Page 49 of Triple Pucked
What’s wrong?
He gives me a sheepish grin. “That’ll be Mike. He probably has been given extra shifts again.”
He drags his phone out of his pocket.
But then, he becomes ashen.
I know that look.
I wish that I didn’t.
Reluctantly, he answers the call. “Hey, Dad.”
I stiffen.
Coach isn’t meant to be contacting Cody outside work.
Cody is holding himself too still. His face is tight with tension.
I throw down the cloth onto the counter, wishing that I could hear what was being said by coach that is making Cody look like he wants to hurl.
“I didn’t…” Cody finally tries to break in. “My shift isn’t until… I haven’t broken any… Iamworking hard. You shouldn’t be calling me. I haven’t answered all your messages for a reason…I’m not backtalking. I’m sorry… Please, can we not talk now? I don’t want to…”
That’s it.
My lip curls back, before I march across the kitchen and pluck the phone from Cody’s fingers.
Cody’s mouth drops open, as I lift the phone to my ear.
“Stop calling him outside work hours,” I bite out. “You don’t have a right to talk to him if he doesn’t want to speak to you.”
Coach splutters on the other end. Before he can reply, however, I switch off the phone.
It instantly rings again, loud and angry, but I turn it to vibrate.
“You’re like a cloned Mike in training.” Cody’s eyes are wide. “That was thrilling and scary.”
“What Would Mike Do?” I drop Cody’s phone back into his hand.
Cody blushes. “I wouldn’t have answered it if my husband had been here. I find it harder to resist when he isn’t. Dad just wears me down. I’m exhausted. I think that’s why Dad calls during Mike’s shifts. In fact, I’m sure of it.”
“He does this a lot…?”
Cody shoves his phone back into his pocket. “Messages, calls, and texts. He gets angry if I don’t answer. Then he’ll be worse with me at work. I can handle it.”
“I know you can.” And I do. Like me, we have both handled worse. “Are you safe? Does Mike know?”
Cody fidgets.
Shay acts like that when he’s hiding something.
So, that’s a no.
“Mike would be furious that Dad had pushed my boundaries,” Cody says, anguished. “He’d suggest that I cut all contact. Dad is toxic. It would probably be the right choice. Don’t tell Ryn, but I’m shattered just holding it together right now. To keep myself safe like that, however, I’d need to give up my job and I’ve worked years to prove myself and gain it. If I lose it, and without a reference, then I have no idea where I’d work. Mike has a vocation as a doctor. He is committed to the hospital. Plus, I’ve grown close to my sis again. I can’t leave Freedom. I’ve only just found my family, friends, home and the career that I’ve always dreamed about. To hold onto all that, however, I also have to keep letting Dad into my life to hurt me all over again.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Freedom Mansion
