"How about we work on your swing when we get back?" I tell him, my hand darting toward my phone.
Jace looks at me, confusion etched into his brow, not yet connecting who the caller is—or what they mean to me."What? Why?" he asks. "Where ya goin'?"
I push away from the table, the wheels of the chair rolling on the linoleum floor, and stand. From here, Holloway appears so much smaller than he usually does, and looking down at him, I don't only see my rookie teammate—I see myself, fifteen years ago, with only one care in the world.
"Letting myself have something else for a change."
"Hey," I say into the phone, only having practiced its delivery a dozen times beforehand.
"Hi," Tess says, her voice bright and airy—two letters, one word, and yet they revive me somehow.
I bite back a smile even though I'm walking alone through the hotel lobby. "How was the game?"
"Dad, it was so good! You should have seen me and Tess. We totally dominated."
I laugh, surprised to hear my daughter's voice sing out on the other end. Blinking hard, I reset. "I take it you won?"
"Duh," the two of them say simultaneously. They erupt into giggles, and I watch my smile spread across my cheeks in the reflection of the elevator door.
"Congrats, ladies. I knew you could do it." I press the up arrow button, barely getting my words out before Ruthie jumps back in.
"Dad, Cooper texted me. He's watching Zombie Tsunami 2 tonight with Brooke, and Uncle Levi said I could come over. Can I? Please."
"What's with all the zombies recently?" I ask. "And isn't that rated R?"
The silence that follows tells me everything I need to know—she has no idea, and yes it is. "It was Brooke's idea," is all she says.
Tess chuckles in the background. "Of course it was."
I blow out a breath, already knowing I'm gonna cave. My brother might be even more protective of my kid than I am. If he's allowing it, the gore can't be too bad, and the language can't be worse than what she hears from his team or mine.
"Fine," I sigh as the elevator dings open.
Ruthie squeals, still high on her win. "Thank you, thank you!"
"Are they coming to get—"
"Aunt Alex just pulled up! Got to go. Love you, Dad." There's a short pause I can't fill anyway because my mouth is hanging open from the whiplash of the last thirty seconds. Then, Ruthie continues. "Thanks again for today, Tess." Another pause settles, filled only by the ruffling of the phone that tells me it's now pressed between them. "You're the best."
That last part hits me as I walk through the sliding metal doors and completely negates the fact that two seconds earlier I felt conned by my preteen.
"She just ran out the door," Tess says, pulling me back, her voice closer. "Alex didn't even come in, that little sneak. Sorry, I had no idea that—"
"Speaker phone?" I cut in, pressing the button for my floor. "Bold move, Hastings."
The elevator doors shut, and the mood of the conversation shifts with them. At first, I think maybe it's just me—the silence, the solitude, the soft breath on the other end of the call.
But then Tessa speaks, and I know right away from the sound of her voice that she feels it too. "Why do you say that?"
I lick my lips, following the roll of my tongue in the elevator mirror. "Oh, I don't know," I answer coyly. "Because I could have said anything when I picked up your call."
Tessa swallows audibly, and knowing she's home alone thickens the moment. "Like what?" she asks.
"Like what are you wearing?"
She huffs out a laugh, the question hitting her exactly as I intended—cheeky but shameless. "A t-shirt and leggings," she answers simply.
The elevator reaches my floor, and as the doors slide open, the tension grows heavier. I shake my head, lowering my voice. "Wrong answer."
