All He Has Left(2)

“Hey,” she said. “How’re you holding up?”

“Tough night,” he replied.

“Yeah. They’ve all been tough lately.”

She said it without much warmth behind it. He could tell being a coach’s wife was taking its toll on her. When they’d married thirteen years ago, she’d liked that he was just a normal guy with a salt-of-the-earth type of job working with kids. Sarah came from major wealth, and until that point had dated only guys who were born and bred in her pampered lifestyle. At the time, she’d wanted something different. They’d fallen for each other in that opposites-attract kind of way. But the pressure of mounting losses was also wearing on Sarah. She’d been getting yelled at herself during games while sitting in the stands. High school football could bring out the best and worst in people. They were currently living through the worst of it, but Jake knew it would pass. Growing up in a coaching family had taught him that.

Jake’s father-in-law stood over by a fancy bar wrapped in colorful Italian tile. He had a glass undoubtedly filled with expensive Scotch in his hand. Wearing a black sweater and gray slacks, Lars was a physically imposing man at around six five with broad shoulders and a thick gray beard. Head of Kingston Financial, Lars liked to use his physical stature to intimidate others. But it had never worked on Jake, who at six two was only slightly shorter and still had his own set of muscular shoulders.

“Something to drink, Jake?” Lars asked him.

“Sure. I’ll have what you’re having.”

Lars kind of scoffed. “This is from a ten-thousand-dollar bottle of Scotch. How about a beer instead?”

Jake barely hid rolling his eyes. From the first moment Sarah had brought him around, Lars had treated him as lower class—unworthy of drinking his expensive Scotch. Jake came from a poor family. Both his late father and grandfather had been high school football coaches like he was. There had never been any extra money around. Lars had clearly wanted his only daughter to marry someone from another wealthy family—just like her three older brothers had. Lars probably spent more money on new business suits each year than Jake made at coaching. Early on, Jake was convinced he could eventually win Lars over with his old-fashioned Southern charm. But that dream was dashed one fateful night when Jake unwittingly walked into the Kingston home and found Lars engaged in a sexual tryst with someone who was not his wife. Jake immediately bolted and never said a word to anyone. But he knew that Lars had seen him. From that point forward, Jake became a serious threat. And powerful men do not like to feel threatened. Lars clearly hated him for it.

“Actually, I don’t need a drink,” Jake said. “I just want to go home.”

“I need a few minutes first,” Lars insisted.

When Sarah invited Piper to join her in the kitchen to get a snack, Jake knew something was up. Sarah had been hinting at wanting a change for weeks. And now she’d pulled her damn father into it.

“What do you want?” he asked his father-in-law.

“To offer you a job opportunity.”

“I don’t need a job. I’m fine where I am.”

“I can pay you five times what you’re making right now.”

“To do what?”

“I’m creating a new position within my company. Kind of like a mentor role for all first-year financial analysts. Life advice, counseling, guidance, that sort of thing.”

“You want to pay me a half million dollars to babysit your new hires?”

He shrugged. “Something like that.”

After thirteen years around his father-in-law, Jake was no longer surprised by the man’s audacity. Money was the center of his entire world. Of course he thought Jake could simply be bought. “That’s ridiculous.”

Lars immediately frowned. “Don’t be a fool, Jake. Sarah is not happy.”

“That’s between us. Not you.”

“Apparently not, since she asked me to do this.”

“So you just made up this position to get me out of coaching?”

“My daughter and granddaughter deserve better.”

“Than being part of a coaching family? Or me?”

“Both,” Lars said without hesitation, eyes narrow, sipping his Scotch.

“Thanks, but no thanks.”

Jake felt a surge of anger push to the surface. He resisted the urge to let a few curse words fly and instead left the lounge in a hurry to go find Sarah and Piper. They were in the kitchen eating out of a tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream.

“I’m out of here,” he snapped at Sarah, not hiding his irritation with her.

“Jake, wait,” Sarah responded.

“I’ll go with you, Daddy,” Piper said, hopping up off her kitchen stool.

Piper hustled up to Jake’s side in the hallway, reached out, and took his hand. While Sarah had become more distant during his current losing streak, Jake’s daughter had drawn even closer to him, as if she knew her father needed the extra love and comfort right now. They had a special relationship. He hated that she’d been watching her mom and dad fight more than usual lately. A chasm was growing between her parents, and Jake wasn’t sure how to resolve it. He’d never anticipated it reaching this point. They’d felt so united for most of their marriage. Life was good for them despite the hostility from his father-in-law. But the man was relentless. He was like the devil in Sarah’s ear, constantly telling his daughter she could do better. This was a tug-of-war Jake felt like they’d easily won for more than thirteen years because Sarah was pulling along with him. Together, they were strong. But Sarah had not been pulling as hard lately. Which left Jake feeling betrayed.