Page 102 of Made for Mayhem

“Actually, you very much can,” he said.

The groans were unanimous.

A soft, shaky laugh escaped Daisy, and I felt it against me.

“See?” My hands smoothed once down her back, unable to stop myself. “We took too much attention, so Mason had to one-up us.”

She looked up, eyes still bright, but the nerves gone. “Are you all this nuts?”

“Yes, unfortunately.” I grinned down at her. “But I will say, it’s never boring here.”

She laughed, then stepped away, but not before her hand slid down my arm, her fingers entwined with mine. I gave her a gentle squeeze, knowing in my gut that whether they’d shoved me into this or not, I was already too far gone.

22

As the sky darkened and the crowd began shifting toward the park, Mason led the way toward the spot he’d picked for us. Sure enough, he’d reserved an entire “VIP section” at the edge of the lawn—blankets spread in a wide semicircle, camp chairs arranged around a portable propane fire pit flickering steady and warm in the middle.

The air had turned crisp, the easy heat of the afternoon traded for the sharp mountain chill that always came after sunset.

Emmy arrived carrying a box from the booster table. “Mayhem hoodies for everyone!” she called as she tossed them to us.

I snagged one midair and handed it to Daisy. “Here. You’re cold.”

She smiled, that small, secret smile, and slid her arms into the oversized green sweatshirt. It was so big on her—just like that day we’d ripped out the kitchen—that I had to look away before thinking too much about it.

“Thanks, Coach.”

“Nope,” I whispered, loud enough for only her to hear. “We talked about this.”

Daisy chuckled, the sound mischievous and soft.

Just then, my Mayhem players came striding across the grass, each one with one of Stevie and Luke’s three kids in tow. Miles walked hand in hand with Wyatt, both sticky with cotton candy. Delgado and Reid were locked in a plastic-sword duel, their footwork carrying them closer to the group. Molly had Harper on her shoulders; the kid slapped a slightly deflated balloon animal against the top of her head.

Jace brought up the rear beside Junie, who was hauling a stuffed cow almost as big as she was. Her hair was windblown, cheeks pink from the cold, eyes bright as if she’d just conquered the world.

She broke into a run when she saw me.

“Dad! Look what I won!”

The word hit like a body check to the ribs, sudden and impossible to brace for.

The group froze for half a second. Even Mason stopped talking.

Junie didn’t notice. She stumbled to a stop in front of me, the cow tipping forward to thump into my shins as she wrapped her arms around my waist.

“It’s a cow! I won it with Jace at the ring toss! We had to use all our tickets, but I got the last ring myself!”

I crouched to meet her eyes. “That’s a serious trophy, bug.”

“Holy cow,” Mason muttered behind me. “Am I right?”

Tate smacked his stomach. “You’re so dumb.”

Laughter rippled through the group, breaking the moment.

Junie grinned, holding up one floppy ear. “Jace said it’s bigger than Beckett’s bear, so I win!”

Emmy appeared beside us, fishing another hoodie from the box. “Here, honey. This one’s yours.”