Page 198 of Lucky Mother Pucker

I stand there, my head spinning at everything Lucy’s told me.

“I think you should hear him out,” she says softly.

“You do?”

She nods. “Look, I’m not your dad’s biggest fan. You know that. But he sounded sincere when he apologized to me. And when he talked to me about you…The things he said about you…” She swallows. “I told him he should come over and apologize to you.”

I tense up out of sheer habit. Muscle memory from a lifetime of dealing with my dad’s disapproval.

“You have every right to say no,” Lucy says, as if she can read my mind. “But I really think you should hear him out. I think you’re going to want to hear what he has to say to you.”

I stand there, quietly thinking about what I should do.

My instinct is to say no. I don’t want to see him or talk to him. I have a hard time believing that in the space of a single day, he’s changed completely.

But Lucy thinks I should give him a chance. And I trust her over anyone.

I pull her close and press a soft kiss to her lips. “Okay. I’ll talk to him.”

She opens the front door, stands in the doorway, and waves. A few moments later, my dad walks in.

He lingers in the doorway, his body language hesitant. Like he’s not sure if he should stay or go.

When I take in his expression, I’m stunned. His eyes are red, like he’s been crying. I’ve never seen him like this.

That tension in my chest deepens and tightens at the sight of him, sad and in pain.

“I’ll give you two some time to talk,” Lucy says quietly.

Dad looks at her. “Thank you for letting me come with you, Lucy.”

She nods at him, then walks upstairs. Wally trots after her, wagging his tail happily.

I cross my arms and look at my dad. “Lucy is quite impressive,” he says.

“She’s amazing. I’m lucky to have her.”

He sits on the armchair, and I sit on the couch.

He looks down at his lap for a second. “She told me off for the way I’ve treated you. She called me an asshole.”

My brow lifts. “She did?” I shouldn’t be so surprised. That’s who Lucy is—loyal and protective of the ones she loves. And never afraid to defend them.

A warm feeling swirls through me at how fortunate I am to have her.

The look in his eyes turns thoughtful as he focuses on me. “She’s right. I’m terrible for the way I’ve treated you, Leo. And your sister. All these years, I overlooked her to focus on you.”

His eyes shine with tears. That knot in my chest tightens. I’ve never seen him cry before. Not even at my grandpa’s funeral.

This is so jarring, seeing him like this. The last time I talked to him was at Thanksgiving, when he insulted Lucy. He was so mean and uncaring.

But now he looks broken.

“After I texted you this morning about your fight with Jeff, and you told me off for not checking on Zoey, I reached out to her. She told me what happened. She told me everything.”

He blinks quickly, like he’s trying to hold back tears.

“I didn’t even realize she was being abused. My own daughter…” He trails off. His throat works as he swallows. “It was happening right in front of me, and I had no idea.”