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“I think I heard about that.” I vaguely remember.
“Yeah. Never a dull day in our family.” Then he grabs a slightly older boy as he walks by with a beer in his hand. “Where do you think you’re going with this?”
“Nowhere,” the kid mumbles, and holy shit, he looks just like Murphy.
Murph takes the bottle out of the kid’s hands and turns the little ginger my way. “Dix, have you ever met Jamison before?”
My heart lurches into my throat.
No shit.
How did I not know he named his kid after Jamie?
Well, damn.
“No, I haven’t.” I reach my hand out, and Jamieson shakes it like a little man. “That’s a special name you got there, kid.”
“Yeah. My dad said I’m named after a really great football player.”
I look from his dad back to him. “Yeah. He was a really great guy.”
“You knew him?” Jamison asks, and Murphy laughs.
“Dixon was Jamie’s roommate. He gave me Rocky,” Murph tells his kid, who already looks bored. “Go get yourself dessert, and tell your brother to stay out of trouble.”
“’Kay, Dad. Nice to meet you, Dixon.”
“You too, Jamison.” I choke up again. “Kid’s got a good, strong grip there, Murph. He any good with a ball?”
Murph smiles proudly. “He’s not bad.”
Bash, Brady Ryan, and Declan pull out chairs and join us at the table. Brady’s holding a sleeping baby against his chest. “So what’s this we hear about you retiring, Dix?” Brady asks.
“Let’s hold that thought for a minute. When did you have another kid?” I ask. “I thought you had three.”
“June.” He smiles and kisses his son’s head. “Asher was a bit of a surprise. But we made sure we’re done this time. Four is kicking our asses.”
“Pussy,” Declan ribs him. “I’ve got five.”
Bash leans against Murph. “Glad I stopped at two.”
“Me too, man,” Murph agrees.
“Assholes,” Brady grumbles. “Fuck off. My wife’s given birth to two sets of twins and Dillan and Asher. We’ve had enough.”
I decide to reel the conversation back in and kick back. “You heard right, man. This is my last season. Scarlet and Coach already know.”
“Iknow,” Dec laughs, and I kick him. “Fucker,” he grumbles. “I still knew first.”
“Yeah. Dec knows. A few guys on the team have an idea. But I want to wait until after the season’s over to officially announce it. I’m old, guys,” I tell them, then sip my beer, watching realization dawn on their faces. Every one of them, except Declan. Fucker’s gonna play till he’s fifty. “I’ve had a good run, and I want to go out on top, while I’m still in my prime. Or at least while I’m stillplayinglike I’m in my prime. Murphy here made sure I’m going to be hurting all fucking week after today’s game.”
“I’ve been thinking about it too,” Brady tells us quietly. “As soon as Ash was born, I started thinking about it. We were smart with our investments, and Natty does fantastic with her books. We’ve been talking about what retirement would look like and thinking about moving back up here permanently.”
Murphy looks like someone just took him out at the knees. “What the fuck, QB? You didn’t think you might want to talk to me about it?”
“I haven’t decided anything yet, Murph.” Brady adjusts the baby in his arms, and I catch Ashlyn watching me.
“Excuse me, guys, I’m being summoned. Good seeing you. Good game today.” I tip my beer to the guys and get the hell out of Dodge before this turns into something I don’t want to be in the middle of. Deciding to retire is an incredibly personal thing. It’s coming to terms with your own mortality after having spent a career convincing yourself you’re invincible. It’s not easy, and I get why Brady hasn’t talked to Murphy yet, especially if he hasn’t made a decision.
