TouchDown- book one The Bradford Series

Chapter 32

"Here I thought it was his eyes. Those bright green eyes tend to get the girls drooling, you know. Maybe he can't wink like he used to." Landon tilted his head down to look into my eyes.

Sarcastic Fucker! He's just jealous. Landon has never learned to wink right.

"You know semen retention can alter a person's personality. Aiden, are your pipes clogged? Do you need a roto-rooter job? I think I've got a couple numbers you could call to fix that." Wyatt is hilarious. He's gonna get his asss kicked one of these days for that mouth.

Despite my annoyance, my lips lift slightly at the jab. It was a good one. "Mine are a lot clearer than you ladies. Thanks for the offer but I've got a personal cleaner on standby."

"Aha! The sarcasm does still exist!" Sawyer smiles, nodding at the guys to give me space. "What did they do to you now?"

"Where's Riley? Did they do something else?" Harper looks around seriously concerned for my girl.

It was that simple for them. My parents have always been able to get me in this mood. They are a trigger point of contention that puts me in a foul mood every time. Sawyer and Harper have watched it happen too many times to try and hide the reason for my mood. That's family for you.

"Riley wouldn't come this morning, because she doesn't want to put me in between her and them. They've both fucking cornered her and told her that I'm better off without her. Now, she's keeping her distance." I explain the situation for what it is. Riley is trying to stay out of the middle as much as she can and I'm pissed about it. Not at her for staying out of firing range but the situation my parents created.

"But you two are okay, right? I thought you worked all this out." Sawyer knows we've been fighting pretty regularly. It just all seems to revolve around the same shit. Money and my parents.

"We're fine, as long as I don't try to give her money and they stay out of my life, Riley and I will figure the rest out." It's not like they pay me that much attention anymore. Only recently, when I screwed up dad's little plan, did I seem to matter. It's all about money for him. He seems to think I'm his way of getting back his fortune. Whatever I make in the NFL is mine. Neither of my parents will see a dime of it. "I just got a lot on my mind. Mom decided to try to get Riley to break up, she's obviously on dad's side." I won't say I told you so, to them. They don't deserve it. "Riley feels like she's getting put in the middle of it. She's not, not by me. I don't fucking care what they think anymore. It's my life, not theirs."

We look up as Mom comes into the waiting room with Isabelle. They've always been close but Cade treats Isabelle and his kids like his treasures. He makes no secret that he loves them and Isabelle is the same way. They have a great relationship with each other and their kids. It's what I wanted all my life and found with Emma and Blake. Now, I want that for my kids when they come into the picture. All of my family have good marriages, great families, except my parents. I don't know where they went wrong.

Emma and Blake walk out with Hunter. They're holding hands as the twins stroll behind them. Talk about a solid family. I've always wanted to be Blake's kid. He's the father I wish I had. As long as I can remember he's been the man I've looked up to. I still do.

"Aiden, Ma wants to see you next." Blake announces from across the room. Nodding, I get to my feet and see Mom stand up to join me. Blake shifts, scrubbing his hand over his face, obviously uncomfortable with his position. He steps in front of her, stopping her from moving down the hall. "Uh, Chloe, she just wants Aiden. She'll see you separately."

And this is why he's the head of the family. Blake now has the responsibility of putting anyone who screws up in their place. It's the crappy part of leading a big family, who is constantly in the spotlight. It's not all fun and games. It's not a happy, united family all the time. It's fighting and yelling, laughing and crying. It's standing strong together when things get tough and working together to pull one of our own through a difficult time. It's being a family no matter what, it's being Bradford strong.