like we’ve had you in our life since that day anyway.”

I hung up. Pissed. My hand burned, and I threw the phone into the couch and shoved to my feet.

I needed a drink. Just one. Two would make me slow tomorrow and hell if I wasn’t well aware that the younger guys kept getting faster and stronger—or I kept getting slower.

Whichever.

Conversations with my dad never went well, and I’d practically dared him to show up. He’d do it, too. Just so he could see Hailey in person and find a way to criticize everything about her.

“Fuck that. He’s not going to say a damn thing about it if he doesn’t want my fist in his face.”

---