After All These Years (One Pass Away #2) by Mary J. Williams Page B

year.
    Time to hang up his cleats.
    Gaige had been playing football for over twenty years. He
    had every accolade the game could provide. There was only one thing he was
    missing. A ring. The ring. A Super Bowl victory. Whatever it took, he
    was determined to go out a winner
    “The bye week is in early December.” It was a statement, not
    a question.
    Riley kept up with the team. The Knights would belong to her
    one day. It made sense to be on top of what was going on. Besides, she still
    loved the game. She had shed a lot of things from her past—that wasn’t one of
    them.
    “Week after next,” Gaige nodded. “I had planned on heading
    to Oklahoma. Now, I’m not sure there is any point. I don’t want to get Logan’s
    hopes up if there’s a chance I can’t follow through. Life keeps knocking him
    down. If I can’t give him a hand up, I’d rather not go.”
    “Don’t change your plans.”
    “I spent an hour trying to bore through your father’s thick
    skull. He gave me a flat out no, Riley.”
    Riley hadn’t seen or spoken to her father in five years. All
    communication came through letters, emails, and texts—sent by a third party. A
    gift card at Christmas, a generic acknowledgment of her birthday. Not that she
    had been any better. Their relationship would never be close. Or warm. Or
    loving. Riley had come to terms with that while her grandfather was still
    alive.
    Having a place to call home—with parents she could count
    on—would have been nice. However, that was not the case. Riley slowly smiled.
    It was unfortunate. But it made what she was about to do much easier.
    “Don’t change your plans.”
    “Riley,” Gaige said warily. “I don’t like that smile.”
    “Good.” Her cool eyes met his. “My father has had things his
    own way for too long. That’s about to change, Gaige. Starting now.”
     
    “YOU’LL HAVE TO wait until he’s off the phone.”
    Riley wasn’t in the mood. Sapphire blocked the door to
    Gerald Preston’s office, her arms splayed against the wooden surface. Hello,
    drama queen .
    She gave the woman points for loyalty. Either her father
    handed out an amazingly generous Christmas bonus or Sapphire imagined herself
    as the next Mrs. Preston. She wouldn’t be the first to make that mistake. Short
    of death, nothing was breaking up her parents. It had been a match made in
    convenience heaven and continued to suit them perfectly.
    “He did send you to meet me at the elevator.”
    “That was almost an hour ago. You kept him waiting.”
    Riley sighed. This wasn’t one-upmanship, this was petty and
    juvenile. Taunts from the grade school bully. Her gaze pinned Sapphire to the
    door. Riley hadn’t suffered bullies when she was ten. She wouldn’t start now.
    “Move.”
    “No.” Sapphire’s voice cracked, but she didn’t budge.
    “Do you realize how ridiculous you look?” It wouldn’t hurt
    to try reason. “What if someone important walks in? Stories like this travel
    like wildfire. Do you want to be the lead story on TMZ?”
    From the way Sapphire perked up, it appeared she would be
    fine with that. I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille .
    “Have it your own way,” Riley said with an angelic smile. “Dad!”
    When she wanted, Riley could bellow with the best of them. “Get out here before
    I give your assistant the black eye to end all black eyes.”
    Sapphire’s bravado lasted less than ten seconds. When her
    body started to shake and tears filled her eyes, Riley took pity on her.
    “Move,” she told the woman. “He’s not coming out to save
    you.”
    “He isn’t, is he?” Sapphire wiped at the tears gathering in
    her eyes. Letting Riley pass, she whispered to herself, “The bastard.”
    Another woman disappointed by Gerald Preston , Riley
    thought. It was a long and varied list. They could start a club. A sad,
    pathetic club. No thanks . With a shake of her head, she entered the
    office.
    “Did you enjoy that?” Riley asked the man behind