Page 24 of Hot Shot
Shit.
I grab the wine bottle and fill my glass up. My mind spins as I contemplate her question.
She’s got a point but at the same time I do think I’ll be a distraction to Hunter. EJ told me I caused him to not be able to focus on his career, was the reason he got hurt, and we’ve known each other most of our lives. If I can do that to him, wouldn’t it make sense that I’d also be a distraction to someone who doesn’t know me well.
The last thing I want to do is pull Hunter’s attention from his career. Cause him to get hurt.
“Both.” I pinch the bridge of my nose and squeeze my eyes shut.
“Why haven’t you talked to your father?”
“I don’t know,” I mumble into my wineglass before taking a sip.
“You should. Figure out if you want to get to know him. Tell Hunter that his coach is your father and that’s your real hang-up. The poor boy probably thinks there’s something wrong with him.”
“Judy,” I protest but she’s right. I know she is.
I saw the look on Hunter’s face when he came to speak to me after I ran out on him. I may have overreacted a tad.
I don’t know if he believed me when I said I didn’t want anything complicated. And while it is true that he is complicated, it’s not just because he’s a professional hockey player but also because he plays for my father’s team.
I’m sure that’ll go over well with his teammates. I’m sure being friends with or dating the coach’s estranged daughter is the last thing he wants to do.
But I didn’t give him the chance to choose whether he still wanted to be associated with me knowing who I am.
I suck in a breath, frowning. It wasn’t fair to him for me to make the choice based on what I think he’d want. Was it?
I didn’t give him all the facts. Not that I have all the facts myself, because maybe my father won’t want to have a relationship with me. Or I won’t actually want to know him.
First things first, though, I need to actually talk to my father. Stop avoiding his text messages.
My mind made up, I say, “Okay. I’ll text him back. Talk to him.”
“Madison, I want you to be happy. I don’t want you to have regrets when you’re my age. Especially not related to love. Don’t be me. Don’t hold a grudge so long that even if you want to forgive the person and make up, you can’t.” She clears her throat and blinks rapidly.
I furrow my eyebrows. It feels like she’s speaking from experience. I nod, unsure of what to say.
“Good, now let’s eat before it gets cold.” Judy picks up her fork and takes a bite of her chicken pot pie.
The rest of the meal passes quickly. She tells me about her and Curtis’s latest date. It seems to be going well for the two of them and I’m happy for her.
A couple of hours later, I’m back in my apartment, relaxing, when my mind wanders to Hunter. I wonder what he’s doing right now.
Knowing that I need to figure out things with my father first I open the thread of messages from him and type a response, hitting send before I can talk myself out of it.
Me:Hi. I’m sorry I haven’t responded sooner. I’d like to talk if you have time. Maybe we can meet for coffee?
I take a deep breath and stare at my phone, willing him to answer quickly so I don’t spiral down a rabbit hole of “is this the right thing or should I have said something else.” My prayers are answered because three dots pop up.
Jake:Thank you, Madison. I have time tomorrow morning at nine before a team meeting.
Me:I’m off tomorrow so I can do that. There’s a place on Fairview Avenue called Sugar Cubes. If that’s not too far I can meet you there. Unless there’s somewhere else you’d prefer.
Jake:Sounds good. I’ll be out front wearing a gray Storm shirt and jeans.
Me:OK.
Jake:Thank you, Madison. This means a lot to me.
