Page 96 of Renegade Ruin

I force a smile, keeping Phoebe’s attention on me so she doesn’t see Lana wiping the sudden tears from her eyes.

“I know for a fact they will,” I assure her.

The smile on her face makes me glad I fought the board to keep the jerseys of the team we lost in the team store for one more season. They wanted to discontinue them and auction off the remaining stock for absurd amounts of money.

Her smile falls as fast as it appeared. “But what about Uncle Bishop? Do you think he will be upset that I’m not wearing his number to see him today?”

“I think he’ll understand,” I offer, knowing damn well Bishop will be happy to see Phoebe wearing her dad’s jersey.

Her nose crinkles, and it’s hard not to smile at the innocence of it all. “You’re right. But I still feel bad.”

The fact that this sweet child has lost as much as she has and can still manage to think of others is remarkable. Not even I was capable of that after losing my mom. I was a downright terror until I found my place in the world with Leigh and Indie. Even then, it took a long time for me to find my groove.

Phoebe just keeps moving forward like nothing has changed. I know she has her moments. She takes on the weight of the world because she thinks it’s what she needs to do. She’d rather see the smiles of those around her than let them see her tears.

It’s a slippery slope, one I know all too well.Which is why I’m vowing today will be a day of fun where she can just be a nine-year-old.

I slip my knuckle under her chin and tip her head up, so her eyes meet mine. “No feeling bad. We’ll make sure Bishop knows we are there for him too.”

She chews the inside of her cheek and nods. “Promise?”

“I promise. Now, why don’t you go get dressed and I’ll braid your hair? Then we’ll head over to the stadium.”

“Okay,” Phoebe says, finishing the last bite of her donut before she hops off the stool and bounces down the hallway.

When she’s out of earshot, Lana sighs. “Thank you for taking her. She really looks up to you.”

I sip my coffee and offer her a tight smile. “I look up to her too.”

“And thank you for keeping an eye on Bishop.”

“Oh…um…” I stutter, caught off guard.

If it was anyone else, I would have been able to lie with ease. I’ve been doing it for weeks. But this woman has the uncanny ability to make me feel at ease, but at the same time gives off “don’t fuck with me” vibes.

I suspect it’s a talent honed by motherhood. Not that I would know, considering my mother never got the memo.

As if to prove my point, Lana raises a brow in a way only she can. It sayswho do you think you’re foolingandI was young onceat the same time. “I haven’t talked to Bishop much since he’s been down here for spring training, but the few times I have your name always manages to come up, even just in passing.”

“My father believed the Renegades were a family. We take care of our own.” The lie tastes bitter, but still I give a noncommitted shrug, hoping she won’t press further.

It’s wishful thinking.

Lana presses her lips into a tight smirk, twirling her finger along the rim of her coffee cup in a playful manner that lets me know she’s absolutely not going to let this go.

“And I assume taking care of your own entails being at the owner's house at four in the morning?”

“I…uh…” My mind races to find an explanation, something that makes sense and still keeps my promise to Bishop of no one finding out, but I’ve got nothing.

I let my shoulders fall with a resigned sigh. “How did you know?”

Lana smiles, easing my worry that she is not about to rip me a new one. “I’ve been worried about him, not only because Jackson and Norah wanted him to be the one to take Phoebe, but also because Bishop is like a second son to me.”

“That still doesn’t tell me how you knew he was here overnight,” I reply.

“When he was spiraling after the crash, I enabled locations on his phone so that I could track where he was and make sure he didn’t end up in a gutter choking on his own vomit. I was worried he would do the same thing here in Florida. So, I kept tabs on him. Imagine my surprise when I found him at the same house multiple nights in a row. Then when I arrived, it turned out to be this very house.”

I shoot her an impressed grin. “Does Bishop know you’re tracking him?”

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