Page 91 of Trapped and Tackled

She blushes. “I know. She said I had to talk to you but Talon, I’m ready to go public. My dad’s from New York, you know?”

“Yeah,” I say. His family immigrated to a small, cottage town, Honey Harbor.

“He’s calling in every marker he has—to the DA in New York, who he knows from undergrad. To the AG here in Tennessee?—”

“Who’s apparently a fan,” I murmur.

“Yeah.” She nods. “There was another woman who filed a police report against Craig years ago. The District Attorney in New York is going to investigate it. I’ve filed a restraining order against Craig in the meantime.” Leni lowers her gaze. “I spoke with my parents.” She pulls in a breath. “I’m thinking about pressing charges.”

“You are?” My eyes widen. “I’m so proud of you, baby.”

“But what if he comes after you in retaliation?” she says, looking worried.

“Leni…” I shake my head. “No way. If you want to press charges?—”

“I want to tell the world what he did to me, Talon. I want everyone to know that you were protecting me. I want to help save your reputation the way you’ve saved me. And I want us to move past this, together.”

I stop walking and wait until she turns toward me. Then, I wrap my arms around her and kiss her hard. “I want everything with you, Sunny. I’ll play this any way you want, as long as it’s what you want.”

“Good.” She grins, looking more confident and at ease than she should after such a stressful day. “Then leave it to me.”

I bend down to kiss her. My hand fists in her hair and I barely feel the sting from hitting Craig only a handful of hours ago.

The porch lights flicker on and off and Leni and I jump apart.

Vicki stands in the doorway laughing. “I haven’t had to do that in long time.”

I look at Leni, raising an eyebrow.

She shrugs. “It wasn’t for me.”

“It was for Lincoln,” Vicki explains, holding the door open for us.

When I step over the threshold, Vicki hugs me. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for our daughter.”

“It was nothing,” I say, unsure how to handle these emotions. The Strauss women have no problem embracing vulnerability.

Vicki shakes her head. “It was important, Talon. The way you protected her, the way she confided in you, it matters. Come on.” She loops her arm through mine and leads me into the dining room where Coach and Leni are already seated. “I hope you like pizza.”

Various pizzas are spread out down the center of the table along with a green salad and a Caprese salad.

“This beats debutante ball dinner any day,” I joke.

Coach laughs, Leni rolls her eyes, and Vicki grins.

I sit down at the dining table. All eyes turn to Coach, who lifts his beer in the air. “To Talon,” he says, causing a lump to swell in my throat. “Welcome to the family, son.”

Tears spring to Leni’s eyes. She reaches for my hand beneath the table, and I lace our fingers together.

For the first time, I feel like I belong to something other than a football team. I belong to Leni and the Strauss family.

It’s a homecoming I never knew I needed but, in this moment, it feels like winning the Super Bowl.

“Thank you, Coach.”

He nods. “If you think this means I’m gonna go easy on you…” He lets his sentence hang in the air. “I’m not.”

Leni laughs while Vicki smiles at her husband.

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