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The McKenna home hadn’t changed at all since he’d practically lived there in high school. The same comfy, dated furniture. The same curtains in the windows. The same appliances that Mr. McKenna miraculously kept running, fixing them whenever they broke and refusing to buy new ones. As a self-employed business owner himself, Wes could appreciate his former in-laws’ frugal ways.
It was the memorabilia from their past that always unsettled him.
His own parents hadn’t cared much about his football career and aspirations. They hadn’t really shown much interest in anything he did. An only child, he was clearly one they hadn’t exactly planned for. He wasn’t neglected; they just showed their love through financial support, paying for his gear and equipment and football camps but never really involved.
That was probably why he’d been so drawn to Kelly’s family. They were supportive of their children, the kind of parents who were at every game, every recital, every school event. They all sat around the table for breakfast in the morning and dinner every evening. They had board game nights and movie marathons.
And they’d always treated Wes as part of the family. They’d been over the moon when he’d gotten drafted after college, and their home was still a shrine to his past accomplishments.
He cringed as he entered the home, hearing the game on the television—his game. One he’d played ten years ago, his best game ever. His father-in-law watched it every time he visited, and Wes didn’t have the heart to tell the old man that seeing the game, seeing the future he could no longer have, ate away at his soul.
He loved his life in Blue Moon Bay. He liked his job. He loved being a dad. But there was definitely a part of him that longed for the dream that was cut too short.
“Hey, there he is!” John said from his old, worn leather recliner as Wes and Marissa entered the living room. A perfect spiral of an old football came toward Wes, and as per their routine, Wes caught it and tossed it back. “And he brought my favorite granddaughter.”
Marissa laughed warily and played along with the overplayed joke. “Pop, I’m your only granddaughter.” She accepted a hug from him as Wes sat on the sofa. The springs creaked under his weight, and the cushions molded to his shape.
“Your grandma could use some help setting the table,” John whispered to Marissa, sneaking her a five-dollar bill.
“I askedyouto set the table,” Carolyn said, joining them in the living room and swatting her husband’s head playfully.
“I don’t mind,” Marissa said, winking at her grandfather. She hurried out of the room, and Wes stood again for a hug from Carolyn. Her four-foot-eleven frame came to his chest, and the scent of her lavender shampoo was the same as always. She was an older version of Kelly—same red hair, green eyes, thin nose, and heart-shaped face, and his breath always caught at the sight of her.
“Hi, darlin’. Hope you’re hungry.”
The familiar smell of her baked tuna casserole had his stomach twisting, but not from hunger. It had been the Friday night meal at the McKennas’ before every high school football game. It was tradition. The family was superstitious and believed in not breaking the school’s winning streak by making something else. Carolyn still made it every time they came for dinner.
Wes could appreciate their need to hold on to the past as a way of remembering their daughter, of holding on to a part of her and a better time, but these visits were only getting harder and harder as time passed and he tried to move on.
And he worried about the impact they had on Marissa. Discussions never seemed to stay in the present for long. Always returning to memories of the “good old days.” Reminiscing was okay, but Wes wanted to focus on the future and how that looked for all of them.
“Starving,” he said with a forced smile.
“Hey, here comes the play,” John said, nodding his balding head toward the television.
Wes turned and watched as his younger self caught the ball and ran like lightning down the field in the Rams’ stadium, making the game-winning play, then fought the what-if thoughts that were never too far away whenever he was in this house.
Five minutes later, they bowed their heads in prayer around the dining room table and started to eat.
“Drove past the inn the other day,” his brother-in-law, Dustin, said as he passed the casserole to Wes. He was still dressed in a suit, having come straight from the bank where he worked as a mortgage broker. “Almost didn’t recognize the place.”
“Sarah’s making it so much cooler,” Marissa said before he could answer. Her expression lit up at the mention of her mentor.
“Sarah?” Carolyn asked with a frown. “As in, Sarah Lewis?”
Wes nodded. “She inherited the place. Plans to sell it.” He scooped the casserole onto his plate.
“Wasn’t she that young girl who tutored you all throughout high school?”
Carolyn’s memory was incredible.
“Yeah,” he said, forking the food into his mouth and ignoring her look that said she wasn’t completely thrilled about some aspects of this situation. Years ago, Carolyn had suspected that Sarah had a crush on him…
What would she think if she knew he’d almost given in to the urge to kiss Sarah? Or that he found himself attracted to the woman? He’d never been serious about another woman since Kelly, so how his in-laws would feel about him dating someone had never really been a factor. But what would they think, how would they feel if he eventually found someone and settled down again?
“Sarah used to tutor you and now she’s mentoring me? You never told me that,” Marissa said. “That’s so cool!”
Carolyn glanced at Marissa. “Mentoring you?”
