Page 100 of Stick By Me
“And if he messes up, he’ll have me watching over him. Well, and Aunt Dyana and the girls.” Tad stepped forward.
Archer’s gaze crept to the doctor’s. “So, he’s really doing okay?”
“He is.” The doctor patted the end of Sam’s bed. “All he needs now, is to let his body heal and build his strength back.”
Archer nodded, toying with a fold in the blankets on the bed. “Okay. Then I guess we’ll be going home on schedule, and I need to get in some ice time at the rink.”
I walked to Archer and kissed his cheek. “Go, I’ll be right here with your dad and uncle.” It would be good to spend some time alone with them both and Archer could clear his head while he skated. He’d been so focused on his father’s recovery, I didn’t think he’d had time to process the other issue, the fact Richard Dupont was his biological father.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
ARCHER
Afew hours later, I stomped into the hospital room, my insides boiling. I’d had a good long skate at the local rink, the place where I’d played my first games and held my first practices and now, I was pissed right the fuck off. There’d been one glaring question I hadn’t asked. I’d been too upset with dad’s condition to even think of it. Why the fuck did they keep Richard Dupont a secret from me? And not just Dad, it was Mom, too.
Leo rested in a recliner, watching some crime show when his gaze caught mine. He bolted out of his chair and strode to me. “Archer? What’s wrong?” He grabbed my arm, stopping me by dad’s bedside.
“Everything.” I glared at Dad and breathed in deeply. The doc had said he was fine now, so he could handle my anger.
“What do you mean?” Knitting his brows, Leo swayed his head as if attempting to see more clearly into my face.
Dad shifted higher in his bed, wincing. “Talk to me, Archer.”
Jabbing my finger into the bed by dad’s feet, I said, “Why didn’t you tell me I wasn’t yours? Why did you keep this secret from me?”
Leo pursed his lips, then said, “Archer, settle down. Let’s have a discussion and not an argument.”
I fought to calm the clashing emotions waging a war inside me. Deep down, I loved my parents. But the fuckers deceived me. “Tell me why.” I threw my hardened gaze at Dad.
Dad folded his hands over his stomach. “Truth is, we left it open. We never intended to keep it from you. We figured there’d come a good time and then we’d tell you.” He shrugged a shoulder, then shook his head, huffing a sigh. “Then your mother died and I…” He rubbed his eyes. “I just couldn’t.”
“How was there never a good time?” I held out my hand, blinking. It was plausible, with my crazy hockey schedule and school.
“There just wasn’t.” He focused on me. “When you were little, we didn’t want to upset you. Then you got older and the longer you went without knowing, the harder it became.”
“Deceit has a way of doing that.” Leo brushed his fingers up and down my arm. “Like me coming out to my family.” Wrinkling his brows, his gaze found mine.
Leo and Dad had obviously been getting close while I was out. Come to think of it, they were a lot alike. Fuck. My chest deflated. There hadn’t been any horrible conspiracy going on or malicious intent. “So…” I scowled, twisted, then fell into a recliner, holding my face in my hands.
“Archer, it was time and I told you. I’m sorry. I suppose we should have held a family meeting at some point. Maybe when you were in middle school?” Dad twisted his lips. “But you were sort of?—”
“Weird back then. Too focused on hockey to the point of skating even when my feet were bleeding from blisters because my skates were always too small.” I scrubbed my face. He was right. If they’d told me, what would it have done to me?
“You were growing so fast back then, it was hard to keep up with the equipment.” Dad sighed. “Mom never thought youwere ready. She was afraid of what it would do to your game. She was afraid it would mess you up in the head.”
“It would have.” I huffed a laugh. “It sort of did.” I reached my arm out and Leo walked into my side.
After kissing the top of my head, Leo said, “There’s no point in living in the past. It’s behind you. Things fell into place. It’s what you do now that matters.”
I looked up at him, his gaze warming my soul. “Like how the fates put us together, they aligned to put me where I am now?” Maybe I shouldn’t be questioning it. I’d never been a parent. Not yet, anyways. How did I know what it was like for my mom and dad while I grew up?
“We only wanted what was best for you, Archer.Allof us.” Dad gave me a sad look.
Leo crouched down and cupped my cheeks. “You know now, and Richard Dupont never abandoned you. Talk to him when we get home.”
“Oh, I’ll talk to him all right.” I scoffed, then brushed my cheek into Leo’s gentle touch. I couldn’t wait to get back and see the man in person. But first, I stood up and stepped to Dad’s bedside. “I’m sorry I got so angry. I just?—”
“Don’t apologize. I’d be angry, too, if it were me. Let me know if there’s anything I can do. I can talk to Richard for you if you want.” Dad peered at me.
