Page 116 of The Only Goal

They ring through me, and it’s kind of nice to know that if my life falls to total shit, then at least I still have these guys.

“Hey, man, at the end of the day, the choice is yours. We’ll support whatever you decide,” Asher assures me.

“I know.”

“But you should go get your girl.” He laughs. “I know it’s probably terrifying, but it’s not like you’re showing up there to steal her away. If she says no, you come home.”

“And what about Kai?” I murmur. “Gotta factor him into this mess. What if he wants to stay with his dad?”

“He’s gonna want to be with his mother,” Rachel says. “I can assure you. Those two are tight, and by the sound of things, his dad’s not around much anyway.”

“I just hate the idea of him having to deal with a broken home.”

“Kids do it all the time, and it doesn’t mess all of them up,” Caroline tells me. “As adults, you can keep it amicable and make it work for his benefit. You’re all mature enough to do that, right?”

“Not sure Hudson is,” I mutter.

“Well, you’ll just have to make him see reason.”

“I think he’s threatening some hideous custody battle if she tries to leave him.”

“Well, lucky for her, my dad’s lawyers have kick-ass connections,” Asher tells me. “We’ll find her the best divorce lawyer in the country.”

“It’s true,” Lani agrees. “The lawyers they organized for me were freaking amazing with the whole Harvey thing. It hasn’t even gone to trial thanks to them. Harvey’s doing his time, and I—and every other girl he’s hurt—can rest easy.”

I’m so relieved it worked out that way for her.

“Just rest assured that we have contacts, and if Hudson decides to be a total asswipe, then Tammy’s going to get the support she needs to battle this out.”

“Yeah.” I nod.

“And if it helps, you go ahead and tell her that.”

There’s a long pause, and I don’t know how to fill it. I can picture them all around the table, exchanging worried frowns. I get it. This situation sucks. Turning up at her door might be romantic and all, but there’s a whole shit ton of ugly we’ll have to wade through in order to be together.

If she wants me.

“Hey, Bax?” Ethan’s voice is deep and sincere.

“Yeah, man.”

“Sometimes the greatest pain comes before the biggest blessings, you know?”

“Wow,” Mick whispers. “Baby, that’s deep.”

“I know it’s not on the same scale or anything, but the shit we went through before we finally got together fucking sucked. But then I got to be with you, and… it was all worth it.”

“Aw.” Mick’s voice gets all mushy, and I think they’re kissing now.

“Yeah, okay. You two, your bedroom’s upstairs,” Lani mutters. “Seriously, why do they always make us watch this?”

“Because they have zero idea that there are other people in the room right now.” Asher’s tone is dry, and Rachel starts giggling.

I shake my head with a grin and hang up, which I’m sure nobody even notices.

Staring at the long road ahead, I navigate the highway back to Nolan, wondering the whole time if my friends are right.

Should I just show up at Tammy’s door?

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