“Your grandad would be so proud, too,” Mam said, and that hit right in my solar plexus. I hoped he saw what I was going to do and knew that it was because of him. Everything that was coming stemmed from his drive and ambition; I couldn’t deny that I wouldn’t be the player I was today without him.
“Thanks, Mam,” I said.
She pulled me into a hug and kept me there for a long time.
“And you make sure you bring whoever the girl is who lit this fire under yer behind to meet us, okay?”
That had my eyes widening. “How did you…?”
“Trust me, I know when an O’Riley man is head over heels.”
My dad chuckled, leaving me feeling called out but strangely understood too. I’d never get tired of coming here.
I scanned the open-plan space and couldn’t help but smile at how relaxed everyone looked. Exactly how it was for me here too. My parents’ house did that to people. It fed you before you realized you were hungry and made you feel welcome before you’d even taken your shoes off.
Ramirez and a few others threw a ball in front of us. Jake, Nate, and Bobby all surrounded me on the deck chairs. Some had filtered off, but not without complimenting Mam on her cooking.
My shoulders rolled back as I let the ease roll over me, the early evening sun beaming on my skin, and hummed deep in my throat. “I love this team.”
“We love you too, buddy.” Bobby tapped my leg twice and took a swig of his beer.
“I mean it.”
He turned to face me, a knowing look in his eyes. “Is that you being a happy captain, or something else?”
I tipped my head back against the chair and let the question sit there. The ball thudded against the fence somewhere to our left, followed by Ramirez swearing loudly and Mam calling out that if he broke anything he’d be washing dishes for the rest of his life.
“Can’t it be both?” I said eventually, eyes still on the sky. “I’ve got clarity. That’s all.”
Jake tilted his head. “That sounds suspiciously like you’re about to give a speech.”
“Relax,” I laughed. “I left the mic inside.”
Bobby leaned back, studying me properly now. “And the Ireland stuff?”
I should’ve known they’d ask today. It was the thing everyone circled without questioning. It’s likely why they thought my mam threw this big dinner.
I met his gaze. “What about it?”
“Are we about to lose a captain and friend to another country?” Jake asked, a thread of anxiety lilting his voice.
“You’d never lose me as a friend, no matter where I live.”
“Dude.” Jake pouted, head back. “You’re so about to leave my ass. I’m fragile. You can’t do that to me.”
“Or me,” Nate added, brooding over the label of his bottle. I hadn’t expected that to come from him. Our resident grouch, but I appreciated it all the same.
“I don’t know what things will look like in a year,” I admitted. “But I do know this—whatever comes next, I’m not leaving people behind to get there.” I’d done enough of that already. Chasing the version of myself everyone else expected, telling myself it was the same thing as progress. I was readyto start something, for me now. “Something is going to happen tomorrow at the stadium. I’d like you all to be there, though.”
There was so much they were going to learn. Me, included. This next year was going to push all of us, and I knew that whatever I did, these guys would be behind me the whole way.
“You do what you need to do, Cap. We’ll be here all the same,” Bobby said. “Just remember to name me captain, yeah?”
“Get the fuck outta here. I want that C,” Jake said, shooting upright in his chair.
I snorted, the sound pulling loose something warm in my chest. “In your dreams.”
“Excuse you, I would be anexcellentcaptain. Inspirational. Approachable. Devastatingly handsome.”
