Page 57 of Truth or Spare

“Knock it off. You know he’s not worth it,” Dewey scolded and shushed Bryce, glaring over his shoulder at the other man. “This is not the time,” he ground out.

Theo crossed his arms and raised a brow, attempting to be as intimidating as Leo. “It would appear that you aren’t wanted here,” he said, then cleared his throat. “What’s this man done?” he asked out of the side of his mouth, earning a hard glare from Dewey.

“That’s my brother and Bryce’s father, Roddy Brooks,” he said and Bryce shook his head quickly.

“That’s not my father, Doobie. You’re the one who raised me.” He sniffed hard and smeared a tear off his cheek. “That’s the man who used my mom and abandoned his entire family so he couldalmostmake it as a pro hockey player.”

“Really?” Theo said loudly, turning and advancing on Roddy.

“Nope. That’snota good idea,” Dewey said firmly, but Theo shrugged it off. He wasn’t afraid of getting his clock cleaned.It had happened before, but Roddy would know what Theo thought of him and the way he’d treated his family.

“Okay!” Chase said as he grabbed Theo’s arm, yanking him back. “Pro bowling tip: do not pick a fight with a hockey player,” he advised with a nervous smile at Roddy.

“It’s alright,” Roddy declared loudly, gesturing for everyone to relax. “I deserve a lot worse. Fuck, Bryce and Doobie can take me out front and whoop my ass while the whole town watches, if it’ll make up for some of the pain I’ve caused.”

That earned a hard, belligerent laugh from Bryce. “Nope. That wouldn’t begin to make up for it, but I’ll do it for Mom. I put her through some stupid shit in high school.”

“No, you won’t,” Dewey said firmly, but he looked pale and he was out of breath. “Come on, now. I can’t hold you for much longer, B,” he added gently and Bryce relaxed immediately, gasping and shifting so he could put an arm around Dewey.

“It’s cool! I’ll be cool,” Bryce said as he helped Dewey onto a bench and crouched in front of him, looking concerned.

“Why areyouhere?” Dewey asked Roddy, cutting to the chase.

Roddy pushed out a hard breath, shrugging as he dropped the sign on the counter. “I want to come home. I’ve wanted to for a while but I was afraid of this,” he said with a wave around him. “But the longer I put it off, the harder it got. I’ve been coaching high school football and working as a sub up in Potsdam. I heard that Doobie was sick and that Bryce was back because he needed help?—”

“For Christ sake! I’m not dying!” Dewey shouted.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Roddy said slowly, then slid them an apologetic grimace. “But Cassie says your condition is getting worse and hiding it is wearing you out, on top of running this place by yourself.”

Bryce rolled his eyes, humming dubiously. “Mom told you that?”

“Yeah. I call her a couple of times a month. I like to know what you’re up to and how Doobie’s doing.”

“Since when?” Bryce demanded, earning a groan from Dewey as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Four Christmases ago, if I had to guess. She started talking about‘what if Roddy changed and wanted to come back?’She tried it a couple of times, but I never wanted any part of that fantasy.”

“It wasn’t a fantasy,” Roddy said sadly. “I knew I messed up way before I washed out of the league and I tried talking to Cass when Bryce was a kid, but she wasn’t ready back then. I got lucky one Christmas and Cass let me apologize and we’ve been talking since.”

“Why didn’t she say anything to me about it?” Bryce said and Roddy gave him a wide-eyed look.

“Oh, I don’t know…” He laughed and shook his head. “You’re even more of a Brooks than we are,” he said as he gestured at himself and Dewey. Tears pooled in Roddy’s eyes as he stared at Bryce. “Damn it! I don’t deserve a bit of credit, but I am so proud of you. Your mom says you’resmartsmart and I can tell. You’re just like us, but you’re even better.”

Dewey made apfft!sound as a tear rolled off the end of his nose. “He sucks at hockey. His heart’s as big as Dad’s, though, and he’s got all the brains you left behind.”

“I can see that,” Roddy said hoarsely, then tossed his chin at the lanes. “Place looks great. You look like shit, Doobie, but you’ve done Dad proud.”

“Thanks,” Dewey replied flatly. “You think you can stroll back in here after almost twenty years and take over?”

“No!” Roddy shook his head quickly. “This isyourplace and I’ll never be able to replace you. I don’t want to. I just want tohave a home and family again. I miss my little brother and I want to know my son,” he pleaded, holding Dewey’s gaze as tears rolled down his cheeks and seeped into his beard.

A faint squeak slipped from Bryce as he turned his back, shaking his head. Theo reached for him, giving Bryce’s shoulder a firm squeeze. His heart was torn right in two. He was so angry for Dewey and Bryce, but Theo couldn’t fathom the regret Roddy had lived with. Nothing could ever come between Theo and his brothers and two decades without them would have been unbearable. He instinctively ached to see their family healed,ifDewey and Bryce believed Roddy deserved another chance.

It was their call—not Roddy’s or Theo’s—and their closure and happiness was all that mattered.

“You get $20 an hour and you can stay in the Minnie Winnie,” Dewey eventually announced. His gaze never left the floor, though. He couldn’t seem to bring his eyes to meet Roddy’s. Theo hoped it was disappointment and a fear of being let down again, and that Dewey didn’t feel defeated for accepting his brother’s help or ashamed of his condition. Or them.

“I guess that means I’ve been evicted,” Theo noted and Roddy’s brows furrowed as he scrubbed his beard.

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