“Does Chloe know he’s going to be here?” he asks.
“Yeah, I told her last night.”
“And she’s okay with it?”
“She says she is. I guess we’ll find out.”
“Linc…” Roy runs a hand through his hair and narrows his eyes. “What the fuck is going on?”
“I don’t fuckin’ know. He’s not drinking. He got in to some old photos of us growing up and started reminiscing. He’s been different the last few times I’ve seen him.”
Roy doesn’t look convinced. “And you really think he’s making a change? After all these years? How many times has he done this?”
“I know,” I growl, blowing out a breath. The last thing I want to do right now is fight with Roy, or anyone else, about my dad. “I get it, okay? But what am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to be a better person than him and my mother if I can’t recognize when he’s making an effort?”
“First of all, you’re already a better person than either one of them ever were or will be. Second, I get it, okay? I don’t necessarily agree with it, but I get it. He’s your dad.”
Wrapping an arm around Roy’s shoulder, I pull him in. “Thank you, Roy. He might be my dad by blood, but you’re the one who shaped me into the man I am, and I swear to you I’ll never forget that.”
“Don’t go gettin’ all emotional on me now.” Roy tightens an arm around me and claps my back several times before pulling away. “Now go fetch me a beer, and don’t let Rose see ya.”
“I heard that,” Rose yells. Hands on her hips, she walks toward us. “Is that what you’ve been doing when I’m not around, sneaking beer?”
“No.” Roy scoffs and pretends to look offended, but Rose and I both seem to know he’s lying his ass off.
Rose rolls her eyes and turns to me. “His blood pressure has been high, and the doctor sa
id he needs to cut back on his salt intake and all the beer.”
“Who in their right goddamn mind would give up salt and beer at the same time?” Roy grumbles. “No one.”
“Maybe if you’d quit barking orders at all the guys and actually get out here and do some exercising yourself, you wouldn’t have to give up all the things you love.”
Roy waves his daughter off and turns toward the food table. “These boys wouldn’t know what to do if I got into the ring with them.”
Rose waits until her father is halfway across the room before turning to me. “How does it look?” she says, waving at the decorations.
“It looks great, Rose. You went above and beyond.”
She shrugs and grins. “It was nothing. I love this sort of thing.”
“Do you need some money? Like I told you before, I don’t mind helping.”
“And I told you before that we wanted to do this for Chloe.” Rose’s eyes drift over my shoulder, and she pokes me in the chest. “Now go get your father before he does something he’ll regret.”
Huh? I spin around. Dad is standing over the beer cooler, staring at it like it holds some sort of giant secret.
Shit. When I invited him, I wasn’t thinking about the fact that there would be beer here, and I sure as hell wasn’t thinking about how Dad would deal with that.
“Excuse me for a minute, Rose.”
She pats my arm. “Go.”
I’m at Dad’s side in five long strides. I mimic his stance beside the cooler and look at him. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking about there being alcohol here. I can take you home if you want.”
“No.” He turns to look at me before moving his gaze back to the beer. “Beer never was my kryptonite. Well, maybe early on it was, but it’s the hard shit I crave.”
“Dad—”