Tacker (Arizona Vengeance #5)(67)

“Stop,” Charles commands, his eyebrows drawing inward. He raises a hand, pointing a shaky finger across the table. “Just stop, Tacker. None of what you’re saying is necessary.”

“But it is,” I say quietly. “Because I need you to know how much the two of you mean to me. My actions have said the opposite, so it’s important you know.”

“We know,” Patty says, reaching across the table to grab my hand. I latch onto hers, and we don’t let go. She smiles tremulously. “MJ picked the best man to be her partner. We couldn’t be more proud of you or love you any more than we do. You’ll always be a son to us, no matter what.”

Fuck… that gets me, and I have to blink back the tears.

Charles coughs again before taking a long pull on his beer. “Now that the touchy-feely crap is out of the way, how are you feeling about the playoffs?”

Patty gives her husband a sharp jab in the ribs with her elbow. He grunts with pain, shooting her an apologetic look.

Returning her attention to me, Patty says, “How are you doing? Really?”

It’s a relief that I can tell her something positive. “Good now. Truly.”

Patty beams. “That’s so good to hear, Tacker. We just want you to be happy.”

“I think I’m on my way,” I offer, glancing from one to the other. “It took me a long time to let go of the guilt.”

“You know we never—” Charles starts to say, but I cut him off by raising my hand.

“You never.” I aim my gaze directly at him. Never once had he made me feel guilty for taking his little girl onto that plane with me. Not one time had he ever held me responsible for not being able to land it safely. “And I can’t thank you enough for your trust and love.”

“Tell me how you did it?” Patty says, in a quiet demand to hear all about my journey. “What made you finally see reason… that none of it was your fault?”

I give a snort, followed by a smirk. “Well… I sort of got drunk, ran my truck into a concrete barrier at the arena right before a game, and got suspended.”

“Yeah… we read about that in the papers,” Charles says, his tone censuring.

“I was so messed up, but for some reason, the team wouldn’t give up on me. I mean… I had to do some work. They required I go to therapy and when I did, well… let’s just say it was what I needed. Some professional help to make me start seeing things from a different perspective. Wish I would have done it a long time ago, honestly.”

Patty squeezes my hand. “The point is you’ve done it now. I’m just so happy to hear that, Tacker. You deserve to be happy.”

I drop my eyes to the table, wanting—no needing—to be fully transparent with them. To tell them the hardest part of what I need to say.

Lifting my head, I look them directly in the face—first Charles, then Patty—and tell them, “I’ve met someone. And well… I’m sort of moving forward with a relationship with her.”

I brace, holding my breath, not knowing how they will react. Hurt? Sadness? Anger?

Instead, I get smiles.

Serious fucking smiles from them both. Full of pure elation for me. My heart swells. I genuinely didn’t think it was possible to love these people more than I already did. It means they trust MJ’s memory will always burn bright with me, and that I loved her as fiercely as I could while she was on this earth.

It says they never had any expectations for me to be lonely or hold her up on a pedestal, never to be replaced in my affections.

I let out a sigh, along with a nervous laugh. “Got to tell you… I was nervous about telling you that.”

Patty leans forward, clearly excited. “You must tell us all about her. Don’t leave out a single detail about how you met and fell in love.”

I flinch when she drops the “L” word so casually, yet it’s not from an adverse feeling.

Just more surprising that Patty would assume I am in love with Nora.

It makes me think… am I?

I pull out my phone, then bring it out of sleep mode. “Let me show you a picture of her.”

Nora’s face comes up on my home screen. I’d replaced MJ’s picture with Nora’s on the flight here to Dallas. It seemed way more symbolic than it really needed to be, but I have my safety net. MJ’s pictures will always stay on my phone so I can look at them and never forget what she was to me.

“Oh, she’s beautiful.” Patty sighs, tilts her head, and studies Nora’s face. It’s a great face.

“Would MJ have liked her?” Charles asks, and that gives me a little stab of pain deep in my gut.

My eyes rise to meet his. “Yeah… she would have really liked her.”

“That’s all I need to know,” he says, then raises his beer in the air for a silent toast to both MJ and Nora.

Laughing, I settle back into my chair, placing my phone on the table. “So… Nora was actually my therapist to start.”

“Oh…” Patty squeals, clapping her hands. “A forbidden love story.”

Smirking, I lift my chin. “Yeah… you could say that.”





CHAPTER 29




Tacker


Twisting my wrist, I check my watch as my fingers on my other hand impatiently drum on the desktop. Management called an “emergency” team meeting, and it’s interfering in my time with Nora. I’d been on my way out the door to her place when the call came in, directing everyone to the team auditorium at the arena where we normally hold our meetings and game film reviews.