Page 38 of Win Big

“Why, yes, it is.”

Shaking his head, he says, “I meant your discussion with her. The one you were dreading.”

I sigh. “It wasn’t very enlightening. The bad part was that she also knows Dad’s having problems.” I try to steady my voice. Just thinking about my dad maybe having Alzheimer’s is enough to choke me up, never mind talking about it. “She’s tried to get him to go to the doctor, but he doesn’t want to. She says he’s in denial.”

“Or maybe he’s scared too,” Wyatt says softly.

“It’s hard to imagine Dad being scared.”

“Everyone’s scared.”

I bit my bottom lip. “Even you?”

“Sure.” He flashes a cocky grin. “I’m scared of alligators.”

I can’t stop my laughter, even though I know he’s being flippant when we were having a serious conversation.

I rub my temple. “Well, luckily you’re in California and not Florida.”

“And what about the other issue? The lawsuit? Did your mom tell all?”

I scowl. “No. She refused. She knows what’s going on and basically told me not to worry my little head about it.”

His eyes warm with sympathy. “But you are worried.”

“Mmm. Maybe more annoyed about it. They’re all acting like children, and over what? Money? Phhhht.”

“Money’s a big issue. Causes lots of problems in families.”

“True. Maybe it’s better not to have any.”

“There’s your privilege showing.”

I wrinkle my nose. “You’re right. Sorry.” This man... he’s surprisingly intuitive and thoughtful, and yet any time things get serious, he breaks the tension with a smart-ass remark. And he just called me on my privilege. I respect anyone who does that.

My chest tightens as if my bra suddenly shrank three band sizes.

I’d like to defend myself to him. I know I’m privileged, and I try to do some good with it. Bah. He doesn’t need to know that.

He pays the bill with a credit card and helps me into my coat. Then we stroll back to the arena, the wind gusting in our faces this time.

“This is horrible weather!” I complain.

He laughs. “This is nothing.”

“It’s all relative, I guess. Are you happy you ended up here in California?”

“Oh yeah.”

He says that with such heartfelt gratitude, I’m puzzled. “Most players don’t like being traded.”

“Change is hard,” he says generically. “It was hard seeing Detroit win the Cup the year after I left.”

“Oooh. Yeah. That would be hard to take.”

He shrugs, not looking too bent about it. “It was a good move for me.”

“To the Condors?” I shoot him a sideways, skeptical glance. “I mean, I’m a fan, obviously, but we haven’t even made the playoffs for years.”

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