“Exactly. Now... go out there and show them just what it means to be Bronson ‘Beast’ Adams’ daughter. Yeah?”
She giggled, then nodded, and raced out onto the field.
Bronson took my hand and tried to lead me over to a set of bleachers, but I shook my head.
“She knows I’m right here. This is where I’m going to stay.”
His hand tightened around mine, as his brows furrowed, “Why?”
“Cause Mom is here,” Cole growled out as he too took up a position to my right.
“Where?” Bronson growled.
I didn’t look for the bitch.
No, I kept my gaze locked on Madalyn’s back as she huddled with her group.
Just then, a group of Cole’s teammates walked over to us.
Brodie, his best friend, said, “Hey man, let’s go stretch. Yeah?”
Cole shook his head, “Did that earlier. I’m staying here.”
Alex stepped up and asked, “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Madalyn is nervous, and Lila wants to stand here so Madalyn doesn’t have to look for her should she get worried if she can’t find her.”
And from the corner of my eye, I watched as they all moved to stand at Cole’s side.
All twenty-three of them.
The rest of them were probably with their families.
Then a man came up and told us we couldn’t stand there.
None of us moved.
It was Bronson who said, “My girl needs us to stay right where we are. Good luck trying to get us all to move.”
The man scanned down our line, and when his eyes landed on me, they widened, and then he smiled as he walked over to me, “Lila Durant. Should have known.
I winked at him, “Exactly.”
“Your girl?” He asked as he tilted his head toward the field.
I smiled, “Oh yeah.”
He winked, “Well, alright then.”
Bronson’s shoulder bumped mine, “Care to share?”
I lowered my voice, “His son and I went to school together. Other kids were mean to him. And I hadn’t liked that. So, I stepped in for him. They all backed off when Harlee and Talia joined me.”
“And his son?” he asked.
And the tone he had used... well, it wasn’t a tone I had ever heard from him before.
Wait... what was that? Was that... jealousy... no. It can’t be.
