24. Cord

Chapter 24

Cord

During our lunch break, I grab something to go from the restaurant, then settle inside of a pod. Dad had a dozen of these pods installed in a lounge. They're all sound proof and give players the opportunity to make phone calls or work without being distracted or interrupted by anyone else.

Most players use them when they need to talk to their agents or to call their families before games. We each have our little ritual before we start a game and no one wants to mess that up.

"Hello?" Liam's voice flows through the line. I haven't spoken to him in years, so I'm not sure what his response is going to be.

"Hey, Liam, it's Cord Powell." I hold my breath as I wait. This could go so many different ways.

"Oh, hey, man. What's up?" There's no tension or anger in his tone. It's almost like Macy and I never broke up and I call him daily.

"I know you're probably busy, so I'm going to cut to the chase. I don't have much time before practice starts again anyway. "

"Ah, right. I always forget you're a big-time player now," he says in a teasing tone, making me chuckle.

"Yup, I have my own jersey and everything."

We're quiet for a second as I try to figure out a way to break this to Liam. This isn't something I want to discuss, especially over the phone.

"What's going on with Macy, Cord?" All playfulness leaves his tone and I settle back into my chair. This isn't going to be easy.

"Your dad showed up at her place last night."

"What the hell?" He roars.

"It's fine. I was there with her and we found him standing on the doorstep waiting for her. I sent her inside and I got him to leave. Has he been in contact with you?"

"Yeah, he wants a second chance. He's gotten his life back together and seems to be more like the dad I remember from when I was little. He was a good dad back then. He wants to be a part of my life. And my kids' lives."

"And Macy's life."

"Pretty much… How is she? She hasn't seen him since that night he was carted off by the police."

"She's hanging in there. She was destroyed last night, but she's ok now. I think she's really confused because she was blindsided."

"Dammit! I was going to tell her, but I wanted to do it in person. I've been on-call a lot over the past two weeks with my partners being on vacation, but I was planning on calling her tomorrow after I caught up on sleep. I'm an idiot to think he wouldn't try to find her when I wouldn't give him any information."

"It's fine. But don't call her. She's processing and I told her I'd call you and deal with your dad. I'll give her all the information she needs to make a decision, but it will keep the pressure off of her."

"Are you guys back together?"

"I'm trying." I smile as I think about how amazing it's been to have Macy in my life again. How peaceful it is to sleep with her in my arms every night.

"I always thought the two of you would end up getting married. Hell, I even looked forward to having you join the family."

"Is that your blessing? Because that's what I want, Liam."

"You've always had my blessing, Cord. You treated her well and showed her what real love was. No one else could handle her the way you do and I realize that."

We continue talking for a few more minutes, then a call comes through from an unknown number.

"Hey, I gotta go. I'm pretty sure this is your dad calling."

"Ok. I'll talk to you later. And Cord? Thank you for looking out for her and being the middleman."

"Always."

I end the call and switch over to the unknown number. I can only imagine how much fun this conversation is going to be.

"Hello?"

"Cord? It's Micheal Hayes. "

"Hey, I was actually just on the phone with Liam."

"Damn, you're really checking up on me. Should I expect some private investigators to be poking around in my life?" There's slight teasing in his tone, but he almost seems hopeful.

"Three of them. I don't trust just one person to get me the information I need."

"Wow, ok. I didn't expect that, though I'm not upset. I'm sure I'd do the same if I were in your position."

After Macy went to bed last night, I called Dad and had him contact his private investigators. They were on the case before the sun rose this morning and I've already been getting emails with information. I'm sure more will follow, then Macy will have everything she needs to make the right decision for her.

"How's Macy?" He asks softly.

"She's a wreck."

"I didn't want to hurt her."

"I'm not sure it's possible to walk back into someone's life after being gone for so long and expect not to hurt them in some way. Especially after the things you did."

"She told you everything?"

"Yeah, it only took me fourteen years to get the entire story from her… Listen, I'm going to be straight with you. I don't have long to finish this call. The owner of the team is staring daggers at me right now and telling me to get my ass back to work." I hold up a finger to Dad, telling him to wait. He rolls his eyes dramatically, but I know he's not actually upset. He knows I have my hands full right now. "Macy's going to need time. You can text me any information you want her to have. Phone number, address, apologies, whatever. I'll pass them all along to her, but you won't be getting your hands on her phone number. You won't be showing up at her apartment again, though that doesn't really matter because she's living with me. Any contact you have with her will go through me until she says differently."

"I understand."

"I'm not trying to be an ass, but I'm going to protect my girl. I don't think she's against getting to know you again, but she was blindsided. If she's blindsided again, she'll never give you a chance. I'm sure you barely know your daughter, but let me give you a little bit of information on her. Macy Hayes is one of the strongest women I know. She's smart, caring, funny, driven, and so full of love. But she feels like she isn't worthy of love. Like everyone will leave or disappoint her sooner or later. The most important thing you need to know right now is that you can't force her to do anything she doesn't want to do. She'll dig her heels in and cut off all ties. You need to do things on her terms or not at all. That's who she is."

"Thank you, Cord," his voice breaks on a sob and I feel for him. I can't imagine what he's gone through. He was sick when he was drinking that much, but he's had to live with the consequences of his actions for the last twenty years and knowing how he abused his children. I 'm sure it's taken a toll on him. "I'm so glad she has someone like you in her life."

"It won't be easy to get her to drop her walls, but it's worth it."

"Are you planning on marrying my daughter?"

"I'd love nothing more, but I'm not sure she'll let me." I chuckle, thinking about how Macy refuses to let anyone else dictate what happens in her life.

"Is she happy?" His voice comes out as a hoarse whisper.

I take a moment to really think about Macy. Even though we broke up for a few years, I still saw her for a decent amount of time. She was always sassy and rocking her pissed off expression. Since we started fake dating, then really dating, she's been smiling and laughing so much more. She looks happy. Content. Like she's living again.

"I think she's getting there, but it took her a bit of time."

"Thank you, Cord."

"For what?" I frown down at the desk in the pod. What could he possibly be thankful for? I'm making it impossible for him to speak to his daughter directly.

"For taking care of my daughter when no one else was there to do it. For remaining there even when she's hard to love. For going to bat for her over and over again when you could've just walked away. More than anything, thank you for loving her the way she deserves to be loved."

"You're welcome, Sir."