Page 115 of Lucky Bounce: Game On: Part Two

"Uh huh. And how does one work 'discombobulated' into a conversation with their deadbeat father, kitten?"

Okay, it definitely wasn't her best idea to date. "You're smart; you'll figure it out."

"Glad you think so." He knocked on the door. "Let's get this over with, so we can get the hell out of here.”

* * *

Time slowed down as he waited for the door to open.

He'd thought about this moment more than a few times over the years. What would his father look like? How tall would he be? How would he sound?

He wasn't prepared when he came face-to-face with Troy Cross.

Eli blinked as they locked gazes. It was like stepping into a time machine and traveling twenty years into the future.

His father had black, thick hair, just like his own, except Troy's was peppered with bits of gray. They shared the same features and the same jawline. Troy was a smidge taller, but not by much. Even their builds were the same.

The only difference was his father's eyes. They were strikingly blue, where his were light brown, like his mother's.

His real mother.

Camilla.

His father swallowed as they stared at each other, then opened the door wider. "Elijah." Troy's voice was so deep it startled him. "It's really, really good to see you. Please come in."

"I go by Eli," he said, finally finding his voice. "This is my girlfriend, Holly."

Troy held his hand out to Holly, and she shot Eli a sideways glance before shaking it.

He was going to have to answer for the girlfriend explanation later, but like she'd said when they were at the doctor's office, it was just easier this way.

"Hello, Holly. I'm Troy. Please, come out of the rain."

Eli gestured for Holly to go first, then followed her inside. The apartment, a bachelor, was plain. The stark white walls were completely bare. A beige couch and matching easy chair, along with a scuffed-up coffee table, were the only pieces of furniture in the room.

"Please, take a seat," Troy said, gesturing to the couch. "Would you like something to drink? I have—"

"No," Eli interrupted. "Look, this isn't really a social visit. I finally read the letters you sent all those years ago and found out I have sisters. I want to meet them."

A flicker of disappointment crossed his father's face. "Of course. I can understand that."

Troy took a seat in the easy chair. "The girls aren't from around here. Their mother is Canadian. I met her not long after I got out of prison. She was visiting family here at the time." Troy hesitated. "I did some stupid things to land in prison, Elijah. Eli," he corrected. "But I've been out for eighteen years, and I have no intention of going back. I've been on the straight and narrow the entire time I've been out. I just need you to know that I'm not about that life anymore."

"Tell me about my sisters," Eli said, fighting to keep his voice even.

Fuck, if he had his way, he'd let loose. He'd unleash all his pent-up rage over his mother's death at this man.

"Like I said in the letters, they're twins. They go to college in Toronto. Their names are Madison and Tabitha, and they're eighteen. During the summer, they stay in Tampa with their mother and stepfather. His family has a house down here." Troy paused. "I don't really have much of a relationship with the twins. I see them once a year when they visit, but it's not really a father-daughter relationship. Their stepfather raised them, and they are very close to him. Their mother and I... well, we were just a short-term fling."

Eli stared at his father, unable to hide his disgust. "And whose fault is it that you don't have a relationship with your daughters?"

"Actually, it was a joint decision between me and their mother," Troy explained. "She was engaged to their stepfather by the time they were born, and she wanted him to raise them."

"But they weren't his kids. They were yours," Eli snapped. "They were your responsibility. But that's what you do, right? You just take the fucking easy way out."

Holly put her hand on his arm, but he couldn't stop the words that tumbled out.

"Come on, admit it. You did the same fucking thing with me. You let your sister raise me because you couldn't be bothered once you were out of prison, right? It was too much trouble to come and get me and bring me back to Florida where I belonged."

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