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“Always work hard. Never give up. It’s a game, have fun.” Those were words my dad always said to me before a big game or a big decision. I gestured toward Dad and the players’ heads turned in his direction. “That’s what he’d always tell me before every single game.”
Dad looked at me with clear eyes and a smile, and the roiling in my stomach settled for the briefest moment. “If you can figure that out, you’ll be successful on my team.”
As I stepped down, Ricky took over, instructing the players how to sign out and where to go for the tour of campus. I jogged toward my family.
My family.
The errant thought hit me like a ton of bricks, and my steps faltered on the turf. Thankfully, I scooped Penny into a hug to hide my nerves.
“This is a surprise.” I smacked a kiss on Penny’s cheek and smiled at Lark. She looked nervous, so I shot her a wink.
“Penny and I went to see Red this morning, and he wanted to tag along. I hope that’s okay. I read somewhere that exercise is good for... you know. A walk around campus is just what we need, right, Red?”
Dad stepped up to shake my hand. “Fine speech you gave, Son. Nice to know my talks didn’t always land on deaf ears.”
My throat tightened, and I couldn’t find the words to respond. Dad was here, in my element, without that confused, dazed look in his eyes. It was clear Lark had also looked up or talked with his nurses about his condition, and that left my chest feeling tender and strange. Lark was shifting things, and I wasn’t altogether sure how I felt about that, but deep down I knew it wasn’t all bad.
“Papa Red, they havesnacks!” Penny pulled my dad’s hand and led him to the table stacked with Gatorade, water, chews, and energy bars to keep the players hydrated and energized during the grueling day.
“Just one, Pickle. Those are, like, ninety-nine percent sugar and caffeine.”
Her eyes bugged with forbidden delight.Wrong thing to say.
I turned to Lark. “She’ll be bouncing off the walls.”
Lark swatted the air in playful dismissal. “Ah, it’ll be fine. We can always make her run laps.”
I’d grown to love playful banter with Lark, and she could always find the silver lining in situations that would normally piss me off. Penny was stuffing energy bars into my dad’s pocket when I gestured toward them.
Lark chewed her lip. “I hope it’s okay. The nurse said he was having a great day.”
I leaned in to bump my shoulder against hers. “More than okay. Thanks for showing up.”
“I like seeing you in your element. All your brooding charm is starting to make sense.”
“Brooding charm?”
She laughed. “Yeah. Always in charge. Always in control. It makes the times I see a crack in your grumpy facade that much more fun.”
I crossed my arms. “I’m not grumpy.”
“You kind of are, Daddy.” Penny looked up at me with serious eyes.
I deepened the furrow in my brow and growled at her. Pickle screamed a peal of laughter and took off running before I chased after her and scooped her up in my arms. I bounced her high in the air and didn’t give a single fuck who was watching or that I was supposed to be the man in charge.
None of that mattered.
What mattered was that I had had a great day with the players, my kid was happy, and Lark and my dad were around to share it with me.
For the first time in what felt like forever, everything seemed to be clicking into place.
24
LARK
Cold water splashedon my fingers as I set the wet cup down, sweating from the summer heat. I pasted on a smile and tried to swallow down the sudden wave of nausea. I stood awkwardly a foot or two away from Wyatt, Penny, and Red, who were at the entrance to the stadium.
Penny’s hand was tucked into Wyatt’s, but as an electric-blue sports car pulled up to the circular drive, she looked up at him with a huge grin. Wyatt looked back at me. I’m sure he was wondering why I was being weird and standing away from the group, but as a woman stepped out from behind the driver’s side, I swallowed hard again.
