Pete folded her into his arms, and she struggled and pressed against his chest to break his hold, until finally, her sobs took over and she collapsed against him, drenching his shirt with her tears. Pete stroked her back, as he’d done during those treacherous weeks after their mother died.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Sky.” His eyes welled with tears for the harsh reality he’d just revealed. “It’s going to be okay. I promise you it will. I’m going to take care of it.”
“How can it be okay?”
“Because this isn’t who Pop is. I didn’t give up on you after Mom died, and I won’t give up on him.” Flashes of the weeks after their mother’s death came rushing back to him. Sky had been so distraught that she’d stopped going to work every day and communicated less with Pete and their brothers. He’d gone to New York and spent two weeks with her. They’d talked about their mother and he’d offered to pay for a therapist, but she insisted that big brother therapy was all she needed. He’d kept close tabs on her after returning to the Cape, and thankfully, she’d come out of it okay. He only wished he could have the same effect on his father.
She pushed away from his chest and wiped her eyes. “What now?”
“Now I’m going to talk to Pop and make sure he goes into rehab. I’m involved with someone now, and I can’t be running out every night to drag him into bed. I can’t worry that one day I’ll walk in and he’ll be dead. This needs to happen.”
“Every night? Dragging him into bed? You’ve been taking care of him? Alone? All this time?” She searched his eyes.
He shrugged. “Someone had to.”
She gulped a breath and punched his chest again. “Why do you always take care of everyone?”
He caught her next punch midair. “Whoa. Why are you beating on me?”
“Because if you’re taking care of him every night, you’re not taking care of yourself every night. I want to hate you for not telling me. You always take care of everyone, but you don’t have to, Pete. You could have let me grieve on my own, and you could have told me about Dad. You could have let Dad deal with his own mess.”
Pete laughed. “Do you think, even for a minute, that I’d let you suffer on your own? Or let Pop disappear into the bottle for good? This is what love is, Sky. This is what family does.”
“No, this is what you do. Matty and Hunter aren’t here taking care of him. Grayson sure wouldn’t ever do it.” Her tears had stopped, and every step she took was determined as she paced a path across the deck. “You’ve been doing this for two years? Two years, Peter? What does your girlfriend think of all this?”
“Her name is Jenna, and she’s all for me getting him into rehab.”
“That’s good. At least someone is looking out for your interests. I want to be there when you talk to Dad.”
“No way.” Pete dug his keys from his pocket.
“Peter! I’m not a kid anymore. Yes, I was devastated when Mom died, but that was two years ago. I want to help Dad. I want him to know I know what he’s doing. Maybe that will push him into getting help.” She paced the deck, her long skirt swishing against her legs. “Maybe this is why I haven’t found my niche. I’ve been looking in the wrong places. I was thinking about coming home for the summer next year. I’ll come home now. I’ll help you with Dad.”
Pete couldn’t even begin to think of Sky giving up whatever dreams she might have to deal with their father, but he couldn’t push her away, either. She was right that she wasn’t a kid anymore, even if in his eyes she’d always be his baby sister. He lifted serious eyes to her and saw compassion and love—and something he hadn’t seen often enough. Conviction. At that moment, she resembled their mother more than she ever had before, and it gave Pete a shiver, and then a sense of pride in how far his sister had come.
“Mom would be proud of you, sis. I’m proud of you. We’ll talk about it. If Pop goes into rehab and you feel the same way a week from now, after you’ve had time to process all this…” He waved his hand in the air. “Then we’ll figure it out.”
Chapter Twenty
PETE CALLED JENNA on the way to the hardware store. She offered to join them a hundred times, but Pete felt it was best if she didn’t. He was worried enough about how his father was going to react to Sky being there, much less someone outside of their immediate family. Although to Pete, Jenna was already part of his family. If all went well, he’d call Jenna after they took his father to rehab. If it didn’t, he’d call her when they were done trying. He hoped for the first outcome.
The bell above the door rang out when Pete and Sky walked into the hardware store. Pete locked the door and hung the CLOSED sign in the window. Sky had been quiet on the ride over, but before she got out of Pete’s truck, she’d reached for his hand and said, I know I scared the heck out of you after Mom died, but I’m okay, Pete. I promise. Thank you for letting me come with you to talk to Dad. I want to help. He looked at her now, standing strong and tall before him, waiting for him before walking to the back where their father was. He’d protected her for so long that having her here in the pit of the mess with him sent a stroke of guilt slicing through him. He forced himself to see her as the woman she was, rather than the scared girl she’d been when their mother died.
He draped an arm over her shoulder. “Let’s do this.”
Their father turned as they neared the counter in the back of the shop. “Now, this is a pleasure. Seeing Sky twice in one day? Pete usually whisks you away and I don’t see you until the next day.”
“Hi, Dad.” The strength in Sky’s voice surprised Pete.
“Hey, Pop. How was your day?” Pete came around the counter and embraced his father. He inhaled out of habit, and when he didn’t smell alcohol, he had a fleeting thought that maybe he was overreacting. Then his mind traveled to the image of his father passed out in his mother’s sewing room.
“Fine, fine. Can’t complain. Did you guys come by to go to dinner?” He set his hands on his hips and smiled at Sky.
“Actually, Pop, we came to talk to you.” Pete tried to sound lighthearted, as if he were talking about the weather, boats, anything other than the issue that clawed at his nerves, but he heard the seriousness of his own voice and knew he’d have no chance of masking a single thing during this conversation.
“There’s that tone again.” His father walked past him toward the front of the store. “I’ve got to close up the shop.”
“We already did,” Sky said. She reached for his hand as Pete had reached for hers.
“Pop, there’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to lay it out there.” Pete ran his hand through his hair, buying time as his father grumbled under his breath. “Last night was the last time, Pop. I’m done.”
“Done with what?” His father smiled nervously at Sky, as if he had no idea what Pete was talking about.