“You wanna go live with them?”
Wade stares at the ground. Growing up with our father, we know his questions are mostly rhetorical.
“You’re gonna let them buy you?”
That makes Wade’s head snap up. “Like you can talk. You’ve taken their money for years.”
“I ain’t livin’ with them,” Dad yells. “You’re comfortable being under the same roof as a couple of—”
“Finish that sentence,” I taunt. “I dare you.”
“Yeah, Dad,” Wade says. “I’m totally scared of the big gay agenda where they’re tryin’ to turn everyone to the dark side.”
Have I mentioned how much I love my little brother?
One thing I’ve been worried about was that my parents would mold his brain into thinking the way they do. The fact he’s open about it gives me hope that the next generation is smarter than ingrained bigotry.
“Maybe you’re just like them,” Dad says with venom.
“Then you’ll have no problem signing over custody,” Wade says easily.
Dad narrows his eyes, not buying it, but surprisingly, he admits defeat. He stands. “Fine. Do what y’all want. I’m goin’ out.”
He has to pass by me to get to the front door, and as we come face-to-face, just a foot away from each other, our eyes lock.
I smile. “Have fun.”
He grumbles something I can’t hear as he keeps walking, and as he gets to the door, I decide to throw him one last hard truth.
“Oh, and Dad? This is the last time I pay off your debts. So if you’re going to the track, you might wanna think better of it.”
His face turns red, his jaw set, and for a brief second, I think he might take a swing at me. But he doesn’t. He knows if he does, I’ll be gone and the next thing he knows, he’ll get a court notice.
It’s the first time in my entire life I have held the power when it comes to my parents. Does it suck it’s taken twenty-seven years and hundreds of thousands of dollars? Yeah. But this moment? This feeling?
I’m finally free of the burden my parents put on me when I was drafted to the NFL.
Chapter Eight
NOAH
Matt places a stack of legal papers in front of me at the kitchen table in our New York town house. “These were just couriered over.”
“What are they?” It could be anything from something from my charity to an endorsement contract Matt wants an opinion on. It couldn’t be the custody papers yet. We were told it’s a long process—only made longer if Matt’s parents fight it, which if I’m honest, I’ve been expecting.
But Matt proves me wrong. “It’s official. Come September, Wade is ours.”
“Wow. That was fast.”
“My parents didn’t dispute it. My guess is they’re desperate for the money.”
“Or they want more from you.” I don’t look my husband in the eyes as I ask, “Are you going to give it to them if they do?”
Matt sighs. “It’s tempting, because I still have all that guilt there—that cutting them off would be somehow wrong.” He holds his hand up, because he knows I’m about to tell him to stop feeling that way because it’s not true. “I know it’s not wrong, and I am going to stay strong this time, but it’s hard.”
I take hold of his hand. “I know it is, baby.”
“But, we’re finally free of them. I take freedom in the knowledge that I can now tell them to fuck off if I want to, whenever I want to. If I do ever give them money again, it’ll be on my terms, not theirs. It’s … liberating.”
“So, about that,” I hedge. I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but I didn’t want Matt to think I was having doubts about offering Wade a place to stay.
“Oh, God, what are you planning?”
I mock gasp. “I am offended you think it would be something harebrained and irrational.”
Matt groans. He loves me, I swear to God. “What is it?”
“We charter a flight with all the guys for our Fiji trip this year and make it a huge group thing.”
Hey, look at that. I still have the power to render Matt speechless even after all these years.
“Hear me out. It’s going to be the last time we’re able to make this trip without a teenager hanging around.”
“Exactly. It’ll be the last chance to walk around naked and have sex on our private beach. Do you really want the guys there for that?”
“We’ll still have our private beach. But we’re moving to Chicago. Chicago.”
“Talon and Miller will be with us in Chicago.”
“Not during the off-season. They’ll be in New York or Denver or doing endorsement shit. And during the season, you guys never want to go out, plus we’ll have a kid at home. This is, like, our last chance to live it up for a while. We should make it worth it.”
The idea ticks over in his brain, and at least it isn’t a flat-out no. “You want … to … and every … wait, everyone? Even douchecanoe Bryce?”