Warm-up time on the court ended, and the kids readied for the start of the game. I spoke to Alex in low tones, my gaze glued to my son’s every move. Between the scuffle of the game and the parents’ excited shouts, no one paid us any attention.

“You want me to let you in, well…I wanted you to know,” I told her. “I needed you to know.”

“Why?”

“I’m winning this fight, Alex, and after it’s done and over with, I’m taking you outta here. But I couldn’t leave without seeing him again. For his own good, he’s a secret I intend to leave buried in my past, but I couldn’t keep him from you.”

Her body went rigid in my arms. “I’m the reason—” her voice cracked, and she sucked in a breath. “I’m the reason that boy down there doesn’t have a mom.” She dashed away a stray tear. “Or a dad.”

I didn’t want to miss the rest of the game or take my eyes off the boy who looked so much like me, but I could tell that Alex needed some space to process.

My son looked happy, adjusted, and that was all that mattered. I’d come to this area to be near him as much to outrun my demons, but it was time to move on. It nagged me like an impending storm that would pick me up and drop me three counties over in a whirlwind.

A person could only hide for so long.

As Will jumped and sent the ball sailing through the hoop, I urged Alex to her feet. We stepped down the bleachers with careful footfalls, trying not to draw attention to ourselves. Pushing the doors open, my son’s shout of triumph rang through my ears as we headed toward the parking lot.

It might be the last time I heard his voice again, and I’d never forget it, or the glint in his eyes after he scored for his team. Those branded memories would have to last me a lifetime because he was better off never knowing me.

We strode into the chilly air, and Alex’s wind-blown hair wiped the remnants of sorrow from her cheeks. She was silent the whole ride back to the boat. And fuck, she was pissing me off because I knew what she was doing.

Holding it in.

Her tears, her anger, her sadness.

“Let it out, baby,” I said, rolling to a stop in the field. I shifted the truck into park.

“I could say the same to you,” she said. “Why did you wait so long to tell me?”

“I wasn’t sure how you’d take it. After what happened to Nik—”

She pushed the door open and hopped out. I flung the driver’s side outward, and my feet hit the ground running. “Alex!”