by Lynn Stevens
“He added that last part himself,” Vicky said with a grin. Daniel glanced at her, a smile filling his face. They were too cute together. “Anyway, we’re here, so win this thing. Eva’s coming too.”
“Thanks.” I hugged Vicky. “I’m glad you’re here.” I smiled at Daniel. “Both of you.”
“Hey,” Erik said coming up behind them. He took a wide berth around Daniel. “Vicky, Daniel, good to see you.” He leaned down and whispered in my ear. “Kick your dad’s ass, please. He’s unbearable even by my standards.”
“Planning on it,” I said, turning to kissing him gently. “Maybe you can come over to celebrate.”
He grinned. “I’m off house arrest as of today, so that should be in the plans.”
I kissed him one more time before he nodded to Vicky and Daniel and left to find his dad.
“He’s got issues,” Daniel said under his breath.
“Yeah, but he’s dealing with them.” I grinned and watched him walk away. “Anyway, I need to get my game face on or Rex will start yelling at me. I’ll see you guys later.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
I teed off first after the Tudors. Theo, thankfully, kept his mouth shut. I knew this course. I knew each dip, each swerve, each incline. Inhaling deeply, I relaxed my shoulders and settled into my stance, then pulled my driver back and sent the ball to the edge of the green on first hole, a par three.
“Nice,” Rex said as he passed me. He teed off and hit the green, all but guaranteeing birdie.
Theo tried to chat Rex up during the first nine holes. We were kicking the Tudor’s rear ends, but we weren’t sure where we were on the board. I wasn’t watching. Rex told me not to so I didn’t stress about where were at in the standings. Theo wouldn’t shut up about it thought. Rex finally told Theo, politely, to shut up. Mom and Brendan engaged them, keeping the conversation quiet. Rex conferred with me on putts, but he let me handle my drives and chipping. We only had four teams behind us on the course. When we got to the sixteenth hole, a crowd gathered. Probably to watch Rex. He hadn’t played in a tournament in years, not even in a charity one.
We both birdied, earning the typical golf clap. By the time we got to the final hole, the crowd had grown. Nobody talked to either of us at this point. Our combined score was good. Or so I thought. Rex was ahead of me, but together we had been pretty great as a team. The eighteenth was a par four. I lined up my tee and closed my eyes for a second, imaging the course and where to place my ball. With my nine-iron, I sent the ball two-hundred eighty yards, give or take. Rex whistled.
“Best tee of the game, Andrea. Excellent job.” He stepped up, shanking his three-hundred twenty yard drive to the left. “Me, not so much.”
“Meh, you can still par,” I said, patting him on the back.
Re wrinkled his nose. “Par? Oh, how little you know me.”
I laughed and handed Brendan my club. We both chipped onto the green, but I had a longer putt than Rex. He grinned and stepped back. I shook my head. We’d practiced long putts until he had it in my head what I needed to do. It was all math, really. Calculating the distance, the incline, the rate of spin, and curve of the green, I could figure out how hard or soft to hit the ball. Since I was thirty feet out, I needed to putt hard but not too hard.
Settling into my stance, I practiced once then stepped forward and sent the ball toward the hole. The small crowd held their breath with me. When the ball turned toward the hole, I thought for sure it was going to roll past. It hit the edge of the cup, swirling before falling into the hole for birdie. I’d shot an eighty on a par seventy-two course. Not bad. Not pro level yet, but still not bad.
Rex grinned and set up his putt. He tapped it in easily, then he threw his club in the air and ran at me.
“You won,” he said, hugging me. “You won, Andrea. You did it.”
“What?” I asked, laughing as he sat me down. “Won? There’s still four teams behind us.”
“Yeah, and they’re so far behind us they would need another 18 holes.” Rex held me by my shoulders. “You get the trophy, kid. You earned it.”
“We won? Seriously? How do you know? Nobody told me the score.” I glanced over to Mom and Brendan who stood there, clapping along with everyone else.
“Because I told them not to.” He grinned and put his arm around me, waving to the crowd. “I didn’t want you to get distracted. Wave to your adoring fans. And get used to this. You’re going to win a lot more tournaments, kid.”
“Not bad for a girl?” I asked as I waved along with him.
Rex laughed and squeezed my shoulder. “Not bad for anyone who’ll be on the circuit in a couple of years.”
“Thanks, Rex.” I smiled up at him. “For believing in me. And for playing today.”
His smile lit the course. “You deserve it, kid. Now go hug your mom before she tackles us both.”
The moment was surreal. I kept replaying it in my mind that night. The trophy sat in the middle of the dining room table where we celebrated with pizza. Mom even splurged on a cake she had delivered. Rex joined us, flirting hard with Mom. She didn’t rebuff him, but she made it clear that she was still married. Erik held my hand the entire time. He made polite conversation with Vicky, but he really hit it off with my brother. Brendan grilled Erik relentlessly. I I stomped on his foot to get him to stop.
I kept hoping Dad would show up. He didn’t. He didn’t even congratulate me at the club before he left. It didn’t matter to him that I won, that I proved I was good enough. I needed to accept that and move on, but he was still my father. It didn’t seem right that he would just drop himself out of my life like that.
The following weekend was the amateur tournament. I was ready, but more nervous than I had been at the father son tournament, which had been officially rebranded as the parent child tournament after my win. My stomach clenched in knots as people introduced themselves to Rex. He took everything in stride, but he declined photos and autographs claiming he was just a caddy. It would’ve been funny if I hadn’t wanted to throw up.
“You got this,” Rex said as we left the clubhouse and headed toward our cart. “Just breath through it, kid.”
That’s when I saw him. Dad stood off to the side by Mom and Erik. He waved hesitantly. I waved back. Mom glared at him, but that could’ve been because they were finally over. Dad had agreed to mediation on the divorce. No matter what happened, Mom and Dad were letting each other go. Hopefully they would be happier.
But I had a tournament to focus on.
I let all the things in my life disappear as I focused solely on golf. The first couple of holes were tough, but I found my focus and played well for the rest of the round. When it was over, I finished third. Rex was pleased. I wasn’t. Third wasn’t first, and I had wanted to win.
“Kid, you’re not going to win every tournament,” he said. “Just like you’re not going to win every moment of life. It’s the hits that keep us humble and alive. If we won everything all the time, life would be boring.”
“Still not happy,” I said as we looked for Mom and Erik. “This time next year, I’m going to be on the tour.”
Rex laughed and slapped my shoulder. “Damn straight. I know you can do it. We’ve got all winter to get you ready.”
I saw Mom and left Rex behind as I rushed toward her. He’d catch up after his adoring fans stopped trying to get his attention. I wasn’t expecting Dad to still be there, but he was. Erik stood between them, clearly keeping the peace. Mom hurried toward me and hugged me, saying words of congratulations or something like that. I couldn’t stop staring at Dad.
He stepped up, a normal calm expression on his face. “Good job today, Andrea.”
I nodded, not sure what to say, so I just stared at him.
“I’m... I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that last weekend.” He looked almost embarrassed to say even that. “I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks, Dad,” I said. I stepped closer and hugged him.
Surprisingly, he
hugged me back.
Maybe he was willing to change. Maybe he wasn’t. But if he was going to try, I was willing to let him. We all make mistakes. Some are more damaging than others, but we only get one mother and one father. I was going to make the effort for mine.
Also by Lynn Stevens
Girls of Summer Series
Extra Innings
The Rebound
Westland University Series
Full Count
Game On
Stealing Home
Just One... Series
Just One Summer
Just One Song
Roomies
Rebel Princess
Lynn Stevens flunked out of college writing her first novel. Yes, she still has it and no, you can't read it. Surprisingly, she graduated with honors at her third school. A former farm girl turned city slicker, Lynn lives in the Midwest where she drinks coffee she can't pronounce and sips tea when she's out of coffee. When she's out of both, just stay away.
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