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uh,” he cleared his throat. “Where’s Madelynn?”
    “She’s at her grandma’s house this weekend. I just wanted to tell you…” Tara averted her eyes from the screen. “I just wanted you to know that I don’t think it’s a good idea for her to meet you on a webcam.”
    Mike’s heart stuck in his throat. He wasn’t going to get to see her tonight. But he would get to see her. “Okay. Yeah, you’re probably right. I just wanted to see her, you know, hear her voice.”
    Tara nodded and said, “Yeah, I understand that I guess. But when she meets you, it should be face-to-face. I think it’ll be easier for her that way. And maybe we should let you work your way in before we tell her who you are.”
    Mike knew that was likely best for Madelynn, but damn it, he wanted his daughter to know him now. “That’s probably wise. Did you get on here just to tell me that?”
    “Yeah. It seemed the least I could do.” Tara took a deep breath and said, “Look Michael, I can see you’re trying to do the right thing here and I…well, thank you. It’s a little late, but I appreciate it nonetheless.”
    Mike swallowed over the lump in his throat and said the words he’d wanted to say for what seemed like forever. “Tara, I’m sorry. There’s no excuse for how I treated you, and I just want you to know that I…I didn’t mean any of what I said to you. I was a stupid kid. If I could do it over again…well, things would be different. I need you to believe that.”
    “I do. I can tell that you’re trying. But I need you to understand that there’s not going to be a ‘you and me’ when you get home. I think a relationship with Madelynn will be beneficial all around, but we are not going to be involved.” She stared directly at the camera with her sternest teacher face.
    Mike tried not to smile. Tara was cute when she was trying to be stern.
    “Are you…” Mike trailed off, unsure how to voice the concern that had eaten at him for so long. Is another man raising my daughter? He cleared his throat and tried again. “Are you married?”
    Tara frowned at him, her eyes narrowing before she responded, “No. But I still don’t want to get involved with you again. You can get to know Maddie, but that’s where it ends.”
    Mike let out a breath he hadn’t been aware of holding. Thank God. “Yeah, I know. I understand. But could you do me a favor?”
    “What kind of favor?” she asked suspiciously.
    “Could you get on here occasionally and talk to me? Tell me how she’s doing, what she’s doing in school? Just talk?” The lump in his throat was back, and he swallowed again. It hurt his pride to beg this way, but what choice did he have? Mike needed someone, anyone, and Tara and Madelynn were the only people he really had outside of the team. And he didn’t want to ask his team to coddle him.
    Tara opened her mouth and closed it again. He could tell she wanted to tell him a flat-out no. “Yeah. Yeah, I can do that.”
    Mike took a deep breath and closed his eyes briefly. “Thanks. It gets lonely here, you know? Just a bunch of us trying to pretend we’re still whole and not succeeding.” He laughed without humor. “Of course, it doesn’t help that some of us can’t walk to the bathroom and others can’t even scratch their own ass.”
    Tara’s brow furrowed, and she said, “Michael, I know you’re probably depressed about losing your leg. But you did it in service to something bigger than yourself. You should be proud of what you’ve done. Anyone that thinks less of you because you need a prosthesis to walk shouldn’t even get a ping on your radar. They’re not worth it. I don’t think less of you, and Madelynn will be full of questions, but she’ll probably think it’s neat that her father is different.”
    “Yeah.” Mike looked past the screen at the stump that ended just below the knee on his left leg. “Look, just don’t pity me, okay? I can take anything but pity.”
    She smiled