Page 122 of A Sky Full Of Stars

Messaging Thomas made me feel like a new woman. It was the icing on the cake that I wasn’t even aware I was baking. A weight lifted, and suddenly, everything felt right in the world.

Lainey: When you’re ready, I’d love to talk. Thinking of you.

Now, I just had to wait for his response and then it would all fall into place. If he was ready, I could make plans for a shorter travel stint after my next project. And if he needed more time, that was okay too. I would wait.

I never considered the possibility that he wouldn’t contact me at all.

And I should have, because that’s exactly what happened. He never did.

PART FOUR

“THIS YEAR’S LOVE” BY DAVID GRAY

FOUR YEARS LATER - PRESENT DAY

THOMAS TWENTY-EIGHT/ LAINEY TWENTY-FIVE

Chapter Forty-One

Thomas

“Smile,” Katie yells in her sweet little voice as we smile at her camera, knowing she’s likely to cut off our heads. She’s been taking photos for twenty minutes, and when she’s done, she thanks us for our time and moves on to the next group, bossing them around until they line up in position.

“The sass…” Wes begins, and I know what’s coming next.

“Like mother, like daughter?” I ask, laughing when he groans out a yes.

Wes Johnson is an ex San Francisco football player and soon to be engaged to Dylan’s older sister, Lucy, the sassy mother in question, and her five-year-old-going-on-sixteen is the wonderful Katie. I call Wes soon to be engaged because we all know it’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of when.

I knew Wes back when he played, and something about hismostlycalm, protective nature had us instantly connecting when Lucy officially introduced us. Most likely because we were both outsiders at the time, but that’s no longer the case for Wes.

I learned pretty quickly that once you’re a part of the “Friendsgiving crew”—as someone once named Summer, Dylan and their friends—you’rein it. It’s like one big happy family, and they’re all there for each other. All there to call you out on your shit or support you when it’s needed. And for me, that wasdifficult to get used to. Hell, I’m still trying to figure out where I fit into it all.

Because I was once the reason one of them needed that support.

I’m not going to lie; I don’t make it easy on myself. I’m the only one that lives outside of San Francisco, and when it’s the football season, I’m a ghost. For those four to five months, the only thing I allow myself to focus on is my game. I fucked up my first season, and I vowed not to let anything get in the way again. It keeps my head in a good space…for part of the year, anyway.

But when it’s not football season…

“Uncle Thomas,” Katie calls out as she rushes over, linking her fingers through mine before dragging me away. “Will you play with me?” She’s not giving me a choice, but she doesn’t have to. She knows the answer.

It’s always a yes.

If I was ever asked to name the three most important females in my life, Katie would be one of them. Summer would be another. And the third—the third keeps me awake at night.

“Katie,” Lucy admonishes as she steps in front of us, stopping Katie in her path to take me God knows where. “I told you that today was Thomas’s special day. You’ll have plenty of time to play with him when he moves here in a couple of months.”

“Luce, you know I don’t mind. I actually love it.” That’s not a lie. I always struggle at these get-togethers, and the fact that this one is about me makes it harder.

“I know you do, and so does Katie. But you’re the man of the hour.”

The man of the hour. Newly traded, Thomas Kelly. Official starting quarterback for the San Francisco Storm.

It happened. San Francisco needed a quarterback, and I needed a change. It was a win-win. They couldn’t deny that, in the last few years, after permanently taking over the Seattle quarterback position from Colton, I’d become one of the best, and I couldn’t give up the chance of moving closer to Summer. Being here for her if she needed me. Making up for lost time.

It may have been six years since we reconnected, but I still feel behind the eight ball, and I haven’t figured out how to change that yet. But being closer can’t hurt.

“How about I play with you for ten minutes, Katie Bug, and then I’ll get back to being the center of attention.”

---