Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 115577 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 578(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115577 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 578(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
“Sleeping soundly, ready to keep Mom and Dad up all night,” Kyle said, booping his daughter on the nose like that was so adorable.
“I’m hungry,” Sebastian proclaimed.
“Come on,” Madelyn said. “Mom will make you a grilled cheese.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Kyle scolded. “Your dad just made that skillet scramble. You can heat up leftovers.”
“That’s cute that you think Sebastian will eat something with mushrooms and green peppers.”
Sebastian wrinkled his nose on cue. “Ewwww, mushrooms!”
“Here, you take Raven and I’ll—”
“I’m fine,” Madelyn assured Kyle, pushing on his shoulder before he could stand. She leaned down to press a kiss to his cheek, and the argument was won.
It was just me and Kyle in the living room then — along with baby Raven still sleeping in his arms — and I crossed my ankle over a knee, smiling at him.
“How you hanging in there, Dad?”
Kyle grinned and shook his head. “Dad. I don’t know that I’ll ever get used to that, but I love it.” He sighed, looking down at his daughter in his arms. “Is it cheesy as fuck to say this is the happiest I’ve ever been, that it feels like a missing piece of me snapped into place the second she was born?”
I wished I had some snarky comeback to tease him with. Our former teammate Leo Hernandez certainly would. Hell, even Clay Johnson would have a quip. But seeing Kyle all dopey in love just made me happy for him. I was glad he finally had someone he could be real with, someone who knew how much of a good guy he was, just like I did.
“I think it’s real,” I said, throat thick.
Our eyes met for just a brief moment of understanding, and then Kyle shook it off. “All right. Enough of that shit. When are we getting back to the gym?”
“Getting the dad bod already?”
“Bro, I’m not kidding — my wrist is on fire. I feel like I got banged up in a bad tackle. They call it mommy wrist.”
“Not just for moms, I see.”
“Hell no, it isn’t, and I feel like a fucking wuss because it’s kicking my ass right now. And my shoulders! Don’t get me started on that.”
Turned out I didn’t have to, because Kyle kept on, telling me all the things I didn’t know about how hard carrying a newborn around to try to soothe them was on the body.
The conversation drifted to baseball and hockey after that, the sports we watched now that we were in the offseason for football. We were watching highlights on the TV when Madelyn rejoined us after having Sebastian run up for a bath.
And at the same time, my phone buzzed in my pocket with a text I had not been expecting.
“Bad news?” Madelyn asked, taking Raven from Kyle to get set up for nursing. I averted my eyes to give her privacy while she got herself situated.
“Not bad,” I said, still reading over the text. “Just… interesting.”
“Do tell,” Madelyn pried.
“Our PR coordinator wants me to join them for the Tacoma Girls Flag Football Jamboree in a couple weeks,” I said. “They’re looking for about ten players to go out, and apparently, I’m on their list.”
“That’s awesome,” Kyle offered. “Why do you look like they just asked you to do team laundry?”
“Yeah. Riley and Zeke would be so proud of you if you attended,” Madelyn added. Riley and Zeke Collins were former NBU teammates of ours, too. But as Riley was female, there wasn’t a chance for her to get drafted into the NFL like the rest of us.
And so, she and Zeke went another route, setting up a foundation that focused on young girls playing flag football and preparing them for careers in sports, whether as players, reporters, analysts, trainers, or whatever else they wanted to pursue.
So yeah, this would be right up their alley. The Tacoma Girls Flag Football Jamboree aligned with the broader mission to get girls’ flag football coded as a sanctioned sport. I’d be a coach, if I agreed. And I would.
Even if it meant…
“I’m excited for the event,” I said, though I was fairly certain my tone didn’t sell it. “I told them at the end of the season to let me know if there were ways I could get involved with the community. It’s just…”
“What?” Kyle probed when my voice faded.
It faded, because again, all I could think about, all I could see in my mind was Emily Huxley.
“Nothing.”
“Nuh-uh,” Madelyn argued immediately. “No lies in this house. Spill.”
I let out a heavy sigh. I loved Madelyn for my best friend. She was the swift kick in the ass he always needed.
But I was not a fan of that energy being pointed my way.
“The cheerleaders will be there.”
Kyle and Madelyn shared a look, and then Kyle deadpanned, “What a travesty.”