Thick & Thin (Thin Love, #3)(67)
“What?”
“She didn’t tell you?” I shook my head, a little blown away that she’d reach out to Dad despite how cold he’d been to her, despite how tightly she held onto whatever grudge she had against him. “She called me last night. Told me that she had Ethan looking into Simone and the other girl.” The muscles around Kona’s mouth hardened when I remained silent. “Why wouldn’t she tell you?”
“Why would she?”
“Keiki kane no matter what’s happened between you, she’s still family. How long have you known her? Has she kept anything from you?”
“I used to think she didn’t ever, but now…”
Dad didn’t seem to like my hesitation or the way I’d stared across the gym debating doing a little pounding on that bag myself. Kona nudged me, moving his chin at me. “What happened?”
Burdening my father with something from the past was pointless. It would only add to his guilt if he thought something he’d done to her had made her angry, had kept Aly angry. Besides, I didn’t know enough about her anger to make any real sense. “Nothing that matters right now, Dad.”
“I wish I could fix this for you.”
“You’ve got your own shit to worry about.”
“Yeah,” he said, drinking from his bottle, “that’s the God’s honest truth, brah.” He glanced at me, head shaking. “You and Aly aren’t…” I stopped him with a shake of his head.
“Mom said I should just let her be. I should be there for her and let her figure out on her own that she wants me. Let her make that decision.”
Dad didn’t speak, but looked at me for a long time, thoughts he kept to himself hardening the muscles around his face. Finally, he returned to the bag, punching it with less effort than he had before. “She said that?”
“Yeah. The night of the recital.”
A few more strikes on that bag, these harder, stronger and then Kona growled, kicking and punching until he backed away, hands on his knees to settle his breathing before he stood up, scowling at me. “Fuck that.”
“What?”
Dad came at me then, pulling off half-gloves with his teeth, dropping them to the mat on the floor so he could grip my neck, shaking me once. “No, Ransom. Don’t you dare do that.”
“Then what should I do?”
“You fight, keiki kane. You fight like hell. Your mom wants you to give Aly space. She thinks she needs time but that’s because she believes that there is so much time. That we all have this ample amount of time to do what we want when we get to it. I know better. You do. I know there is so little time left for any of us.” The grip on my neck hardened and Dad shook his head. “We’re racing toward an end that no one can stop. We’re speeding toward it with every breath that leaves our lungs. The only thing any of us can do is make the most of the time we have. So no, brah, don’t you dare wait around for Aly to figure out she wants you.”
He stepped back, but moved his hand to my shoulder. “You go get her. You fight for her. You pick her up and lock yourself alone with her if you have to. You be with her because you want her because, dammit, she wants you too. You fight. You fight for your woman today, Ransom and tomorrow and you damn well don’t stop fighting until you have her. And even after that, even when you’re old and your dick doesn’t work anymore and Aly can barely move or dance with you because she’s gone old and feeble, even then, you still fight. You fight for her because you love her. You fight and you don’t listen to a f*cking soul who tells you it’s pointless. It isn’t. It isn’t ever pointless when it’s real and Ransom,” Dad touched my face, holding my head still so I couldn’t look away, “my beautiful boy, it’s real what you have with Aly. It’s so damn real.” He tapped my cheek, smiling for the first time in weeks then started to leave me behind. I had to run to catch up to him.
“Wait, Dad, where are you going?”
He stopped, grinning broader. “I got some fighting of my own to do.”
“Shit,” I shouted running after him. “Hang on a second, I’ve got to tell you something.”
He only paused long enough to hold the door open for me as he jogged down the hall, heading for his office. I followed, realizing I needed to hit the gym myself when I got a little winded trying to keep up with him. “I think Cass has something to do with all this shit.”
Dad stopped just in front of his office, whipping a glance over his shoulder as though he wasn’t sure that he’d heard me correctly.
“You wanna say that again?”
“Cass. I think he’s messed up in this stuff.”
“Why do you think that?” Dad leaned against his office door, looking cool but f*cking lethal as he folded his arms over his chest.
“You gonna actually listen to me and not haul ass out of here to go find him?”
“What? You think I need an assault bid added to the supposed baby mama drama?” Dad swung open the door, waving a hand toward his office. “Come inside and tell me. Just do me a favor and remind me how I’m too old to be beating on some wannabe cowboy.”
I laughed, then, and it felt good. “Like I could.”
Kona stood there for one heartbeat, and then he laughed, too. "Point, brah," he drawled, and barreled forward. He almost looked like his old self again.