Page 37 of Reclaiming Kendall

"If we're packed and ready to go, we can leave tomorrow after the game. Thankfully it's a home game this week," Teagan muses out loud.

“With you being the coach, does that mean we’re all going to the game then?" Will asks.

I shrug when I answer in place of Teagan, "We all normally go together, but you don't have to go if you don't want to."

Mav's head turns toward me sharply, but I ignore it, and so does Will, "No, it's cool. I've always wanted to watch one of their games. I always begged to go when Mav played, but his mom would never take us."

Of course, those words tear straight through me, both for him and Maverick.

"It'll be fun," I tell him. He smiles, and we stand at the foot of the stairs chatting for a few more minutes before he says he's going back up to his room.

No one says a word until we hear the sound of his door shutting then Mav turns to face us, "He got in trouble with a guy that he calls friend, but they got busted stealing shit from a grocery store. Then that other kid got Will into a car he stole. But Frank also said he was stealing money and shit from the house, too."

"Yeah, but Frank is also saying some bullshit about your mom, too, so who's to say he's not lying about all of it?" Grant asks.

I agree with him, "Will seems like a good kid. I think we should give him the benefit of the doubt."

Mav's eyebrow shoots up, "You willing to bet that diamond jewelry in your box upstairs?"

His tone ruffles my feathers, but I don't take the bait, "You're damn skippy I am. The only thing I absolutely need in my life is the four of you standing right in front of me. The rest is just material shit and can be replaced."

"I think you're safe there, sweets," Teagan buts in. "Especially Goose. Could you imagine someone trying to carry his big ass out of here?"

"Hey!" Grant replies in false offense, "You keep making these jokes, but I think all that school food is making you fat. Like the pot calling the kettle black at this point."

He's joking, but Teagan glances down with a frown as if it were true and runs a hand across his abs. I know for a personal fact he's nowhere close to fat and works hard to keep it that way. All of them do. Fingers in front of my mouth, I try to hide my snicker of amusement, but fail miserably.

"Oh, taking sides, sweets?" he asks with narrowed eyes. "I'll give you a thirty-second head start."

I hear the last part as I'm already on the run. That look means nothing but trouble. Sparing one second, I slip off my shoes and toss my phone out of my pocket onto the counter. I make it all the way out beside the pool before I'm tackled from behind. Only, I'm not thrown forward, but swept up into a heavy pair of arms and drug sideways. I don't even have time to scream before we're sinking into the warm water.

We both come up sputtering and laughing all at once. His long hair is either sticking to the side of his face or fanning out around us in the water.

I wrap my legs around his waist and gasp, "Holy shit. Why didn't you take your pants off? You've just ruined those."

His head tilts back with his own laugh, and water droplets run down his face and neck. It's interrupted with a shout from Lucas before he jumps in after us and followed quickly by Grant. Looking back towards the porch, I find Mav standing in the doorway with his arms folded across his chest, watching us.

A grin stretches my lips as I lift a finger out of the water and beckon him to us. Unlike Teagan, he takes his time slipping out of his nicer clothes down to his underwear. Married for two months, two years, or two eons, I don't think my mouth will ever stop watering at the sight of them. Letting my emotions loose, a laugh rumbles from my chest as he takes the stairs into the water. There's no place in the world that makes me feel like a luckier woman than right here with them.

The next day after the game, Will and I stand by Lucas's truck waiting for Teagan and the guys to make their way up to us. All of our stuff is loaded in the back and ready to go. We'll be stuffed inside like sardines for an hour or two on the ride to the campground, but it'll be worth it to destress. Primwoods lost tonight, and Teagan wasn't happy. He still pumped up the players after the game before leading them to the locker room with Lucas, Grant, and Mav in tow. In all the years I've known him, he's never been one to be a bad sport about losing. Not that he likes it in the least, but as he says 'It's all a part of life. Got to learn at some point.'

A couple of girls walk by and giggle, looking towards Will. From the corner of my eye, I see his face flush before his eyes find the ground. Once the girls are out of earshot, I elbow him in the upper arm, "Those girls thought you were cute."

"Yeah, right," he says, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "They're preps and probably think I go here. They'd shun me the second they find out I go to public school."

"I doubt it," I tell him, lost in my own head for a second while a brilliant idea forms. "What if you didn't go to public school? What if we got you enrolled here?"

He snorts, "That'll never happen. My aunt won't pay for that. Maybe for her real kids that weren't dumped on her doorstep sucking her money dry."

My temper flares, but I tuck it deep down, "I can't believe she would say something like that to you. You're more than she's let you think you are. And if you say yes, then we pull you out of public, and you'll be here at Primwoods next week."

"And when she gets out, and I have to go back to living with her?" he asks.

I let my eyebrow lift in a stern expression, "No one said you had to go back to live with her. If, and that's a humongous if, they force you to leave us then we'll still take care of all your tuition and everything. You've only got two and a half years left, anyway, and if you want to get away from all of this and go to college, then Primwoods is your best bet."

"It's not all bad anymore," he says quietly glancing down at the ground again.

There's a break in the conversation, and we let the silence settle around us before Will asks, "If I went here, do you think Teagan would let me join the football team?"

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