Butcher

Chapter 26

26

BUTCHER

I was arriving later than expected in Texas, but being with Levi and seeing him defend his mom made me so proud of him. While he was a grown man—one I knew very well—I knew by the way he’d told me about his father in the past that he was trying to break away from the pastor’s critique of him. To not let his actions be ridiculed by his dad any longer. Sadly, the catalyst was his mom getting hurt in the process, and I couldn’t imagine being in his shoes and having to hear his father had laid a hand on his mother. When he uttered those words in the locker room, I was ready to fight the asshole myself. My man landed his blows, although they weren’t physical ones, and once the dust settled, it was almost as though Levi was a new man. He seemed to have been freed from the chains of his father, and when we went our separate ways at the airport, I knew he felt much better with having his mother with him.

Pulling a rental car up to my parents’ sprawling estate on the outskirts of Dallas, it looked like a picture-perfect winter scene, with twinkling lights adorning the grand, colonial-style mansion. Despite the beauty of their place, my stomach was in knots. I had promised my family I’d be home for Christmas Eve, but I had arrived later than expected, and I knew my explanation would need to be more than a simple “I got held up.”

I parked the car and took a deep breath before stepping out. I had no luggage except the duffle bag with my suit in it, and as I walked up to the front door, it swung open.

“Finally!” Paris exclaimed, her face lighting up in a smile that made me feel a little better. “We were starting to think you weren’t coming!”

“Hopefully, I made it in time for dinner.”

“We were just about to sit down and eat,” Mom said, hugging me.

Dallas, his new wife Tina, and my father, all joined in the warm welcome. After quick hugs and hellos, we moved inside, where the aroma of Christmas Eve dinner hit me. Damn, I was starving.

We all gathered around the table that was decorated in holiday decor.

“What’s on the menu this year?” I asked, taking a sip of water that was already on the table.

“Beef Wellington,” Dad replied, pouring himself a glass of red wine.

“Sounds delicious.” My stomach growled.

“So, you said you were helping a teammate in Tennessee?” Paris asked, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Is that why you’re so late?”

“Yeah. He had something to handle with his mom and dad.” I grabbed the bottle of wine and poured myself a full glass. I had a feeling I was going to need it given my sister was the family interrogator.

“Who was it?” Dallas asked.

“Sexton.” I took a drink of the tart wine.

Paris tilted her head slightly. “Why did you have to go help him? Did other teammates go too?”

I took a bigger swallow of wine and shook my head. “No, just me.”

“Why?” Paris pressed.

I felt all eyes on me, and suddenly my throat felt tight. People were starting to find out about my relationship status, and it was just a matter of time before my brother heard it from someone in the hockey community or someone from Harvest Ridge went to the media. “Because he needed help.”

“Why from you?” Paris continued to question.

I glanced around the table. My parents’ eyes were warm, though slightly puzzled, and Dallas and Tina were watching with curiosity. Paris’s gaze was intense, as if she could sense I was hiding something significant.

“Why all the questions, baby sister?” I asked.

“Just curious is all. You only have a few days off from hockey and you went to Tennessee instead of coming here after your game yesterday. It’s just odd. You had to change your flight and everything.”

“Can’t I just help a teammate out?”

“Yeah, let’s drop it,” Mom stated. “If it’s something Austin wants to share with us, then he will.”

“You said it was to help his parents,” Dad chimed in. “Are they okay?”

“Just … they will be.”

“But I’m still not understanding why you had to go,” Paris continued to fish.

“Fine!” I snapped. “He’s my boyfriend, okay?”

The table fell into a surprised silence and Paris’s mouth dropped open. I could feel the weight of their shock and curiosity pressing down on me, but I pushed on. “And, not only are Levi and I dating, but we’re also dating someone else. Her name is Kaylee. We’re … We’re a throuple.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the caterers turn around in the doorway to head back into the kitchen from bringing out our food. They were probably in shock, like the five people at the table, but I didn’t care. I was tired of lying.

“Are you … happy?” my mom finally asked, her voice soft.

“Yes,” I said, a sense of relief washing over me. “I’m very happy. In fact, I’m in love with both of them.”

Just as I was beginning to feel relieved at finally being honest, the room’s surprise turned into something even deeper when I added, “But there’s something else I need to tell you. Kaylee had a miscarriage a few days ago.”

My heart ached as I saw the sympathetic expressions on their faces, and my mother reached out, her hand covering mine with a comforting squeeze.

“I’m so sorry,” my father said. “That must be incredibly hard.”

“It is,” I admitted, feeling the sting of tears in my eyes. “Harder because she’s in Boston dealing with it alone while Levi and I had to go to Chicago and then to Tennessee.”

Paris stretched across the table to touch my arm. “I’m glad you’re finally sharing this with us. I can’t imagine how hard it’s been for you.”

“Was the baby yours?” Tina asked.

I lifted a shoulder. “We don’t know, but it wouldn’t have mattered.”

“She could have come here,” Mom said. “So she wasn’t alone.”

“She has her family in Boston, so she’s not totally alone, but I would have loved to be there to just help her with whatever she needed.”

“It’s tough,” Dad stated. “Being on the road when your family needs you. I know how difficult it is. There were so many times my heart hurt for your mother because she was going through something, and I wasn’t able to be home.”

I took another sip of wine. “Yeah, I’m learning that the hard way.”

Dallas squeezed my shoulder. “It sounds like you’ve found something special, even if it isn’t what we expected.”

“I have.” I smiled as I thought about how happy Levi and Kaylee made me. “I really have. Thank you for being understanding.”

“But why did you have to go to Tennessee if your girlfriend went back home to Boston?” Paris questioned.

“Like I said, Levi had to deal with some family stuff and I needed to go.” I wasn’t going to tell them the details of what his father was doing behind his mother’s back or the fact he’d slapped her. That wasn’t my story to tell.

The caterers finally came back into the room and served the beef Wellington, roasted veggies, and homemade bread, but as we ate, my sister wasn’t done with her questioning. This time, it wasn’t directed at me.

“So, Dallas, Tina,” Paris began, “have you two talked about starting a family yet?”

Dallas looked up from his plate and at his new bride, who was sitting next to him.

“Damn, Paris.” I snorted a laugh. “You should have been an attorney.”

She stuck out her tongue and Tina answered, “We have, actually. It’s definitely something we want to do. But with hockey, we’re trying to time things right.”

Dallas nodded, picking up where Tina left off. “Yeah, ideally, we’d like to have a baby during the off-season.”

My parents shared a look and then Dad said, “Plan all you want, but it doesn’t turn out that way. Look at you three.”

He was right. All of us had birthdays during the season. Paris was a little more toward the end, but when my father was in the playoffs, he usually missed her birthday.

Mom smiled. “Well, remember, no matter when you decide to start a family, we’re here to support you all.”

We finished up dinner and I was thankful no one pressed me for more details about my personal life. I didn’t expect anything less, but it was still a relief finally to come out to them.

After dessert, I went up to the room I stayed in when I visited. Luckily, there were some old clothes of mine I had left over the years and after taking a shower and getting into a black T-shirt and black and red plaid buffalo pajama bottoms, I grabbed my phone and called Levi. It rang a few times before he answered.

“Hey,” he greeted.

“Hey. You made it home?”

“Yeah. We just ordered some Chinese and my mom is in the shower.”

“I just got out.”

“Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” I chuckled.

“Don’t tell me shit that makes me think of you naked.”

I rolled my eyes playfully. “Fine, but um … I came out to my family.”

There was a brief pause before he asked, “How’d that go?”

“Good. I told them about you, Kaylee, the baby.”

“Oh, wow. And everyone was cool?”

“Yeah. I’m sure they’re all trying to wrap their heads around it. Have you talked to Kaylee?”

“Just for a second earlier. She was on her way to dinner at her parents’.”

“Do you think she’ll tell them about her miscarriage?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Let me text her and see if she’s home yet.”