“Are you kicking their asses?” Brayden asks.
“No doubt,” I say. “I scored twice today.”
“You sound good,” Jenson says after a moment of silence. “Call me if you need anything.”
“I will. Guys, I appreciate the call. We’ll be home in Montana soon.”
We all say goodbye, and I return to the grill where Declan’s pretty much finished up cooking the burgers.
“Thanks,” I murmur. “Smells great. I’m starved.”
“No worries. How are the cousins?”
“They miss me,” I say with a grin. “It’s tough being so popular.”
Declan shoots me an assessing gaze. “You still wanting to go pro in football?”
“That’s still the plan,” I say. “Any advice for me, Mr. Already-Made-It-Big?”
He starts piling turkey burgers on the large serving plate next to him. “Expect the unexpected,” he says. “Keep your circle of trust small. And never stop believing in what got you there.”
I stare at him. “You’re giving me advice as if I’ve already made it,” I say.
He hands me the full plate of turkey burgers. “That’s because I believe you will make it. You have to believe, too.”
“It’s all my dad and I used to talk about,” I say. “And if he’s not there to witness it, I don’t know…”
“Hey.” Declan puts a hand on my shoulder. “He wants the same thing he’s always wanted for you. He wants you to reach your dreams. That will never change. You’re lucky to have such a great dad.”
“I know.”
“He’s always on your side, kid.” Declan starts toward the door of the motor coach. “No matter how tough things are, don’t let anything stop you from going after what you want. He’d never want you to miss out on anything because you were feeling bad.”
I hear him, but his words don’t line up in my head right now. I can’t imagine a world without my dad in it. The pain is too much. And tonight, I need to focus on the opposite of pain.
For me, that’s Sky. I can’t wait to see her again.
Chapter Sixteen
Skylar
“More chicken, honey?” Mom passes me the plate of grilled chicken she made for dinner.
“No thanks, Mom. I’m full.”
“So what did Ivan say to Uncle Sid when he called?” Ben asks.
“Nothing other than to leave in the morning,” Mom says.
“He didn’t say if they caught Dad yet?”
“No.”
“That means he didn’t,” Nick says with a scowl. “Ivan would’ve made sure we knew if something had changed on that front.”
“Most likely that’s true,” Mom says. “But we need to stay focused on where we’re going, right? Let’s leave the detective work to Ivan.”
“I kind of don’t want to leave,” Ben admits. “This feels like the first time we’ve been able to relax in a while.”
