Page 68 of The Maverick's Homecoming

The bus ride home was way too quiet. Concern for Sean dragged the team down. And then, there was the loss they’d just suffered to the Bulldogs when for more than half the game, it had looked like they would get another win.

Finn played his part, reassuring them that Sean would recover fully and come back strong next year. As for losing a game they would so likely otherwise have won, Finn framed the loss as unfortunate and yet understandable, given the circumstances. Losses, he reminded them, were the best training there was for future wins. Just like Sean would in time, the Titans would come back strong—next game and the game after that.

Objectively, Finn thought he’d given a solid postgame talk. His players looked up at him, drinking in every word. Most of them nodded as he spoke. He was reaching them, at least. They seemed to have no clue that all his reassuring, supportive, hopeful words tasted like sawdust in his mouth.

At Tenacity High, he waited until all the players and staff had exited the bus and secured their rides home before heading for his crew cab. Kenzie was waiting for him there, her Bronco parked in the space next to his truck.

She came around the back of her SUV and straight for him. He almost broke down at the welcome sight of her rushing toward him. He reached out and she came into his arms, her hands sliding up over his shoulders, her arms wrapping good and tight around his neck.

“Hey…” He buried his face in the crook of her neck, breathed in her scent of citrus and vanilla, thought how much it meant to hold her close in his arms right now.

“Hey,” she whispered back. They held each other tight right there under the glare of the parking-lot lights. When he loosened his grip on her a little, she pulled back enough to look up at him. “How’re you doing?”

“I’ve been better.”

“Sean will be alright.” She said the words urgently.

He nodded down at her. “I believe you. It’s just… recovering from an injury like that is no piece of cake.”

“I know. But remember, you had an ACL tear. Those are tougher. Sean has better odds for a full recovery than you did.”

“You sure about that?”

She reached up and gently brushed the short hair at his temple. “I am.”

He kissed her again. How could he resist? And when he lifted his head, he managed a smile. “On a night like this one, I love that I’ve got you right here in my arms to remind me that everything is going to be okay.”

“You’re welcome. My place?”

He followed her home, where she led him to her room. They made slow, perfect love. Afterward, she dropped off to sleep.

Finn remained wide-awake. His mind was a hamster on a wheel, racing in circles, getting nowhere fast. He stared up at the dark ceiling above the bed and obsessed over the game, over all the ways he could have set things up for a better outcome, over everything he could have done differently so that Sean would not be lying in a hospital bed tonight, miles from home with a fractured leg.

He thought of the past, of his own injuries, of the end of his career in the NFL. Of how, for a while that had felt like a tragedy.

But it wasn’t a tragedy. Far from it. Instead, it ended up being his chance for a new start, his chance to come home, to be here, in this bed, with this woman who had always been the only woman for him.

Closing his eyes in the darkness, he breathed in slow and steady. He reminded himself that, in time, Sean would be fine. The boy would fully recover.

And as for Finn, he had everything he wanted right here in this bed with him.

Because Kenzie was here.

He smiled to himself. He loved Kenzie Osborne. And the time was coming for him to man up and tell her so.

Beside him, she stirred. Snuggling closer, she rested her hand over his heart. “It’s not your fault,” she said in a sleepy whisper. “It’s football. There will be injuries.”

“I know.” He caught her fingers and brought them to his lips. “Go back to sleep.”

“You too,” she whispered.

“You got it.” And then, he gathered her closer and shut his eyes.

* * *

Finn woke to daylight shining in on either side of the bedroom blinds. He turned to reach for Kenzie. But she wasn’t there. In her place was an empty space and a dent in her pillow where she’d rested her head.

He heard a questioning meow from the other side of the shut bedroom door—and what was that smell? Coffee. Bacon… Breakfast, definitely.