Page 151 of Endgame

“Fuck, guys. You didn’t have to. But this…this means everything. Thank you.” He’s nodding in gratitude as claps and “we love yous” float across the air from different voices.

It’s hard for him to accept help, which the fact that he didproves how much they’re struggling. No one deserves to go through the unthinkable, but knowing you have an army of people who love and support you makes the battle a little more bearable.

“We’re a team, Coach. All of us, on and off the field. We’ve got your back like you’ve always had ours.”

The team huddles in for a group hug as the rest of us stand back, watching their love for their coach cause not one dry eye in the park.

“Now, who’s up for some dirty bingo?”

Leave it to Kingston.

EPILOGUE

DAKOTA

Two Months Later

“Callaway!Can you please help me move this? What is this anyway?”

He’s running up to my side, thankfully fast enough before I drop the elephant on my foot.

It’s not an elephant, although its weight feels like it, which is partially why I’m questioning its identity.

Grabbing the unnamed object from my arms, he answers, “That, my dear, is a National League Golden Glove, and it’s my most prized possession, aside from you.”

“Oh, I never realized you were that good.”

But wow. Impressive.

Callaway throws his head back as laughter invades my ears.

“Angel, I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that. Follow me for a second. I want to show you something.” This man and his constant surprises. He grabs the treasured piece and sets it aside for me.

It’s been a week since we moved into the house.

Renovations didn't take nearly as long as we planned, but it’s safe to say this place feels more and more like a home every day—our home.

Once Callaway and I proceeded with the sale, five hundred and fifty thousand dollars was deposited into my bank account the next day. I’d never seen that amount of money in real-time, ever. Callaway always strives to be the provider, although it’s a blip in his salary. He insisted that I keep the money in a safety deposit box until I decide what I want to do with it, adamant about him covering the cost of the renovations.

He’s always taking care of me.

It was important to me that the house's bones stayed the same, and Callaway couldn’t agree more.

This place holds so much character.

With five bedrooms, there’s plenty of space to house all of the future babies we will hopefully have one day, but for now, we’re making sure Navy has a spot to come to if a situation calls for it. Last I heard from her, she was staying in a hotel for a couple of weeks. She made it seem like she wanted some time alone to figure things out, which I understand after spending so many years with someone. Now that Callaway’s stuff has been moved out of his old room, the space is available for her—if that’s still an option.

She has yet to confirm or deny moving into the guys’ house.

I know she would never accept our help or subject herself to our affection, but still, at least she knows the room is there.

One of the most spectacular parts of the home is the hidden loft. If you follow the staircase past the main bedrooms, there’s a little pocket door that leads to a private space. The loft filters endless beams of natural light streaming from the floor-to-ceiling windows across the room.It resembles a glass elevator where everything is in view, but in this case, no one can see inside.

This space used to be my mom’s library. Her hundreds of books were shelved here and categorized by color. It was beautiful and my favorite place to escape to.

I tried to convince Callaway to make it a sex room. He dismissed my suggestion for now but noted we should revisit the conversation later, most likely after we have all the bathrooms functioning properly

Priorities and all that.

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