Page 88 of Scoring Grey

“But that was a year after you were born. Elias said this party happened a few months after your birth.”

“Hush money? That doesn’t sound right. Your mother is not a woman to cross. You, of all people, know that. If Lucas was going to share pictures of what went down that night, he’d be incriminating himself because your mother would have had him by the balls. He drugged us,” my father says as he clenches his fists.

“What other reason would she have for writing Lucas Balfour a check after cutting ties with him?” I ask.

“Mom, I got you your favorite,” Adler says, coming around the corner. “It’s a jumbo Rice Krispie treat with icing, sprinkles, and white chocolate.” He climbs back on the bed, reclaiming his seat before handing it to me. “Doesn’t it look delicious?”

“It looks like something you want to sneak a bite of.” I pull him onto my lap, and he laughs. “Well, you do like Rice Krispie treats, and I couldn’t decide between the jumbo cookie and this.”

“So this was your way of getting both. Give it to Mom under the guise of she’ll really like it.”

He smiles big. “No…” He manages to keep a straight face through his bluff. “But you’re not going to eat all of it anyway, so I figured I didn’t want to let a good thing go to waste, and I’ll eventually get a bite.”

“Well, if you’re going to steal a bite, do it quick. It’s been a long day of travel and then all this. I’m exhausted,” my father announces.

Adler and my father were already planning on coming up today for the game tomorrow, and then all this happened. My father’s nerves were already shot before I sprang all of this on him. I can tell our conversation opened old wounds, and now he’s trying to process everything he’s heard tonight and what it all means, same as we are.

“Already? We just got here. I want to stay with Mom and Dad,” Adler whines with disappointment.

“Champ, your grandpa is going to take you back to my place. You can sleep in my room and let Grandpa have the spare bedroom. How about that?”

His face lights up a little. “I’ve never been to your Toronto house.”

I rub his arm. “When I get released tomorrow, I’ll come straight home, I promise.”

“Okay,” he agrees and then looks at Cal. “But I’m going to need you to score me a goal tomorrow night.”

Cal smiles from ear to ear and swoops him up. “I’ll see what I can do, champ.”

Watching him hold Adler, seeing the happiness on the faces of the two men I love with all my heart, my chest tightens. There’s no way I’m letting this go. Moments like this are what make life worth living.

Dash’s phone rings. “It’s my boss. I’m gonna grab this, and I’ll be back to say bye,” he says before stepping out of the room.

“Come give me a hug, buddy,” I say, and Cal brings Adler to my bed and leans over with him in his arms so he can hug me. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Mom.”

Cal walks Adler and my father to the door and says his goodbyes, watching them disappear down the hall before shoving his hands into his pockets and slowly walking back in. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m not sure what to think anymore. My dad’s story paints another picture of what might have happened.”

“You know what I think.”

I furrow my brow, hearing the disgust in his tone.

“I think my father never filed any reports because your mother was the bigger money grab. Blackmailing her would get him more money than any malpractice suit he could file.”

His conclusions aren’t baseless, but something is missing. “I’m not saying you’re wrong, but what motive would my mother have?”

“Did someone say mother?” My mother, Ada, appears in the flesh with not a hair out of place or a wrinkle on her suit. Ada Beck plays hardball in a predominantly male world. She embodies Coco Chanel’s motto: Dress shabbily, and they remember the dress; dress impeccably, and they remember the woman. “You look terrible,” she says, coming to my side and grasping my chin to better look at the side of my face. “What is it with you and your brother getting into accidents this year?”

“It’s odd, isn’t it? But you know what’s more disconcerting? How their own mother played a part in both of their fates,” Cal snidely remarks, unable to hold back his disdain.

My mother can’t really be blamed for my brother’s accident. He was driving in the rain when his car slid off the road, but she did play a small role in the events that transpired last summer. However, drawing these groundless accusations solves nothing.

Her blue eyes snap to his. “If you have something to say, Balfour, say it.”

“We know about your past friendship with Cal’s mother, Virginia, and we’re also aware of the payments you made to Lucas Balfour a year after her death and the year Adler was born.”

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