I needed to see her, needed to make sure she was okay. Close to going insane—a feeling that never ceased when she and the girls were involved—I planned to give her one more day to show.
After that, I was going on the hunt.
The cheap, plastic seat across from me squeaked when Hendrix plopped down on it and pulled Maddie down onto his lap before reaching behind and shutting the door, sealing us off from the rest of the station. I smirked when he twined one arm around his girl’s back and the other around her hips, locking her in place and erasing any chance she had to escape.
Chuckling, I shook my head at my son’s possessiveness and grasped the condensation-covered water bottle sitting atop my desk. “So,” I said, after taking a sip. “What can I do for one of my favorite girls?”
The sass Maddie had displayed seconds before disappeared in a flash. Immediately on edge, my entire body tensed as silence reigned, and unease filled the air.
“Madelyn Grace,” I growled, slamming the slippery bottle back onto the aged wood. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
I had to know so I could fix it.
As soon as possible.
Unspeaking, she shifted on my boy’s lap.
“Nothing’s wrong,” she replied, unconvincingly. “But we do need to talk to you about something. And that something… well, it’s kind of important.” Lips sealing, she leaned against Hendrix’s chest and rested her hand on his forearm, taking the comfort his presence had always offered her.
My pulse sped up when her fingers dug into his skin, turning her knuckles white. It was confirmation that something wasn’t quite right, but for whatever reason, she didn’t want to tell me what was going on. Why, I didn’t have a single damned clue. She could tell me anything. I’d assured her of that very thing a million times.
“Mad—”
“Pop, calm down,” my son interjected, knowing I was getting riled up. “As my pretty girl said, nothing is wrong, so put the brakes on whatever panic-driven hissy fit you’re about to throw.”
Ignoring his smartass comment, I blew out a small, hesitant breath. “If nothing is the matter, then what in the hell is going on?” I blinked, eyelids suddenly heavy with fatigue. I hadn’t slept worth a damn in days—less than usual—and it was beginning to show. “As I’ve asked a thousand times in the past, are y’all trying to give me a heart attack?”
“No,” Maddie replied quickly, gnawing her bottom lip. “It’s just…” Come on, Mad. Spit it out. “Crap.” She chuckled nervously. “I really suck at this.” Shifting on Hendrix’s lap, she sat a little straighter. “Well, to put it bluntly, Handsome and I want you to come to therapy with us.”
Swift and hard-hitting, if I hadn’t been sitting down, her unexpected, trepidation-laced words would’ve knocked me right on my ass. Chest rising with my swift intake of breath, my face tightened. “You mean like family therapy?”
No stranger to the world of psychology, I’d spent the first year of my sobriety visiting a shrink twice a week at Gladys’s urging. It hadn’t helped conquer the demons that lived in both my head and heart, but if Maddie and Hendrix wanted me to give it another shot, then I would.
For them, I’d do anything.
Even walk through fire.
Bare-assed, naked as a jaybird.
Hendrix cleared his throat, drawing my shocked gaze. A regretful expression crossed his worried face when our eyes locked, and once again, unease filled the surrounding space.
But that same unease, the one nearly choking what little oxygen remained from my starving lungs, temporarily disappeared as understanding suddenly dawned, socking me right in the gut as I studied my son’s face.
In that instant, I knew the exact reason why they wanted me to accompany them to therapy out of the blue. And that reason? Hendrix had told Maddie. About everything. My past, secrets, and shame. He’d spilled each of my truths to her.
At least, the ones he knew about.
I didn’t know what to think.
Much less what to say.
“Yeah, I told her,” he whispered seconds later, reading the knowing expression plastered across my face with ease. “I realize it wasn’t my place to do so, and I hope you don’t hate me for it, Pop, but I couldn’t keep it bottled up. Not after I learned what you’d been through as a kid.”
Head dropping forward, he blew out a sharp exhale as my chest tightened, nearly stealing my shortened breaths. “And not when I saw how much it broke you.” When he looked back up, heartbreak filled his eyes. “Please, don’t be pissed at me. And don’t hate me either. I didn’t—”
“I’m not pissed at you. And for the record, there isn’t a single thing in this world you ever could do to make me hate you. Not one single thing.”
He nodded before looking away. “As far as counseling goes,” he said, voice rough as could be. “Pretty Girl and I have been going together for the past few months. I was hesitant at first, but Shauna, our therapist, is easy to talk to.”
Fingers massaging the place where he touched Maddie’s outer thigh, he cleared his throat. “And she’s done a really good job of helping us start to heal and move past a couple of things that happened while we were separated.”
My eyes slid closed.
It was a separation I’d caused.
And one I’d never forgive myself for.
“And since she’s helped us deal with some real heavy shit, we figured she could help you dump some of the bullshit burdens you tote around daily, even though you don’t have any business doing so.”
At his words, my lids lifted once more.
“And if you come with us, you won’t be alone through any of it,” my son continued, his tone almost pleading. “’Cause we’ll both be there with you. Every step of the way.”
At a loss for words, but feeling an overwhelming
