Page 108 of His Coveted Obsession

“I’m not sure Annie will ever speak to you again.”

Another sob escaped him as he nodded again. “I deserve that.”

I reached for his arm and rested my hand on it. “You need to fix your life, Dad. I still love you, and I don’t want to see you suffer and die. But I won’t be helping you feed your addiction.”

He looked up at me with wet eyes. “I-I got a job, and I started a group counseling thing for those who are addicted to gambling. The, ah, cravings are there… so much, but I’m controlling it so far.”

I smiled softly and patted his arm. “It’s a great start, Dad. That makes me so happy.”

Dad and I sat there, talking for a while about his plans to help him and what mine were. I made him some lunch, and we ate in silence. I knew right then that I would be back. Our relationship would never be the same, but I wouldn’t turn my back on him. Annie, however, was another story.

When I stood, he pulled me into a hug, and we held on to each other for a long time. “Tell Easton thank you from me.”

Easton wouldn’t care, but I didn’t tell Dad that. Easton didn’t want me coming over here at all.

“I will.”

“T-tell Annie I love her.”

“I’ll try.”

“Will you come back?” he asked when we separated, and I headed to the front door.

“I’ll be back. I promise.”

“Thank you, Tommy. I love you.”

And that was another reason I planned to stick around. Dad needed the motivation to recover.

My smile was small and sad. “Love you, too.”

When I stepped outside into the warm spring afternoon, I saw Easton’s green Porsche sitting there, waiting for me. I smiled because he was supposed to wait until I texted him to pick me up. I loved his impatience. Was that weird? Probably, but I didn’t give a crap.

I got into his car and laughed at him, practically trying to break his steering wheel.

“Well?” he snapped.

I laughed inwardly, not wanting to make him madder at me.

“It looks like he’s on the right path. It took a huge scare to get him to make an effort. He’s trying, East.”

“I don’t like you coming over here.”

With a huge smile, I leaned over and pecked a kiss on his cheek. “And you’ll always be there to protect me.”

“I will. That doesn’t mean I like it.”

“There’s hope. Dad will make an effort. It’s sad that something catastrophic had to happen to make him change, but he could’ve fallen in the other direction. That he chose not to is good news. There’s a chance he’ll recover.”

“Good, I suppose,” he huffed.

To ease his frustration, I ran my fingers through his silky, perfectly cropped hair. “Tell you what? Let’s go hunting this weekend.”

“You don’t mean killing animals, I take it?”

I snorted a laugh. “Gross. No, I mean, let’s play our role-playing game.”

Easton instantly relaxed and smiled crookedly. “I thought you’d never fucking ask. Finally.”

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