Coach went home four weeks ago, on hospice. There was nothing more they could do at the hospital, and he wanted to go home. Zach’s manager, Jenny, had completely taken over for him at Quinn’s so Zach could be with Elliot, but I’d go and help sometimes if workers called in.

We were winning games like crazy and had an almost perfect season apart from our one loss at the beginning. We were on fire for Coach. We promised we’d go to state for him, and we were going to be sure we did. I looked at Dane and Trevor who were practically bouncing in excitement. We were at the airport, waiting for Sadie’s plane to get there. When Trevor saw her, he took off running. She launched herself into his arms, and he hugged her tightly, picking her up off the ground. Dane stayed next to me, waiting.

I smiled at him. “She dyed her hair purple? I think I like her even more.”

That’s something I loved about Sadie. She was her own person, unphased by others’ opinions.

He smiled. “I like it.” He looked at me. “You should dye your hair. It’d freak Zach out.”

I laughed. “Maybe I will. Black?” I wiggled my eyebrows.

I smiled when Sadie came over and hugged me.

“Can I apologize a million more times for being a shitty friend?” she asked as she squeezed me tighter.

“You were not a shitty friend. It’s called going through shit. We all do it, and we deal in weird ways.” I put my mouth close to her ear. “Dane likes your hair.”

She pulled back and smiled, blushing a little.

Dane smiled at her, but he didn’t make a move to hug her. “Hey, Sadie.”

She didn’t say anything, she just hugged him tightly.

I didn’t think she was ever going to let go.

Dane held her tightly against him and kissed the side of her head. “I missed you so much.”

She pulled back and smiled at him. “Not as much as I missed you. New York sucks.”

“I bet it does. No southern girl should be forced to move to the North.”

She laughed. “No, they shouldn’t.” They still hadn’t let go of each other.

“We should go get my bags. I packed like a girl.” She laughed and let go of him.

Dane and Trevor chuckled. We all headed toward the baggage claim. When we got there, I heard my phone ding. I pulled it out and saw Zach’s name.

Zach: Can you guys pick up dinner? Elliot is in the mood for Chinese.

Me: Of course! We just got Sadie and are getting her bags.

Zach: Thanks, baby. He’s hungry. Love you!

After Dane and Trevor got her bags, we headed to Dane’s truck.

I LAID ON my stomach on Dane’s bed while I watched Trevor, Sadie, and Dane play an intense game of Monopoly.

I was busy working on some math homework so I didn’t join in.

I shut my book. “So, I was thinking, maybe we could have some big event at the field for Coach. Like a final goodbye type thing?”

Dane looked up from the board and nodded. “That sounds like a great idea.”

Trevor moved his piece on the board and looked at me. “What if we do it after a game? He keeps saying he wants to watch us play one last time. We can surprise him after with something huge.”

Sadie’s eyes lit up. “I think I have an idea!”

We all looked at her.

“Remember I was a part of the Glee Club?”

“And we all made fun of you because of it,” Trevor teased.

She rolled her eyes and laughed. “Well what if I get everyone together, and we learn to sing that song that Coach is always listening to? The superman one?”

“One Call Away,” Trevor said with a smirk.

She nodded. “Yeah! And we can do like a surprise flash mob or whatever. Look them up on YouTube. They are amazing.”

I sat up. “Does that include dancing? Because I cannot dance.” I laughed and threw a pillow at Dane when he nodded in agreement.

Sadie giggled and nodded. “It does for some but not everyone has to. We can do it in the middle of the game. We could even try to get the other team on board.”

I smiled at the guys. “That sounds pretty awesome. Coach would be shocked. But—” I looked at Sadie. “How long will you be here for? Won’t that take some time to practice?”

She smiled big. “I talked to my mom this morning: she’s letting me stay to finish out the school year. I’m gonna stay with my grandparents.”

My mouth fell open, and I looked at the guys.

“Really?” Trevor and Dane asked at the same time.

When she nodded, Trevor hugged her tightly. “I’m so glad! You can help me help Hales decorate. She sucks at it, and Zach doesn’t have the time.”

I laughed. “It’s true. I do suck.”

Sadie smiled. “I’d love to.”

Sadie stood. “Okay, so we will finish the game later. I have some phone calls to make and some planning to do!”

She grabbed her purse and hurried out of the room.

I looked at Dane. “You hear that? She’s staying to finish out the school year.”

Dane nodded. “I heard.”

“Dude, make a move already,” Trevor said as he looked at Dane.

“But won’t she pretend to be your girlfriend now that she’s home?”

Trevor shook his head. “No. Go talk to her.”

Dane sat there for a second then got up and left the room.

“Does that mean you’re going to tell people?” I asked Trevor.

He nodded. “I’m going to start with my parents and team.” He shrugged. “We don’t have much time at school left. I don’t care what people say. I know you guys will have my back.” He stood up and held his hand out for me. “We need to go work on the cabin. The couch is supposed to be there today. I know Coach wants to see it finished.” His smile grew. “And the construction workers finished yesterday. Zach was there all last night, cleaning everything. Now it’s time for you to see the finished product. It will help you decide what to decorate.”

“Zach didn’t tell me it was finished!” I quickly got my shoes on.

Trevor laughed. “That’s because when he got home you were asleep, and he went straight to Coach’s room and fell asleep. I think he’s still there.”

“I’m gonna go see him and meet you at my car.”

“Sounds good.” He left the room and then down the stairs.

I went down the hall to Coach’s room.

I opened the door a little. “Can I come in?” I whispered from outside the door.

“Come on in,” Coach said from inside.

I walked in and smiled. “Hey.”

I saw Zach lying next to him who opened his eyes when he heard me.

“Hey, Hales.”

Zach sat up. “What time is it?”

“A little after 3:00. I’m heading to the cabin with Trevor. The couch is being delivered in a little while.”

I walked over to him and smoothed out his hair. “I heard it’s done.”

Zach ran a hand down his face. “Yeah. They finished yesterday, and I cleaned it up last night. Now it just needs furniture. I didn’t mean to stay asleep for this long. I have an assignment to send in.” He yawned.

“You need to be sleeping more,” Coach said from beside him.

Zach shrugged. “I’m fine.”

“Your brother is right,” I said with a raised brow. I leaned down and kissed him. “Love you. I’ll see you in a little while.”

I walked over and hugged Coach. “I love you too.”

He looked at me. “Can you take Millie with you? She needs to get out of this house for a bit. Quinn and Brink are working on a case.”

I nodded. “Of course.”

“Thank you.” He smiled at me.

Zach stood up and stretched. “I’m going to go send my assignment then start on dinner. I’ll send Brink and Quinn up. They can work in here while keeping out company.”

Coach nodded then went back to drawing. His hands shook as he struggled to draw.

I followed Zach out.

Once we were out of the room, he pulled me close and kissed me. “What are you in the mood for, for dinner?”

He kissed my nose, cheek, and my neck.

“Anything.”

I grabbed his face to make him look at me instead of kissing me.

“Are you okay?”

His eyebrows furrowed. “No.” He sighed sadly. “I’m trying to stay busy.”

“I know. Please take care of yourself though. Okay?”

“I’ll try. For you.”

He kissed me one more time. “Go check out our home.” He looked into my eyes. “Have you talked to your dad?”

“Yes, a little. Why?”

“I was just wondering. I want things to be okay for you and your parents.”

He kissed my head again then slapped my ass. He grinned at me. “You better get that sexy ass going.” He chuckled as he headed to the bathroom.

I was in shock for a second before I laughed. I was about to go down the stairs when I saw Trevor coming up.

“Should we invite Dane and Sadie? She might have some good advice about the house.” He smiled. “I can’t wait until you see the master bath. Zach went all out.”

He raised an eyebrow at me. “Is your favorite color really black?”

I laughed. “Yeah, it really is.”

“Good. Now, do you want to invite Sadie and Dane?”

I nodded. “Sure!”

We headed to Dane’s room. Trevor opened the door and froze with his mouth open in shock. I looked in and saw Dane and Sadie totally having sex. I reached past Trevor, grabbed the doorknob, and shut the door quickly. I burst out laughing and grabbed Trevor’s hand, pulling him down the hall.

“Well… That was something I can’t unsee.” He laughed and put his arm around my shoulders. “I guess it’s just you, me, and Millie. Let’s head to the cabin.”

I was still laughing. “Good for Dane and Sadie. And we never tell them what we saw. They would both die of embarrassment.”

We found Millie playing outside with her doll from Aunt Millie.

Millie looked up at me. She looked so sad.

I sat down in grass next to her. “Want to go with me and Trevor to look at Uncle Zach’s cabin? It’s all finished, and I need your help. I don’t know what to decorate with.”

She smiled and stood up. She grabbed my hand. “Hales, are you going to live with Uncle Zach?”

“That’s the plan, kiddo.” I walked her over to Trevor, and then we made our way around to my car at the front of the house. I went over to Zach’s truck, got her booster seat out, and put it in my backseat. After getting her fastened in, we headed to the cabin.