“And an Olympian.” Jake huffed out a laugh. “You don’t stand a chance.” He slapped me on the back and walked off. Thankfully, Perry was already gone or he’d be here to add his own commentary.
Emmie’s eyes tracked my movement as I stepped toward her and Coach. Her shoulders were up by her ears as if she was unsure of what I was going to say.
“Coach,” I greeted once I was a foot away.
“Boone.” He turned to Emmie and gestured to me. “Mateo is the team’s captain and quarterback. If I’m not around, he’s the one you go to.”
The smirk on my face was out of my control. “Yeah, I’m the one you come to.”
Emmie looked like she wanted to say something, but our team's assistant coach came up and called her dad’s name.
“One second, Em, then we can get something to eat.” Coach Reggie stepped to the side, leaving Emmie and me alone.
“So, that’s why you haven’t texted me.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t…” Emmie trailed off. I wanted to continue my teasing, but vulnerability flashed across her face.
“Hey,” I softened my voice and stepped closer. “It’s okay, I’m just messing around. You really don’t have to explain.”
She didn’t owe me a thing. I was just some random guy she met. She didn’t need to tell me her entire life story the second we went out to eat. I respected why she didn’t tell me who her dad was. Him being my coach did make things a bit more…interesting, though.
She brought her hand up and played with the ends of her ponytail. “I wasn’t sure how to tell you.”
“Did you think I was going to be mad?”
She hesitated to answer.
Beside me, I could hear her dad wrapping up his conversation and knew our time was almost up.
I lowered my voice and locked my eyes with hers, hoping she’d understand I meant every word. “I’m not upset. Surprised but not mad.”
Emmie’s green eyes flared. “You aren’t?”
“If you want to know the answer to that, text me.” I stepped back as Coach came up to Emmie’s side. “See you later, Coach. Emmie.” I dipped my head toward her, eyes lingering for a split second before I turned on my heel and walked away.
“The cruise ship is incredible.You should see all we can do,”my mom, Evelyn, gushed over FaceTime.“They even have mini golf!”
Beside her, Steven nodded along, eyes practically glued to the side of my mom’s face. It was the look of a man completely in love. A look that was still weird to see. Steven Barnum, otherwise known as Coach Barnum, and my mother have been dating for the last six years.
Finding out her and Wyatt’s hockey coach were a thing was…a lot at first. Since my father left us when I was barely born, I’ve never seen my mom in love or in a relationship. She always put Landon, Wyatt, and me above anything or anyone else.
At first, Landon didn’t really know how to handle it. He’dspent so long being the man of the house, our built-in father figure while mom worked, that the idea of her having a life outside of us felt…foreign. It took him a while to adjust to her dating.
As for Wyatt, it took him the longest to get used to it. Every time Steven came over for dinner, the awkwardness was almost too much. It affected their whole coach/player dynamic, but like the rest of us, Wyatt just wanted our mom to be happy.
Now, six years later, Steven was a bit of a father figure to all three of us. Landon and him went golfing. Wyatt and Steven watch hockey and started doing puzzles together. As for Steven and me, we have an ongoing Words With Friends game. But whenever I am in town, he makes the effort to throw ball with me and asks how things are going.
He’s even the best grandpa to Wyatt and Landon’s kids, and the first person to volunteer to babysit. If Kai asks for something, he doesn’t hesitate getting it for her, even if it frustrates Lydia to no end. Anytime the kids are around, he’s there.
He’s more than just an intimidating hockey coach. Don’t get me wrong, he still could be, but after getting to know him and seeing the different sides to him, Steven was actually a really good guy. And he made my mom happy.
“That sounds great, guys.” I smiled at the pair.
“We’ve had a ball.”When my mom looked at Steven with googly eyes, I held back a gag. I’m glad my mom was over the moon, but I didn’t need to see them being all lovey dovey.“We dock tomorrow, so I’ll shoot you a text when we’re on our way home.”
“I’m glad you guys had fun. I know I’m not close, but if you need anything, let me know.” I couldn’t help but worry about her. It wasn’t like she couldn’t take care of herself, andshe did have my brothers near, but being the youngest, I lived with her for years without them around.
I was the one who watched reality TV with her before bed. The two of us ate dinner together almost every single night. Even when I was at university, I was close enough that I could see her anytime I wanted. Sometimes it felt like I was losing that connection with her. I wasn’t, but the distance between here and my family felt miles wide every so often.
