Page 24 of Defending Casey

But he knew they’d see right through that.

They did know him really well. You couldn’t face down death on a regular basis beside your team and hide much.

Hale knew that just the momentary pause before answering them would speak volumes without him ever having to say a word. He just wasn’t sure what he wanted to say. He didn’t understand much of it himself.

Then again, his friends had always been a good sounding board in the past.

“You guys know that I wasn’t really excited about coming back to Fool’s Gold.”

Zeke nodded. “Yeah. When you said you hadn’t been back here for almost a decade it said a lot. I was thinking you had some bad blood with someone in town.”

Hale nodded and felt like there was a line he was about to step across. It wasn’t that he’d hid his past from his team, but he hadn’t brought it up. It didn’t help to put the past behind you if you talked about it.

But now, his past had taken on a different light.

No, he hadn’t talked through everything with Casey, there was too much to handle in just a few short hours, but he wasn’t thinking of leaving again.

He had something… someone to stay for.

Someones.

Plural.

And before he knew it, he was smiling.

The look on his friends’ faces said they thought he’d cracked.

Lost his damn mind.

He found out that he didn’t really care.

Leaning forward, bracing both of his forearms on the edge of the table, he looked between his friends and let them in on his news.

“I’m a dad.”

“What?”

“How the hell-”

Hale shook his head. “I know, it’s crazy. I still can’t believe it, but she’s mine.”

“She? Oh, fuck.” Zeke covered his mouth and mumbled behind his hand. “Are we still allowed to swear?”

Hale was laughing out loud. “She’s not in the room, man.”

“What’s going on?” Evangeline came back to the table and before she could sit down, Zeke pulled her into his lap.

Sophie walked up and leaned in to place a kiss on the top of Bodie’s head. “What did we miss?”

Bodie drew Sophie’s chair up beside his and took her hand in his.

Hale only hesitated for a moment.

Sure, he didn’t know the ladies as well as his team, but he knew that he could trust them too.

“I was telling the guys that I have a daughter here in town.”

“What?”

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