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“Why do we give him so much power?” My voice is a low rumble as I ask the question. It’s his house—granted, the house Grayson and I bought for him, but still. I shouldn’t be badmouthing the man in his own kitchen, but I can’t help when the words fall from my lips anyway.
“It’s how we were raised, man. Family and football first. Blood is thicker than anything else. How many times was that beat into us as kids? If I give up football, it’s giving up my family.”
“You’re not giving it up if you retire, dude. You put in a lot of good years.”
“You’re just saying that so you don’t have to face me this season,” he says, but he really does sound sort of tired.
“Or maybe I care about you because you’re my little brother and I don’t want to see you miserable.” It feels like a good time to bring up my own little issue, too, since we’re having this nighttime confessional, but I don’t know how to broach the topic.
He does it for me. “Thanks. I appreciate that. How’s Vegas treating you?”
I clear my throat. “The Aces are incredible so far. It feels like home already. But there’s this one thing…”
“You need a defensive coordinator and you’re offering me the position?” he supplies.
I laugh, but I turn serious a moment later. Could Grayson come coach with me? I never really considered it, but I can do whatever I want with my coaching staff. “Not a DC, but potentially a position coach or an analyst. Is coaching something you’d want to do?”
He shrugs. “It’s something I’ve thought about. I’ve watched you do it for years, and you’re really good at it. It’d be kind of cool to learn under you and work my way up.”
“I’m going to talk to Asher about a trade tomorrow,” I admit. “You think he’ll take it?”
He chuckles as if I just asked a stupid question. “Fuck yeah I think he’ll take it. It’s Asher. He’s not an Indiana dude. He’s a Vegas dude all the way.”
He’s got a point.
“There’s something else,” I add before I lose my nerve.
“What?” he asks.
I clear my throat. “Jolene Bailey.” I say the name quietly. “She just scored the Aces correspondent position for a local news channel in Vegas, and she’s going to be at every Aces event this season. And I…” I suck in a breath.
“You’re still in love with her?” he correctly guesses.
“Fuck no,” I say. I shake my head. “I can’t be. Even if I was, it wouldn’t matter. For the same reason you can’t hang it up yet.”
“Dad?”
I nod.
“Fuck,” he mutters. “I get it, though. It’s a delicate balance. We have such a great family dynamic here. These family gatherings…you can’t exactly walk in with a Bailey on your arm to Gram and Gramps’s anniversary party. Has anything happened?”
I shake my head, the thought of pinning her up against the wall in that break room fresh in my mind again. Nothing happened…but that doesn’t mean I don’t want something to happen.
“She has a kid,” I say softly.
“And the dad?”
I shrug. “I don’t think she’s with him.”
“Huh,” he grunts softly. “What are you going to do?”
“I have no idea,” I admit.
“The man with a plan has no idea…” he mutters, and he shakes his head. “Never thought I’d see the day.”
“And wouldn’t you know it’s a woman fucking up the balance.”
He laughs. “You know my stance on that.”
