by Ava Miles
On Friday, all she could think about was going over to Emmits Merriam. Camp was due to end at four, commemorated by an awards ceremony and then a big party. She realized she wanted to go. She wanted to be there for Blake. People could think what they wanted about her public declaration. At lunch, she strolled into High Stakes’ kitchen to seek out her boss. Terrance Waters was piping out savory rosemary and goat cheese meringue puffs onto a cookie sheet. They served as the accompaniment to his fabulous veal consommé.
“Hey, Natalie,” he said, continuing to dole out rows of the airy white dollops. “What can I do for you?”
She swiped a finger at the batter clinging to the edge of his stainless steel bowl and hummed in appreciation at the taste. Before eating Terrance’s confections, she hadn’t known savory meringues were possible. “Do you have a problem with me taking off a little before four? I have everything wrapped up for the event this weekend.”
He set aside his pastry bag. “No, feel free. I assume you’re heading over to Emmits Merriam for the final ceremony of the football camp.”
Of course he would know. Everyone in town knew. Heck, Uncle Arthur had even written an article about it in The Western Independent called “The Changing Faces of Sports.” Reading it had pinched her heart with pride for what Blake was doing.
“Yes, I thought I might,” she answered him.
“Might?” he asked with a raised brow.
“Oh, shut up,” she said without heat, “or I’ll blow on your meringues and make them collapse.”
His smirk was pure mischief. “My meringues are made of stronger stuff than that. And so are you. You know your own mind, all you need to do is trust yourself. And that’s the very last thing I’m going to say on the subject.”
He turned around with a wink and left the kitchen. She contemplated his meringues. He was right. She was made of stronger stuff, even when she was afraid.
When she stepped onto the football field at Emmits Merriam, as nervous as a virgin bride, the ceremony was starting. Her gaze found Blake in the middle of a group of young boys, standing with Sam and another man who matched his description of Frank. Blake was beaming as he handed out gold medals. Sam and Frank took turns putting them over the boys’ heads. The sheer joy on everyone’s faces was blinding.
Blake had told her about this—he wasn’t giving out special achievement medals to individual players like most camps did. Everyone was going to get a medal. As her gaze scanned the field, she watched as the same process played out in the other teams. Jordan was holding court with a group of high-school-age boys and leading them through a cheer with Zack at his side.
“I wondered if you were going to come today,” she heard behind her.
Her mother appeared by her side. She still hadn’t confronted her mother about being Cormack Daly’s messenger—or pumped her for information—and she didn’t plan to. It would only invite more conflict, which she didn’t want. She would assume her mother had meant well and leave it at that.
She flushed under her mom’s scrutiny. “I wanted to come.”
Her mom linked their arms. “I’m glad. I would have wondered if you hadn’t…I’ve heard you and Blake are working things out.”
She gave her mom the look.
“Oh, am I blind and deaf now?” she asked. “Blake looks so much happier than when he first arrived in town. It’s not just the camp, although he’s pretty much glowed all week.”
Yes, she’d noticed. Every time he came to her after leaving the guys, he’d practically lit up her bedroom. He was happy, and she was so glad to see it again.
Her mom unlinked their arms. “I need to receive my award shortly. You’re welcome to join the rest of us.”
She’d purposefully chosen a vacant part of the sidelines away from the crowd to give herself time to settle. When she glanced at Blake again, their eyes locked. Had her mother said he glowed? No, he burned.
She found herself smiling back at him, and everything else faded into the background. Her hand ducked up in a girlish wave before she realized it. She almost cursed at her own awkwardness.
Then Jordan saw her and ran across the field. “Hey, Nat baby,” he called out, reaching for her arm as he skidded to a halt in front of her. “Come join us. You can help us bestow our medals. I want you to meet my players.”
She’d never been so happy to have him pull her onto the field. “Sounds like fun.”
“See you later, honey,” her mother said, taking off with a ruffle of her fingers.
Plenty of people stared at her as she reached Jordan’s team. A few of them even pointed. Her shoulders tightened up so much she wished she’d thought to schedule a sixty-minute Swedish massage at the hotel.
After all the medals had been handed out, she took a place on the sidelines by herself as the boys fanned out on the sidelines, many of them holding hands. Seeing this sweet sign of unity made her heart swell. The sheen of pride she saw in all of the boys’ eyes threatened to make it burst.
Adam had told her what it felt like to be different, how hurtful it was to be pointed at and stared at by people. He’d been called names, flat-out ignored, and sometimes even cursed for being too slow. Keeping pride in himself had been an ongoing process, one helped by his loving parents and Blake, who’d never been ashamed of him. No, they’d valued Adam as one of the greatest human beings they’d ever known. Now, Blake was giving that gift to these boys.
Blake stepped into the middle of the field with the other coaches. Dressed simply, in the green T-shirt of his team, navy shorts, and a Raiders ball cap, he looked larger than life.
“I won’t say much to all of you,” he said in a baritone voice that carried across the field. “I don’t need to. What needed to be said has been said on this field, every day of this camp. Every time you caught the ball, you said something. Every time you kept running even when you were exhausted, you said something. Every time you made a new friend, you said something.”
He put his hands on his hips and scanned the line of boys watching him.
“You said you matter, that you’re talented, and that you deserve to play football like anyone else. When you leave this camp, remember that. When someone treats you differently because they think you’re different, you call one of your teammates so you can remember the truth. What you have done here isn’t just a victory. It’s a triumph. I’m so proud of all of you, but I mostly want you to be proud of yourselves. As I told one of you boys the first day of camp, your opinion is the only one that really matters. Now, let’s do some celebrating.”
Then Blake stepped forward and held out his arms. The boys from his team rushed him first, followed by the rest of them. Her heart squeezed as she watched him hug the kids, laughing now. The boys converged around the rest of the coaches, and soon the field was filled with the special kind of male bonding Natalie had only seen on the football field, the kind of bonding Blake had always loved.
Until Blake, she’d never known the true power of sports. For her, it had always been about winning and losing and some pretty hot guys wearing tight pants. But football created a bond between the players. It didn’t just create winners and losers. It created men. And Blake wasn’t simply good at creating men, she realized. He was incredible at it. Coaching looked as natural on him as loving her did.
Love overwhelmed her. Determined to tell him just that, she took one step out onto the field toward him and then another.
Blake had lifted a young boy with red curly hair onto his shoulders and jogged across the field to the end zone with a trail of boys following him. They were all chanting, “Go, go, go.”
“Good to see you, Natalie,” Sam called out as he hugged a boy to his chest.
She waved to him and kept walking to the end zone. Blake had set the boy down and was demonstrating to his group how to spike the ball in victory. One kid after another tried. It was harder than it looked. Blake laughed as the football ricocheted off his ankle.
That sound of his happiness made her che
st feel lighter. She loved him, oh, how she loved him.
One of the kids saw her and pointed. His mouth moved, and Blake spun around.
He missed catching the football a kid passed to him—something he never did—and didn’t even lean down to pick it up. His baseball cap was angled low over his forehead, but she could see his eyes. Those beautiful browns were filled with the look of cautious hope she often saw in them when he didn’t think she was watching.
When she reached him, the kids fell back, content to spike the ball. He was holding his breath, she could tell, and it reminded her to take a breath herself. She reached out her hands to him. He lifted his slowly and curled his fingers around her moist palms.
Memories of meeting him on the field when he was playing for the Raiders flashed through her mind, filling her with so much love she didn’t think her body could hold her heart. Then her mind went blank, and all she could do was feel the power and warmth of the love she had for him.
“You…this…” She couldn’t form a sentence.
His mouth shifted a fraction at a time until he was smiling at her, his earlier glow softer now. “I’m glad you’re here, babe.”
She released his hand and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close. He squeezed her tight in return. When she saw the camera flashes out of the corner of her eye, she realized the public declaration concerning Blake had been made. They were officially back together.
Truth be told, it was about time.
Chapter 30
Few football parties had felt sweeter to Blake—not even the one following the Raiders’ Super Bowl win. With Natalie beside him, meeting the boys on his team, his happiness had shot to a whole new level. This, he knew, this was contentment.
The tension she’d felt at being back in the public eye with him seemed to have evaporated, though the camera flashes hadn’t stopped. She’d made her public declaration, and he knew what a step it had been for her.
He kept his arm wrapped around her as she talked to his team about what they’d learned at camp. A number of the boys told her she was pretty, which only made her laugh. He winked at them.
“Yeah, she is. Make sure and find someone as wonderful as she is when you get old enough.”
Sam clapped him on the back at one point, and the other guys gave him knowing looks. Jordan even gave him a thumbs-up. He pretty much grinned like a fool the entire time.
April joined them as they chatted with the kids, and she patted him on the arm. Natalie and her mom still weren’t completely easy with each other, but that would smooth out with time. If today was any indication, he would be joining Natalie at family gatherings again soon enough. His whole life stretched out before him, and he liked what he saw. Soon, they’d be getting married again and sharing only one house. They could figure out the details together.
He spotted Emmits Merriam’s athletic director talking with Logan, and he leaned down to kiss Natalie on the cheek. “There’s someone I need to thank. When you finish talking with the boys, come find me.”
Her blue eyes seemed to glow with inner light when he gazed into them, and he allowed himself to become lost in them for a moment. When he walked off, he could hardly even feel the turf under his feet.
“Hey, Tom,” he called out to the director and then jogged over to close the gap between them. “I’m so glad you came. I just can’t thank you enough for letting us use your facilities. I hope we can arrange it again next year.”
While Tom Hudson had played division three football back in the day, he still had a striking physique for a man in his early fifties. “Absolutely, Blake. I was just telling Logan how much this makes me wish Emmits Merriam had a football team. But you know. Funds.” The man shrugged. “You can hold your camp here anytime. Maybe you can even do it more than once a year since it’s obviously a huge success. Then I can sneak over and watch the drills—which I have to admit I’ve done a few times this week.”
So this man had never been able to get football out of his blood either? Blake felt a new kinship with him. “You should have joined us. It would have been fun to have you involved. How about we throw the ball around a bit later? The guys were talking about playing a pick-up game since some of the kids asked about it.”
“We haven’t decided who will be the quarterbacks,” Logan joked. “We have an abundance of them. What position did you play, Tom?”
“Wide receiver. I still throw the ball around with my sons and grandsons. I probably wouldn’t embarrass myself too much.”
“Good,” Blake said. “We’ll find you after we finish up the autograph session.” He looked over to the corner of the field where Kelly was setting up the station.
“It’s great of you guys to sign autographs,” Tom said. “I hate to ask, but do you think I could ask for one for my grandsons? They’re five and seven and huge Raiders fans.”
“Of course,” he said easily. “Anything you need. I owe you and your staff for all the help you’ve given us. Your facilities were awesome.”
“They really were,” Logan said. “You have a great school here from what I can tell.”
“Thanks,” Tom said, puffing out his chest. “We try. I’ll let you guys get back to the kids. See you in a bit.”
Blake and Logan jogged over to the autograph station to join the others. The boys were already converging on it in droves, jabbering and giggling, high on fruit punch, sliced oranges, and all the other semi-healthy treats set up on the buffet tables on the sidelines.
It felt a little weird for Blake as he scrawled his name on old Raiders merchandise, but he forced himself not to dwell on the past. Natalie was his future. And so was this camp. Everything was finally falling into place.
After they gave autographs to everyone who wanted them, Blake talked to a few parents who had hung around to chat. Then he was surprised to catch sight of Raymond Sandburg, a major player in Special Olympics—a man he’d met at many a fundraiser. He excused himself and walked over to greet him, noting that Natalie was still talking to some of the boys, Jordan by her side like the good friend he was.
“Raymond,” he said, shaking the man’s hand. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
“I told Kelly to keep it a secret. All of us at Special Olympics were so excited about this camp. We decided someone needed to visit, and I nominated myself.”
“I’m glad,” he told him. “I’m really happy to be doing more work with you all now that I have the time.”
“Likewise. Your brother would be beyond proud of you, Blake. What you bring to this sport, what you bring to these kids…it’s special.”
His throat thickened, and he knew a simple cough wouldn’t clear it. “Thanks. That means a lot.”
“The job offer at headquarters is still open,” he said, raising a thick, bushy eyebrow, “but I think I finally understand your hesitation about relocating. You and you ex-wife seem to be on good terms again.”
He glanced over at Natalie, who was laughing as Jordan and Grant led a group of the boys in the Electric Slide. “Yes. She has a wonderful job here.”
“Let’s see what we can do,” Raymond said. “We know how important this organization is to you after all your years of support, and your ability to take on a larger role would mean the world to us. Just this week, we’ve had over a thousand calls at headquarters from parents who have read about your camp in the news. Flag football is just taking off in our organization, and as you’ve seen, there’s a huge need.”
“Yes,” he answered, feeling a peace settle deep inside him.
“Let’s talk next week,” Raymond said. “A little bird told me there’s going to be a pick-up game between you and the guys and the assistant coaches.”
“Feel free to join us. We need more position players. You played tight end, right?”
“Good memory,” Raymond said. “I’d love to join.”
“I’ll gather the guys.” He held up his whistle. “Be fun to have them at my beck and call for another little while.”
<
br /> Raymond laughed, and Blake jogged off. Sure enough, it felt fun to blow the whistle one last time.
“All right. Who’s ready for some flag football?” he called out in a booming voice across the field.
The boys cheered, and his Once Upon A Dare buddies ran toward him along with the assistant coaches. They broke up into teams, and Tom and Raymond were on his. When it came time to pick a quarterback, Jordan simply handed him the ball.
“Lead us to victory, oh captain, my captain,” his friend said.
“I thought we were going to flip for it,” he responded, getting all choked up as Zack and Sam shook their heads at him.
“Not this time,” Sam said. “Today’s your day.”
His team huddled around him, and it didn’t matter that they weren’t wearing helmets, pads, or regular uniforms. This was the sport he loved, with the people he cared about. He told Jordan to run a post play straight out of the gate. The other team wouldn’t see it coming.
When they lined up, it felt incredible to stare the opposing team down as he pointed at them, reading their defense. Grant was going to rush him for sure. Then Zack spiked him the ball, and he dropped back in the pocket as Grant darted toward him. He let the ball fly.
Sure enough, no one had picked Jordan up, and the Sunday quarterback was halfway down the field when he caught the ball. He easily ran the rest of the way, yelling like a warrior when he made the touchdown.
Blake ran toward his friend with the rest of his teammates. They engaged in what would have been called excessive celebration, but he didn’t care one bit.
He’d found a way to bring football into this new part of his life, post-retirement, and that was something worth celebrating.
Chapter 31
Natalie felt a decided pinch in her heart as she watched Blake’s victory dance in the end zone with his teammates. Somewhere inside her, she felt a deep sense of sorrow for what she’d cost him. Football was his greatest joy, just like catering was hers, and he’d given it up for her prematurely. All of a sudden, it was too much.