Thin Love (Thin Love, #1)(158)
“And I was. But damn, dude, you’ve know me what, ten, twelve years and you thought I’d say shit like that about my own blood?” Next to him in the passenger’s seat, Ransom scans through his phone, his frown deepening with every message his reads.
“I was shocked. Like I said, I didn’t know you had a kid so we were all kind leveled by that video and then your statement.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’m done. It’s over. I said what I needed to and have this last thing to handle.” Ransom’s frown only worsens and Kona taps his son on the arm, pulling his phone away from his mouth when his boy looks up at him. “Stop reading that shit. It’s only gonna piss you off.”
“Kona?”
“I’m here, Devon.” He looks up at the Victorian, shaking his head when he sees his mother looking out of the front window. “I gotta go, man. You take care.”
The phone rattles against the cup holder when Kona throws it down and he grips the steering wheel, knuckles white as he takes a breath.
“You alright?” Ransom asks him.
“Yeah.” Another glance at the window and Kona bites his lip, relaxing a little when he doesn’t see anyone looking outside. “What about you?”
A quick shrug and Ransom silences his phone. “Just people talking smack. Fuck em, right?”
“You really need to watch your mouth.”
Ransom’s eyebrows lift and then a pull of his mouth has that familiar grin surfacing. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” he says, unbuckling his seatbelt. The radio changes to a news brief and Kona hears his own voice through the speakers. ““You didn’t listen?” Kona moves his chin toward the knob when Ransom turns up the volume.
“I didn’t need to, man. You did this for me, trying to smooth this shit…” Kona lifts an eyebrow and Ransom grins, “this crap over. Still, I wanna know how smooth you were.”
“I’m not taking any questions,” Kona’s recorded voice is stern. “I’m gonna tell you guys what’s on my mind and then I’m heading out.” Ransom’s gaze shifts to Kona, but it is just a glance before the boy stares down at the radio.
“Sixteen years ago I did something stupid.” A quick look at his son and Kona relaxes. That grin again, the one that is so familiar, makes the tension in his chest fade. “I got involved in things that I had no business being around. It cost me a lot. It was my mistake that got my twin brother Luka killed.” Eyes closing, Kona breathes, not wanting to see the disappointment he’s sure is on his son’s face. But in the darkness, something worse comes to him—Luka’s body in the middle of the street, his blood on Keira’s seats, on Kona’s hand when he reached for his twin. “I was very angry for a very long time at myself and I pushed everyone away.
“A few months ago, I discovered that I had a son.” He doesn’t realize he’s started to bounce his knee, making his seat move, until Ransom taps his leg, brings Kona’s eyes back up to that grin.
“You good?” Ransom’s smile comes easier, somewhat guarded as he stares at Kona, but he has relaxed.
“Yeah. Sorry.”
“I discovered that I had been blessed to have a son that is talented, gifted, who had been raised by a woman I stupidly pushed away. That woman has raised an exceptional young man all on her own. It wasn’t easy for them. They’ve struggled. They’ve struggled more than anyone could possibly understand.”
Ransom’s smile is ridiculous, wide and when a brief blush moves over his cheeks, Kona looks away from him, giving his boy an excuse to return his attention to his phone.
“I am proud of my son. I’m honored to be his father. There have been people in my life that have twisted the facts of mistakes that have been made and lead you all to believe that I think my bright, extraordinary son is somehow damaged. He is not. Let me repeat that, just so we’re clear. He. Is. Not.”
It was the truth. Kona knew it, he wanted the world to know it. Elbows on the steering wheel, he stares at his hands, hoping that his efforts would make a difference, that he hadn’t allowed his mother to completely dismantle the work Keira had done to keep Ransom even, calm.
“The statement that was released earlier today did not come from me but from individuals who I am no longer associated with. Individuals that I will no longer be associated with ever again. I’ve had a wonderful career. I got to do what I love for a long time and I am thankful for the blessings and opportunities I’ve been given. But what I want today, isn’t a career in the NFL. I want to spend the rest of my life getting to know my son and taking part in the brilliant, remarkable man he will become. Effective immediately, I am retiring. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring or where I go from here professionally. I only know that I’ve got a lot of catching up to do. I’ve got a lot of mistakes to make up for. That starts right now. Thank you.”
Next to him, Ransom snorts, that same grin is heavy, shifting into a full blown smile and Kona looks up at him, eyebrows raised. “Dude. You got a man crush on me or something?”
Kona doesn’t care that his laugh is loud. He only cares that his son is smiling, that his joke has calmed Kona and he believes that Ransom’s anger at him is gone. “Please, brah. I know you idolize me.”
His boy rolls his eyes, deflecting the small emotional peak between them by returning to his phone. Ransom’s smile falls, drops completely before he throws his cell into his bag at his feet.