Page 69 of Keeping the Single Dad
“You’re the bravest person I know. You run out on that pitch in front of all those people, and it doesn’t faze you. I might have a folder full of certificates, but I could never do what you do. Be brave now. You can do it.”
It had been so long since Mel had been a sister to me. I hadn’t just lost my mum. I’d lost how Dad used to be. I’d lost the Mel that had been like this. It wasn’t her fault. She’d been hurting, too. We’d all been hurting so much and for so long.
“Alex must care about you, anyway, if he drove all the way up here. Talk to him. I’ll take the kid. Do you have any tips on how to make him stop talking?”
A rush of warmth spiraled through me. “Alex and Brodie are here?”
Mel twisted, and I followed her gaze to the tall trees that edged the graveyard and the two figures standing at a distance.
A rare smile pulled at Mel’s lips. “I don’t think they came all this way to say goodbye, do you?”?
Chapter 43
Lana
Brodielaunchedhimselfatme and threw his arms around my waist. I dropped down to his level to hug him.
“You came all this way to see me?”
Brodie gave a vigorous nod. “Are you coming home with us?”
Mel held out her hand to him. “Come on. Let’s go for a walk. We can play a game.”
Brodie’s expression brightened. “What game?”
Her stern countenance held a hint of humor. “Who can be quiet for the longest.”
Alex planted himself in front of me. The wind kicked at his dark hair. The gray at his temples looked to have spread a little. Guilt pressed me down like a bar pushing my shoulders.
“I’m so sorry, about the article, I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t want it to be like that—”
“We can talk about it. I only care that you’re okay.” He studied me intently. His deep Scottish voice and its low silvery tone washed over me. “Are you okay?”
No. How could I be okay after what I’d done? “You came all this way. What are you doing here?”
He gazed out at the graveyard behind us. He flashed a small smile that wrapped me in his warmth. “I was passing by.”
“In the Highlands of Scotland?”
He raised a sardonic eyebrow. “I took the scenic route.”
The wind whispered through the trees at my back. A shiver ran through me. “Here.” Alex took off his huge coat and wrapped me in it.
He took a tentative step closer. “I’ve been worried about you. We all were…Your dad and Mel…You didn’t answer your phone.”
“I’m sorry. It was cut off.”
Silence wound around us.
“Claire kicked me off the team.”
He nodded. “You’ll get snapped up by another team.”
“I don’t want to play for another team.”
“Talk to Claire. Fight your corner. You might be able to sort this out if you explain how difficult it’s been. Nobody knows, Lana. We see you bouncing around with that cocky smile on your face and nobody knows that you have any troubles. I understand you want to protect your father, but maybe Claire would be more lenient if she knew what you’d been going through.”
My stomach dropped. “How do you know about Dad?”
