Page 13 of Sporty Girls Don't Fall For Loners

Dad puts down his fork. “You know I’m nearly finished with my current book and will officially end the series.”

“Much to your fans’ disappointment.”

“Yes, but all good things must come to an end. I’m already planning my new series and feel really good about it.”

“Dad, that’s great!” I say.

“Thanks, sweetheart. But for this new series, I’m looking for something a little different. Something that will wow my readers. I need a lot of inspiration. I think in this case, location is key because there will be a lot of world-building. The series will be heavy fantasy like my last series, but even more so.”

“Okay…?” I say, not sure where he’s going with this.

“So your dad would like to spend some time in New Zealand,” Mom says.

My jaw falls open as I gape from one to the other. “We’re moving to New Zealand?”

“Not you,” Dad explains. “Just your mom and me. We wouldn’t want to uproot you from your life, your friends, your school, and football.”

“So you’ll be living with Uncle Zack and Aunt Ally for a while,” Mom says.

“Why can’t I stay with Mia or Rylee?”

Mom shakes her head. “It’ll be like you guys are having a sleepover every night. We very well know what happens when the three of you spend too much time together.”

I frown. Okay, we might have gotten into a lot of mischief when we were younger, but we’re not little kids anymore.

“We don’t want you to lose focus on school and football,” Dad says. “And while we love the Barringtons and the Parks, both Mom and I think it’s best that you live with my brother and Ally.”

“Okay,” I say. “You know I love hanging out with Uncle Zack and Aunt Ally. But what about Kade?”

“We don’t think it’s a problem with him living there,” Mom says. “We trust you.”

“Sounds good,” I tell them, though I’m not so sure about Kade. But maybe he and I won’t have to interact much. Maybe he’ll even find a new home soon. “When are you leaving?” I ask.

“In a few days,” Dad says. “We plan to make a stop in Boston to visit Grandma, Grandpa, and Brock.”

“Maybe he’ll be ready to come home with you after your trip.”

Mom and Dad nod with hopeful expressions. My fourteen-year-old brother has been living with my grandparents for two years. He didn’t seem too eager to come home when I video chatted with him a few nights ago, but maybe he’s changed his mind?

“Thanks for being so supportive, Zoey,” Dad says as we start cleaning up the dishes. “I think this will be very helpful for my new series.”

“Of course, Dad.” I wrap my arms around him. “You know you always have my support. You’ll knock this new book out of the park.”

He kisses the top of my head. “I have the best daughter in the world.”

Chapter Four

Kade

Ally’s cooking dinner in the kitchen and I’m here as well, trying to get through this history test.

Zack won’t be home until later and then we’ll all eat dinner together. Ally has put a snack together for me. It’s currently sitting on the table, untouched. While I appreciate it, I guess I’m not really hungry.

“You didn’t have a chance to tell me how your first day was,” Ally says from where she’s mixing something on the stove. “We got distracted talking about my memories.” She laughs sheepishly as she tucks some blonde hair behind her ear. “I still can’t believe how long it’s been.”

When we sat on the bleachers, she told me about her high school days and how she met her husband in their junior year. She also mentioned her daughters, Lily and Evie, and her son Liam who also met their soulmates in high school.

My parents met when they were pretty young, too. They were neighbors and played in the park a lot and one day when he was nine and she was eight, Dad kissed her and told her he loved her. Mom shoved him to the ground and ran away. But Dad kept chasing her until she was in fifth grade and realized she liked him, too. They didn’t officially date until she was in eighth grade, though. There are many photos of them over the years that have been put in storage. I only have a few that I keep in my room.

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