“I’ve tried,” she moaned with frustration. “But he’s determined not to be alone with me. And if by chance we are alone, he changes the subject every time I try to bring up my concerns. He won’t let me in, Brody.”
They stood there for a moment, silently, his arms wrapped around her slender body, her head tucked against his chest.
“I never thought my relationship with my dad would get to this point,” she whispered. “He treated me like a stranger tonight. He snapped at me, cursed at me, looked right through me, as if I was just another headache he didn’t want to deal with instead of his only daughter.”
Brody threaded his fingers through her hair and stroked the soft tresses while he caressed her cheek with his other hand. “Did you two used to be close?” he asked.
“Very.” She gave a soft sigh. “Nowadays, the team comes first.”
“I’m sure that’s not true.”
She raised her chin and met his eyes. “Tell me, in all the years you’ve played for the Warriors, how many times has my father mentioned me?”
Discomfort coiled in his gut. “A bunch of times,” he said vaguely.
Her eyes pierced his. “Really?”
“Fine, never,” he admitted. “But I’m just a player to your father. He’s certainly never treated me as a confidant.”
“My dad is obsessed with the team,” she said flatly. “He’s always loved hockey, but when he was just a coach, it wasn’t this bad. Now that he owns a team, he’s almost fanatical. It used to be about the game for him. Somehow it’s become about making money, being as powerful as he can be.”
“Money and power aren’t bad things to want,” Brody had to point out.
“Sure, but what about family? Who are you supposed to rely on when the money and power are gone? Who will be there to love you?”
A cloud of sadness floated across her pretty face, her expression growing bittersweet. “You know he used to take me fishing a lot? Every summer we’d rent a cabin up at the lake, usually for an entire week. We moved around so much, but Dad always managed to find a place to go fishing. I hated to fish, but I pretended to love it because I wanted to spend the time with my dad.”
She moved out of his arms and walked back to the railing, leaning forward and breathing in the cool night air. Without turning around, she continued speaking. “We stopped going once I moved to California. He always promised we’d go back to the lake during my visits home, but we never got around to it. Though we did go out on the yacht last summer.” She made a face. “Sheila spent the entire trip talking about her nails. And Dad was on the phone the whole time.”
The wistful note in her voice struck a chord of sympathy in him. Despite his busy schedule, he always made sure to return to Michigan a few times a year to see his parents. In the off-season he stayed with them for a month and spent every available moment with his folks. Although it irked him a little that his mom refused to quit her hairdressing job and take advantage of her son’s wealth, he loved being home with his folks. And they were always thrilled to have him. He couldn’t imagine his parents ever being too busy to hang out with their only son.
Presley Houston was an idiot. There was no other explanation for why the man would pass up the opportunity to spend time with a daughter as incredible as Hayden. She was intelligent, warm, passionate.
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” she burst out. “There’s no point. Dad and I have been drifting apart for years. I was stupid to think he might actually value my support.”
“I’m sure he does value it. It’s obvious he’s been drinking tonight, babe. It was probably the alcohol that made him snap at you like that.”
“Alcohol is no excuse.” She raked her fingers through her hair and scowled. “God, I need to get out of here. I want to go someplace where I can hear my own thoughts.”
He glanced at the watch he’d picked up from the arena earlier in the morning, saw it wasn’t that late, and threw an arm around Hayden’s shoulders. “I know just the place.”
She studied him warily, as if she suddenly remembered what had transpired between them two nights ago. He saw her hesitation, her reluctance to let him back in, but thankfully she made no protest when he took her hand. Instead, she clasped her warm fingers in his and said, “Let’s go.”
“THIS IS IT? The place where all my thoughts will become clear?” Hayden couldn’t help but laugh as she followed Brody into the dark hockey arena twenty minutes later.