Page 50 of Ending the Game

Emerson rolls her eyes and grabs the bowl of pretzels. “My daughteris asleep in her bassinet.” She holds the monitor up and shakes it. “I’ve got it covered.” Then she points to Carys. “Is she feeling okay?” Her shoulders droop slightly, and her voice quiets. “She’s been taking care of everything for the past week or so. I don’t want her to wear herself down and get sick because of me.”

“I think she’s just tired.” I run my fingers through the silky strands of Carys’s hair and realize I haven’t even thought about whether she was taking care of herself.

Emerson shakes her head and kicks her legs up on the ottoman. “Have you guys gotten any further with the Axel stuff?”

A warning rings in my head.

Emerson has seemed better the last day or so, but I don’t want to be the reason she has a setback.

As if reading my mind, she picks up a pretzel and throws it at my head. “I’m not a problem to be managed, Sinclair.” When Rook snorts, she levels him with a glare. “Are you any closer to figuring out what the hell’s going on? I don’t like living in lockdown. I want to feel the sun on my skin,andI want to go back to my own home.”

Damn. I feel like shit for not thinking about that.

But in all fairness, this is where Em was already living when I got back to the states.

I just assumed this was where she wanted to be.

“Gonna have to wait a little longer, Em.” Rook looks back at the game on TV but keeps talking. “Let’s stop there tomorrow after the doctor though. I want to check out your security system anyway. We might need to upgrade you.”

“Be careful, Rook. I might start to think you actually like me,” she challenges.

“I tolerate you. But you’ll always be family, even if you are too damn mouthy.” He looks at her out of the corner of his eye as she closes her eyes and laughs.

“Iammouthy, aren’t I?” Em swings her head to the TV in time to see Brady throw a beautiful spiral down the field. “Is that your brother-in-law?”

“Yeah. That’s Brady.” It’s incredible to see him out on that field. To see Murphy and him on the same damn team. It’s the dream they talked about in high school.

“You really are lucky to have such a big family around you. You should take Carys back to Pennsylvania. You guys deserve to be there, surrounded by all the crazy.” She grabs the pillow next to her and squeezes it to her chest. “Jack and I always wished we had a big crazy family. Don’t throw yours away, Coop.” Her eyes shine, but she doesn’t cry.

I wish I could take away her pain.

“After we take care of Axel.”Whatever that looks like. “Then maybe we’ll go home.” The words feel funny as I say them.

I love Kroydon Hills, but it doesn’t feel like home.

But suddenly, neither does San Diego.

Not anymore.

Emerson dips her head in a shaky nod. “After.”

One of thethings I’ve learned over the past year is to listen to my body. So when I wake up at the end of the game, after having slept through more than half of the action, and still don’t feel rested, I know it’s time to go to bed. I lift my head from Cooper’s shoulder and look around.

“Did we win?”

Rook groans, and a smile stretches across Cooper’s face as his arm tightens around me. “Rook’s just salty because the Sentinels won. Brady threw a perfect spiral in the fourth quarter that clinched it. There was no coming back after that.”

“Whatever,” Rook sulks. “The refs sucked. They lost San Diego the game.”

I stretch my arms above my head and look around. “I thought Emerson was down here.”

“She went upstairs to feed Elodie a while ago.” Coop stands, then pulls me up with him. “You hungry?”

Rook grabs the last handful of pretzels from the bowl. “I could eat.”

“I wasn’t talking to you.” Coop walks us into the kitchen, directing me to sit down while he opens the refrigerator. “We had some groceries delivered earlier.”

“You gonna cook for me, Coop?” With my elbow on the counter, I rest my chin in my hand and watch him move around the kitchen. “I didn’t know you knew how.”

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