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“One of these days, your temper is going to get you into trouble,” I muttered. Then I pulled my phone up and hit the entry for Parker’s number.
He answered on the second ring.
“Holy shit, it’s the brother who never calls anyone,” he said.
“Funny,” I answered. “You at work yet?”
“Soon. Heading in to do weights before practice.”
“Nice touchdown on Sunday,” I told him. “Took you long enough to break away from that corner.”
“Yeah well, it’s a little harder when they double-team me.”
“Excuses.”
Parker laughed, and I closed my eyes at the sound of it. Besides Poppy, he was the sibling most changed when I’d been gone to London. He’d gone from a scrawny college athlete with long legs and a fire in his belly to an absolute beast on the field. It was still hard for me to reconcile my memories of him with the man he was now.
Like me, Parker was married to his job. Nothing else mattered, and whenever shit got hard—like when Dad was sick—that was the place he found comfort, where he could hone his obsession into something productive. It was why he didn’t come home for months toward the end with Dad. That powerlessness had him in a chokehold, and I couldn’t even really hold it against him.
“How, uh, how are you?” I asked Parker. “You know, with Dad and everything.”
The silence between us grew large and telling. I’d never been the brother everyone went to with their feelings. Not ever. It wasn’t because I didn’t love my siblings, even when I sniped at them—especially my brothers—I always loved them.
Parker made a small, disbelieving sound. “You know that Mom and Adaline try for Feelings Calls at least once a week, right?”
“I did not.”
He huffed out a small laugh. “I promise you, adding one more person who wants to pry my head open is not going to help.” Parker paused. “No offense, Ian, but I know this isn’t why you called.”
Okay, no bullshit then. I could appreciate that.
I blew out a slow breath. “I need a favor. It’s not a small one.”
“Wait, let me savor this moment.” He paused, inhaling with a satisfied hum. “Can I pretend to say no so that you start begging?”
“Fuck. Off.”
Parker’s booming laugh had me smiling, and it helped ease a little bit of the tension I’d been holding in my chest.
“What do you need, big brother?”
I grimaced, staring at the brick facade of the school, trying to figure out how I was going to explain all of this to Harlow. “I need you to bring a couple of teammates home next week.”
“Next week? It better be important. We have a divisional matchup on Sunday.”
I thought about Sage’s face, all the different versions of it I’d seen so far today. But most importantly, the relief stamped across it when I walked into the guy’s office. It was hard for me to ask for help. Always had been. But somehow, asking for help for someone else came up a little easier.
“Yeah, Parker. It is important.”
Chapter 13
Ian
“Where the hell are you?” Cameron barked into the phone.
“Calm down,” I told him, turning the wheel of my truck as I pulled into the driveway at Dad and Sheila’s house. Sheila’s house, I reminded myself gently. “Had to bring Sage to school, and then I almost got into a fight with some coach guy, and now I’m grabbing something at the shop.”
My brother sighed wearily. “I don’t think I want to ask about the coach. I swear, between you and Greer, we need a whole new set of instruction manuals on how to be functioning adults when you get a child in your care.”
