“Morning, sunshine.” Mav jogs up to us.
“Morning,” Heath says, voice cracking. He clears it a few times. His gruff morning voice is my favorite.
“Glad you got your sexy ass up; we need a QB.”
Heath shakes his head. “I never played football.”
Mav punches him. “I know, but you’ve got those QB good looks like Tom Brady.”
“Did they already pick teams?” I ask.
“Nah,” Mav says. “They’re fighting over Adam.”
“You four are the most athletically inclined people we’ve had in a while.” I scan the yard to see who made it to play this year, and my gaze snags on someone I didn’t expect. “Bryan’s here?”
The question is more to myself than the guys, but Heath asks, “Who’s Bryan?”
“My ex.” Bryan and I make eye contact and he starts toward me. Seeing him for the first time in three months has my emotions whipping around like I’m on a merry-go-round.
“Hey, Ginny.” Bryan envelopes me in a hug, pressing his large body against mine and squeezing tightly. Apparently he feels none of the awkwardness I do. I can’t decide if that’s comforting or not. “It’s so good to see you.”
“I didn’t expect you to be home for break.”
“Just for the day. I fly back tonight.”
“Oh.” I shift uncomfortably and wring my hands to have something to do. “How’s Idaho?”
“Eh… you know.”
“Actually, I don’t.”
“Well, it’s not Arizona. How’s Valley?”
I sneak a glance at Heath out of my periphery. He’s got his arms crossed and a hard expression on his face. “It’s great. I really love it.”
“Yeah?”
I nod.
“That’s awesome.” He does a blatant once over of my body. “You look amazing.”
“Thanks.” I smile politely. He looks good too, but not in that way where I want to rip off his clothes. And the guy who I do want to do that to is standing beside me. I turn to him. “Bryan, this is my friend Heath.”
“Hey, man.” Bryan juts his chin in acknowledgment. “You play hockey with Adam, right?”
“That’s right.”
“The guys were talking about you earlier. Sounds like you’re going to be the opposing QB. I’ll try not to make you look too bad.” He takes a step back and winks. “Good to see you, babe. I’ll call you. Maybe we can hang while we’re both in town for winter break.”
I wait until he’s gone to face Heath, prepared to stroke his ego, but he’s… smiling?
“Your friend, huh?”
“Did you want me to introduce you as my make-out buddy?”
He chuckles and winces at the same time. “Guess not. You dated that douche?”
“He’s… not so bad.” I play down any lingering resentment because the last thing I need is Heath or my brother to make a scene. And honestly, it’s not so much resentment as just dislike for the guy. Sure, he had his own reasoning for how things ended, but let’s be real, he did it in a super shitty way. I can see that so much clearer now.
“He’s a douche.”
“Is this jealous Heath?” I wave a hand in front of his broody frame. He glares toward Bryan’s retreating back.
“What? No, of course not.” But he continues to stand close while we set up the game.
We’ve got enough people to play with two full teams and a couple alternates. Rauthruss and Heath end up on my team and Adam and Mav on the other with Bryan.
“We’re just waiting on my dad,” Adam says and glances toward the house. “Ginny, did you see him when you came out?”
“No, I haven’t seen him this morning.”
Adam’s brows scrunch together. “That’s weird.”
“He probably had to run to town for something Mom forgot. Let’s just start, I’m sure he’ll show up.”
Adam doesn’t budge.
“I will go check on him.” I nudge Heath playfully. “Don’t screw up my winning streak, Payne.”
I hurry back up to the house and to the kitchen where I can hear Mom and her sister, Zoe, talking and cooking. Mom’s wearing a half apron chopping onions while Zoe sits on a stool peeling potatoes.
“Hey.”
They both look up as I enter.
“Morning. Game over already?” Mom asks.
“No, we haven’t started yet. We’re waiting on Dad. Do you know where he is?”
Mom and Zoe exchange a look.
“What?” I ask when neither of them immediately answers.
Mom shakes her head. “I don’t know where he went, but it’s not like him to miss the big game. Start without him, and I’ll text and let him know the team’s missing him.”
I grin. “Okay. Thanks, Mom. Are you staying for dinner, Aunt Zoe?”
“No, your uncle Wyatt and I are heading to his mom’s. I’ll stop by Sunday before you head back to school.”
As I go out, Dad’s pulling into the driveway. I run to him, pleased to see he’s dressed to play in an old T-shirt and shorts. “You’re late.”
“How’s the team looking, kid?” He gives me a one-arm hug as we walk toward the game.
“We’ve got a few ringers thanks to Adam and his friends.”
At the next break in play, Adam finds us on the sidelines, and he and my dad hug. Adam’s taller and broader than him now, which is just another way things have changed over the last three years.
“Good to see you, son.”
“You ready to get your ass kicked, old man?”
Adam and my dad smack talk like they’re both twelve, but it’s so good to see them together. Our whole family home at the same time.
“You’re on Ginny’s team,” Adam tells him.
Our team huddles up, and Dad and I substitute in.
As we play, I have this sublime feeling of total completeness. Like I’ve never been this happy. Maybe it’s just nostalgia and the sense that this is a rare moment. Adam will graduate, become a doctor with insane hours, and get married or move far away and who
