Page 112 of Bet On Me, Daddy

Four words. That was all it took to tear down the walls he’d spent more than a decade building around his heart. And then he was in his father’s arms, weeping for the woman they’d both loved. And lost.

CHAPTER 37

BECKETT

It was surreal, sitting at the same old scarred kitchen table with two people he’d assumed, for nearly half his life, hated him.

And for the first time in all those years, he felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. One he’d gotten so used to carrying he’d forgotten how heavy it had actually become until it was no longer there.

“You’ve done well for yourself.” Julie’s smile was that of a proud mama, and his chest ached at the sight of it. “We’ve been watching your career over the years. Charleston’s own Wolf of Wall Street.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” he said with a laugh. “But I do okay.”

“Better than okay, from what we’ve heard.” That same proud smile stretched across Scott’s face. “But then, you always did have a good head on your shoulders. Smart as a whip, even as a little boy.”

“Thanks.” It felt wrong to accept their praise when their daughter’s death had been such a driving force in his success.

As if sensing his thoughts, Julie reached across the table, linking her fingers with his. Understanding shone in her eyes, her smile turning sad as she squeezed his hand. “You didn’tcome all the way out to Lost River just to listen to us gush all over you. What’s on your mind, Beckett?”

He swallowed, then swallowed again. He hadn’t, he realized now, actually expected to get this far. All the scenarios he’d played over in his head on the drive here had ended with him being kicked out on his ass. Not welcomed home like some prodigal son.

“I, ah… met someone.” There. That wasn’t too hard.

“It’s about time.” For the first time since he’d arrived, Julie’s tone held a hint of censure. “We were wondering if you’d ever get around to it.”

Looking from one expectant face to the other, for a moment he could only blink. “You’ve been waiting for me to move on?”

The couple turned to each other, Scott reaching for his wife’s free hand. His voice was thick with tears when he spoke. “We were waiting for you to realize you deserve to be happy.”

“We know better than anyone how much you loved our Grace.” Tears shimmered on Julie’s lashes when she met Beckett’s gaze again. “And we know how much it hurt you to lose her. But punishing yourself by staying single was never the answer, baby.”

“I didn’t just lose her.” He’d thought he’d cried himself dry already, but apparently he still had tears to spare. “It was my fault she died.”

“Now what would make you say a damn fool thing like that?” Julie’s tone turned sharp. “What happened to my baby girl was nobody’s fault. Except maybe that greedy sonofabitch she was working herself ragged for.”

“I knew how hard she was working. How exhausted she was. I should have made her slow down. I should have made her quit her job. If I’d done something,anything,she’d still be with us.”

“You don’t know that.” His expression fierce, Scott reached for Beckett’s other hand. “You loved her, Beckett. And we know,we’ve always known that you did everything you could to keep her safe, even when she fought you on it. We never blamed you, son.”

“You should. It’s my fault she’s gone.”

“No, baby.” Julie shook her head. “No. It was never your fault. Is that really what you’ve been living with all these years?”

“Yes.” Dragging in a deep, shaky breath, he closed his eyes against the maelstrom of emotion battering him. “I should havedonesomething.”

“Beckett. Look at me.”

Julie’s tone was all no-nonsense mom, and he obediently opened his eyes to meet her firm gaze. “Even if you’d been able to get her to quit, or scale back, or whatever it is you think you ‘should have done’, there’s no guarantee that would have saved her. Some things are just out of your control, baby. You have to accept that.”

“I don’t know if I can.” He’d built his entire life on the premise that anything he couldn’t control could be mitigated if he held a tight enough grip on everything hecouldcontrol.

But where had that gotten him? Rich as fuck, sure, but without the only other woman who’d ever made him want to give up an ounce of his infamous control. Was it worth clinging to his apparently flawed premise if it meant losing her anyway?

“What about this new girl?” Julie asked, her eyebrow raising in a look that would have done any Domme justice. “You think she’s going to let you control every second of her life?”

“No. We actually just had a huge fight about me trying to do exactly that. I sort of quit her job for her, and she read me the riot act before kicking me out of her apartment.”

A wide grin stretched across Julie’s face. “Oh, I like her already. I can’t wait to meet her.”

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