Page 133 of Spotlight
Olivia nods. “And we can still watch Flynn play on TV.”
“But I’m your favorite kid in the whole world.” Big tears well in her eyes and she doesn’t do anything to stop them from falling down her face.
I reach out and wipe them away with my thumb. “Always.”
She turns away from me and buries her face in Olivia’s side, hugging her mom hard. The Mustang hat falls off her head and falls to the ground. Olivia wraps an arm around Greer and gives me a sad, understanding smile.
“Hey.” Olivia leans down to meet Greer’s gaze. “How about we all go get ice cream right now? I know it doesn’t feel good for us because we’ll miss him, but this is exciting for Flynn. And we should celebrate when good things happen to other people, right?”
She nods the tiniest bit.
“Okay.” Olivia manages to put on a smile and speak without sounding like she’s gutted, even though I can tell she’s still upset. “Get your shoes on and I’m going to make sure we have lots of quarters for the claw machine.”
Greer gets up slowly and walks to her room. I let out a long breath and let my head fall back to rest against the couch. Olivia finds my hand and laces her fingers through mine.
I glance at her.
“She’ll be okay,” she says quietly.
Yeah, but will I?
33
FLYNN
I get to the stadium early on Saturday afternoon. It’s surreal walking into the building for the last time. The entire day has been filled with last moments. My last day as a Mustang, the last time I drive to the stadium, and on and on.
Everly is waiting for me in one of the conference rooms. Her husband, Jack, is seated next to her, and the Mustangs GM, Charles, stands against one wall.
“Hey,” I say as I pause just inside the room, letting my gaze roam over each of them.
I move toward Charles first and extend a hand.
“Thank you for everything,” I say as we shake.
“You’re welcome. I’m sad to see you go, but I look forward to watching your career. Best of luck.” He gives me a polite nod as he steps away.
“Thanks, Charles. I appreciate it.”
Once he’s gone, I look to Everly and Jack.
He stands first. “Congrats. I hope you don’t mind I tagged along with my wife. I’ve never seen her so excited.”
“This is a big moment,” she says, eyes lit up with excitement. “Huge.”
“Not at all,” I tell him. “It’s good to see you. And congratulations to you as well. Surprised the Wildcats let you out of their sight.”
Jack is one of the best hockey players of all time. He’s crushed record after record and is a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame. His team just secured a conference championship and will play in the Cup finals next week.
“Quick trip.” He smiles. “Back to business tomorrow.”
I nod in understanding.
Everly stands from her chair and beams at me. “Ready to make it official?”
“Yeah.” I round the table and take a seat at one end.
Everly opens her laptop and goes straight into explaining the details of the contract. I listen, not really hearing her, but nodding along anyway.
