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He drew in a stuttering breath, turned to me, and fell apart. He sobbed into my shoulder, pulling me so close I could feel every thud of his breaking heart as I rubbed his back. I couldn’t imagine holding so much guilt, so tightly for ten years.
Across the field, Poppy gripped Theo’s hand as silent tears ran down his face. Aiden stood alone, staring at the barn. Skye took off toward him, bumping into his legs. He knelt and rubbed her head.
“I love you, Caleb Cardoso.”
Cal squeezed me harder and sank to the ground, pulling me into his lap. “Thank you,” he said between sobs.
For loving him? For telling him? For giving him something beautiful in this moment, this place? It didn’t matter. We didn’t need words. Not anymore. But that wouldn’t stop me from telling him I loved him every day for the rest of my life.
Epilogue
Cal
Two Months Later
The last time I attended the homecoming game, I was crowned homecoming king. This time, I sat in the bleachers beside Rowan and cheered as Chris took the field. On my other side, Aiden clapped so hard his hands had to sting. Despite watching college and pro games for years, neither of us had been able to return to Spartan Stadium until Chris’s first game of the season.
“Kid’s on fire,” Aiden said, shaking Rose’s shoulders when Chris caught a difficult pass in the second quarter. She had her hands over her eyes. Though she came to every game, she was too nervous to watch. Aiden had taken to sitting beside her and narrating the entire game like a sportscaster. So far, Chris had no idea his mother couldn’t bear to watch him play.
“Stop being dramatic, Mom,” Poppy yelled on the other side of Rowan. “Your baby is fine.”
“If you were out there, I’d be doing the same thing,” Rose shouted.
“If I was out there—”
“Go, Spartans,” Rowan shouted.
Theo took a sip of his soda, trying to hide his laugh. He and Poppy were still just friends, or so they said. Rowan and I were doing whatever we could to push them together: Romantic double dates, gentle nudging, outright exasperation. So far, nothing had worked.
“Was that a first down?” Lauren asked in front of me.
“Yep,” Cammie said beside her.
“But last time it was closer to that woman in the red coat,” Lauren said. “Not the entrance to the bathroom.”
Aiden groaned and opened his mouth to speak, but Cammie turned and shot him a glare.
“That’s a good observation,” Cammie said. “It changes. Each time the team takes possession, they have four plays to gain ten yards.”
“Ah,” Lauren said. “Too bad they don’t paint the lines on the field like they did in that game we watched on TV.”
“For fuck’s sake, Lauren. Those aren’t real,” Aiden huffed.
Cammie and Lauren both turned and glared at him.
“Language, Aiden,” Rose said. “Leave the girls alone and tell me what’s happening.”
On the next play, Chris got taken to the ground in an assisted tackle by two huge defensive linemen. Rowan, Cammie, and Lauren gasped, and Rose’s hands flew from her eyes. She stood like she was about to sprint down the bleachers to check her son for boo-boos. Aiden gently pulled her back to her seat.
“Remind me to stop by your shop and send my mom flowers,” he said, trying to distract her. Chris popped up, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
“You owe that woman a trip to the Caribbean for watching you play as much as you did,” Rose said, rubbing her chest like it ached. “Why couldn’t he have joined the track team?”
“Because talent and passion like his are rare. You’d never want to hold him back, right?” Aiden said.
Rose shook her head and covered her eyes as Chris joined the line for the next play.
Rowan rested her head on my shoulder. I pulled her hand into mine, rubbing the finger where I hoped my ring would be in a few hours. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves, and caught Theo’s eye. He smiled and whispered something to Poppy who laughed so hard she snorted.
