Page 122 of Over the Moon

“Oh, I know about that,” Cutler chuckled and shook his head. “All of my uncles are complicated people.”

We all laughed at that, and I shrugged. “We’re trying to figure it out, little man.”

“I remember when my mama almost moved away, and me and my pops were going to be real sad without her.” He looked up at my sister like she set the sun. “Do you remember that, Mama?”

“I do, my love,” she said.

“Man, my pops was being so silly.”

“What happened?” Eloise asked.

“I almost took a job on the other side of the country back then. Nash and I just weren’t sure what to do.” She shrugged.

“But me and my pops realized that it didn’t matter where we lived.” He laughed and shook his head. “We were a family, and that’s all that really mattered, right, Mama?” he asked.

“Exactly. So, I was at a hospital that I thought was my dream job, and I was miserable without my boys. Then there was a knock at the door, and there they were, standing there with their suitcases.” Her eyes were wet with emotion at the memory.

Eloise had her hand on her chest as she listened intently.

“We told her that we go where she goes,” Cutler said. “But Mama missed Magnolia Falls, and she’s the best doctor there, so she wanted to go back home. But I get to come to the city to see my uncle Clark now.”

“Wow. That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard,” Eloise said.

“So why can’t all the people see you two together?” he asked, his gaze bouncing between us.

I was going to give him some bullshit short, kid version, but my girl jumped in.

“So, I work for the Lions, too, and we aren’t allowed to date people we work with.” Eloise shrugged. “I would most likely lose my job if they found out that we were together, and Uncle Clark could get kicked off the team next year if they found out.”

Cutler’s eyes were wide as he listened. “Oh. That’s not fair. That’s not fair at all.”

“I agree,” Emerson said, her gaze empathetic.

“That’s really silly, though, isn’t it?” my nephew asked, but he didn’t wait for an answer. “Because you can’t help who you love, right? And it’s not your fault you found the person you love at work. You spend a lot of time there, so I think it’s a real silly rule.”

I barked out a laugh. “I think it’s a real silly rule, too.”

“So nobody that works for the team likes each other that way?” he asked, and the question was so innocent and genuine that it made my chest squeeze. This little seven-year-old boy wanted to fix this situation for us.

“Well, there are two couples there that fell in love and got married. But one of them owns the team, and the other one is probably the best player to ever live,” I said, trying to make sense of it all myself.

His mouth fell open. “What? This is great. My uncle is one of the best players to ever live. And other people didn’t lose their jobs before you. So what are you waiting for?”

Emerson fell forward in laughter, and Eloise and I did the same.

“Wish it were that simple, Beefcake. But Weeze is new to the team, and her dad’s the coach, so it’s a little messy,” I said.

“We don’t want to cause any problems or get into trouble, you know?” Eloise shrugged.

“I don’t think you’re causing any problems. Don’t you love each other?” he asked. “It sure seems like you do.”

“Very much,” Eloise and I said at the same time, which caused a wide grin to spread across his face.

“That’s all that matters. You’re a family now. And my pops says sometimes rules are meant to be broken. This seems like a good reason to break the rules.” He reached for his glass of milk, setting it down as a milk mustache settled on his lip.

“Yeah, Beefcake. This does seem like a good reason to break the rules.” I winked.

This kid was onto something.

---