“Yeah.” I hold my hand out hesitantly, still not quite sure why a member from the team we played against yesterday is here. “Nice to meet you.”
“You as well.” His shake is firm. “You’ve got a hell of an arm.”
“Brian and I were teammates for the entirety of my career,” Monty explains. “So, we were just reminiscing about the good ole’ days.”
Ah, this is making much more sense.
“Still such a shame.” Brian shakes his head. “You retiring the way you did. You had so much potential, and you gave it all up.”
“For good reason,” Monty corrects. “Hey, Miller is here, so I’ll finally introduce you tonight.”
“Monty, can we talk?” I interrupt.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, but we need to chat.”
Monty nods towards Brian and that simple motion has him walking off, creating privacy for only the two of us. I lean back on the railing next to him, both of us looking out towards the field.
“You asked me to come to you if I ever had the urge to ask Miller to stay,” I begin. “And while yes, I want to beg her to stay, I’m not going to. We both know she can’t, and I don’t want her to feel obligated to me or to Max, but I am going to tell her she’s always got a home with us, and I just wanted to let you know before I do.”
Monty remains silent, his attention stuck straight ahead as he simply nods.
“I mean, if that’s okay with you.”
Until now, I haven’t had a father figure in my life since I was fifteen. Monty has not only been a close friend, but a sounding board when I’m struggling. So even though the topic is about his daughter, I need him.
“Are you not going to ask her to stay because you don’t want her to feel obligated or because you’re afraid she’d say no if you did?” he finally asks.
Well . . . shit. Of course, there are some internal fears surfacing here. Everyone wants to be wanted, and yeah, I’m scared to put myself in the position to ask someone to want me when I’ve grown accustomed to people leaving.
I don’t ask anymore—for help, for someone to stay. I simply do it on my own.
But the hope of not having to do it alone, of Miller truly wanting to be with me, almost outweighs the fear.
“I don’t want her giving up her entire life for me only to realize I’m not worth sticking around for.”
Monty’s head whips in my direction, but I keep my attention straight on the field.
“Then you don’t know her at all if you can’t see the way she looks at you, like you’re the best damn thing to ever happen in her twenty-six years of life.”
That earns my attention.
“You just might be,” he continues. “After me, of course.”
The emotional tension is broken with humor, much in the way his daughter tends to do.
“I’ll speak from experience. She doesn’t feel obligated to your son, so don’t let that thought cross your mind. She loves him in the way I love her.”
We find the two of them, slowly making their way down the food table. Miller gives Max a bite of cheese then finishes the other half of it herself before moving on to the next snack and doing the same.
She does love him. And he loves her.
“She’s not my blood, but she’s my girl,” Monty says from beside me. “And she looks at your boy, who is not her blood, in the same way I look at her. I’ve seen it all summer. I watched her fall in love with two people at the same time, and it reminded me of myself when I met her and her mom. She won’t be able to just walk away from that, regardless of if you ask or not.” Monty finally looks my way, eyes welling with unshed tears. “I know I couldn’t.”
“Fuck, Monty.” Pressing into my eyes, I will the emotion back. “What the hell?”
He chuckles, but it’s watery and choked.
“All those times I asked you to come to me first, it’s not because I thought you weren’t worthy of asking that of my daughter. It’s because I was looking out for you. Miller has this intense need to be the best at what she does even if it’s not something she loves all that much, and I wanted to have this conversation before you put your heart on the line. Kai, she might not stay, but I can promise if she goes, it’s not because of you. You need to understand that.”
I exhale a long breath. “I’ve noticed that about her, her need to be the best. Like she finds her worth in checkmarks and achievements.”