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“Well, assistant. I hear the head coach is a real hardass.” Tyler grinned sheepishly. “If he’ll have me.”

Josh laughed in disbelief. After everything, Tyler had come back. The tangle of doubt unfurled in his chest like a flag.

Tyler was home, and that was all that mattered.

Josh settled into the chair across from Principal Carver, his palms sweaty. Tyler reached over and took his hand, lacing their fingers together.

“Everything happened so fast,” Carver began.

Tyler chimed in, “And by accident, in a way.”

“In a lot of ways.” The principal steepled his fingers. “After Cilla showed at the lock-in, Elise made good, but good. Yikes.”

Josh jerked his thumb back toward the gym. “She just told me.”

“So now Elise is headed off to be a fitness instructor on some daytime talk show in San Diego. That leaves us short an assistant coach for you this year.”

Tyler’s hazel eyes twinkled at him. “I quit.”

Josh nodded, his throat tight. Had Tyler just come to break the news that he wouldn’t be coming back after all? “You just got hired.” He wasn’t following, obviously.

Tyler squeezed his hand. “The Swells. I quit the NFL.”

“On live TV, I might add. We all saw him do it, but he didn’t tell anyone.” Carver shook his head. “Craziest thing I’ve seen in a playoff game in twenty years. He just quit in the middle of a game.”

“You did what? But you won. That was you quitting? I thought you just did your five and split. We talked right after. You didn’t say anything. Nobody said anything.”

“The team didn’t know. This just happened yesterday. I didn’t know it was happening until it did. And then I just knew.”

Josh’s eyes widened in surprise. “Off the field and out the door.” Now he understood the camera bloodbath outside.

“Beautiful.” Carver beamed.

“You okay?” He squinted at Tyler.

“Are you kidding, I’m fantastic. Everybody knows that.”

“Shut up.” He chuckled. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were quitting.”

“I had to get back here from Dallas so I could tell you right now, in person. But I had to protect you. And me. Which meant I called your principal last night from the plane.” Tyler looked extraordinarily pleased with himself.

Carver rocked back in the chair. “Which shocked the absolute hell out of my wife, for the record. America’s Tightest End calls me from a private jet and says he wants to apply for any job in the building. For anything. This joker says he’ll mop floors.”

“Are you serious?” Josh laughed wetly. He punched Tyler’s shoulder. “Jerk.”

Tyler shook his head apologetically. “I told him I’d quit the team and needed a job. My degree is sports medicine anyways.”

Phil leaned forward, elbows on the desk. “I still think you should consider taking over as college counselor. But that’s a separate discussion. Getting you cleared will be no trouble. Credentialing for someone with your record? Gimme a break.”

Tyler jumped in, squeezing Josh’s hand. “I’m sorry I worried you. After I did what I had to, I couldn’t stay one more second.” His hazel eyes were earnest. “I was at the airport within the hour. All I could think about was getting back here to you.”

Josh exhaled in relief, tears pricking his eyes. “I thought… when you acted so cagey, that you’d gotten traded or changed your mind about me or worse.”

Carver smiled. “Quite the opposite. Tyler wants to come work here as your assistant coach, if you’ll have him. I guarantee we can get a certification waiver until next year.”

Tyler leaned closer. “You see? Boris almost killed me, and the team saved my life. I had to get back before anyone tried to talk me out of it. The fans were berserk. The press was camped outside my place laying siege.” He squeezed Josh’s fingers. “And I didn’t want you to try and convince me to be reasonable.”

Josh nodded. “Fair.”