Page 149 of Meant for Mayhem

“Three, max. Then I’ll come rescue you.”

Dad’s mouth tightened.

Shannon smiled sweetly at him, the expression not meeting her eyes.

I gestured toward the hallway. “Come on.”

The suite door closed behind us, muting the noise inside. Dad looked down the empty corridor but didn’t speak. I waited him out, used to this game.

“Your mother says I owe you an apology,” he finally said.

“Is that why you asked me out here?”

“No, she’s told me that many times.”

I sighed, tired of this same conversation.

Dad shifted his weight. “Shannon’s protective of you.”

“Yes.”

“And you love her.”

“Very much.”

His gaze moved toward the suite door, looking uncomfortable with every word that came out of his mouth. “You look happy.”

“That’s because I am.”

He hummed, looking at the wall next to me rather than my face.

But I didn’t have time for these stunted, pointless conversations. “Listen, I need to⁠—”

“I thought she was dying,” he said, then cleared his throat. “Every day, the doctors told me about something else your mother lost. Her career. The use of her legs. The life we thought we’d have with you. I sat beside her unconscious body, waiting for them to tell me she was gone too.”

He swallowed before continuing.

“When she came home, I was afraid every time she moved without me. Every time she left the house. Every time she tried something new. Eventually, she told me I was making her life smaller so I could feel safe.”

“That sounds like Mom.”

A brief smile crossed his face.

“But the fear didn’t go away,” he said. “It moved.”

“To me.”

Dad met my eyes. “Every time you stepped onto the ice, I saw everything that could happen. A bad hit. A skate blade. Your head against the boards. I couldn’t watch.”

“You pushed me harder than anyone.”

“I told myself if you were prepared enough, disciplined enough, then you’d be safe. But now, I realized I pushed you so hard, I pushed you away.”

“You made me feel like I was never good enough.”

His face tightened. “I know.”

“You left games without saying anything. You criticized every mistake. Even when I made it to the NHL, it wasn’t enough. You kept me off the Olympic team.”