Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 33887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 169(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 169(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
“Christ, I’m slow on the uptake,” he muttered irritably.
“No you aren’t. Chloe was three years old, and Matt closing on two, before Marilyn took me aside and reamed my ass for being an overbearing father. I contradicted her, telling her I was overprotective, that was different, and it wasn’t a bad thing. She wasn’t hearing it and stated that overprotective was overbearing, the first was how I thought about it, the second was how Chloe and Matt would eventually feel about it. And they wouldn’t thank me for it. She then told me I needed to sort myself out and let my daughter and son grow and thrive and ultimately make their own decisions and live their lives.”
This time, it was Tom who took in a big breath, before he leaned Hale’s way and continued talking.
“You are not unique in this, son. You aren’t an outlier or weak. I believe every father, or at least the good ones, go through this in some form or other when they first learn that role is in their future. Your situation was exacerbated by what happened to Elsa. But you aren’t alone in this. And like many other things that don’t feel good, but in reality are, the depth of emotion you have around this bodes good things for your child.”
“Thanks, Tommy,” Hale whispered, because that made sense, he was so deep in his own head it didn’t occur to him, and it was good to have it out there.
“Don’t thank me yet, that was the easy part.”
That was easy?
“Shit,” Hale bit off.
Tom didn’t hesitate. “I can’t know, he didn’t explain it to me, but since last night, when you shared what was going on with you, and since you opened the box—”
Hale’s spine snapped straight at mention of the box his dad gave him.
“—it’s hit me this is undoubtedly something Corey felt too. This overwhelming need to protect you. Understanding his fame, and for him, his fortune, and how vulnerable you were to both, augmenting that with the enormous burden he carried that his parents gave him, it makes me wonder if his distance from you, distance he fostered between the two of you, had something to do with this same thing.”
“Jesus,” Hale muttered, Tom’s words making him feel like his chest had hollowed out.
“Again, I don’t know, but it makes sense. And outside of Genny, Corey was an island. He didn’t share much with anybody, including, it would turn out, Genny. But I think with this, when his parents were the threat his entire life, he had no idea what to do with that overpowering need to protect. He wouldn’t know it’s natural in all parents. He might have even thought the strength of what he was experiencing was a threat to you. For once in his genius life, there was something he simply didn’t know. And regrettably, he didn’t ask.”
Hale sat back and took another sip of his bourbon, his gaze drifting to Elsa who was leaned into Mika, looking at something on Mika’s phone.
“Hale,” Tom called.
Hale didn’t take his attention from Elsa as he said quietly, “I heard you, Tom. And yes, you’re correct. That makes sense.”
“Now.”
Tom saying that one word and nothing more had Hale looking at him.
“Now?” he asked after it.
“Now. You’re my son, if not my blood, and this is a for instance. Now, I feel helpless to protect you from the emotion you’re feeling, and it guts me completely.”
“God, Tommy,” Hale whispered, feeling gutted himself.
“Here’s the thing,” Tom continued. “I welcome it, because I have you. It’s just another form of love, Hale. It’s heartbreaking your dad didn’t have an example to turn to in order to understand what he was experiencing. But even if he didn’t get it, he was feeling love. And that’s a beautiful thing.”
“We need to stop talking about this now,” Hale warned gruffly.
“I hear you,” Tom replied and gave him what he asked for by sitting back.
“You mean the world to me,” Hale told him.
“I know,” Tom replied.
“You’re going to be a great granddad.”
Tom smiled. “I know that too.”
“I don’t know how to thank you for all you give to me,” Hale admitted.
“Well, that’s a thing too. Because you will, you just won’t know it, because what I give you, you’ll give your child, and that’s all the thanks I’ll need.”
Jesus.
“We really need to stop talking now,” Hale asserted.
Tom chuckled.
They lapsed onto other subjects, until, undoubtedly sensing the important stuff was done, Elsa called, “Handsome, get over here. You have to see Mika’s pictures of their honeymoon.”
So that was what they were looking at on Mika’s phone.
“Coming,” he called in return while pushing out of his chair.
Tom came up with him, and Hale made a move to head the women’s way, but stopped when Tom caught his biceps.
“He knew you would thrive,” Tom said low. “So before he left us, that was all he needed.”