They exchanged all of this with goofy smiles on their faces, and then kissed so obscenely I looked away and Sebastian said, “Ew, guys.”
“Come on, Seb,” Madelyn said, still looking at Kyle all doe-eyed. “Let’s put Raven down in her crib and you can head back to your room for quiet time.”
“Aw, Mom. I want to keep playing.”
“You can play after dinner. Come on.” She waved her hand until he joined her, her arm slinging around his neck as she bent to kiss his head. She eyed me and Kyle next. “One of you — text the group chat and get conversations started. Do not make me ask again.”
“Yes, Mommy,” Kyle practically panted.
I chuckled as Madelyn gave him a pointed look before leaving us alone.
When Kyle flopped down on the couch with me, it was with a long sigh, his large body sinking down into the cushions as he stretched his legs out and let his head fall back. “Being a parent is fucking exhausting.”
“Especially after a long day at the stadium,” I remarked. We’d both been there all day, reporting early for meetings and film before we launched right into practice. We had some treatment after lunch, and then Kyle all but bullied me into coming over for dinner.
“Practice felt good today, though, didn’t it?” Kyle let his head fall to the side to look at me. “We’re getting better as a team.”
“As a team, maybe,” I muttered, tucking my phone away with a sigh. There was no text coming through and I needed to let it go. “I wasn’t my best.”
“No. You weren’t.”
I flipped him off.
“Wanna tell me why?”
I shrugged. “Just an off day. I felt good during the game. Just getting back into the swing of things, I guess.”
He nodded, folding his hands over his stomach as he stretched out even longer like he was debating taking a nap just like Raven was about to. His phone dinged, and he smiled at the message.
“Raven said hell no to being put down in her crib for a nap, so Madelyn is stuck for a contact nap in the recliner.”
“Should one of us relieve her?” I asked.
“She’d tell me if she wanted to. I think we both kind of secretly like when it happens. Sure, you can’t be productive, but you get a warm, snuggly baby on your chest. It’s pretty magical.”
I smiled.
“How’s your family doing?” Kyle asked.
“Good. Ginny is still obsessed withBaldur’s Gate. She’s so smart, man. Like she puts anyone she plays games with to shame. It’s hilarious to watch her snap at the people she’s playing with to get their shit together and not ruin her stats.”
Kyle chuckled.
“And Mom and Dad seem all right. A bit stressed, but…” My stomach tightened. “I mean, it’s a lot, you know? They’ve got some help during the day with the nurse I hired, which takes the edge off. But it’s still… a full life to manage.”
“Yeah,” Kyle said gently. “That’s got to be hard.”
I nodded. “They’d never complain. And honestly, neither would I. Gin’s not—” I huffed a quiet breath, shaking my head. “She’s not something to ‘handle.’ She’s my sister. Their daughter. We just… show up for her. Same as she shows up for us in her own ways.”
It’d taken me a while to open up to my friends about my full family situation. I told them bits and pieces when we played at NBU together, but most of it I let out once we’d graduated. I didn’t want word getting to our PR team or my agent at the time. This was before Giana was in that role, and I was worried someone might try to pressure me into using my family story for media or as a way to get deals.
My family was my family. Period. End of story.
They weren’t some story to be profited off of.
“Do you miss them?” Kyle asked.
“Always. I’m going to go see them soon.”
