“Same difference.”
And that was how I found myself at Kai's practice, with Gran sitting on the metal bleachers like royalty on a throne. She had brought binoculars, a notebook and — how could I ever forget — the megaphone.
Kai kept glancing at her and waving like she was his personal cheerleader. Gran blew him kisses and I … I considered voluntary exile.
When Kai made a clean tackle, she stood and shouted into her megaphone. “BREAK HIM LIKE A LITTLE CHICKEN!”
Every player on the field froze, and the quarterback even dropped the ball in shock.
Kai burst out laughing as though her ridiculousness was the highlight of his day. Then he looked up at me, and a mixture of terror and warmth washed over me.
He waved to me too, not in a cocky way, but like he was just ecstatic to see me here. My knees went weak, and despite my best efforts to suppress it, I couldn't help but smile.
Damn him and his golden retriever energy.
Gran lowered the megaphone and hummed thoughtfully, watching Kai through her binoculars. “The boy likes you.”
I scoffed. “Gran, he likeseveryone.”
“Mmm.” She adjusted the focus. “No, darling. He’sniceto everyone. There’s a difference.”
I folded my arms and fixed my gaze on the field. “You don’t know that.”
She finally looked at me, giving me one of those probing looks like she was staring straight into my soul. “I know what it looks like when a man shows up even when he doesn’t have to.”
My jaw tightened and I stubbornly averted my gaze.
“Not the time or the place, Gran.”
“I disagree, darling. If we always wait around for a convenient time, we’d never get anything done. Your father didn’t show up,” she said quietly. “Not for you. Not for your mom. And I know you learned plenty of lessons from that.”
I swallowed hard, my brows furrowing as I stared at Kai’s figure moving down the field.
“But don’t you go thinking,” she continued, tapping my knee with one knobby finger, “all men are cut from the same rotten cloth just because one of them failed you.”
Kai jogged past the sideline, sweaty and grinning, eyes flicking up to us like he wanted to make sure we were still there.
Gran followed my gaze. “Kai keeps choosing you. Over and over. Even when you push him away. Even when you get prickly.”
“I donotgetprickly.” I wrinkled my nose.
She arched a brow. “Darling, you’re as prickly as a cactus.”
I huffed, but my throat felt tight. “He’s not staying, Gran. You know this as well as I do.”
“He’s not.” Gran reached for my hand, squeezing it with surprising strength. “But it doesn’t mean you can’t let him care for you while he’s here. He’s not leaving right now, is he? You don’t have to barricade your heart just because the future’s uncertain.”
Kai glanced over again and waved back, looking a little sheepish. I waved back before I could stop myself.
Gran smiled like she’d just won something. “See? Not all men leave scars. Some of them just leave a girl wondering when she stopped feeling so alone.”
I swallowed hard. “You make it sound simple.”
“Oh, it’s not.” She cheerfully lifted the megaphone. “It’s terrifying. But life isn’t meant to always be comfortable.”
I winced as the megaphone cracked. “RUN IT AGAIN, WHITAKER! YOU CAN DO BETTER!”
Kai laughed and nodded like he’d just been personally knighted.
