Page 27 of Tight End

“Where hab you been?”

“I . . . uh . . .” Where the fuck have I been?

“Your dad was away with work for a while, but he’s back now.” I’m not sure when June came over here, but she’s kneeling beside me, clearly here to save my ass.

The look Oliver gives me is heart-wrenching, and when his bottom lip quivers, I almost lose it right here. This kid can have anything he wants. My penthouse, all the money in my bank account, a kidney. No questions asked. “Are you going to leabe again?”

Shit. Fuck. His gaze shifts to the floor between us, and I move closer, putting a light hand on his forearm. “No, Oli. I’m not going anywhere.”

“You promise?” His bright-blue eyes are full of hope, and he hugs the stuffed dinosaur close to his chest.

Of course that’s when I remember my job—my job that requires me to travel almost every week. Our last preseasongame is tomorrow in New Orleans, which means I’ll be leaving first thing in the morning and not coming back until Monday. I can’t promise him I’ll never leave while I’m packing my bags. “I do travel for work sometimes, but it’s usually only for a day or two, and I promise I’ll always come back. You can call me whenever you want, and when I’m playing, you can watch me on TV.”

It doesn’t seem like the time to mention that my contract is up at the end of the season. I know my mom said not to focus on problems I don’t have, but I can’t just ignore the ticking clock hanging over my head. Nashville is my home, and I want to stay, but in pro sports, it doesn’t always matter what I want.

I was lucky enough to get a contract here in the first place, and I’ve busted my ass for the team, but at the end of the day, we haven’t gotten to the playoffs in years. We’re not the worst team in the league, but we’re not good enough to be the best. My stats don’t mean shit if I can’t lead the team to victory.

What this means for me come March when my contract is up and I become a free agent ... I don’t know.

“Your daddy plays football. Remember when we first saw him in his uniform?” June glances at me but is quick to look away, a light-pink blush spreading across her cheeks.

Hmm. Interesting.

Also, nope. I’m supposed to be pushing her out of my head, not wishing she could come to a game and watch me play.

Maybe having her move in here wasn’t such a good idea. Especially since I don’t have a room set up for her yet.

Yeah . . . I’m in trouble.

I haven’t been with a woman in about four years—since the night I found her in that sparkly wedding dress—and tenminutes in my house and she’s already chipping away at my resolve.

Maybe it’s because I’ve never been able to stop thinking about her. Maybe because she was the one to walk away from me, leaving me wanting more. Maybe because it’s been so long since I’ve lost myself in someone else. I don’t fucking know, but I need to figure it out before my focus goes down the garbage, and then I’m guaranteed a one-way ticket out of here come March when the free agency period starts.

Oliver nods, picking up a few of the blocks and stacking them, one on top of the other. “I remember. That man gabe me a football.”

“That’s right, he did.” Fucking Silas. At least right now that damn football is buried under a pile of drywall and debris. “Next week I’ll—” My phone rings, completely derailing everything I was about to say, and I’ve got half a mind to ignore it completely, but as I pull it from my pocket, my agent’s name flashes on my screen. “I’m so sorry, I need to take this.”

“Yeah, sure. Of course.” June keeps her eyes trained on the colorful blocks as she sits down on the floor by Oliver, putting some distance between us.

Her entire demeanor shifts. Her shoulders are rigid, her brows pinched, and the smile that stretched across her face tilts to a frown. Weird.

I don’t like it. I also don’t like that I don’t like it.

Maybe talking to Nick will get my head out of my ass. Now that I’ve got Oliver in my life, it’s him and football. Not only do I have something to prove to myself, my dad, and, hell, even Anders who doesn’t know I exist, but this year everything could be on the line. I need to fight to keep myspot on the team, not spend my time chasing around a woman I have no business being with.

June deserves a man who can commit to her, take care of her, and be everything she needs and more.

After Caitlin, I can’t be that man for anyone.

Never again.

She’s why I have one rule, the only rule I need—don’t fall in love. And while I’m nowhere close to that with June, she makes me feel things I haven’t felt in a very long time, and that scares the shit out of me.

I push up from the floor, ignoring the creaking in my knees and the urge to look back at June, and duck out into the hallway. “Hey, Nick.”

“Hey there, superstar.” He laughs, knowing good and well I hate it when he calls me that. “Cole, don’t run with the scissors. If you stab yourself in the face, your mom is going to be mad at me. No. Don’t look at me like that.” He lets out a small sigh. “Sorry, kids. I’d have called you back sooner, but you didn’t tell me about yours until late last night. Tsk tsk. I thought I trained you better than that.”

“Yeah, well, this has all been a little new for me. You’ll have to forgive me for not telling you before I told my own mother.”

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