Page 99 of Try Me

Leaning Hard

Declan

Declan’s conversationwith Teddy had surprised him. Teddy never expressed his emotions, but Declan swore he heard tears in the old man’s voice when he said his son’s name. Bolstered by the welcome in his father’s greeting, Declan had flat out asked for what he wanted. The inheritance that he’d done nothing to earn was more money than he could spend in three lifetimes. He’d never wanted it before because he’d never needed it. He made enough through endorsements and contest winnings to live the simple life he craved. But starting a team was a big dream that required big money.

“I thought you’d never get the balls to ask,” Teddy had said. “The money’s yours. You just have to come and get it.”

Declan had to sit down on the bed as his knees buckled. “How about now?” He asked.

He’d run down the stairs to the lobby and flagged the first cab in the circular driveway in front of the hotel. His parents lived only a few miles from Waikiki, and within ten minutes, he was knocking on the door of his childhood home.

Teddy opened the door and peered down at him from his superior height. Declan looked more like his mother, who was tall and willow thin, than his barrel-chested father, but they had the same piercing gray-blue eyes.

“How much do you need?” Teddy asked in greeting.

Declan’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Hello, Father,” he said, extending his hand.

Teddy eyed Declan’s hand, sighed and then shook it firmly. A movement on the stairs caught Declan’s eye, and he saw his mother hurrying toward him. She was already crying.

“Declan!” she cried, covering her mouth with her hands. “I didn’t think we’d ever see you again.”

Declan felt his heart soften as he looked at his mother. She’d always tried to protect him from the brunt of Teddy’s anger, but it had never been enough.

“Mother,” he said, reaching for her. They hugged, and Declan let her cry against his chest for a moment.

Teddy interrupted their reunion. “That’s enough, Eliza,” he said. “The boy came for a reason.” Teddy reached for the checkbook in his pocket. “How much?”

Declan’s jaw tightened, and he felt a rush of anger for his father. “I’m here for the Duke contest,” Declan said. “Did you know that?”

Teddy shook his head. “We don’t keep up with contests,” he said.

“It’s the Duke,” Declan said, feeling his anger boil. “It’s bigger than the World Series and the Super Bowl combined. You must have heard about it.”

“How much?” Teddy repeated, taking out his pen.

Declan cast his icy stare at his father, his chest tight with anger. “One hundred thousand dollars,” he said, hurling the number through the tension in the air.

Teddy blinked up at him, but quickly recovered and started writing with a flourish. He ripped the check from the pad and handed it to Declan. “Next time, meet me at the bank,” he said. “We have papers to sign.”

Adrenaline surged through Declan, and he took the check with more force than planned, nearly ripping it as he tore it from his father’s grasp. “That’s it?” he asked. “That’s all? I thought this would be harder.”

“It’s been yours for five years,” Teddy said. “You should have grown a set of balls earlier.”

Declan sucked in a sharp breath. He’d already used his fists on one man tonight, and he refused to turn into a raging brawler. He tamped down his anger, instead feeling pity for the father who would never know his own son.

“Goodbye, Mother,” he said, embracing her again before he reached for the door.

Declan strode toward the cab that idled in the driveway, struggling to keep from shaking. He reminded himself that he’d gotten what he’d came for. More than he’d hoped for. One hundred thousand dollars was more than enough to make all of his and Pearl’s dreams come true.

His head jerked at the sound of the door slamming and footsteps behind him on the path.

“Declan, wait!”

He turned to see his mother hurrying toward him with her robe flapping around her body. She was thinner than he’d ever seen her, and fragile-looking. Declan imagined it wasn’t easy living with the likes of Teddy Bishop. His throat tightened with emotion when he thought of how Elizabeth had always lived in Teddy’s shadow. He could never do that to a woman.

“I have to show you something,” Elizabeth said.

Taking his arm, she steered him toward the garage. She opened the door, and Declan was immediately assaulted by all his favorite scents. Rubber, leather, oil and fresh-cut wood filled the air. Declan loved those smells even more than he loved the smell of the salty ocean breeze.

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