Sensing that, he took a step back, swallowing and giving me a small nod before starting again. “Jake. I have to do this. I don’t want anyone to know. That’s not what this is about. It’s not even about you. It’s about doing something for a good woman I wronged a long time ago. This is about me and her.”
“She doesn’t need you.”
“I know.” He nodded, clearing his throat. “I know. You stepped in where I should have been. You’ve taken good care of her. Of everything. I know you can handle this, but you shouldn’t have to. I need to do this for myself.”
“No!” I shouted. “You don’t get to do this for you. You made your choice. Go home.” I couldn’t listen to another word out ofhis mouth. A fire was raging inside, and I just wanted him gone. Ineededhim gone.
All of a sudden, a heavy hand plopped onto my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. The stiff, bridled emotion coiled inside of me, releasing the second I whipped around and saw Layne Marten at my side.
My face crumpled. The fight left my body the instant his gray eyes met mine. A strong wind would have toppled me. I took a few steps to the side with my hands on my head, putting my back to both men as I took a breath. Layne must have known what I needed, and I heard him shake my dad’s hand.
“Cole, it’s good to see you.”
“Hey, Layne. Thanks for coming.”
“Where you at these days?”
At the small talk, I started walking. Wandering. Meandering through the grassy area of the hospital. It hurt in some way to hear one of my idols talking to my dad like he wasn’t the most disgusting piece of trash on the sidewalk. Even though I knew Layne was only diffusing a bomb. We needed him, but I didn’t have to listen. My phone buzzed.
Shelby: Everything okay? You need me to beat anybody up?
Despite myself, I smiled, picturing Shelby duking it out with an old, washed-up rodeo star. I’d put my money on her.
Me: Maybe later. Layne just got here.
Shelby: Good. We’re headed home now. Keep me posted.
It didn’t surprise me when Layne tracked me down a few minutes later. In fact, I was almost waiting for it when he found me leaning against a tree, texting Shelby.
“I think you could have taken him,” he said.
Straightening myself up from the tree, I said, “We were about to find out until you showed up.”
He huffed out a laugh and motioned toward his truck sitting in the parking lot. “Do you want to go sit for a minute?”
The walk and text with Shelby had cooled my boiling rage down to a heated simmer, but I would have followed Layne anywhere, and he knew it. So I braced myself for a lecture as I climbed into his truck.
“Listen, Jake?—“
I held my hand up to stop him. “He wants to swoop in here and pay for everything like he’s some big hero. After he abandoned us. I’m not taking anything from him.”
Layne rubbed his face, and we sat there in silence for a bit longer.
“Why not?” he finally asked.
My eyes shot to his in confusion. “I thought that was obvious.”
His voice was soft when he spoke again. “Yeah. But, he’s taken so much from you. Why can’t he give a little back?”
I looked away. “I don’t need his money,” I said, when I trusted myself to speak.
“I’m not just talking about the money. You need to let him do this. You need this. He needs it. And your mother needs it. People can only change as much as we let them.”
When I didn’t say anything, he went on.
“You want to keep him how he’s always been to you, that’s your business. It’s your life. But it’s a short life, and the older you get, the more you’ll realize that. It’s been twenty years already. I’m not excusing him for what he’s done, but a boy has the potential to grow into a man in a twenty-year span.”
I wasn’t sure if he was talking about Cole Evans or me, but my face was in my hands either way.