AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Damn straight,” Colt agrees. “I told him the same thing, said I was out of line and needed to cool off just like you told me to. He wasn’t having it though. Kept assuring me it wouldn’t happen again.”
Based on the way Colt’s looking at me I suspect he knows what I’m going to say, and he isn’t going to like it. But the day’s been hard enough so I come right out with it.
“Christian thinks there will be a scandal if I stay with Sawyer, and implied I’d have to pick her or the team. So I left.”
“Son of a bitch.” He stands so abruptly his chair topples over behind him. “I’m gonna tell that prick to stay away from my family. He’s either gonna give you your job back or I’m cutting all ties with the team. I will not let anyone else put you through what I did.” He stalks off toward the house, determined to set things right. Only I can’t let him.
“Colt,” I bark, stopping him cold. “Don’t do that.”
“He’s got no right to say that to you, and no right to come between you two.” He stabs the air with his finger. “I’ll fix it.”
“I don’t want you to.”
Sawyer sits up, her shiny green eyes pleading with me not to say anything more. I love her for that, which is exactly why I can’t stay silent.
“I don’t want the job, Colt.”
Sawyer grips my shirt in her hand and says, “I didn’t ask for this,” at the same time Colt says, “Don’t let this guy force you out.”
I take Sawyer’s hand in mine and answer them both. “No one is forcing me to do anything. Not Christian, not you.” I kiss her hand. “I’ve given enough of my life to the game, and it’s given me a lot in return. But it’s time to move on.”
They’re both staring at me like I’ve lost my mind, but the truth is it’s never been so clear. Working in the office is just as demanding as working on the field in a lot of ways, late nights and weekends and travel par for the course. That’s time I’d rather spend with Sawyer and the kids I hope we have one day. It took Christian’s ultimatum to make me see it, but now I know football isn’t where I belong anymore.
“Are you sure?” Sawyer sniffs, trying to hold back more tears.
“I’m sure.” I give her hand another reassuring kiss.
“Still think that prick needs to learn where his opinion isn’t necessary,” Colt grumbles, causing Sawyer to crack a small smile. It’s a sign that she’ll eventually get to the point where she can forgive him. And right now, with my girl in my arms and her dad’s support, I know things will all work out in the end.
Epilogue
“I’m telling you, kid’s got tight end written all over him.” Colt beams as we watch Ethan run through a tackle.
“Quarterback,” I counter. “He’s fast on his feet, but he’s got an arm.”
“Haven’t you ever heard the termGrandpa knows best?”
“Pretty sure itsFather knows best.” I cross my arms with a sly grin.
“Care to weigh in?” Colt asks Pop. “I could use some backup.”
“Oh no.” Pop waves his hands in surrender. “I’m not qualified to make this call, and I’m not going to side with you just because I’m his grandpa too.”
“Traitor,” Colt mutters under his breath.
“Do I have to remind you all he’s seven?” Sawyer asks as she steps next to me. I wrap my arm around her shoulder and kiss the top of her head.
“Do I have to remind you you’re in the coaches box? Again?” Colt shakes his head. “It’s supposed to be reserved for coaches, so we can game plan.”
“Seven,” she repeats in a singsong voice. “The only game plan is don’t drop the ball. It’s not like you have them running routes or anything.”
Colt arches an eyebrow at her while I stifle a laugh. She may not love the game, but Sawyer’s learned to tolerate it, and even picked up some knowledge of plays along the way. That’s probably due to me using her stomach to draw out different plays explaining how I’m going to score, though Colt and Pop don’t need to know that.
“And isn’t this whole conversation moot? They don’t have tight ends at this age.” I beam at my wife while her dad grumbles something that sounds suspiciously like ‘smart ass.’
As the game winds down –we win of course—we start packing up all the gear and head to the car so we can relieve the grandmas, who stayed back with our daughter since the game started at the same time as her daily nap. Normally, we’d let her skip it, but tonight we’re celebrating Alex’s sixteenth birthday, and we want her rested since the whole family will be there.
Getting to this spot in our lives took some time. Sawyer and Colt had to work through the pain she felt from his interference in our relationship, and it took a few months for them to get everything out in the open. Even then she was still a little guarded, wondering if he’d confuse good intent with poorly executed actions. Becoming parents ourselves is what finally allowed her to forgive him without conditions, because she realized what a fine line there is between wanting to protect your child and impacting their happiness. Case in point, Ethan playing football. It’s probably Sawyer’s worst nightmare, but the kid loves it, so she put her own bias aside and is behind him a hundred percent. She’s a crazy good mom and God, I love her for it. Scratch that. I love everything about the woman.
