Teo tucked the one-year-old into the crook of his elbow, threw the diaper bag over his shoulder, and took off at a sprint. He was pushing it. Not by running, that came easily enough. He was pushing the clock. Thankfully, this wasn’t an off-season mandatory workout. Coach would have made him suffer for showing up late. Coach may not breathe down his neck today, but the camp was important to the Titans and to the downtown area. James Knight, the team owner, wanted to make sure Dallas loved the Titans enough to overlook the traffic jams on game days and approve changes in roadways to make life easier for thefans.
Akoni giggled as they ran. As much as Teo loved to toss his son in the air and have his laughter fill up their otherwise empty home, today was no game. He’d have to be on guard for reporters—cameras were sure to be everywhere. Any chance columnists had to get the latest scoop on the Kincaid brothers was sure to be a feeding frenzy, and the last thing Teo wanted was his son caught up in a tank of sharks. Teo had been able to avoid the press after Amy died in the middle of last season by releasing a blanket statement asking them to respect his time of mourning and give him space. By walking through those doors, he was declaring himself open to interviews andcomments.
He reached for the door only to have to pull back quickly as someone opened it frominside.
“Whoa.” The little woman tipped her head up and up until Teo was blindsided by her eyes—blue with swirls of green like the ocean surrounding his island home. The ocean he’d stared at when he needed to re-center himself, when he needed a quiet moment alone, and when the family gathered forluaus.
“Whoa,” Teo echoed, taking in her strappy sandals, tight jeans, and flowing cream top that accented her peaches-and-cream skin. She had a nametag on a lanyard, and he glimpsed the word “intern” printedthere.
She cleared her throat. “Mr.Parata?”
“Teo,” he corrected. A woman this beautiful should use his first name. That should be arule.
“You’relate.”
“Yes, I am.” He didn’t bother to explain that Akoni had a major diaper issue this morning, and he’d gagged his way through cleaning the kid and throwing out his clothing. Things like that happened withtoddlers.
“Oh, you brought a friend.” She nodded toAkoni.
Akoni, a sucker for a pretty face, lit up, showing off his baby teeth. He was barely learning to walk and only said one word, but Akoni’s smile was practiced perfection. The woman smiled in return, softening for Akoni’s adorableness. Teo’s kid was cute—that was not up for debate—and he knew it, too. She reached for Akoni’s foot and tickled his shoelesstoes.
“Player,” Teomuttered.
The intern pulled her hand away and straightened her shoulders as if she were slipping back into the role of responsible intern. “You’re the last one to arrive, so I’m afraid you’ve missed your chance at orientation. I’ll send Trudy to find you with a shirt.” She pulled open the door and gestured for him to go inside. He would have held the door for her, but her lips were set in a line that pointed for him to get a move on. And he’d thought meeting his coach when he was late was a bad thing. She’d have him running laps around the parking lot if he didn’t get out of herway.
They marched down the hallway to the practice field, where the sound of children’s voices welcomed them. Akoni curled into Teo at the noise as if he could become a part of him. Teo bounced himgently.
“Teo!” called Brady Giles. A cornerback, Brady was 6’3” tall and new to the team. Teo had heard the move had more to do with personal reasons than withfootball.
“Over here, man. You’re with me.” Brady had about ten kids bouncing around him like cheerleaders after a touchdown. He didn’t seem fazed by their enthusiasm. If the smile of his face was any indication, he was feeding off of it—excited to play. Teo had been looking forward to this camp for that very reason. Nothing made a guy feel better about his choices in life than having a bunch of kids looking up to him. Not that Teo had an overly developed need for attention. Quite the opposite, he relished his privacy from the public in general. In this situation, with kids who wanted to learn about football, he was thrilled to put himself out there and share as much as he could to help keep them safe on the field and feed their love of thegame.
All his excitement had petered out when his nanny up and quit that very morning, saying she wanted freedom to pursue other career paths. Her words had changed the camp from a fun opportunity to a “have to”task.
“Thank you for coming today. We appreciate your participation,” said the polite intern before she hurried off, checking boxes on her list. Teo watched her leave, wondering what he’d done to offend her and if he shouldapologize.
“Teo!” Brady threw a ball to Teo earning him a round of cheers from the peanut gallery. On instinct, Teo dropped the diaper bag off his shoulder and snatched the ball out of the air, spinning so he could maintain his hold onAkoni.
He scanned the room for a place to set Akoni down. The tables had tablecloths with the Titans logo. Akoni could grab on to the fabric to pull himself up and get a laptop in his face. He could crawl onto the field and be trampled by one of the kids—or worse, a player. Teo went head-to-head with these guys in practice and came back sore. His baby wouldn’t stand a chance. He could fall down the concrete stairs … bite an electrical cord … put his finger in a socket … This place was ahazard.
But Teo couldn’t throw footballs and teach blocking while holding a one-year-old. Especially with the owner, James Knight, standing there with his arms folded, watching over things with his eagleeyes.
Teo tossed the ball back. “One second,” he told Brady. With Akoni tucked to his chest and the diaper bag in hand, Teo started toward a friendly face. Ariana Sanchez, Ace Sanchez’s sister, was standing behind the group of kids waiting to hear their assigned station. Teo had eaten at the Sanchez family’s restaurant several times. Ariana was an acquaintance, if not a friend. Surely she could watch Akoni for abit.
He was only a few feet away when a group of kids rushed Ariana. “Are you guys ready to have some fun?” She waved for them to follow as she headed to the agilityarea.
Teo cursed under his breath. Ariana was too busy. There had to be someone here who could help him. He spied the intern who had opened the door moving from the first aid station to the drink cooler. She didn’t look frazzled, maybe she had time to spare. She smiled easily as she checked in with the players and fist-bumping the kids. “She’s perfect,” he decided, and switched directions to intercepther.
“Hello again.” He smiledwide.
She stepped back so she could look up at him. “Hi.”
“Have you ever worked with childrenbefore?”
Her mouth fell open slightly. “I’ll have you know that I have worked as a camp counselor since I was fifteen, and I worked in the camp kitchen atthirteen.”
He hadn’t been expecting such a strong resume, but he’d take a career camp counselor any day. “That’s perfect.” He shoved Akoni herdirection.
“What?” She put both her hands in the air and took another stepback.
