Page 66 of Broken Boss Daddy

I had a vague memory of a long ago friend whose parents were divorced and he was being torn between the two. Abby shouldn’t have to go through that, whether it was because of a divorce, break up, or a job. I didn’t want her to go through the pain of wanting to be with her dad, but he wasn’t around for her.

So, as much as I wanted them to have their relationship, it was hard for me to get over the fact that Grant was hurting her like he did to me, all over again.

Abby sat up straighter, and said, “I’m bored. Can we go to the park? I want to play.”

Oh, how I wished I could have the mentality of a six-year-old and just move on from something with the click of my fingers.

I kissed her cheek, which made her giggle. “Sure. Go put your shoes on and grab a jacket.”

She ran out, and I gathered my own things to take to the park. It felt strange not going with Grant, but I couldn't avoid every place Grant accompanied us to. We would have to move out of town for that, possibly out of the state with the amount of road trips we did.

Though there was also some relief for it just being Abby and I like it was before. There wasn’t any pressure on my shoulders to make sure we were enough for Grant, and that was something I didn’t even know I had been carrying with me.

“I’m ready, Mommy!” Abby exclaimed, running back into my bedroom as I slipped my shoes on.

“Well, don’t you look cute?” I said, smiling at the pinky bunny jacket she put on and her rainbow sneakers.

Abby had just recently learned to tie her own shoes, another feature of her growing up that made me tearful. The loops of her laces were uneven, but I was too proud of her to fix them.

“Let’s get going.” Grabbing her hand, we walked to the front entrance and called out to my parents that we were leaving.

My mom stood in the kitchen preparing what she needed to make her signature spaghetti for dinner later that day while my father helped her. Their relationship was always one I strived to have, and maybe I could have it someday.

Making a promise to myself to put aside all my worries and just enjoy the alone time with my daughter, Abby and I walked to the park talking about anything that popped into her mind.

Her enthusiasm had a smile sticking to my face.

As soon as we turned into the playground, Abby went running and found some children that she easily made friends with. I couldn’t help but think about how she was definitely her father’s daughter. Grant was very social, just like her.

Taking a seat on a familiar bench and monitoring Abby, the thought of “what if” stayed with me for the longest time.

Chapter 28: Grant

The wind blew through the open window as I passed by house after house.

For all the time that I’d been in Greenside, I hadn’t had the chance to come out this way and see what had happened to my grandparents’ old house. Truthfully, the thought hadn’t really crossed my mind.

But as I traveled the long-forgotten road, memories from a lifetime ago resurfaced.

There was the fire hydrant that I ran my bike into during my summer there. And the tree where a friend and I carved our initials into it. Though, I still couldn’t think of her name.

I only spent one summer there with my grandparents, but that was the first time I felt like I wasn’t being pulled into two different directions.

Memories floated around me, the breeze refreshing my frustrated mind. It felt like I could finally breathe again.

When I left my apartment, I wanted to go back to my grandparents’ house and hoped that it would ground me. The drive was way overdue, and I was sure it was something the girls would love to see—a piece of me that no one had really seen before.

My girls. I pictured Jess and Abby as I last saw them, before things fell apart, and it calmed me down some more. My harboring frustration at my father had worn off, and all that I was left with was a sense of urgency. Like both the girlsandmy career was going to slip away from me at any moment.

The only thing I had to do was to choose between my heart and my head.

I knew what my heart was telling me to do, and that was to go to Jess and declare my love for them. I promised her I would stay. Not only that, I made that promise to Abby as well even if she didn’t know it yet. As her father, I should do what was best for her, not me.

What type of man would I be if I walked away from my daughter? Or walked away from the woman I loved?

Though, since Jess walked away, my head had gotten a bigger voice. One that had become increasingly more difficult to ignore.

I still loved her though, more than myself.