He smiled again. “I bet. She’s a good influence on Miles. That dog looks at him like he hung the moon.”
“He probably thinks he did,” I said softly.
Noah’s expression shifted—not quite a smile, not quite sadness. “You know, it’s weird not being home. Usually, I’m fine on the road. I like the quiet. Love being in hotels. I know it’s weird, but hotels are one of my favorite things. But tonight… it’s different. I can’t settle down.”
“How so?”
He hesitated. “Because the place actually feels like home now. And I’m not there.”
The words hit like a soft punch. I swallowed, forcing a smile I wasn’t sure reached my eyes. “We’ll hold it down for you.”
“I know you will.” His voice dropped, just above a whisper. “Em?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for being there,” he said. “For him. For me.”
I tried to keep my tone light, but my heart was pounding. “You can thank me when you win.”
He grinned again, but his eyes didn’t move off mine. “Deal.”
There was another long pause—one of those silences that wasn’t awkward, just… charged. The kind that made it hard to breathe.
“Get some sleep, Abbott,” I said finally, breaking it before I could drown in it.
“Working on it,” he said, voice low. “Night, Em.”
“Night.”
The call ended, and for a second, I sat there staring at my reflection in the black screen. My pulse was too fast. My chestfelt too full. And even with the phone face down, I swore I could still hear his voice in the quiet room.
By Saturday morning,Miles and I had fallen into a rhythm. Breakfast, a walk with Sassy, a run to the craft store where Miles insisted on buying glitter glue for Sassy’s “collar upgrade.” He glued three foam stars to it and declared her a superhero. Watching him brought me back to those tough years of watching Daniel and Penny all the time. The trips to the store, the tears, the laughter, the high energy. The memories made me smile, and I quickly sent Penny a text.
Em: miss your cute face
Penny: why are boys idiots?
Em: girl, I could write a book about it. I thought you were dating Glenn?
Penny: He wants time to think. What is there to think about? Ugh. Also mom and dad are so annoying. They grounded me for getting a C.
I chuckled. Penny had always been and would be dramatic, and I loved her for it. Almost sixteen—the age I was when everything fell apart in our family. Thankfully for her, she got to live a normal, boring life.
Sunday felt heavier. Game day. The TV schedule had been playing commercials for it all week—the Rampage’s season debut, away at Dallas, prime-time kickoff. Miles had been bouncing off the walls since breakfast.
“Uncle Noah’s gonna win,” he said, wearing his little Rampage jersey that hung halfway to his knees. It was too large. He needed a kid size, one that matched his frame. “He’s the strongest.”
“He is,” I said, smiling. “You ready to watch him?”
He nodded, clutching the remote like it was a lucky charm. We settled on the couch, Sassy curled up between us, the smell of popcorn filling the room. The game opened with the national anthem, the camera sweeping across the field. And then there he was—Noah, front row, helmet under his arm, chin tilted just slightly up. My chest tightened.
I’d seen him play a hundred times before, back in college. I used to watch him from the stands, tucked into one of his too-big sweatshirts. It was different now. He wasn’t mine—he never was—but seeing him there, bigger and calmer than I remembered, made something ache deep in my chest.
Miles pointed. “That’s him! That’s Uncle Noah! Look at him!”
“I see him,” I said, my voice catching just a little. “He looks ready.”
“Uncle Noah blocks the bad guys,” Miles explained solemnly, like he was teaching me. “He keeps the quarterback safe.”
