“We thought you guys could use a little time away since you never get it,” Ryder says.
“A week away. Are you for real? Can we leave right now?” Hope’s eyes fill with tears.
“Wait. You expect us to leave you all in charge for a week?” Tracker puts his arm around Hope, tugging her against him.
A flash of my mom and dad zips through my mind.
“Jos and I will watch The Oasis,” TJ says.
“Shit. Will there be anything left when we get back?” Tracker asks, but it’s with a smile, the first I’ve seen from him.
“I’ll hang out with Candace to man the storefront and update your security system while I’m there,” Vanessa adds. “Plus, keep an eye on these two.” She wags a finger between TJ and Jos.
“I’ll check in at The O as much as I can while this one is training,” Ryder says, throwing a thumb in my direction. “It’ll all be fine. You guys need to get out of here for a bit.”
A tear rolls down Hope’s cheek. “You guys, this is. . . ”
“Oh, shit,” Tracker says, holding her a little tighter. “You all made her cry, and now. . . ”
There’s another sniff and then another. Jamie and Lyla wipe their eyes.
“Seriously,” TJ groans.
“Oh, piss off.” Jos punches him softly in the shoulder. “You know, maybe if you were a little more sensitive, someonewithfeelings might actually want to hang out with your cold, stoic ass.”
Hope hugs each of the girls while they all carry on.
Tracker’s eyes meet mine. “I think maybe I should leave you in charge.”
I laugh, watching and listening. Breath moves in and out of my lungs in a way I haven’t felt in so long.
I think Ryder was right. I needed some air. I needed to step away from my life for a bit and remember there’s a whole world outside of the game.
As I watch them interact, joke, and jab, I long to see my family.
Ryder peeks at me as the room grows loud again, as if she’s checking to make sure I’m still here.
I am. I’m soaking it all in before we return to the monotony and seclusion that has become my life. I miss this. The way my life used to be and having people who see and know me. Theones who’ll stick around even when it has nothing to do with football, my name, or that status tied to it.
I want that back. I’m just not sure how to make that happen.
Chapter 12
RYDER
I glance at Cole over my shoulder, talking to Vanessa about her security company and how she got started.
His nerves were apparent on the way here. Cole having social anxiety doesn’t make sense. The man stands front and center in stadiums filled with thousands, talks to reporters like it’s his day job, and his confidence never wavers. But it did, just a little, when I asked him if we could come for dinner.
It didn’t last long, though. Our group’s constant state of shit-giving seems to make him more comfortable, and he even joined in teasing me about my late-night workouts.
He’s let that smile loose, the real deal, and it’s nice. He’s still the cool, self-assured football nerd I first met, but I know for sure now there’s far more to this man than that. Underneath all that muscle and polished charisma, there’s a guy who’s gone missing. One that I have a feeling got left behind somewhere on his way to making it to the top.
What he doesn’t know is, I’m really good at finding people—the lost and forgotten.
“So, how’s it really going?” Jamie slides up to the sink beside me while we all work together to clean the kitchen.
That has always been the rule. If Hope cooked, we cleaned.
