Page 59 of Game Changer
She smiles.
“And it’s hard not to get down about what’s happening to him, but he had an amazing life, and we’ve all been lucky to be part of it.Even though at times he was stubborn and hard to get along with.”I pause.“I wonder how much Dad and Uncle Mark regret all the negativity.”
“Did you talk to your dad about that when you went out for lunch?”
“No.”
“Jax, you should have.”
“You’re probably right.I’m a coward.”
“No, you’re not.It’s not easy talking about the things that have hurt us.But…”
“What?”
“It’s none of my business.Sorry.”
“No, tell me.”
“It seems like your relationship with your dad is distant.”
“Yeah.That’s a fair comment.”
“Do you want more?Do you want to be closer?”
“Not really.”
She blows out a puff of air.“Jax.”
“He cheated on my mom.”
Her head whips around.I glance sideways at her as I drive.“Oh,” she says.
I sigh.“Yeah.I found out by accident.That was why they split up.Mom’s never said a bad word about him, but I know she was hurt by it.And I fucking hate it.”
She nibbles her bottom lip as Southern California scenery flashes by outside the car.“Do you have questions about that?”
“Questions?”My hands tighten on the steering wheel.“Like, why he cheated?”
“Yeah.I guess.Maybe if you talked to him about it, you’d understand.”
“Wait, you want me to understand?Forgive him?You’re the one who left your fiancé because he cheated on you.You couldn’t get past that.”My voice has risen, and I have to take a long breath.
“True,” she says quietly.“I’m not saying there’s ever any excuse for cheating, but…oh hell.You’re right—I probably do need to talk to Steve about it.”
Wow, that was a quick spinorama.
“For closure.Understanding.I probably need that to move on.And I think you probably do, too, with your dad.”
Well, shit.At least she’s not a hypocrite, but she has a point.I did say that about talking to Steve.I better not be a hypocrite either.
“I guess I could talk to Dad again while I’m here,” I say gruffly.
12
Molly
It serves me right for trying to give Jax advice.As I was telling him he should talk to his dad, I realized he’d told me the exact same thing about Steve.And I had to admit he was right.
