They’d given us the love Dad hadn’t been willing or able to give because he was too obsessed with the young woman he’d brought into our lives.
For every shortcoming of his, they’d given it to us without even realizing it. This was something I think he needed to hear as much as I needed to say it, so I did.
After I told him, Hurst scored his next hit after angling his chair away from the others so he was facing me with his back to them. “If I’d known—even had a suspicion at the time that’s what was going on—I’d have used every dime I had to get you justice. It wouldn’t have occurred to me that you might be lying because I know you. You’re one of the best people I’ve ever met, and it’s an honor to have watched you grow up and become the man you are today.”
Taking in a shaky breath, I blew it out and nodded my head. “That means more to me than I can explain, sir. Both Dale and I watched you and the family, and when we spoke at night about who we wanted to be when we grew up, you were always the first name on the list.”
“Number two was someone like Han Solo, wasn’t it?” he snickered.
He wasn’t far from the truth.
“Uh, more like Sean Connery in Entrapment or The Rock.”
“Entrapment? Is that the one with Catherine Zeta-Jones where he steals art or something? The one where she’s in a sexy suit and does gymnastics through lasers?”
“That’s the one.”
Glancing over his shoulder at Linda, he leaned in closer. “She was freakin’ hot in that movie. Whoever did the costumes deserved an award—at least one of gratitude.” Snorting out a laugh, I watched as his wife turned and glared at him and wondered how much she’d heard. “And the way she bent backward and...”
“Hurst!” Linda called with forced sweetness.
“Yeah, Lindee?”
“Just checking you’re okay, what with your iffy ticker and all.”
Only a year ago, Hurst had gone through surgery on his heart. It’d been a big operation, but he’d bounced back like it’d never happened.
“Iffy ticker, my ass,” he hissed. “Anyway, why couldn’t y’all have chosen Sean Connery as Bond?”
“Because he didn’t kick ass in those movies like he does in the ones we chose.”
This made him smirk. “In that case, I’ll allow it.”
It was great having this moment with him, but I had something I needed to get out now I had the opportunity.
“Thank you for arranging our ‘scholarships.’”
The bottle he’d been lifting stopped in mid-air. “That was meant to be a secret.”
Shrugging, I watched Ari and Sadie whispering about something behind the bar. “I figured it out.”
It had taken me a while to do it, but I’d gotten there. Dad could easily have put both of us through college, but he was too bitter about our choices. We’d both been awarded partial scholarships, but I’d received a letter just before I’d left for college telling me I had a full ride, and Dale had received the same from his college, too. The wording in it had been convincing, but I’d finally figured it out just before I moved here and had only recently found out it wasn’t Dad doing right, but Hurst giving us our dreams.
“You both deserved that and more,” he muttered, taking a long drink from the bottle.
“Thank you. You’ve done so much for us...” I broke off, swallowing awkwardly over the lump in my throat.
“And we’ll continue to do what we can for you both.”
“not sure you realize how special you and your family are,” I told him, meaning every single word. “You have an ability to love and nurture not many people have. But just so you know, we’re going to pay you back once we finish our residencies, Hurst.”
Giving me his full attention, he leaned in closer. “Do you know why me and Lindee do it, Parker?”
“Because you’re good people,” I replied honestly.
“No. Lindee and I wanted twenty kids.” When I looked at him in shock, he snickered, “Yup, twenty. And what I’m about to tell you isn’t something we discuss a lot because it breaks her heart, but you’re family, and she also asked me to have a talk with you, so I’m going to open a door I don’t open normally. After we had Veronica, Lindee got pregnant again and lost the baby when she was fourteen weeks pregnant. We’d only just found out about it, and then it was taken away from us.”
“Shit,” I groaned, looking at Linda, smiling at her family with all the love in her body shining out of her eyes. Feeling me watching her, she turned that look to me and winked, but the slight strain around her mouth told me she wasn’t oblivious to what he was telling me.