“We’re kicking your stuff to the curb. We’re going back to the park.” Lottie gestured to the side. “Grab those, will you?”
There was a mesh bag of soccer balls on the floor next to one of the chairs. He raised his brow. “You aren’t going to make me man the goal while you take shot after shot at me, are you?”
“That’s an idea.” She picked up her purse. “Be forewarned, I’m sending you the receipt. Soccer balls aren’t cheap. Alice may look like an angel, but she’s fierce with her books. Come on.”
As he picked up the bag, he noticed that one of the balls had a word taped to it:approval. It was written in precise block letters that brooked no argument. “What is this?” he said, pointing to it.
“One of your words, but it’s one you don’t need.” She slipped her arm through his. “Ready for this, big boy?”
He glanced down at her arm. Each time she did this, he felt like she was taking something bad off him. “Lottie, thank you for offering to help me,” he said softly. “You care.”
“Of course I care.”
To him, there was noof course. “My dad says only family really cares about you.”
She snorted. “I should introduce you to my son. He’s the biggest disappointment of my life, not because he’s living his own life with his wife, but because they had Rachel when they didn’t want her.”
“I can’t imagine having a child and not wanting him.” Danny frowned. His mother, who hadn’t meant to get pregnant, who’d been disowned by her family, had wanted him—he’d never been in doubt of that, even when she was more occupied with her work. Even his dad, with his manifest destiny views on fathering kids, wanted them all. Mostly. Unless the kid was a disappointment—then his dad treated them like persona non grata. “Was Rachel born with two heads or something?”
“Rachel was the most beautiful baby ever born to earth.” Lottie smiled softly. “If you’re lucky, I’ll show you some pictures after we kick the balls around.”
“It’s a deal.” He led her out of the office.
“Is your dad worth it?” Lottie asked as they walked to the park.
Danny frowned. “What do you mean? He’s my dad.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. I know many people whose parents don’t deserve that sort of consideration.”
He thought about Jules’ father and nodded.
“A good parent would never do something to put his child’s future in danger. Like bring drugs into his house.” Lottie gave him a flat look. “Have you thought about what happens if he’s implicated in the drugs?”
“Of course I’ve thought about it,” he muttered.
“So you’re prepared to go to prison for your dad? Or your brother?” she said bluntly. “Because if there’s one truth in all those shows on Netflix, it’s that the drug lords always get taken down one way or another. It’s just a matter of time.”
He frowned. “Maybe the situation isn’t that bad.”
She snorted. “You wouldn’t be here if you believed that.”
They walked the rest of the way in silence. At the park, Lottie toed her shoes off, like the last time. Still thinking about what she’d said, he slipped out of his shoes and set them by hers. The cold from the ground was a shock to his feet. He eyed Lottie. “You’re warm enough? MacNiven will kill me if you get pneumonia.”
“I’ve lived in Chicago all my life. This is a mild winter. Take the balls and line them up,” she said, stretching from side to side.
Without a word, he did as she asked, reading the words taped to the balls as he set them out.Approval,defend,protect…
When they were set up to Lottie’s satisfaction, she nodded. Pointing at them, she said, “Now kick them, as hard and as far away as you can.”
He looked at her askance. “They’ll go out of the park.”
She shrugged. “If they get lost, so much the better. You want them far, far away from you. These words don’t serve you.”
This was an insane idea. “What if they hit someone?”
“Yell like they do in golf.” She put her hands on her hips. “Are you seriously going to act like a wimp?”
He scowled at her. “I’m no wimp.”