Page 30 of Home Field Advantage
“I’m in the car line now picking her up from her first day of school.”
“Aww,” Tyler coos. “A car pickup dad.”
“Fuck off.” I laugh. “Keep going the way you’re going, and you’re next.”
“I wrap it up every time, Daddy.”
“You make me sick,” Mitch says to Tyler.
“Listen, I have to go. Sage is getting ready to come out. I’ll text you guys later.”
“Wolf pack out,” Tyler chants, and I click end call.
I’ve been nervous about today since I picked up Sage from her mom’s last night, so laughing with the guys was just what I needed, even if they didn’t know it. Last night, as my head hit the pillow, I could only hope she didn’t have the worst first day of school here.
I hope my decision to stay outside the city was the right one.
Hoping like hell I didn’t make yet another mistake.
That’s why I’m the first one waiting in the car pickup line since there are no buses in town. Also, I had to fill out some last-minute paperwork for her that I missed. The receptionist in the office set me up with an appointment tomorrow after school hours to meet her teacher. I called April, and she’s going to drive into town so she can meet her, too.
Exiting my car, I see kids start to filter outside the building. I round the front and lean against the hood of my car. Adjusting the brim of my baseball cap, I cross my arms over my chest as I wait for Sage. I spot her seconds later, hand in hand with an adult.
She’s smiling.
I feel like I can breathe again, seeing that happiness written all over her face. She’s skipping, laughing, and grinning up at her teacher.
When she turns and spots me, that smile only grows.
“Daddy!” She lets go of the teacher’s hand and runs to me. I crouch down to her level, opening my arms for her. She practically leaps into me, and I almost lose my balance. “I missed you so much!”
“I missed you too,” I say into her hair that’s now…braided? That’s not how I sent her to school. “How was school today?”
“It was the bestest day!”
She pulls back, gripping the straps of her backpack, and her teacher comes to stand next to us. I stand up, extending my arm to greet her. “Hi. I’m Dallas.”
“Rachel,” she says with a nod, taking my hand.
Sage scurries off into the back seat of the SUV, and I stuff my hands in my pockets. “Today was good?”
She laughs lightly. “From what I heard. I’m not her teacher, though. I’m a classroom aide who helps Miss Barlow in the afternoon a few days a week.”
Miss Barlow.
That last name sounds so familiar.
“Well, thank you for walking her out.”
“Of course.” She blushes and turns to walk away.
Jumping in the front seat, I turn around and see Sage already buckled into her car seat. Kicking her feet and staring out the window toward her new school.
She’s so happy, and I can’t help but channel some of that to me.
Is this how she always is after school, though?
During the short drive home, I only think about how I’ve never picked her up from school. Guilt for missing out on so much of her life hits me like a punch to the gut. After my injury, I shut the world out because I felt like my life was over and there was nothing to live for.
