Page 76 of Eight Years Gone

Grace shrugged. “She’s a celebrity in her own right with her books and television appearances. Plus, her big brother and his teammates always talk up the clinic, so I imagine she can afford it.”

“It sounds like her brother’s surgery was iffy. His odds of returning to the football field don’t sound good.” And that was tragic because Brian Kimball was one of the NFL’s greatest of all time.

Grace jerked her shoulders again. “My dad and Paul are his best chance at a full recovery.”

“Hopefully, they have a miracle up their sleeves. Blowing out his ACL and MCL. That’ll be a hell of a comeback, especially when rumors are floating around that he’s also been dealing with post-operative infections.”

“Hmm.”

He glanced at Grace as he slid his thumb along her skin, understanding that she had no desire to talk about sports. Over the past few days, they’d talked about a lot of things but never her dad. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. “I wasn’t expecting that. That billboard has been an advertisement for Scranton Memorial’s new maternity wing for a couple of years.”

“That’s definitely a change.”

She nodded again. “It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen him.”

“Have you thought about reaching out?”

She shook her head. “He was awful to you, Jagger.”

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t have everything I do if it wasn’t for him.”

Her surprised gaze whipped up to meet his as she frowned. “Jagger—”

“Logan was my best friend. I got a great education. I met Colonel Hinders and had a hell of a career. But mostly, I have you, Gracie. None of that would have happened if your dad hadn’t opened the doors to me.”

Her frown deepened. “You worked hard for what you have. You earned what you have.”

“But he was the catalyst for all of it.”

“So, we should thank him?”

He shrugged. “Sort of.”

She shook her head, pulling her hand free from his. “He blamed you for something that was never your fault. He and Colonel Hinders used Logan’s death against you—against both of us. The colonel always wanted you, and my dad wanted you gone. They got their wish no matter what it cost.”

“That’s true, but—”

“Don’t defend them, Jagger. There are no ‘buts’ that will ever justify what they did.”

“Grace—”

“Let’s drop it. I don’t want to talk about this.”

He sighed, quickly moving over two lanes to take the nearest exit because they were going to fix this right now.

Pulling off on the quiet street in an area that had seen better days, he stopped in an abandoned warehouse parking lot while Grace gripped her arms across her chest and stared out her window. “Will you look at me?”

She turned her head. “What?”

“I’m not defending your father. He’s done a lot of shitty things, but I don’t care about any of it.”

She blinked as her eyes filled. “We lost eight years, Jagger. We don’t get that time back.”

He captured her hand between the two of his, playing with her fingers. “No, we don’t.”

“He took you away from me. I don’t know how to be okay with that.”

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