Page 75 of Single Dad Dilemma
She laughed. “Trust me, I’ll make time.”
“I’m leaving,” Barrett called.
Bridget shooed him off. “Great. Bye. Have an excellent day.” As he stormed off, the anticipation that had been bubbling through my chest since I arrived suddenly and violently popped, and instead of wondering why, I let Bridget steer me away.
My stomach was in knots, as I assumed this tiny, terrifying woman would actually press me for details. It would be messy—so very, very messy—if thoughts and feelings were divulged to someone other than Larry the canine vault.
“He’s such a pain in the ass, right?” she said easily.
“It’s a gift, truly.” I cleared my throat. “So ... this whole show with Maggie—is this normal?”
The change in subject didn’t fool her for a fucking second, because she gave me a sidelong look. “No. This is a first for us, actually. Barrett had his reservations, but I think he’ll love it by the time they edit everything together.”
Maggie, all mic’d up and with a stack of note cards in her hand, looked like a seasoned pro as she settled comfortably in the big yellow chair and waited for the first player to join her.
Someone even larger than Justice approached, and he grinned widely at the sight of Maggie waiting for him. “What’s up, girl?”
“Hello, Keshawn. Welcome toMidfield with Maggie. You’re my first guest because you’re my favorite.”
His face lit up. “No shi—” Wren cleared her throat loudly, and Keshawn winced. “No kidding,” he finished.
Maggie smiled. “It’s fine. I’ve heard worse.”
Keshawn winked. “What are we talking about today? You’re not gonna ask me anything crazy, are you?”
She studied her first note card, then fixed an eager expression toward Keshawn. “What’s the most annoying thing my dad does?”
The man’s face went slack with shock, while Wren choked on a sip of her coffee. I slapped a hand over my mouth to stem a burst of laughter. Bridget let hers ring out, nodding slowly as everyone tried to contain their laughter.
“Still think Barrett will love it?” I asked Bridget.
“I don’t care,” she said with a huge smile on her face. “This is going to be the best thing I’ve ever seen.”
Chapter Eighteen
Barrett
No one noticed me walk into the locker room after the last game. They were too busy celebrating.
Stopping shy of exploding champagne bottles, the music was loud, players danced around, stripped down to just their pants and a T-shirt. In the center, Keshawn lifted his hand up.
“Hey, hey,” he yelled. “Zip it!”
Eventually, his teammates noticed he was trying to get their attention, the veterans shushing the louder players around them. The music was turned down, and after a few seconds, everyone circled around.
“Floor’s yours, Coach,” he said, tilting his chin in my direction.
The team turned, everyone smacking my back as I walked into the middle of the circle.
I set my hands on my hips and turned slowly, looking at everyone around me. “You know I’m not the guy who’s gonna yell and scream or do a victory dance that’ll end up on social media for everyone to make fun of,” I said. “But if there was ever a game that would make me want to, it was that one.” Through their proud murmurs, I shook my head as I exhaled a laugh. “I still don’t know where I threw my headset after the game.”
They laughed.
I let out a deep breath. “That wasn’t easy. We had to work for every inch of that win.” I looked at our defensive line, pointed to the five guys in front of me. “What you did today was incredible. You had the best—thebest—running back in the league coming at you, and you didn’t flinch. Held him to forty-two yards the entire game, and not a single run longer than five. No team has done that this season.”
The room swelled with a chorus ofhell yeah’s andyeah, they fucking did’s. Waiting for the cheers and yells to quiet down, I motioned for a ball, and when my assistant coach tossed one in my direction, I caught it easily.
For a moment, I stared down at it, let the feel of it in my hand bring me back to moments like this, when I was the one bruised and tired and proud of what my teammates had accomplished.
