Page 100 of Crashing the Altar
“Tripp!”
My name was called sharper the second time, and I cracked one eyelid open.
Dawn had barely broken, its soft glow filtering into the kitchen through the windows.
“What in the world are you doing here?”
Groggy from sleep, it took a minute for my brain to remember why I’d walked into my parents’ home in the middle of the night.
Sitting up, I dug the heels of my palms into my eye sockets. When I removed them, I found my father standing opposite me, arms crossed over his thick chest.
Jett Sullivan took one look at the weary expression on my face, and the hard lines on his softened. Concern filled his blue eyes, and it leaked into his voice when he asked, “What happened, son?”
Swallowing against the sandpaper that coated my throat, I rasped, “The hard days found us. Just like you said they would.”
His gaze searched mine. “Did you let them win?”
With my windpipe closing up fast, I managed to croak out, “No, sir.”
Dad blew out a heavy breath before offering me a sharp nod of approval. “Good. Coffee?”
“Please.” I scrubbed a hand over my jaw.
Turning, he moved to the counter, grumbling under his breath about the single-cup coffee maker my mom bought him the Christmas before.
The man was a creature of habit. Hehatedchange.
Which was why I was nervous as hell this morning. I needed a favor. One only he could grant.
Returning to the table, my father set a steaming mug before me and took a seat.
I curled my hands around the heated porcelain but didn’t lift it to my mouth. Instead, I simply stared at it, as I tried to find the right words.
My eyes flicked to the man sitting across the table, where he peered back at me as he sipped his coffee. After all he’d had to say the last time I was home, of course he was silent now when I was struggling to work up the courage to ask for what I needed for my family—a family that was an extension of his own.
Filling my lungs with a steadying breath, I began to speak. “You were on the road with the team when Aspen and I were growing up out of necessity.”
My father’s eyebrows rose. Clearly, my topic of conversation had caught him off guard.
“You worked hard to make this ranch what it is today, built its reputation alongside the business from the ground up.”
He hummed at the praise.
“I need you to know that I’ve never been more appreciative of you making those sacrifices. Makes it possible for me to ask for what I need now.”
Dad’s head tilted to the side. “And what’s that?”
“Bring me home. For good.” My father remained silent, so I pressed on. “You were right. The past few months have been a whirlwind, and letting my wife’s impulsivity overrule my good sense has caught up with us. What she needs from me now is stability—security—and there’s no better place for her than right here.”
Looking the man who’d given me life right in the eye, I explained, “We’re gonna need family around us for this next part.”
Eyes questioning, he asked, “And what part’s that?”
Mentally bracing because I had no clue how he was going to react, I dropped the bomb.
“The part where we become parents.”
Coffee sloshed over the side of his mug when it hit the wood table with a thud. “Parents.” The word was said in a daze, almost as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
