“This is true,” his dad said.

“You should have been honest with her from the beginning,” his mother said.

Tucker grimaced. “That would have felt like running to Aubry to fix my issue with her dad. That didn’t feel right to me. I don’t know, none of this feels right.”

“But is she worth losing your job over?” his dad asked. “Because if you continue this relationship with her, her father might make good on his promise.”

“Yes. She is worth it.” That’s when he realized he should have told Aubry right from the beginning. He should have stood up to Clyde and told him he could do whatever he wanted to him, but that it wouldn’t matter.

“I guess you’ve got your answer, then, Son,” his father said. “But you’ve got to be prepared to live with the consequences.”

“Yeah, I know. I guess I just needed the time to think this through. Or maybe I never needed any time to think it through. Hell, I don’t know what I needed. I feel shitty now that I’ve let all this time go by. Aubry thinks I abandoned her, that I chose my career over her. She probably hates me.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” his mother said, laying her hand on his dad’s knee. “We women are very forgiving. We have to be, because you men are often idiots.”

“Hey,” his dad said, frowning at her.

She laughed, then rubbed her shoulder against his.

He looked at his parents, at the obvious love they had for each other even after all these years. He knew they’d had their squabbles over the years, had seen them argue, then make up. It was true love between the two of them.

That’s what he wanted. What he wanted to have forever.

With Aubry.

Now he just had to get back home and see her after his game tomorrow night.

And make things right.

THE LAST PERSON AUBRY EXPECTED TO SEE AT THE hospital during her shift was her mother. When Marie buzzed her and told her that her mother was in the waiting area, Aubry’s heart clenched. She quickly grabbed her phone, wondering if she’d missed an urgent call or text telling her something awful had happened.

Nothing.

She hurried out to the waiting room.

“Mom, what’s up?”

“I’m sorry to bother you at work. I know you’re busy.”

“It’s actually a fairly light day today, so don’t worry. Is everything okay?”

Her mother grasped her arm. “Everything’s fine. Do you have . . . a minute to get some coffee?”

“Sure. Let me tell them I’m taking a break.”

She dashed in to tell Marie she’d be off for a short while to take her lunch, then met her mom. They left the hospital and walked down the street to a deli. Aubry ordered a sandwich with iced tea, and her mother got a coffee. They grabbed a table in the corner.

“How are you?” her mother asked. “I haven’t seen you since—”

“The night I stormed out of the house? I’m sorry about that.”

Her mom grasped her hand. “Do not be sorry about that. Your father was an ass. I’m still not speaking to him.”

Her lips curved. She could imagine her mom giving her dad a really hard time. Her mother was sweet and warm and kind. And when she was angry—usually with her dad, the house could get very frosty.

That, at least, made her happy.

“I’m so sorry your father did that, sweetheart. He had no right to interfere in your life that way. I have had many conversations with him about this. Many. Conversations.”

Aubry laughed. “I’m sure Dad has really enjoyed those conversations.”

Her mother smiled over the rim of her coffee cup, then set the cup down. “He hasn’t enjoyed them at all. But you can rest assured that he will never, ever again bother you about your work, or your personal life. And he will not be trading Tucker.”

Aubry shrugged. “That part doesn’t matter since it seems Tucker made his decision. He chose the Rivers.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means he stopped seeing me. Not that I blame him. Career is everything, and I’m sure Dad scared the hell out of him by threatening to ruin his career. I’m just so mad at Dad. Hell, I’m mad at both of them.”

Her mother sighed. “This just makes me angry with your father all over again. Maybe we should have hit up a bar instead. I could use a cocktail.”

Aubry laughed. “It’s not Dad’s fault that Tucker chose baseball over me. Obviously our relationship isn’t meant to be.”