“You okay?”

“As good as can be expected when a guy is looking at the end of his sixteen-year marriage.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I know you are,” he said wearily. “And I know I’m being a whiny ass.”

“You are not.”

“Yeah, well, I feel like I am.”

“How are the kids doing?” I glanced at the stairs, assuming they were all in bed, even the older ones.

“Better than can be expected. I know it hurts, and it’s hard for them, but their mom didn’t play a huge part in their lives either.”

“Did you hear from her any more today?”

“She came by a few hours ago.”

“For what?” My badass-sister protective mode kicked in. I didn’t like that woman slinking around here.

“Clothes, her car, but mostly she wanted money.”

“You didn’t give her any, did you?”

He nodded. “I did. It was worth it to make her go away. She was wasted drunk and in the mood to fight. I have an appointment with my attorney tomorrow. I’m filing for a divorce and full custody of the kids. I’m done turning my head at her antics. Her infidelities have been going on for a long time. Axel is just one in a series of affairs. His was just the most obvious.”

“I’m so sorry.”

I didn’t say what I really thought. No sense in upsetting him even more than he already was. My brother was the homebody type who needed a partner in life. Unfortunately, he’d chosen wrong the first time around.

I considered defending Axel but clamped my mouth shut. I didn’t know him, and he hadn’t earned my defense of his actions. In my world, very few people had my respect and trust. I didn’t give trust or respect easily as most of the people I’d been around didn’t deserve it, especially my parents. Jock was one of the few who truly had my back, and I had his.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve this. Of all people for her to pick, it had to be a teammate?”

“Nothing. You did nothing to deserve this. You’re a great father, husband, and provider. She’s too stupid to see that, and that’s on her. Jock, I don’t care about her. I’m worried about you. Are you okay?”

“I’ll be okay. I’m sad, I’m worried about the kids, but we’d been growing apart for so long, I think I was prepared for this even though I didn’t want to admit it to myself. I don’t think I’ve loved her for a long time, but I didn’t want the kids to grow up without a mother.”

I didn’t know how anyone could ever love that woman. She was reprehensible, but then that was just me.

Jock downed the rest of his drink and set it on the end table. He stood and stretched. “I’d better get some sleep. We have a game tomorrow night, and I need all the energy I can get to sit on my ass the entire game.”