Page 171 of Beautiful Storm

“Good. Now fuck off so I can make a call.”

I jump up to leave, but before I get to the door, I cringe and spin around.Dammit. Why can’t I walk away?

“Ah, Coach?”

“What?” he growls, his scowl re-forming as he glances up at me.

“Jake said something when we were fighting the other day.”

“Who the fuck is Jake?”

“The other director—it’s not important. What is important is that he said Jefferson was selling the—”

“Don’t finish that sentence. You’re not supposed to know about that, and it will be better if you just push that information from your mind. We have playoffs to win. We need to focus on that.”

“But—”

“But nothing, Luke. I can’t deal with it right now. It’s best to leave it alone until it’s official.”

“Okay.”

“Good. I’ll see you on the field.”

He picks up his phone, ending our conversation, so I do what he asks and leave it alone. It’s in Jefferson’s best interest that we win the Super Bowl, so as long as he doesn’t mess with that, I can wait for it to come out.

And for all I know, it could be a good thing for the team. It’s best to just sit tight and wait.

It’s time to focus on the game.

I’m away from the hospital for no more than five hours, but when I finally get back, a weight is lifted. Amelia’s better than when I left, and Juliet’s sleeping peacefully in her bassinet. All safe and well.

“Hey, you,” Amelia says as I walk in. “How was practice and your chat with your coach?”

“No issues. Coach said he missed having me on the team but that I couldn’t gloat about it.”

“Did you gloat?”

“A little.” I shrug, making Amelia laugh. “To my teammates.”

“I’ll bet.”

“How are things here? Did you speak to your mom?”

“I was going to. Until I saw a message from my dad asking to meet his grandchild. The grandchild he knew had been born. She told him.Again.”

I cringe at the mention of her dad as an internal battle rages inside me. That fucking man. All my instincts tell me to keep the information to myself. She’s been through too much and I can’t hurt her anymore. But I also made a promise to change, and keeping her in the dark breaks that promise. Which means I need to get everything off my chest.Everything.

“I’m sorry, Amelia. You deserve better than your parents. And—”

“It’s okay. Maybe it’s for the best. It will help me move on. I felt guilty, but now I don’t. I have my own family and that’s more important.”

“It’s still hard and—”

“At least they taught me what not to do as parents.”

“You’re right. We will never be like that. Actually, let’s promise we’ll never be like either of our parents.”

“Why? Your parents are great. They’re coming in tomorrow, right? After Hayley?”

---