Page 63 of Cocky Prince
“Before you go,” he says, “I need to tell you something.”
I glance at the bar. Mr. Three-Piece is only one person away from Hayden now, and he’s staring at her, trying to get her attention. “Can it wait?”
“No. I think you should hear it, especially because of Hayden.”
I sense my blood pressure rising. “Don’t say one disparaging remark about her. She is better than you, me, and every person in this town—”
He holds up a hand. “That’s not what I wanted to say.” He gestures to the window overlooking the lake. “It’s quieter over there. Do you mind?”
I reluctantly follow him to the window.
“Your mother was an amazing woman,” he says after a moment of staring out at the lake.
My frustration grows. How long is this going to take? I should have cut out when my brothers did.
“The four of you—before Hunter came along—damn near drove her mad, but she loved you more than anything in this world.”
I stare at the side of my father’s face. It’s difficult to hear about my mother, but I’m listening because I know this conversation will end sooner if I do. And because my father never talks about her.
“She wouldn’t have changed anything, except to be there for you as you grew up. That was the one thing she couldn’t come to peace with during those last few months. That she wouldn’t be able to take care of you.” My father’s voice breaks, and my eyes grow wide.
I’ve never seen him cry. Not even after my mother died.
“I tried to reassure her that I would provide,” he says, having cleared his throat. “But nothing I said comforted her. The only thing—” My father’s throat bobs and he coughs into his fist. “The only thing that comforted her was you.”
“What are you talking about?”
His gaze turns to me. And it’s sincere. “I would find you lying next to her in her bed once the nurses had finished making her comfortable. She was fading, but she’d have a smile on her face as you kissed her forehead and petted her hair.”
I let out a shaky breath. Holy shit. I knew none of this. I have no memories of my mother while she was ill, only flashes of her when she was healthy. And I remember the deep love. So fucking deep. I loved that woman more than I’ve loved anyone in my life.
I look up and blink back the burn, my chest tight. Why is he bringing this up now?
When I glance back, my father is staring at me. “Your mother loved all of you boys, but you had a special bond with her. I’m not sure how much you remember. You were five, six? But I wanted you to know how much you meant to her. It’s okay to love a woman, Adam—”
“Whoa.” I step back and shove my hands in my pockets. “That’s enough. We don’t need to go there.”
“But we do.” He glances at the bar. “I watched the walls build around you after your mother died. You didn’t think I noticed those things. None of you did. But my weakness is with communication, not observation. The communication breakdown in this family is something I’ve never known how to overcome.”
He peers at Hayden waiting. “You care for this girl?”
“I already said I do.”
“Then don’t allow the loss of your mother to prevent you from letting another woman in. Trust me. I speak from a lifetime of experience.”
I stare at my father, thinking he really has lost his mind, but he’s looking at me with such caring and understanding, I can’t look away.
I shake my head. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately. I appreciate you sharing things about Mom. But yeah, I’m just not used to talking about my feelings with you.” Or anyone.
“Fair enough,” he says. “But I wanted to make sure the words were said.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Hayden
“Are you okay?” Adam barely said two words when he returned to the bar and told me we were leaving. He looked upset, and I didn’t ask questions. But I’m asking now.
“I’m fine.” He pulls down Club Tahoe’s long, winding drive on the way to the main highway. “Do you mind if we go to your place?”
