Chapter 23      

Riley knew things were getting mega-serious with Sadie when he met her family, especially since he ended up having what he’d term a soft interview with her mama.

But when his brother offered to fly out with his family to meet her, their relationship seemed to take on a new meaning.

“Tyler seems to think I’m gonna marry Sadie,” he told Mark during one of their morning runs.

“Is that so?” the man drawled, biting his lip to contain his smile.

He punched his friend in the shoulder. “Is everybody thinking that?”

Mark kept his eyes trained forward. “Everybody is a fairly broad term.”

“Fine,” Riley said, stopping on the street. “Do you and Paige think that?”

Mark circled him, continuing to jog. “The only person whose opinion matters here is yours. Well, yours and Sadie’s.”

“You aren’t answering my question,” Riley said. “Meeting people’s families is a big deal.” 

“I expect you knew that when you agreed to meet hers,” Mark said, punching him in the bicep and encouraging him to start running again. “Why’d you do it?”

He thought about it for a moment. Mark had a way of peeling the proverbial onion of someone’s motivations. “I met them because they’re some of the most important people in her life.”

“Like you’ve become,” Mark added, turning around to face Riley and running backward.

Damn if Mark didn’t know how to cut to the chase. “Yeah, like I’ve become.”

Sadie lit up like a Christmas tree whenever she caught sight of him. Her expression wasn’t too different than Jess’, he’d come to realize. Both of his girls were always happy to see him. He probably had the same excited expression on his face whenever he caught sight of them.

“What are you most afraid of?” Mark asked, continuing to jog backward.

Riley cut his pace down so his friend wouldn’t trip on something unseen and fall. “Shit. You would ask that.”

Mark skidded to a halt. “It’s a relevant question.”

Yeah, it was. “I’m…” He rubbed the back of his neck. This wasn’t the time for a pat answer. “I’m afraid something might happen to ruin everything. I’m afraid…that I’ll get hurt again.”

Shit, was he really such a coward underneath all his blustering and superhero talk?

“And with Jess too,” he added. “I couldn’t protect her last time, but this time…I can’t let anything happen to her.”

“You did protect her, Riley,” Mark said, getting in his face as much as he ever did. “When are you going to realize that? Some people might have gone along with the abortion even if they didn’t want to. Not you, Riley.”

When his friend thrust a finger at his chest, he felt his eyes widen. “Are you mad at me?”

Mark blew out a loud breath. “Honestly, it seems like I am. Riley, I have listened to you blame yourself for not protecting Jess from her mother time and time again. Every time I tell you that you did protect her. And you argue with me every damn time. I wish…”

Riley stood there speechless in the face of his friend’s outburst.

“I wish you’d realize you have a lot to give someone like Sadie. Hell, you give to me and Paige and Haley every day. I know you think you need us more than we need you, but dammit, you’re wrong. Besides Paige, you’re the best friend I’ve ever had, my wife considers you her brother, and my daughter… Riley, you hang the moon in her eyes.”

His heart was thundering in his chest. “Are we having a personal moment?”

Mark shook his head. “Don’t be dense. There’s nothing wrong with two friends sharing how they feel about each other.”

No, there wasn’t, which was why Mark was his friend in the first place. Riley had been teased at school for being sensitive, but that very quality was something the Bradshaws seemed to value about him.

“Besides my brother, you’re the best friend I’ve ever had too,” Riley said.

A car slowed down on the street as it went by, and Mark stared down the driver. “Great. Now they think we’re either having a confrontation or reenacting a scene from Brokeback Mountain.”

“You’re in a pretty good mood, aren’t you?” Riley asked, fighting a smile.

“I’m…pissed off about a boy’s situation at school, and what’s going on with you and the McGuinesses is pinging me.”

“Sorry,” Riley said, starting to run again. “I’ll think about what you said. Okay?”

Mark caught up with him. “You’d better. Sadie is the best thing that could happen to you. And Jess. Do you really think everybody’s lucky enough to find a love like that? You’re old enough to know better.”

“Man, when you want to put me in my place, you don’t pull any punches.”

Mark glared at him. “Do you believe Sadie would be a good mother to Jess if you got married?”

“Yes, but…”

“But what?” Mark pressed.

“I’m still not sure how Jess is going to handle it,” Riley said, “and that’s what scares me. She’s been talking to this girl at school and it’s giving her bad ideas.”

“Betty,” Mark said. “Yeah, Haley has mentioned her to me and Paige.”

“She has?” Riley asked, his footing suddenly unsure.

Mark sighed. “Yes, Haley’s been asking us questions about what happens when a man who has a daughter from a previous relationship marries someone new. She’s not buying into Betty’s stories, but…”

“But Haley is still a little scared for Jess,” Riley finished, his heart thudding with pain. “Dammit, that makes me feel like shit.”

“Haley is only a little scared because Jess is,” he told him. “That’s only natural. You’re both going through a big transition. Opening yourself up to someone new is a big deal.”

“I should be able to make it easier for her.” Some days being human and being a dad were incompatible, if you asked him.

“You are, trust me, and you couldn’t have a better back channel than Haley. She’s crazy about Sadie. She keeps telling Jess that Sadie is beautiful—inside and out.”

“I love that kid,” Riley said, getting choked up. “How do I make Jess feel less scared? Sadie’s mom told her actions are more important than words, and I agree, but how does that work in practice? Do we just keep on loving her?”

Mark cut his pace back, and Riley knew he was about to deliver a real whammy. He stopped again, and so did Mark.

His friend put his hand on his shoulder. “Jess will most likely stop being afraid when you do.”

Riley hung his head. “You’re always saying our kids echo our emotions when they’re young.”

“It was Jung who said that,” Mark said, “but yeah, there’s no getting around the truth.”

“So how do I conquer my fear, sensei?” he quipped, his guts raw.

“You do what every superhero does,” Mark said, clapping him on the back. “You reach deep inside you, find your inner strength, and do what you know what you must do.”

Mark only used superhero talk when he was really desperate to get through to him. He hissed out a breath. “I love Sadie, and I want her to be in my life.”

“I know you do.”

He pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. “Like always in my life.”

When he looked at his friend, Mark was smiling. “There you go.”

“Does it matter that we haven’t known each other very long?” Or that we’ve made love less than a hundred times, he thought in silence. 

Time again. Whenever he sat down to work on his female superhero, that was the word he kept hearing. She did something with time. Only he still hadn’t nailed down the nuances of her powers.

“What do you think? Aren’t you the one always telling my daughter that time is an illusion? That we can bend it with our minds?”

Busted. And yet he believed every word. Maybe that was the power he needed to give his superhero. “It’s…ah…”

“Make-believe? You know better, my friend.”

“You know, when you get pissy, you’re a pain in the ass.”

Mark barked out a laugh. “That’s what Paige always says. But I tend to feel better once I’ve spoken my piece.”

“Feeling better now?”

“Much.” Mark puffed out his chest. “Are we going to run or are you going to stew some more?”

Riley stood a little taller. His feet felt more anchored into the earth suddenly. His mind flashed him a picture of Sadie laughing with him, and he remembered what else superheroes did. They followed their heart.

“No, I’m done stewing.”