Dad’s eyes darken with regret. “Casey,” he soothes. “I’m so sorry. I only ever warned you off the guys to try and protect you. You know what they can be like, how quickly they go through bunnies. I didn’t want that for you. I never meant to scare you into thinking you couldn’t tell me if one of those guys was the one for you.”
“So you’re not disappointed in me?” I ask quietly.
“Care Bear, I could never be disappointed in you. I’m so proud of you for everything you’ve overcome and achieved.” I smile as I fight back my tears. “And Kodie,” he says, turning his eyes to my man. “IknowI warned you off my girl. But if you wanted her, I needed you to fight for her. Only someone very special comes before hockey.” Kodie nods in understanding astears continue to burn my eyes. “I’m proud of you, too. Being a single parent is hard, but being a single father in our world is almost impossible. You’re doing an incredible job; Sutton is a credit to you. She reminds me so much of this one at that age,” Dad says with a fond smile.
“Bossy and know-it-all,” Kodie says lightly.
“Yep, that’s it,” Dad laughs. “She has good ideas, though.”
“Don’t tell her that or she’ll never stop. She wants you to get Donnelly from Seattle. Have you heard that one yet?”
Dad’s thoughtful for a moment. “Indeed I have,” Dad confirms.
“Yeah. Don’t worry, it’ll be someone else next week. I’m happy as long as she isn’t trying to get Nash in a Vipers jersey.”
Dad laughs again.
“We don’t have a game next Saturday; will you all come over for dinner? Sutton and your mother, as well.”
I look at Kodie, unable to wipe the smile off my face.
“We’d love to,” Kodie confirms before lifting his beer to his lips.
“So…what else do I need to know?” Dad asks, his eyes bouncing between us.
We glance at each other. I don’t know about Kodie, but I’m certainly thinking of what happened all those weeks ago right above our heads.“Oh, um…I’m not sure there is much to tell really. We’re taking things one day at a time and figuring it all out. I’ve never had a serious relationship before so it’s all new to me,” Kodie explains while Dad eyes him suspiciously.
“You might want to get your story figured out, by the way. Everyone is going to want to hear from you about this. You can’t tell me that your cell isn’t already blowing up.”
Kodie’s face pales, giving us all the answer we need.
“I may have had a few missed calls from Hailee and my agent.”
“Hailee will sort you out. She’s a good one. Anyone want another?” Dad asks, lifting his empty bottle in the air.
“No, thank you,” we both say, watching as he leaves us alone.
“Well, that could have been worse.”
“I can’t believe it,” I say with a laugh and a shake of my head. “All this time, he brought you here for me.”
“See, you’ve been underestimating him.”
“Yeah,” I muse. “I think I have.”
86
CASEY
“Oh my god, Case. This is crazy,” Parker screams as we attempt to make our way into the arena.
This is the Vipers’ first home game since the news broke about our relationship, and it’s wild.
There are reporters and fans everywhere.
Everything has been a whirlwind since those first images were released and we were forced to confess to Dad.
The next day, Hailee turned up at Kodie’s house along with a photographer and her social media manager, ready to spin up the best love story the world had ever seen.
