Page 101 of Mr. Charming

He glances at Tedi behind me, then sighs. “Sure. I need a fresh beer anyway. Come on.”

I follow him toward the garage door, and Tedi squeezes my hand when I pass her on the way.

Once the door shuts, Derin crosses his arms and stands in front of me. I’m taller by a head, but he’s intimidating as all hell. “I’m doing this to appease my daughter, but I’m going to be honest, I don’t like you.”

I guess I have a lot more work than I thought.

Forty-Five

Tweetie

What was the speech I practiced with Conor again? I can’t remember a fucking word of it. “First, let me apologize. When we broke up, I was lost. It’s no excuse because Tedi should’ve come first, but I took her for granted. I’m sorry. I know you trusted me with her, and I failed you both.”

“I don’t give a shit about me, JD.”

I wince at the initials. It only makes me feel like my dad’s genes did trickle down to me.

“You won’t understand how I felt hearing the pain in her voice until you have a child of your own. Feeling as if you’re to blame because you welcomed the man into your life, told your daughter he’s a good one. You know what she’s been through with her mom. Now…”

I open my mouth to respond, but he holds up his hand.

“I also understand I’m not in that relationship. That I’m an outsider and biased that my daughter is perfect. She’s a grown adult. She can make her mistakes, and all I can do is be here to pick up the mess you leave. I picked it up once, and I don’t want to pick it up again.” He gives me a stern glare.

“I understand. And I know I could stand here and make promises and tell you I’m different. But those are empty words, so I’ll prove it to you. Know that she’s safe in my hands.”

He stares at me, then turns and goes to the fridge. “You want one?” He holds up a beer.

“Sure.” As if I would say no.

He gets one himself and pulls over a step stool, sitting on it. A few minutes of silence fills the cool room until he speaks again. “You seem to make her happy. Well, you do make her happy. I picked the wrong person once upon a time, and my kids got hurt from it. So, I’m always really protective of them. Hell, I’m about to break up with Rhonda if she says one more thing to Mason. Jesus Christ, woman.” He shakes his head.

I bite my lip to not laugh. He’s right. Give the kid a break. Toby’s going to lose it at some point on her, and there’ll be another host of problems.

“All that to say, I wanted to come out here and be a hardass, but I have a soft spot for my kids and what makes them happy. I heard what you did for Mason today. That Kyler is a real shithead and so are his parents. Thank you for going even though Tedi never asked you. You were always good to her, until you… well, I can understand when life keeps knocking you down. She had her own demons to conquer too.”

“I wanted to conquer them for her.”

He laughs before sipping his beer. “Do you know her at all?”

I chuckle and take a pull from the bottle.

“Something keeps bringing you two together, but you guys keep getting in the way of it. Tedi says you’re taking things slow. I think that’s a good idea, but I don’t trust that it’s going to happen. Maybe you two prove me wrong. No matter what, I’m giving you a pass here. Don’t make me regret it.” He tips his beer back again.

“I won’t. You’ll be dancing at our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.”

He chuckles. “God willing. You always did make me laugh.”

He stands from the step stool, and I hold out my hand in front of him. “I’m really sorry for ever putting you in that position.”

His hand slides in mine with a firm handshake. “I appreciate it. Now, I rarely see my daughter, so let’s go enjoy the night.” He puts his hand on my shoulder and squeezes.

“Can I ask you a favor, Derin?”

“Favors already? Jeez, kid. You’re taking my precious daughter, what do you want now?” He chuckles.

“Would you mind calling me Tweetie? JD is just…” I’m not sure if Tedi’s ever shared my past with him, but I really don’t like anyone but my mom and sister calling me that, and only because it would be weird for them to call me by my hockey name.

He gives me a quick nod. “Sure.”

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