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“Get your ass over to the park beside the high school. Your nephews are playing football.”
“Jesus, you act like someone told me before right this second.”
Jed’s been giving me a lot of shit lately about not coming home for the holidays and I’m sure it has something to do with Mom. We all know how she loves to have us all home together.
“Just get your ass over here. Mom said she hasn’t even seen you since you got back.”
I saw her this morning, but I’m not going to argue with him. “I’m on my way.”
I drive over to the field by the middle school that the football teams usually play on. As soon as I see the sidelines, I feel for my poor nephews. My entire family is lined up there, my mom pouring apple cider for anyone who wants it, and Xavier has the team huddled together.
Walking up to the field, I spot four jerseys with Greene on them and wonder how the hell people know exactly which player they’re cheering for. My entire family is football. All my brothers played, including Xavier, who went pro. They were all quarterbacks. And then there’s me and my love of soccer that none of them understood. They constantly said how boring my sport was, how it looked exhausting to run up and down that field and only score one goal a game.
“Rylan!” Xavier’s wife, Clara, is the first to greet me, hugging me. “So happy you could come.”
“Hey, Clara.”
One by one, my sisters-in-law say hello. Presley comes over, then Molly.
“Who is the fourth?” I ask. If my math is correct—and it could be wrong, since I have twenty-two nieces and nephews—we only have three boys aged six and under that would be playing on this team.
“Peyton. She said there’s no reason she can’t play with the boys.” Molly smiles. “She’s number ten.”
I smile. “Good for her.
I head over to the sidelines, and Jed puts me in a headlock. “Finally.”
I escape his hands, and he winks at me.
My mom holds me as if she didn’t just see me this morning, and my dad clasps me on the shoulder. They all act as though I’ve been gone for years. But the more I watch, it’s obvious that this is a weekly thing. All the other parents are talking to my parents, and my brothers Cade and Xavier are coaching the boys.
“Do you want a chair?” my mom asks.
“No.” I stuff my hands in my pockets.
One of the players runs down the field to score a touchdown. The crowd literally goes crazy.
“What age group is this?” I ask Presley, who’s clapping next to me. She’s not nearly as bad as Molly, who’s whistling with her fingers.
Presley laughs. “Six.” “I thought so.”
“Kind of crazy, but you know your brothers. Their kids are gonna play football.”
I nod, knowing none of them would consider soccer.
“So, how are you?” Presley is married to my brother Cade. He and Jed are the oldest in our blended family, so I’ve known Presley since I was ten.
“I’m good.”
“That’s good.” Then there it is, the frown and hand on my upper arm. “Sorry about playoffs. We had a big group turn out to watch at Truth and Dare.”
I figured they’d get people together to watch at the brewery Cade and Jed own. “It’s okay.”
“I think I speak for all of us that we’re happy to have you here for three weeks, even if you’re here for Declan’s wedding.” Her smile is bright, but her tone says it all—I’m not here for them. Something catches her eye over my shoulder. “Oh, here come the older kids from school.”
I glance over my shoulder. A huge group of my nieces and nephews are heading over to the field.
“They usually all stay after for clubs and stuff. Excuse me.” Her hand brushes my upper arm again, and she goes to say hello to the older kids.
