Page 72 of Tackle

“What? No, Mom, look…” They were gettingwayoff track. Maybe itwasbest to just bite the bullet. “You were right. I have something to tell you. But it has nothing to do with Emerson.”

She waited expectantly, but the longer he sat not saying anything, her expression started to wither, a small line forming between her brows. He was mucking things up. Straight talk was what she needed. “It’s about Dad.”

Her eyes widened, her expression changing in a blink from worried to surprised. “Well, I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting that.”

Oz nodded, in full agreement. They never mention his father. Ever. “He’s, um… He’s gone.” He waited for that to register, on pins and needles waiting for her reaction. He knew his first emotion upon hearing the news had been indifference, but he didn’t expect his mom would feel the same way.

What he hadn’t planned on was no emotion at all. “How did you find out?”

Shit. That was the part he really didn’t want to tell her. He reached across the small space that separated them and took her hand. “Are you okay?”

She actually seemed surprised by his question and that threw him. “Of course.”

He didn’t believe that so pushed. “You’re not upset?”

Her eyes softened and she squeezed his hand tighter. “Oh, honey, I mourned for that man long ago. Was I upset when he left? Absolutely. I was devastated. Then that devastation turned to anger and that to hatred, until finally one day, I didn’t care one way or the other anymore. My emotions have already run the gauntlet for that man. I have no more to give.” She gave his hand a squeeze. “Now, you never answered my question.”

A ball of knots sat smack dab in the middle of Oz’s stomach. She might not care if the man no longer walked the earth and Oz could understand that because he felt the same way, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt to find out he left them all those years ago because he fell in love with another woman. “I, um…” He swallowed and took a deep breath.

“Honey, just spit it out. I appreciate you trying to protect me, but nothing you tell me about that man can hurt me.”

Oz wasn’t so sure about that but it needed to be said and dragging it out wasn’t helping either of them. “I got a letter in the mail a few months ago from someone claiming to be my half-sister.” Her brows flew up, but she didn’t say anything, so he continued. “I had my legal team check her out. She’s legit.”

He let that sink in, watching as she set her mug on the side table. She stood, giving him her back, staring through the window out across the backyard.

“Mom?”

“Just give me a minute.”

He waited through her silence, stewing in his own emotions. Fuck. He knew this would be a blow. His heart was aching that he’d hurt her.

He still had her back when she said, “I’m not surprised he has another family. In my heart, I always suspected the reason he left me was for another woman.” She finally turned to him. “Do you know, I never spoke to him directly after he left. About a month later, I got divorce papers in the mail from some attorney. He wasn’t fighting custody, and I was so pissed he’d leave you, leave us, I never bothered to look for him. I just picked up the pieces he left behind and did my best to care for you and make you happy. I knew I could never erase the hole he made in your heart, but I could damn well try filling it. I’m not sure if I did that or not. In all honesty, we probably should have had this conversation a long time ago. I guess that was pretty cowardly of me. You seemed okay, so I never wanted to rock the boat.”

Oz stood and went to her. He cupped her face in his hands and tilted her head so she looked him in the eyes. “I’m the man I am today because of you. Take pride in that because I sure as hell do. I know everything you’ve sacrificed for me, and trust me when I say, I never once took that for granted. You’re the bravest, strongest, and most dependable person I know. And I probably don’t say it nearly enough, but I love you very much.”

He kissed her lightly on the forehead, and when he stepped away, saw a single tear fall down her cheek. “Hey, now, none of that. You’ll ruin your street cred.”

She chuckled, swiping at her cheek with the heel of her hand, then waved it in his direction. “Then enough of this sappy shit.”

She went back to her seat and sat, picking up her cocoa to take a sip. Oz followed her lead, the overstuffed chair cushioning him as he got settled.

She leaned over and patted his knee. “Now, tell me more about this sister.”

Oz was still hesitant. She seemed okay but hated that she could hide her emotions from him so well.

“Oz,” she had a serious note to her voice. “I know you, and I can see you’re still worried about me. I’m okay, really. It was a bit of a shock, but now that I’ve had time to process it, it doesn’t change anything about how I feel. Your father has been out of my life for twenty years. I’ve more than moved on. I have my friends and date when it suits me. I’m not wallowing away in unhappiness. I’m living my life exactly how I want to.”

“But bringing my sister into my life will change that.”

She nodded. “A little, yes. But that doesn’t mean it needs to change for the worse.”

He contemplated that for a moment and thought he understood what she was saying. Coming to a decision, he nodded. “Her name is Nora…”

Sprawled on his bed, leafing through what appeared to be one of his old yearbooks, Emerson looked up when he came in. “How’d it go?”

“Better than I expected. She seemed okay when I left her.”

“How about you?”

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