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“There’s the football star!” Theresa said when I walked through the door. “I saw you score your touchdown today. Which I know is worth six points.”
“Seven, with the extra point,” Alex said, pushing aside Theresa to crush me with a hug. “Missed you, little bro.”
“Missed you two, stink-face,” I replied. Alex stuck out her tongue.
“I’ll give you a hug when my hands aren’t full!” Blair shouted from the kitchen.
“You should have caught that ball in the third quarter,” Mom said, shouldering through the others like a running back to get to me.
“It was two feet over my head!” I argued.
“Looked closer from the stands,” said Momma. “If we had better seats…”
I rolled my eyes. “Those were the best complimentary seats I could get from the team.” Then I remembered who was standing behind me. “Everyone, this is Cazzie. She’s my bodyguard.”
“So you’re the one in charge of keeping my baby safe. Welcome to our home. I’m the fun mom.”
“Which makes me the bitchy mom,” Momma replied. “At least, according to my wife. Call me Sharon. And the self-proclaimedfun momover there is Katy.”
As we went into the kitchen, Cazzie leaned toward me and whispered, “You have two moms?”
“Oh, yeah. Have I never mentioned that? I guess I kind of take it for granted.”
Theresa made margaritas for everyone, and we spent a few minutes talking about the game while Blair finished making her famous veal parmesan with noodles. It felt good to be home, surrounded by my family… But Cazzie seemed weirdly flustered. And I couldn’t pinpoint why.
I hope she’s not attracted to my sisters, I thought with a grimace.Ugh.
We gathered at the dinner table and passed the food around. Theresa bit into a roll and said, “So, baby brother. Think you guys can go undefeated?”
“Woah, hey!” Alex said. “You’re not supposed to talk about an undefeated season. It’s like mentioning a no-hitter.”
Theresa frowned. “What’s a no-hitter? Is that when the quarterback goes the whole game without getting sacked?”
“Oh my God,” Blair groaned.
“I’m trying to take the season one game at a time,” I answered. “The goal is to win another championship. Everything else is secondary.”
“You sound like you’re talking to a bunch of reporters, baby,” Momma said.
I shrugged. “It’s the truth.”
Mom leaned over to Cazzie. “Have there been any other attacks? Luke says he would tell us, but I have a sneaking suspicion he doesn’t want me to worry.”
“You worry regardless,” I pointed out.
“No more attacks, thankfully,” Cazzie said. “But I’m not letting my guard down.”
“I’m sure you’re not.” Mom cut her veal into tiny pieces, then shook her head. “I still don’t know why anyone would target my baby.”
“I bet it’s someone who hates Penn State,” Blair said around a mouthful of noodles.
“But he’s not at Penn State anymore,” Theresa said.
“Maybe they’re upset he helped them with the National Championship last year. Alabama fans are notoriously crazy.”
“Regardless, I’m glad you’re covering him,” Mom told Cazzie. “Do any of the players underestimate you? Because you’re a woman?”
“Some do,” Cazzie replied, smiling behind her napkin. “Luke certainly did the first week I was there.”
