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“That’s wild.”

“It was my life, you know? We’d go to his games sometimes and sit in the family section. The other wives and girlfriends would watch us if my mom had to go to the bathroom or whatever. Afterward, we’d wait in this hallway outside the locker room, and when he came out, he’d pick me up and spin me around.” Drew could hear the smile in her voice. “I loved that. Back then, my dad was like a superhero to me, but he was also just my dad. It’s sort of hard to explain. My childhood was pretty awesome, but I wished he’d been home more. I still do. For me, for my brother and sister, for my mom.”

“That had to be hard.”

“He missed a lot. Birthdays, recitals, back-to-school nights, school sports—regular nights when you just wanted your dad home.”

Drew’s dad had been the exact opposite, always there, sometimes too much. He’d spent half his life wishing the man would back off and give him room to breathe. Listening to Nicole, he felt like kind of an asshole for ever wanting that.

“Even with all that, I couldn’t complain. Not really,” she said. “As I got older, I started to understand what some of the other players were doing, the things their wives talked about when they thought we weren’t listening. But there was never anything like that with my dad. Not even a rumor. Until recently.”

She sighed. “A couple of months ago, a woman named Gina told him she was pregnant with his baby.”

“Fuck. I’m sorry, Nicole.”

“He says he never slept with her. That the baby can’t be his.”

“And you believe him,” he said carefully.

“Yes. I do. He’s been adamant from the beginning. It’s been hard on my mom, though. She put him out of the house the day he told her. She’s trying to hold herself together, and I hate what this is doing to her.”

Her voice softened. “My mom is incredible. She held our family together, you know? Never missed one of my brother’s games. Drove my sister to dance competitions every weekend. Sat with me at the kitchen table every night and helped me with art projects, even when she was exhausted.

“During the season, she’d cook these huge meals for the whole team. Twenty guys would show up at our house, and she’d have everything ready. In the offseason, she’d plan little getaways for her and my dad. No kids, no entourage. And every anniversary, she’d write him a love letter. Pages long. My sister found a stack of them once in my dad’s office. He kept every single one.”

For a moment, she said nothing.

“I know a stack of love letters doesn’t prove anything. I’m not stupid. But twenty-seven years, Drew. There has never been another woman. And now I’m supposed to believe he cheated and got someone pregnant?” She scoffed. “Yeah, no. She’s just looking for a payout.”

All Drew knew about Melvin Wright was the guy on TV, and Nicole was his daughter. It sure as hell wasn’t his place to question her.

“Is that why you came all the way to Alabama?” he asked. “To get some distance from the whole famous-dad thing?”

“Partly. Drayton has a respectable premed track. That was the practical reason I chose it, and it made my mother happy enough to overlook how far it was from home.”

“Right, you told me at the party. That’s still pretty fucking impressive.”

“It’s my mom’s dream. To have a doctor in the family.” Nicole let out a quiet breath. “She wants me to build a career for myself. Something people will respect.”

“Is it your dream too?”

“No. I’m an artist. A painter. I want to make a career of it one day. To have my paintings hanging in galleries. Maybe even own one. I don’t know.” She gave a soft laugh. “I just want to put my work out into the world and give other artists a place to do the same.”

Drew smiled. He knew what it sounded like when somebody talked about the thing they wanted more than anything.

“That’s fucking amazing, Nicole.”

“You think so?”

“Hell yeah. You don’t just want people to see your work. You want to help other artists get seen too? That’s a hell of a dream. I don’t know much about art, being a dumb jock and all.”

“Stop it,” she said, laughing.

“But I’d love to see your work sometime.”

“Yeah. Okay,” she said after a moment. “I’m still learning, though. I don’t know if I’m gallery good yet.”

“Now you stop it.”