With some careful maneuvering, he sat down on the stiff plastic bench. A dozen pairs of eyes were on him instantly. And almost as quickly, the questions started coming from all directions. The kids all wanted to know what position he played, how long he’d been playing, how much he made—he didn’t answer that one—what his favorite music was, and so on.
He barely got a bite in with the constant barrage of questions, but he enjoyed every minute—even more than reading to them. Despite his injury, the kids treated him like a celebrity athlete. It was exactly the boost he needed to lift the sadness of being out for a few games.
When he looked over at Em, he caught a satisfied smile on her lips. Did she know this would happen and how much it would mean? Already, he was having a hard time not falling for her.
An hour later, after finishing up his non-date lunch and driving home, he pulled out his laptop to video chat with his sister. Between seeing Em and Frida tease each other in the cafeteria, and reading his favorite childhood book to Em’s class, he realized that he really missed Katherine.
The two had been good about texting and interacting online, but he couldn’t remember the last time he sat down just to catch up. When her smiling face appeared on the screen, he instantly felt homesick.
“Hey, Granty Panty.”
Grant groaned. Okay, maybe he wasn’t that homesick. He could go the rest of his life without hearing the ridiculous nickname his sister had given him when they were little. Every year, a small part of him hoped that Katherine would eventually stop calling him that, but Grant would always be her kid brother. They could be old and gray at his niece’s wedding, and he’d still be Granty Panty.
She lifted her brows. “And to think, it only took a severe injury that put you out of commission to call me.”
“Yeah, I miss you too.” He really did.
Katherine asked him how his school visit had gone, and when Grant had finished telling her about it, she leaned forward so that her face filled more of the screen.
“And is Emmeline madly in love with you yet?”
Grant laughed. “I’ve told you, it’s not like that.”
“Yes, but I’ve also known you your entire life. I’ve never seen you light up like this when you’ve talked about a girl.”
“Note to self: no more video chats.”
She rolled her eyes. “You act like I didn’t already know before seeing your love-sick expression whenever you say her name.”
“I can still hit ‘end call.’”
Katherine leaned back in her seat. “You could, but you won’t.”
“Oh yeah?”
His sister shrugged. “You haven’t seen your nieces yet. It would break their hearts not to say hi.”
Grant felt a pang of guilt. Between family dinners with his parents, and babysitting so that his sister and her husband could go out on Friday nights, he was used to seeing his nieces several times a week. Now that he was states away, he missed his uncle role. “You’re right.”
“Plus, I think you want to talk more about your girlfriend.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
“But you want her to be.”
Grant closed his eyes and sighed. Dating Em sounded great on paper, but every time he gave it any more than a superficial thought, it didn’t seem like a good idea.
First, there was the issue of the O’Brien siblings. Em kept insisting that she didn’t date players, and Finn had a strict no-dating-my-sister rule. But if that wasn’t enough, there was the fact that Grant didn’t live in Florida—not permanently. He lived in a team house with no roots in Waterfront. When the season was over, he’d move back to his apartment in Kansas City. Em had a teaching career here in town, and eventually Grant would pursue his own career...once he figured out what it was.
“Katherine, you know I like her. She’s gorgeous and funny and—”
“So what’s the problem?”
He ran a hand over his face. “It’s complicated.”
“Can I give you some sisterly advice?”
“Are you going to take no for an answer?”
“Obviously not.” She laughed. “But if you really like this girl, and it sounds like she likes you too, maybe you should explore what could happen between you. If it’s love, you can figure out the rest. Just like I did with Joseph.”
“Not everyone is willing to move cross-country for someone.”
She smiled. “But they are for the right one. Just something to think about.”
Grant would think about it, but he wasn’t the one who needed convincing. He was willing to give things a shot as soon as Em gave him the green light.
“Can we come in yet?” said a young girl’s voice from the screen.
“Please, Mommy,” said another. “We want to see Uncle Grant.”
Katherine laughed. “I don’t think I’m going to keep them out much longer. So if you have anything else you want to get off your chest, do it now or forever hold your peace.”
Grant was relieved for his nieces’ interruption. He didn’t think that he could talk relationships with his sister much longer. “Let them in.”
Katherine called the girls, and they came running in. They basically pushed their mom out of the way to fill the entire screen of his laptop. They started long monologues about their toys, their friends, and how much they missed him.
After fifteen minutes of this, Grant finally got to speak. “I miss you guys too.”
It was true. He did.
But this was finally his chance to do what he loved for a bit.
And maybe find love too.
Emmeline
Something felt off to Em at Saturday night’s Storm game.
Normally, it was all about cheering for her brother and the other guys while eating greasy concession food with Miriam.
But this week, she couldn’t stop thinking about Grant. He invaded her thoughts without permission, and as much as she had tried
