“When are the services?” he asks.
Leaning forward, I place my elbows on my knees and hang my head. “I don’t know yet. Her parents are gone, but her fiancé’s parents are handling the details. They were both on the flight,” I say, my voice gruff. “The last I heard, they’re aiming for the end of next week.” I don’t tell him that their bodies need to be flown home, which is horrific just to think about.
“Okay. Tell me when, and we’ll get the paperwork completed for you to miss camp. One day?”
“Yeah, they’re local here in Tennessee, just outside of Nashville, so one day.” I nod.
“What about Camden? Do you need help finding coverage for him? Is the nanny going to handle that?” He’s all business, making sure I have what I need. William Warner is a great coach.
“My nanny quit, but Sloane is helping me with Cam for a while,” I explain.
He nods. “Good. Okay, well, when you know the date, let me know, and we’ll get you excused. Is there anything else I can do for you? What can the organization do for you?” he asks.
“Nothing. I’m good. Thanks, Coach.”
“All right, well, I’m sorry for your loss, for your son’s loss. Let me know if something comes up that I can help with or the organization as a whole.”
“Thanks, Coach.” I nod, stand, shake his hand, and slip out of his office. As soon as I round the corner, I freeze. Knox, Landry, Reid, and Foster are sitting in the locker room. “Hey,” I say, my voice raspy. “What are you guys doing here?”
“Support, brother,” Reid answers.
“We knew you were talking to Coach, and we didn’t know what you would need, if anything, but we wanted to be here just in case,” Knox adds.
“Fuck,” I say, swallowing hard. I’m trying really fucking hard to keep my emotions in check, but these guys, they’re my brothers. We chose to be each other’s family, and fuck me, I didn’t need them, but I’m sure as fuck glad that they’re here. I would just be sitting here in my own head, letting the grief for my son and the loss of his mother overtake me.
“We got you,” Foster says.
“Starting with donuts.” Landry grins.
I can’t help but laugh. “Don’t let Coach see those. It’s the first day of camp, man.” I shake my head at him.
“Coach didn’t see anything.” Coach Warner stops next to Landry and grabs himself a donut.
“Coach, you'd better watch the figure. You’re not getting any younger, Grandpa,” Reid teases his father-in-law.
Coach chuckles and pulls up the Rampage T-shirt he’s wearing to show us his ripped abs. “This grandpa is doing just fine,” he boasts. “Speaking of, when do I get to watch my granddaughter again? Are you not spoiling my daughter well enough that you’ve stopped taking her out on dates?”
“Oh, I’m spoiling her,” Reid says with a gleam in his eye. “My wife doesn’t like to leave our daughter, but I’ll set something up for after camp. Be ready for my call, old man,” Reid teases.
Coach points at him. “I’m holding you to that, as your father-in-law.” He eyes the box of donuts. “As your coach, finish that shit off before the rest of the team shows up,” he says, grabbing a second donut and walking back to his office.
The five of us quickly polish off the donuts, even Knox indulges, and we hide the evidence at the bottom of the trash can. Today’s the first day of training camp, and while it’s a long one, it’s not strenuous. Those who are newer to the team—meaning the rookies, a few of the less-seasoned players, and even some of us who’ve been doing this for a while now—stay. Room assignments are given, health checkups, a team meeting going over the playbook, this year’s goals, and finally, a walk-through practice. We won’t be in full pads just yet. It’s a quick walk-through, a few sprints, etc., to get our bodies back in the groove. But don’t let the first day fool you. Coach and his team of drill sergeants will be kicking our asses on that field in no time, and we’re all going to regret those donuts and being lax in the off-season.
The guys and I stay fit, but we do cheat. The first couple of weeks back are always tough to get into the swing of things, especially with the service for Natasha hanging over my head.
It’s going to be tough, but we’ll get through it. I’m so damn thankful for Sloane and all of her help. If I had to find a nanny on top of all of this, I’m sure I’d be at my breaking point.
It’s finally lunch, so after scarfing down my food, I head back to the locker room to grab my phone and text Sloane.
* * *
Me: How’s it going?
* * *
Sloane: We’re having a good day. We spent some time at the park this morning before it got too hot. We just had lunch, and he’s down for his nap.
* * *
