Page 112 of Home Town Advantage
Three sets of shocked O’Shea blue eyes stare at me as all of them immediately fill with tears. Sulley whispers, “He knew?”
I nod. “He knew.”
SIX AND A HALF YEARS AGO
Finn and I sit in my truck as I drive him back to the airport. He’s been acting strange today. Distracted. Something happened between him and Maddie last night. He went to see her right after Sulley’s basketball game. Maybe they finally broke up. I hope so. He’d be better off without her. Word around town is that she’s been partying hard. I have no doubt she’s cheating on him. Trashy women like her always do.
When I stopped by to pick her up on the way to the airport, it was clear her mother had no idea where she was. Knowing she wasn’t at work, I was able to read between the lines.
I turn to him. “I hate that your visit was so short, but at least you’ll be home for good in a month.”
His jaw tightens. “I accepted the extra six-month deployment this morning. I need the money.”
“What?” I scream. “No. Absolutely not. Come home. You said you had saved enough for college. That was the deal. You were in the military to make enough money for college. You have it. Time to get out while you’restill intact.”
He takes a few deep breaths before blurting out, “Maddie’s pregnant.”
I think all the blood drains from my body. No, no, no. Now he’s stuck with that piece of shit.
It takes a few seconds before it registers. He hasn’t been home in nearly two years. The baby isn’t his.
“Whose is it?” I ask.
“Mine.”
I scoff. “I didn’t ace high school biology like you, but I know enough to know that baby isn’t yours.”
He swallows hard. “She doesn’t know who the father is. She was smashed. It was a one-night stand. She regretted it?—”
“Oh, come on, man. Bull fucking shit. This is your chance to break free from her. She’s never been good enough for you. Now you can be rid of the trashy bitch.”
I don’t see his fist coming before it’s too late. It connects with my jaw so fucking hard I wonder if it’s dislocated.
I slam on my brakes and pull over before I crash the car. My jaw is throbbing. I look at him. “What the fuck, man?”
“Don’t you ever call her that. She’s the love of my life. My future wife. The mother of my children.”
I manipulate my jaw. It hurts like hell. “Why? She fucked another man. She’s having his baby. Time to cut ties.”
He shakes his head. “You don’t get it. You’ve never loved a woman before. She made a mistake. People make mistakes. I’m sure my being gone all this time has been hard on her. I’m adding the extra six months to help pay for the baby’s needs. I’ve thought long and hard about it. I love Maddie, and the baby is an extension of her. This child will be raised as mine. We’re getting married as soon as I get back.”
I stare at him in disbelief. “You don’t have to do this.”
“It’s the right thing to do.”
“Right for her. Not right for you. Please come home. Move on from her. Go to college. Get your degree. Do what you were meant to do in this world.”
He exhales a long breath. “It’s not your life, Vance. And,” he hesitates briefly, “I think college is now off the table for me. It was one thing when it was just going to be Maddie and me, but now there will be a baby. I need to work.”
I start to reply, but he holds up his hands. “Don’t you dare fucking offer to pay. It’s insulting.” He holds up two fingers, the same two fingers I’ve come to hate. “Two things, nineteen, I only ask two things of you.” He pauses briefly and then slowly adds a third. “Make it three now. Promise me, Vance, if I don’t make it back, you make sure the three of them are always taken care of. Whatever it takes. Whatever your feelings are for Maddie, you take care of business for me. Man to man, this is all I need from you.”
I stare at him. He’s out of his mind.
I have no words for him as I turn my eyes back to the road and begin driving again so he doesn’t miss his flight. My head is pounding from the force of the punch. The little shit hits hard.
Eventually, I mumble, “You’re a fucking idiot.”
He stares out the passenger window, looking a million miles away. “Maybe.”
