Page 70 of Crew
She pulled the door open the rest of the way. “Yes, of course. Come in.”
We stepped inside, and I braced myself for whatever came next. Knox and I had a flight to catch, and I had yet to visit my parents. Everything was a whirlwind in my head, but I needed the truth from Mallory before I talked to my folks.
After Mal called her work and I said my hellos to her parents, they left the three of us in their living room while they fed Grady breakfast. Mallory sat on the edge of the recliner, her arms wrapped loosely around herself while Knox and I took a seat on the couch.
“You probably have questions,” she said, breaking the awkward silence.
“A lot,” I admitted. “But mainly, he’s mine, isn’t he?”
She took a pause before she answered, “Yeah. He is.”
For a moment, I couldn’t do anything but stare at her as I tried to process what I already knew deep in my gut. I was a father.
“I don’t understand,” I whispered. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
She looked away. “Because you were about to have the life you’d always dreamed of. You were going pro, Crew. Everything was lining up, and I couldn’t be the reason you gavethat up.”
“You should have told me.” My throat felt tight. “I deserved to know.”
“I wanted to. So many times.” Her voice trembled as she looked down at her lap. “But every time I picked up the phone, I stopped. I knew you’d come back, and I couldn’t let you do that. Not after everything you’d worked so hard for had paid off.”
I took a shaky breath. “It wasn’t only your decision, Mal.”
She finally met my gaze, eyes filled with regret. “I know. And I’m sorry.”
The room fell quiet. I struggled to find my next words. I had questions—a thousand of them—but none of them felt right.
“How do we even do this?” I finally managed.
Mallory let out a breath. “I don’t know. I never really thought this far ahead.”
“Does he … know anything?”
She shook her head gently. “No. He’s too little to ask, and I haven’t told him anything.” She paused. “But someday, he’ll need to know.”
I glanced toward Knox, who sat quietly, his presence grounding me. He gave me a subtle nod, just enough encouragement to keep going.
“I want to know him,” I told Mallory. “I want him to know me.”
Her shoulders relaxed slightly. “I’m glad. I never wanted to keep him from you, but you have to understand why I did.”
“I kinda do,” I replied, but it still hurt to think about missing all those years with him. “Come to Raleigh,” I suggested suddenly, surprising myself. “We have a three-game series there. I’ll take care of everything: the flight, hotel, whatever you need. It would give me a chance to spend some time with Grady, start getting to know him.”
Mallory hesitated. “Are you sure? That’s a lot to take on so suddenly.”
“I’m sure,” I answered firmly. “I want to do this. I want to be a father who spends as much time with his son as he can. You know, the opposite of how my dad was with me.”
Her expression softened. “I think you’ll be great at it.”
I glanced at Knox. “There’s something else you should know.” Ilaced my fingers with his. “Knox isn’t just my teammate. He’s my boyfriend. I came home for the night so I could tell my parents, but I want you to know too, especially now.”
Mallory blinked, clearly caught off guard. For a moment, she said nothing. “Wow. Okay.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s a lot.” I blew out a breath but didn’t let go of Knox’s hand. “But what we had back then was real. This is just me not hiding anymore.”
She shook her head quickly, raising a hand to reassure me. “No, it’s not that. I’m just surprised. But thank you for telling me.” Her gaze drifted briefly to Knox, then back to me. “I’m glad you’re happy, Crew. And of course, we’ll come. Grady deserves to know his dad.”
“Thank you.” I stood. “We better get going because we’ve got a flight to catch, and I’ve got more bombs to drop before we leave town. Thank you for being honest with me.” I wrapped her in a hug. “Let’s book your flights, and I’ll get you a room at the hotel the team’s staying at, and have a car pick you up at the airport. Text me whatever you need, my number’s still the same.”
