Beautiful Storm (San Francisco End Game #1)

CHAPTER FIFTY

Luke

I ’m bouncing Juliet in my arms the next day, trying to get her to sleep when Thomas and Lainey arrive for a visit, and the second my eyes lock with Thomas, I know I’m in trouble.

“I’m guessing you didn’t come just to meet your niece?” I whisper so I don’t wake Amelia, my eyes flashing to Lainey for her reaction. To which she cringes.

“Of course I came to meet my niece,” he says until I raise an eyebrow and he chuckles. “ And to talk about practice tomorrow.”

“What about it?”

“Nope.” He holds up his hand. “More important things first. She’s beautiful, Luke. All her genes must come from her mother or her aunt.” He winks at Lainey as I roll my eyes.

“You’re funny. No cuddles for you then.”

“Ooh. Can I have one?” Lainey whispers excitedly. “I’ve been so patient.”

I’ll give her that. She’s seen Juliet three times without a cuddle. “Yes, you can hold her, but if you wake her, you die.”

“Brutal but fair.”

I gently pass Juliet into Lainey’s arms and smile as both her and Thomas’s eyes light up with him settling in behind her. Giving them a second to themselves, I make myself busy getting a drink, before Lainey walks over. “How’s Amelia doing?”

“She’s good. Great. The doctors are happy. The swelling hasn’t reduced today, but it’s no worse and other than a shocking headache, she hasn’t had any other symptoms.”

“That's a relief. Except the headache.” A tension leaves Lainey’s shoulders, and I realize she’s been carrying around my worry, just like I used to do for her when we were younger.

“Thank you for being here yesterday. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

“You would have been fine. You know how to step up when you’re needed. But I’m always here. You know that.”

“I do. And likewise.”

“Is it my turn now?” Thomas asks, almost bouncing on his toes, making me suspicious.

“Are you two…” I trail off when Lainey’s eyes widen as she reads my thoughts.

“No. At this stage, we’re just happy to be proud aunt and uncle.”

“Okay.”

Thomas takes over from Lainey and bounces her like I was as the conversation drifts back to football.

“I wish I didn’t have to bring this up now,” Thomas says with an apologetic expression. “But I strongly advise that you talk to Coach before practice tomorrow. If you show up as though nothing happened, he’s not going to be happy.”

“Oooh, and do you think Coach expects me to give him an apology gift basket too?”

“Don’t be a dick. I get why you left, and I would have done that same thing in your position, but you missed a game. You disappeared minutes before we ran out onto the field without telling him yourself. Or anyone. I’m just saying that if you want to guarantee your position for the first game of the playoffs, you need to talk to Coach.”

“He already fined me. I’ve been punished.”

“Luke.” His voice raises before he softens it again. “What is going on with you? We’re so close to the end. To what we’ve been working for. We have a shot of making it to the Super Bowl. A shot to win.”

“I know.” Jake’s words play through my mind again, and while I hate that he got to me, which was most likely his plan, I still can’t stop thinking about it. “Jefferson is selling the team,” I admit, refusing to carry this burden alone. Thomas laughs, thinking I’m joking, and I wish I was. “I’m not kidding and Coach knows. It’s why he’s been so stressed out this season.”

“Fu—” His eyes flash to Juliet’s before he continues. “I mean Jesus .”

“I can’t talk to Coach without asking him about it. That’s why I’m hesitant.”

“Just pretend you don’t know. That’s what I’m going to have to do now that you’ve told me. How do you know, by the way?”

“Jake.”

“Jake?”

“The guy that knocked Amelia over.”

“Shit.” He covers his mouth with his hand, making me chuckle. “And you believe him?”

“Unfortunately, yes. It makes sense. Jefferson wants to cash in on the show before he departs.”

“Goddammit. Did Amelia know?”

All our eyes flash to Amelia and my chest tightens. I hate that I gave so much to the show and they were ultimately playing her. Hoping she’d get information. Assholes. “She didn’t know, but she’s going to talk to Adrian about it. Once she’s sure she can still trust him.”

“Jesus Christ. If it’s true and we win, he makes more money.”

“Yep, because the ratings will skyrocket and more people will watch.”

“It’s actually very clever.”

“I know.” I nod. “I’m impressed. But for us, who knows what it means.”

“If you need me there when you talk to Coach, I guess I can come.” He visibly grimaces, making both Lainey and me laugh.

“Gee, thanks for the enthusiasm.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I do. But I’ll be fine. I’m a big boy. Hell, I’m a dad. I can take on anything.”

Lainey giggles as her eyes bounce between Juliet’s and mine. “It suits you. Who would have thought?”

“Definitely not me. But I wouldn’t change it.”

I ’m anxious as I walk through the stadium halls the next day, and it has nothing to do with the fact that I missed a game. I’m anxious about being away from my girls. Amelia may have been up and walking today, but she still has a long road to recovery and I want to be there to help.

Not that she’ll let me. She practically pushed me out the door with her words. “I am not married to a nobody,” she joked. “I married a football star, so I expect you to get off your ass and go back to work.” I was standing at the time, but the sentiment was there.

And she’s right. I do need to go back to work, especially if I want to play in the Super Bowl, and God, do I want that. My life goals may have shifted lately but it’s still high on my list of things I want to do before I die, and I’m not getting any younger.

Since I’m early to talk to Coach, I wander past the production office out of habit, and it’s not until Adrian calls out that I remember I shouldn’t be there anymore. I have no reason to be.

“How’s Amelia?” he asks, his gaze full of concern. “No one knows anything.”

“She’s better than expected after what she went through, but not quite out of the woods.”

“That’s good. Good. And I hear you have a daughter?”

“We do.” I smile as images of Juliet flit through my mind. “She’s perfect. We were really lucky.”

Adrian smiles before shaking his head. “Really lucky. Fucking Jake. I never liked that guy, but I didn’t think he was capable of that.”

“People do lots of things when they're threatened, and he was definitely threatened by Amelia.”

“Rightly so—she was going places.”

“She still is.” I smile again. “I have no doubt in my mind.”

“I don’t doubt that either.”

“Do you know what happened to Jake?”

“As you know, the police were called when Amelia was rushed to the hospital, but since it was an accident, they couldn’t do anything. I told them he locked Amelia in the edit suite but they’ll need Amelia to file a report. I was going to try and call her today, but I don’t think she needs that on top of everything else.”

“Thank you. Maybe hold off for a day. Her recovery is the most important thing right now. But I’ll talk to her about it. Do Jim and Tom know?”

“Yes. They fired him. But I’m not sure if they just did that to avoid a mass exodus, because we all would have walked if he wasn’t sent packing.”

“I guess it’s still a good outcome. Whatever their motives. Especially considering Amelia doesn’t work there anymore.”

“True. God, what a mess. Please send her my well wishes.”

“I will. Thanks, Adrian.”

I turn to leave, but Adrian calls out, stopping me in place.

“Oh, and Luke. I hate to have to say this, but I overheard Jake telling Tom about his source. He said it was Amelia’s dad. I’m sorry.”

Jesus. Fucking. Christ. That’s going to kill her. And when I find him, I might have to inflict the same pain.

I thank Adrian for letting me know, and as I walk away, tension weaves its way through my body. I hadn’t thought about Amelia reporting Jake. I knew him knocking her down was an accident, and since I was basically ready to beat the shit out of him, I didn’t think there was anything she could do. But Adrian’s right. She needs to report him. And put that fucker of a father in his place. Then maybe after that, she can move on.

When I round the corner toward the Coach's office, my phone buzzes, making me pause to check it before I go in.

Amelia’s name flashes across my screen and I smile before releasing a slow sigh.

Amelia: I hope it went well with Pierce

God, I miss them already. I’m a completely different person. I type out a quick reply as the man of the hour pops his head out and notices me, a scowl forming as he waves me in.

Luke: Thanks. I’m about to see him. How are my girls?

Amelia sends a selfie of her and Juliet, and my heart bursts as I move to follow Coach inside. My girls. Fuck, I’m lucky. I pause again as a smile lights up my face. No matter what happens today, I have them both waiting for me. I can handle whatever life throws my way.

As long as Coach doesn’t bench me for our first playoff game. Which I guess I’m about to find out.

“Coach.” I nod as I sink down into the chair opposite him, pocketing my phone.

“Bennett.” He nods back before huffing out a long breath. “How’s your family?”

Huh ? I was not expecting that. “They’re good. They’re both as healthy as can be expected considering what happened.”

“Good. I knew this production was a bad idea. I tried to stop it.”

“I know. But some good things came out of it. I have a wife and a little girl now.”

“A wife? Did I miss… actually, you know what, never mind. I don’t care. I’m happy they’re okay, but if you ever fuck me over like that again, you’re out.”

“I know. But I make no promises.”

“That’s fair. I’d do the same for my wife and kid. And I hate admitting this, but we needed you out there. We still won but it was a tougher fight.” I bite back a smile and nod until he laughs. “You’re not going to say anything?”

“I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to acknowledge the compliment.”

“Good point. Moving on. In short, the fine is enough. You can play next week as long as you attend all practice sessions leading up to the game.”

I knew that was a given, but a knot forms in my stomach, already missing Amelia and Juliet. “Deal.”

“Good. Now fuck off so I can make a call.”

I jump up to leave, but before I get to the door, I cringe and spin around. Dammit . Why can’t I walk away?

“Ah, Coach?”

“What?” he growls, his scowl re-forming as he glances up at me.

“Jake said something when we were fighting the other day.”

“Who the fuck is Jake?”

“The other director—it’s not important. What is important is that he said Jefferson was selling the—”

“Don’t finish that sentence. You’re not supposed to know about that, and it will be better if you just push that information from your mind. We have playoffs to win. We need to focus on that.”

“But—”

“But nothing, Luke. I can’t deal with it right now. It’s best to leave it alone until it’s official.”

“Okay.”

“Good. I’ll see you on the field.”

He picks up his phone, ending our conversation, so I do what he asks and leave it alone. It’s in Jefferson’s best interest that we win the Super Bowl, so as long as he doesn’t mess with that, I can wait for it to come out.

And for all I know, it could be a good thing for the team. It’s best to just sit tight and wait.

It’s time to focus on the game.

I ’m away from the hospital for no more than five hours, but when I finally get back, a weight is lifted. Amelia’s better than when I left, and Juliet’s sleeping peacefully in her bassinet. All safe and well.

“Hey, you,” Amelia says as I walk in. “How was practice and your chat with your coach?”

“No issues. Coach said he missed having me on the team but that I couldn’t gloat about it.”

“Did you gloat?”

“A little.” I shrug, making Amelia laugh. “To my teammates.”

“I’ll bet.”

“How are things here? Did you speak to your mom?”

“I was going to. Until I saw a message from my dad asking to meet his grandchild. The grandchild he knew had been born. She told him. Again .”

I cringe at the mention of her dad as an internal battle rages inside me. That fucking man. All my instincts tell me to keep the information to myself. She’s been through too much and I can’t hurt her anymore. But I also made a promise to change, and keeping her in the dark breaks that promise. Which means I need to get everything off my chest. Everything .

“I’m sorry, Amelia. You deserve better than your parents. And—”

“It’s okay. Maybe it’s for the best. It will help me move on. I felt guilty, but now I don’t. I have my own family and that’s more important.”

“It’s still hard and—”

“At least they taught me what not to do as parents.”

“You’re right. We will never be like that. Actually, let’s promise we’ll never be like either of our parents.”

“Why? Your parents are great. They’re coming in tomorrow, right? After Hayley?”

“They are and they weren’t bad parents. But they made a few bad decisions. Yes, most hurt Lainey more than me, but still… Let’s not do that. Anymore.”

“Agreed. And—”

“I need to tell you something. Well, two things.” I grimace as my stomach knots.

Amelia frowns but she nods before trying to sit up a bit straighter. “Whatever it is, you know I’d prefer to hear it than never know.”

“I do. But I’m still sorry.”

“What is it?” She sounds panicky, making me rush.

“Your dad was Jake’s source for the fire. I don’t have the details, but Adrian overheard Jake telling Tom.”

“Jesus Christ.” Amelia’s face scrunches before she huffs out a laugh. “I guess that makes cutting him out of my life a hell of a lot easier. But why would he do that? To hurt me, to…” She trails off, her eyes watering before a lone tear falls down her cheek.

“Money?” I guess, though I have no idea. “Maybe it’s always been about money. Vicki’s mom was wealthy and—”

“You might be right. Maybe that’s why I’ve never really cared about money. Maybe deep down, I knew not to make it a motivator for me.”

“Could be.” I’d prefer it was money. I’d hate to find out he hurt his daughter to get back at her or something. If he’s been trying to talk to her all these years, it must have been hard when she never got in touch. “Question. Why’d you keep his last name if you never planned to reconnect with him?”

Amelia’s body sags as she blows out a breath. “At first, Mom wouldn’t change it. Dad told her she had to change hers, so she kept mine as Rosenberg as a connection to him. But then when I got older, I didn’t want to change it. It was my name as much as it was his. I felt like he’d stolen my childhood, and I didn’t want him to steal my identity too. It’s silly. I know. But—”

“It’s not silly at all. It’s who you are.”

“It was, but now I feel different. Anyway, what’s the second thing?” Amelia nervously nibbles at her bottom lip, cutting into my thoughts while my heart races. I want to ask more, but I can tell she’s not ready to talk about it. And I have a confession to make.

“I…I lit the fire,” I blurt, admitting it out loud for the first time since it happened. “Well, a group of us did.”

Amelia’s jaw drops before she shakes her head. “What?”

“We were messing around, and I guess over the years people had filled the bath with trash, and we lit a fire as a joke.” I step closer, needing to see her reaction. But instead of the anger I expect, she reaches for my hand and nods for me to continue. “While we were watching it burn, I overheard the girls talking about your dare and I got the idea to go up to the attic with you. And to fake the fire. The real fire was contained when I left. The guys were supposed to put it out. But I should have put it out.”

“Why didn’t you tell the police that? You didn’t mean for it to burn—”

“Because we still lit it. Accident or not, we were stupid kids playing with matches. And if I told the police, I wouldn’t only be ruining my future and my career but the future of my teammates too. I know it was a shitty thing to do, and I’ve regretted a lot about that day over the years, but I’d never do that to my friends. They got out of there. The police never knew they’d been inside that house. We fucked up. We made a mistake, but they didn’t deserve to suffer because of it. It’s why I was so desperate to keep it out of the show. I didn’t care about me, but I couldn’t exactly tell you that.”

“The show. God. Do you think Jake knows?”

“He seems to think it was only me, and because of that, I stopped caring if he knew or not. My consequences ceased to matter the second I saw you trembling on the floor of the edit suite. If I knew my confession could take your pain away, I’d do it in a heartbeat and keep my friends out of it. But it’s too late for that. I’ve lied to you, kept things from you, and hurt you so much that I’m just as bad as your dad was. Worse even. But I promise I’ll never be that man again. I’m trying and I’m sorry for everything I’ve put you through.”

Amelia squeezes my hand as she smiles. “I know and I’ve forgiven you. We’ve got a new start to life. An amazing future with our daughter. You need to stop apologizing for the past. Having said that, any other secrets you want to share before we begin?”

“Not so much a secret.” I smile. “But Jake was fired. And Adrian said you should press charges against him for locking you in the edit suite.”

“Wow. Okay. That’s a lot to process. Do I have to do it now?”

“I don’t know. I’ll find out. But your recovery is what’s most important.”

“Thank you. Anything else?”

“Nope.” I shake my head. “I’m an open book from now on.”

“Good. Except let's keep the fire a secret between us. I’d rather the police never found out how stupid you are. You lit the fire? What the hell were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t. Turns out, I’m not as smart as people think.”

“I always knew it.” She winks, making me finally laugh.

“Smart or not, it’s time for us to move on from the past and be better. For Juliet.”

Our gazes flash to Juliet’s bassinet and I smile at her cute little expression, getting lost in the rise and fall of her chest, watching as she wriggles.

“That works for me,” Amelia says after a moment, drawing my attention. “And it’s not going to be a problem.” She laughs, shaking her head.

“What’s not?” I ask, confused.

“Us being better for Juliet. She already has you wrapped around her finger.”

“She does. No doubt about that. As does her mother.” I wink just like she did, making her laugh again as I press a kiss to her hand. “There are worse things in the world than being under your spell. And not having you both tops that list. I’m going to work hard not to fuck…I mean, mess it all up.”

“Good. Because I kind of like having you around.”