Page 152 of The Offside Rule
I exhaled slowly. That was the problem. All week, I had been circling the same two losses. Catherine’s career or mine. Someone always had to give something up.
“What if there isn’t another option?” I asked.
“You find one. Not tonight, maybe not tomorrow. But you do not win back the woman you love by disappearing under the weight of your own guilt.”
“She won’t talk to me,” I confessed.
“Maybe because she doesn’t need another apology.”
“What does she need?” I asked because clearly, I was bad at reading the room.
“She needs action. She needs you to own up,” Dad said. “Does she know you’re in love with her?”
“No.” I dipped my head. When I looked back up, Dad was frowning.
“What?”
“You’re still scared,” he said, his tone laced with pain like he hated my predicament.
“I’m not scared,” I shot back.
His eyes narrowed. “Do you trust her?”
“Obviously,” I said too quickly.
That made his frown deepen. “I mean with your heart. I know it isn’t the same thing, but after my parents died, I shut down emotionally. I didn’t want to love because losing those close to you hurts.”
Whenever Dad spoke of his parents, I saw the pain in his eyes. They had been killed by a drunk driver.
“What happened with Amy wasn’t comparable,” I assured him.
“Hunter, you married her. You thought she was carrying your kid. You’re allowed to feel traumatized and have emotions over it.”
“I know,” I swallowed hard. “But it’s been years.”
“And yet, Catherine is the first girl you’ve given your heart to in the past decade,” he noted.
I swallowed again because the tension in my chest was building. “Amy made me into a fool. And I didn’t intentionally give Catherine my heart. I just kind of fell for her. I couldn’t stop myself.”
Dad laughed. “I may know a thing or two about that. Remember how I met your mom. It was unintentional. She was Flynn’s best friend.”
I exhaled. We had all heard the story a hundred times growing up about how he fell for his twin sister’s best friend.
“When things happen out of your control, that’s how you know it’s real. Have you ever felt this way before about a woman?” he asked.
“You’re digging deep tonight, Daddy-O,” I joked.
Dad gave me a keep-it-serious look.
“No. Catherine is different. She’s special. She’s so driven and kind, and our chemistry…”
“Whoa, I don’t need to know that,” Dad laughed.
I laughed too.
“So, you think she needs me to take action,” I said.
Dad nodded even though it wasn’t a question.
