28. Going to Hell for Lying to Grandma

TWENTY-EIGHT

"Del, honey? I have to get going," Lori called up the stairs.

Del and I looked at each other, and I quickly realized I could get cleaned up and dressed faster. I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her thoroughly before leaving the room.

"You're so fucking beautiful, Delilah."

She gave me a goofy grin before pushing me to leave the room.

There was an extra pep in my step as I made my way to the living room. Lori was waiting with a hand on one hip and Lily on the other. The similarities between her and Del were obvious. They both got the same little scrunch line on their nose when they were worried.

"Everything okay?" She eyed me skeptically. "Del seemed in a rush."

Oh, yeah. We hadn't gotten to why she came upstairs looking like someone had killed her cat. I'd been a little too busy seeing how far she could take my cock down her throat to remember she had a reason for interrupting me.

"She uh… stubbed her toe. I helped her bandage it up."

Lori looked genuinely confused. "When she was on the phone with Thomas? I didn't even notice."

"Yeah it pretty much took her whole toenail off. Really nasty," I said with a wince. "She probably just didn't want to gross you out."

"So she went to you for help?" Lori wasn't convinced, but I could see she was starting to believe me. She always had a soft spot for me, and I wondered if that would change if she could hear the depraved thoughts I had about her daughter.

"Yeah, she wants me to practice taking care of stuff like that in case it happens to Lily." I changed the subject. "Thanks for watching her by the way. I bet she'll be saying ‘grandma' in no time with all the babysitting you're doing. We really appreciate it."

Lorelai gave me a suspicious look but didn't question me on her way out the door. I lifted Lily's hand to wave as she backed out of the driveway.

I looked down to see Lily watching me with a curious look. "And that, baby girl, is how you lie to Grandma."

Del came down the stairs a minute later, looking slightly better than freshly fucked. She'd tamed her curls and washed her makeup off. I missed seeing it run down her cheeks in the shower, but she was still blindingly beautiful without trying.

"Did Mom leave?"

"Yeah she needed to get home to make lunch." I buckled Lily into her swing and sat down on the couch. "You came upstairs to show me something, right? I didn't know what it was, and your mom asked what took so long, so I got flustered and said you stubbed your toe."

"Oh my gosh you're an idiot. I was going to show you this creepy article Thomas sent me." She unlocked her phone and handed it to me.

"How the hell did this already get sent to a Seattle newspaper? It happened less than 12 hours ago."

"I don't know but whoever it is somehow got photos from my page. I don't even let half of my family add me on there." Del had always been extremely private, so seeing her personal photos plastered on the website made my stomach churn. It felt like a violation. "Someone also followed us around while we were out so they had to have known we would be there. I don't think there are paparazzi in Iowa on a typical Saturday night."

"There aren't." I clenched my jaw in frustration. I continued to scroll through the article. "Did you see the whole thing?"

Del sat down next to me and snuggled into my side. "No, I just saw the headline and the photos and went to get you. Why? Is it bad?"

I shook my head and pulled her closer. "No. It's nothing you need to worry about. I'll take care of it."

The article was worse than I let on to Del. I was grappling with whether to tell her about it or not. I knew she could handle it, but I didn't want her to have to deal with it. The article didn't paint her in the best light, and it brought up things about her personal life. It mentioned who she'd dated in the last five years and the fact that we weren't together when Lily was born.

My new agent was currently in the process of having the outlet take it down, whatever the cost. We couldn't do much about printed news, but I was banking on the hope that no one read the actual newspaper anymore.

Del and I were tag-teaming the groceries with two carts in the store when a text from my sister popped up.

Holly:

Have you seen this???

*attachment*

Parker:

Yes, pretend you didn't.

Holly:

Mom sent it to me

Fuck. I was hoping that it would get taken down before it went local, but the paper picked it up before I could even reach the outlet in Seattle. This new one was titled, "Restricted List or Paternity Leave: Why Parker James isn't Finishing the Season." This was not how this was supposed to go or how I wanted the team and my coaches to find out. My phone started buzzing in my pocket, and Lily looked up at me from her carrier like, "Are you gonna get that?" Or maybe I just made that up in my head.

I ignored the call from Coach Smith and Peter but answered when Brett's name popped up.

"Hey man, John is working on it, but he can't stop it from spreading. You can't pay them all off."

"This is terrible. Has Coach said anything to you? Is he going to kill me?"

"I think everyone is worried about you. I know you keep your private life private, but that just got blown out of the water, and now everyone has questions."

"It's no one's business but ours."

"I agree. But your last couple of publicity dates look pretty bad right now. I know the articles are focused on Del, but you look like an asshole."

"How does John want to spin this?" I always deferred to Jerry on things like this. I didn't know anything about marketing or PR.

"I think you need to talk to Del and figure out what you want to put out as a statement. Or if you need to at all."

"Yeah, okay."

"Lean on the team. We're here for you. Oh, and Jo said she wants to meet Del and Lily." There was a thwack in the background. "She wants me to add—ASAP."

"I'm hoping they will both be with me at Cory's wedding in two weeks. I'm going to see if Del will stay for a few days so we can all spend some time together."

"That would be great. It would be nice to have you back. The guys keep asking about you like I'm your wife and know all your business or something."

"They just know you're my bitch is all. I don't blame them."

I felt moderately better about the situation when we hung up. At least my friends knew the truth and would welcome Del in the city. I'd known they would, but hearing it eased my racing thoughts a bit.

Lily and I tackled our half of the grocery list like pros and made our way to the front where we were supposed to meet Del.

I mumbled the lyrics to "Walking on Sunshine" under my breath. Our spirits were high as we approached the line to the checkout.

Until I saw Del flipping through a magazine that my face was on the cover of. FUCK.

Her eyes met mine, and I saw they were red rimmed and angry. I fucked up.

She scooped Lily up from the kiddie seat. "We'll wait for you in the car, Baby Daddy." I watched her retreating form until she approached the truck and found the doors locked. I pulled the keys out of my pocket and hit the button to let them in. When they were both inside, I locked it again and waited for it to be my turn at the check out.

I put on a fake smile for the teenager that rang up my groceries, but did my best to say nothing so I could get the hell out of there. I could see Del scrolling on her phone, undoubtedly seeing all the negative things written about her by the news outlets. Where I'd been lucky and not had anyone from Roe sell stories about me, Del wasn't. An unnamed source shared about her parents' nasty divorce and how her family didn't have a lot of money when she was growing up. "I'm sure she saw being tied to Parker as an opportunity to build a better life for herself. Good thinking on her part. She's smart."

I wasn't usually a violent person, but I was ready to wage war on whoever contributed that piece. Del's past wasn't a fun one, and the way it was painted right now in the news was similar to the propaganda that flew around the town when her parents were going through their divorce. Everyone in town picked a side and vocalized it loudly without knowing the truth of what Del and Lori were going through, living in a house with that monster. Her parents separating was the best thing that ever happened to Del. It was tough for a few years when her dad had visitation, but I tried to tag along whenever I could to be a buffer from the verbal abuse.

Someone can be the most loving, kind person but when they're called cold, mean, and worthless they start to believe the narrative that's spoken over them. Del already felt bad when I paid for things for the house and our family. The articles calling her a gold digger would only add to the insecurity.

I loaded the groceries in the back next to Lily and climbed into the front seat.

"Hand it over," I said, motioning to Del's phone.

She cleared her throat. "Why didn't you tell me it was this bad?" The way her voice wavered made my chest constrict.

"Because it wasn't. The article this morning was apparently just the tip of the iceberg. I was trying to get it down, but it mutated and multiplied before I got the chance."

Surprisingly she placed her phone in my hand without a fight. "I read them all already anyway."

My phone lit up with an online payment for half of the groceries I just bought. I hit deny and set it down in the cup holder with hers.

"I don't want your money Del."

"Apparently I want yours," she said with a miserable laugh. "God, how ironic is it that I'm actually doing good for myself. I have more money right now than I've had in my entire life."

"Those people have no idea what they're talking about and probably don't even know us."

"Like that's ever stopped anyone in this town from talking about me." She huffed and crossed her arms. I wiped a thumb under her eye to brush away a tear before it could fall. "I don't know why it even bothers me anymore. They're all a bunch of assholes. I will get out of this town one day."

"I've been meaning to ask if you and Lily want to come to Seattle with me soon? One of my teammates is getting married, and I'd like to go back and catch a game before the guys are done for the season."

"You really want to bring your gold digging baby mama and love child back to meet all your friends?"

"One, you aren't a gold digger. And two, I think it's hot that you're the mother of my child." I gripped her chin lighty and pulled her to me for a soft kiss. "The fact that you carried our baby girl and did it so well is something I'll be forever grateful for. I can't wait for the next one."

"I—"

"In time." I amended. "We have time." I trailed my lips down the side of her cheek to the soft skin of her neck. "I think about it all the time, watching our baby grow inside you," I whispered in her ear and felt her shiver.

I put the truck in reverse. "Let"s go home and watch a movie. You can pick."