Page 88 of Puck Drop
He seems to take offense to that. “Elizabeth,” he says, “I’ve always wanted what was best for you. I wanted you to make good choices and be happy. I didn’t want you to have to struggle.”
“I understand, daddy, but at some point, you have to let me fly on my own.”
“People have been telling me that,” he smirks.
I stare at him for a few long seconds, wondering how I should approach the subject of Logan. In the end, I decide that I got nothing to lose.
“Leyla told me what you did for Logan.”
There’s a hint of surprise in his eyes, but his face remains otherwise expressionless.
“She told me that you negotiated his contract with the Aces. That you thought he deserved to play in a better position than what he had on your team.”
He continues watching me with apprehension, waiting to see where I’m going with this.
“Why?” I finally ask the question that’s been eating at me since Leyla gave me the deeds.
My father gets more comfortable in his chair in an effort to prolong the tension. That’s the only explanation I can come up with.
“Why what?”
I shake my head at him. “You know exactly what I’m asking you, daddy.”
“I do…” He rests his arms on the sides of the chair, looking regal and like the upper-class boss he’s always been. “All you need to know is that it was a business decision.”
I frown at that. “A business decision? Logan?”
“At the time, it was a good decision,” he adds. “I lived to regret it at a later date.”
I stare at him with disappointment obvious on my face.
“Let me guess,” I say. “You regretted it once I decided to leave to be with him.”
He doesn’t even try to lie about it. “That exact second.”
“Daddy…”
“I didn’t realize how serious you were about him,” he suddenly says. The tone of his voice is different. He sounds tired and weary. “I thought, out of sight, out of mind…”
Tears gather in the corners of my eyes. I hate the fact that I lied to him before.
“I’m sorry for not telling you about Logan from the very beginning,” I whisper as I wipe at my face. “He begged me not to keep it a secret from you. I just… I wanted to buy us more time because I knew you’d be mad about it. I just didn’t realize how mad you’d get.”
He nods at me in understanding and without arguing.
“I would’ve appreciated your honesty then,” he tells me. “Which is why I will be honest with you now.”
“Okay.” I brace myself for the worst.
“I liked Logan from the moment I met him. He had a lot of talent, and I could tell that he could get so much better with the right coaching.”
I shake my head in confusion. “But you got rid of him like he was nothing…”
“It wasn’t because of him that I removed him from my roster.”
I cross my arms across my body, unsure of what to do with my hands anymore. I feel fidgety and very confused.
“The reality is that my goalie coach was not a good fit for Logan, and the team manager didn’t think we really needed him, I was going to trade him no matter what.”
