she was changing. Hormones and all that shit. Mack, I had no idea what to do. That’s when I knew it was time to take her home, to let her grow roots. We sold the house we were living in and I found the track in Brenton. It was a fresh start for both of us, and exactly what we needed.” His eyes meet mine. “The problem was, I did it too late. She was tired of life on the road. She wanted a slice of normal. That’s why she couldn’t go with you, Son.”
My heart hammers hard. So hard, I’m sure Jim can hear it across the damn table.
He leans forward, his eyes still locked on mine. “Don’t give up on my baby girl, Son. She loves you but has to come around in her own time. You represent her past, the one thing she gave up and swore she’d never go back to. She tried to move on, but in the end, there’s only one man for my baby girl.”
My throat burns with emotion and what little coffee I’ve consumed turns sour in my stomach. “That night, the one where she was supposed to get married,” I stop and take a deep breath. “That’s the night of Oliver.”
He slowly nods his head, taking in my words.
“I was a wreck, hating life and everyone in it. Especially myself. Renee was there and we did a few shots. One thing led to another and we got drunk and slept together. It was the night I became a father without even knowing it.”
This is the first time I’ve ever talked about Lena and her almost marriage.
“I hated that guy,” Jim mumbles, sipping his coffee. “He was all wrong for her, but I knew she had to figure it out on her own.”
I nod my head. “It wasn’t until two weeks after that, when you showed up at the Pocono race, and told me she didn’t get married. I’ve never felt so relieved in my entire life,” I confess, recalling exactly what it felt like back then. To find out from Jim she was getting married. To a stockbroker named Perry, for fuck’s sake. I was a mess for months, but able to put all of my focus and drive into the racetrack.
Until that night.
The one where she was supposed to get married.
I had wrecked my car in qualifying and drowned my sorrows in tequila. Renee made it all better, or at least I thought she did. I woke up the next morning with a hangover from hell and a whole shit ton of regret. Only now, I could never regret it. It gave me Oliver.
“My point is, she wasn’t happy then, Mack. She put on a smile and pretended, but I know my little girl. Just like I saw it all those years ago when we were on the road. I knew she was unhappy, yet I couldn’t do anything about it. She was an adult and needed to figure it out on her own. Now, don’t think I didn’t try to do a little persuading, but I never forced her to make a decision.
“And I won’t force her now either, Son.”
His words make my heart drop into my shoes. Well, if I were wearing any.
“She needs to figure this out on her own,” he adds, leaning forward and setting his elbows on the table. “But I will tell you this, my little girl only smiles the real ones when she’s around you. Don’t give up on her, Mack. Show her what her heart has been missing, and I promise you, she’ll get there. You may have to let her go again. Heaven knows, my little girl is as stubborn as all get out. Gets it from her mother. But don’t give up on her. You hear me?”
I nod, taking in everything he’s said. I want her to stay—with me—forever. The thought of her packing up and heading back to Brenton makes me want to break something hard with my fist. But I know he’s right. I can’t force her hand, just like Jim couldn’t where Perry was concerned. She has to figure it out on her own, and the best way to do that is to remind her of how amazing we are together.
And how much I still love her.
“What smells so good?” Lena asks as she enters the kitchen, my son wide awake and propped in her arms.
“I made some breakfast,” Jim says, jumping up and placing a kiss