She continued talking but Kade heard nothing after the word sponsor.
“You’re my dad’s sponsor?”
“Yeah. And since he’s been too sick to come to meetings I go out there a couple of times a week. I’ve never missed a week and I was worried when I didn’t hear from him that he might have…”
His dad was sober? George McKnight was sober?
All of Kade’s life, his dad had made promises of stopping. He’d been in and out of rehab, which was usually court ordered, but nothing ever stuck.
“When did he get sober?” Kade interrupted her.
“About three years ago.”
Three years? That’s when the doctors had given him six months to live.
“He was coming to meetings a few times a week up until the incident at The Snack Shack. Since then, it’s just too hard for him.”
Kade half-listened as she talked about the dinners she brings his dad and how she makes sure he’s taking his medication until she got called away. They said a quick goodbye and he left in a fog of confusion.
His dad was sober? The simple explanation, considering the timeline, was that getting sick had been the catalyst. But that wasn’t tracking with Kade. The man he knew would’ve just doubled down. He would’ve drank himself into his grave. It didn’t make any sense.
A breeze swayed the trees, causing the leaves to rustle above his head as he stepped into the cool spring evening. He stood on the steps of the hall and took a deep breath as he looked out over the lake and took a moment to regroup. The moon shimmered across the surface of the water and a sense of peace came over him as he watched people go about their evening in the downtown district that lined the north end of the lake.
Coming home had not gone as expected. Some of it had gone better than expected, like how fast Ali had forgiven him. But some of it had gone worse than he’d expected, too. Like the intense build of his feelings for her. He wasn’t sure how he would classify this new information about his dad, but it certainly wouldn’t be “as expected.” He’d written the man off years ago. Did it matter that he was sober now?
He was lost in thought when a flash of color caught his attention across the street. It was Ali. She was wearing a long, orange dress that reminded him of his favorite ice cream treat when he was a kid. An Orange Creamsicle. Just like when he was younger, his mouth watered and his tongue longed to lick it.
His fantasy of doing just that was cut short when he saw her hugging a man: Keaton Mills. Jealousy sucker-punched Kade in the gut as he watched the two of them greet each other. He hated not being the man that was on the receiving end of Ali’s smile. She looked so happy to see him. They turned and walked into Santino’s, out of sight.
A meeting?
Now Mills’ stolen glances at Ali during KJ’s class and at the barbeque made a lot more sense. They must be secretly dating. Or semi-secretly, he guessed, since they did seem to be out in public. But he hadn’t picked up on it at the barbeque nor had he heard anyone around town gossiping about it, which struck him as odd.
He stared at the double doors the two had entered as they closed and a sinking feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. They were together. Laughing. Talking. Probably doing things other than laughing and talking.
Kade was tempted to go in and order take-out just to spy, but he knew that was crossing a line.
This is for the best,he told himself.
Ali deserved someone that was worthy of her. A good guy. And from what Kade knew of him, Keaton Mills was a good guy. He saw them being seated through the floor to ceiling windows and watched as the waitress walked away. They both stared at one another for a beat before Keaton said something and they both cracked up. Ali was laughing so hard her head fell back and her hands covered her stomach. They looked like a couple. A happy couple.
Kade’s heart felt like it was a piñata being pummeled by major league hitters as he headed down the steps two at a time and threw his leg over his bike. As the engine roared to life, he clicked his helmet into place and couldn’t help but glance once more at the woman he loved. The woman he could never have.
It’s for the best.