Page 52 of Base Block

“I don’t think I’d be very good at that job,” I said. “I would like to own the team, though. I have some changes to implement.”

He laughed. “Like what?”

“The first thing I would do is make the camera people focus only on the O-line. I don’t understand why they always follow the ball,” I told him and then we both shook when he laughed harder.

“You’d be great at that job. You also did a great job picking our chair,” he said, although it was a joint effort.

“Do you think that you would ever sit here and read?” I asked. “Like, if you ever had a kid, would you read books to her in a chair like this? Or maybe, you’d do it in this exact chair?”

“I never thought about it.”

I waited for him to consider the idea now and I also considered how he might be as a father. I thought of how careful he was when he touched me. I thought about him catching bugs to put them outside, talking to each fan who wanted his autograph, and inviting the chair delivery people to have a beer if they were allowed.

“Kids like books,” he said. “I remember my teachers reading to us and I didn’t even want to breathe much, because I was afraid to miss parts. I’d like to do that, someday.”

I nodded. “You’d be good at it.”

“You’re the one who didn’t see me flinch, so now I’m not sure if I trust your opinion.”

“I told you that you had to get new shoes, didn’t I?” I reminded him.

“They were getting a hole in the toe. But you were right.” He pointed at his neck. “See, now there’s less hair. More skin showing.”

“Oh.” Was that why he’d gotten the trim? I leaned up and kissed some of the area that had been exposed. “I like it.”

“Me too.” He hugged me closer. “A lot.”

Chapter 11

Holidays had never really been much of anything for me. That was changing with this Thanksgiving.

“Twenty-six?” Anara repeated. “Twenty-six guests? How?”

“I’m not sure,” I answered. “We’ve never had more than six people over, and they weren’t here for dinner.” They had been the crew from the furniture store so I hadn’t been trying to feed them.

“And how many ovens do you have?” Heidi asked. She had joined us via a video call, because she and George had already left for their new home in Kansas. Anara had a nicer phone with a bigger screen than mine, and it was large enough to have a perfect view of our friend frowning. “I think I remember that there’s only one in your kitchen. How, Rainey? How will this work?”

“We’re not really sure if that many people will come—hold on.” I cleared my throat and lowered my voice. “Maverick, no. Leave it.”

The dog looked at me and if he’d had shoulders like a human, he would have shrugged. He so clearly didn’t care about my deep voice or my authoritative tone, but he did drop the shoe from his mouth and he left the room. I watched him, suspicious.

“How’s the training going?” Heidi asked.

“Um, it’s ok.” I glanced at Anara as I spoke and watched her shake her head. “Please don’t give me an example of an animal species that does it better,” I told her.

“All animal species do it better than this,” she said. “He chews on everything in your house. You had that nice purse and now it’s practically ruined.”

I had loved that purse. I had gotten it for myself because I really needed one, now that I had an official wallet with an ID and a debit card. I had lipstick to carry around and a phone, and I was going to meetings with people in which I tried to convince them that I knew how to dress well. So, I had gotten myself a bag, which wasn’t very expensive compared to the leather goods that Damian and Millie had bought, but it was a lot for me.

And briefly, yes—it had been a toy for Maverick. He hadn’t meant to do it, I told Anara, and I had been able to fix some of the damage. “It’s not entirely his fault. I hadn’t provided enough real toys for him,” I explained. My aunt’s dog never had any and I hadn’t understood how much pets seemed to need them. I had found out that chewy stuff for Maverick was like giving books to kids. It wasn’t absolutely necessary, because the world would keep turning around the sun without any of that—but it was better for them.

I turned when I heard clattering, and found him dragging his water dish across the floor. It was one of the things he liked to do but I didn’t enjoy it. I didn’t want to leave him thirsty but if I put any liquid in there, the next minute? It was everywhere. “No, Maverick! Leave it.”

He and the bowl continued into the living room as he went to find something else to mess up.

“He does better with Callum,” I said. “He listens really well.”

“Callum is hardly ever here,” Anara pointed out.