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I glance toward the house. “When does Harlan usually get back from the office? I could make dinner.”
“He’ll pick something up. And he’s been coming home early to take over. He misses her when he has to stay away.”
I’ve managed to mostly avoid spending time alone with him since getting here. Though my sister and I are on more stable ground, I still feel betrayed by the way Harlan handled things with Clay.
As if on cue, the man in question appears, a takeout bag at his side.
“You brought tacos!” Mari sighs. “I love you. And now I know you love me.”
“Love is ground beef and house-made tortillas?” he prompts.
“Today it is.”
Harlan crosses to his wife and drops a kiss on her forehead before turning back to me.
“Let me help you.” I pass Emily to her father and take the bag before following him inside.
“Busy day?” I ask for something to say.
“We’re getting the roster organized for this year. Trying to fill gaps and manage expectations.”
“You mean James’s expectations.”
He shifts Emily into one arm, grabs a bottle of wine, and pops the cork. He gets two glasses from the cupboard. The ease of his movements reminds me he played professionally once. He’s coordinated and graceful for a guy who wears a suit to work now.
“I’m sorry for what happened with the trade. I really tried to get Clay to stay. James had his own ideas.” Harlan slides a full glass over to me. “But it seems it worked out for the best. Clay got his championship.”
“I’m not sure it was for the best.” I take a sip of wine, the smooth red dancing over my tongue. Harlan will never be my closest confidant after how he handled things with Clay and with me, but I need his input. “He hasn’t signed anywhere. He doesn’t want to play. I’m worried about him.”
My brother-in-law bounces the baby in his arm, ignoring his wine. “You’re not wrong to be concerned. Back in college after the truth came about around his girlfriend’s relationship with another man, he played Final Four like a machine. At first, I thought perhaps he was coping extraordinarily well. But later, it became clear he wasn’t.”
I don’t pretend to multitask. All my attention is on Harlan.
“At the ceremony, he didn’t smile once. He withdrew. We didn’t see him for weeks. He shut out the team, his friends. He wouldn’t let anyone be there for him.”
I think of what’s happening now. “What got him out of it?”
Harlan sighs. “That I can’t answer. I wish I could.”
I set the plates on the island hard enough they clink loudly before opening the takeout bag. “You should have tried harder.”
Emily stirs, and Harlan rocks her in his arms before looking at me.
“Doesn’t work that way, Nova. He has to want to save himself.”
9
CLAY
It’s incredible how the days blur together when you don’t need to go to work, or work out, or be anywhere for anyone.
In the unrelenting schedule of pro sports, there’s no time left to ask why.
Why play basketball?
Why even get up in the morning?
Or is it afternoon?
