I can’t get my mind off Lucy and her situation. At training, she appears calm and put together. To look at her, you’d never know she literally fled for her life last night. She marches up and down the sidelines explaining what we should be feeling during each stretch, telling us which muscle groups should be groaning after each bodyweight exercise. She’s a legend. All the guys talk about how well she works with Coach Todd so that it doesn’t even feel like a separate workout session from the skills and team drills we work on for him.
After my shower, when I know she’s in her office with her lawyer, I decide to call my mom to keep myself from barging in there and butting into her business. Which of course means I’m interrupting my mother at her business, but she doesn’t seem to mind. “Hey, baby,” she says. I don’t hear a commotion in the background so maybe she’s not at work today.
“Hey, Ma.”
“Aren’t you still at the stadium working on your game? Should I worry about getting a mid-day call from you?”
“I just needed to hear your voice,” I tell her. “I was thinking more about … our whole situation.”
“Situation? Which situation would that be? There’s so many.”
“Very funny, Ma. I mean I was thinking about your choice to keep our lives a secret. In Ohio.”
“Ah.” She makes a sound in her throat. “Is this about that woman you’re interested in?” I tell her what Lucy said, how she can’t trust a man after what she’s been through. “She’s working her tail off for that baby of hers, Hawk. I can tell you know that.”
“I thought you’d say ‘oh, poor thing’ or something.”
She puffs out a laugh. “Poor thing? From what you’re telling me that crafty woman found a way to escape, got herself a job, got herself a better job, and built a friendship strong enough where she had a place to go be safe last night. Nothing poor about that.”
I sigh. “God, Ma, you frame that so well. Lucy did all that stuff. She’s always just fully amazing.”
“So what’s bothering you then, sweetheart?”
I lean my forehead against the wall in the hall where I snuck away to use the phone. “I just want to swoop in and save her. I want to do something so she trusts me. I want to help her so she’ll want to be with me. God, I sound so pathetic when I put it that way.”
“Hmm.” My mom has been making that noise a lot lately, since I moved to Pittsburgh.
“I have more money than sense, Ma. What if I just buy her a house or something?”
“Baby, she doesn’t want a man to make her feel beholden. Why do you think I keep refusing to let you buy me things?” She clucks her tongue. “She needs to build the confidence that she can thrive on her own. That’s when she’ll want to welcome you into her life. When it feels like a choice.”
Whoosh. “Mom, that’s heavy shit.”
“Watch your mouth!”
“Sorry.” I run a hand over my face. “I don’t know how to make all that stuff happen.”
“I wish I knew what to tell you, sweetheart. I’m sure it meant a lot that you helped her get to her friend’s house yesterday. Where is she right now?”
I roll my eyes and spin around, slumping my back against the wall. “She’s in her office with her expensive ass lawyer.” A thought occurs to me and I stand up straight. “Ma, how did you afford our first apartment in Loudonville? Before you got your job at Grocer Joe’s?”
“Oh!” She sounds wistful. “There was a fund at church. A special fund for people who need housing help.”
As she says it, I remember Lucy saying a similar program through the shelter helped her and Wyatt get set up where they’re living now. “That’s amazing, Ma. Hey, I just had an idea. I gotta go make a call.”
“An idea about church?”
“Nah. Hey, listen, I’ll call you later. I’m meeting my brothers’ wives and kids and stuff before my game this weekend.”
“I wish I could be there for this one…”
“I’m not upset about it, Ma. I know you’ll be cheering from work.”
“They said they’d play the commentary over the loudspeaker! And put it on the television in the break room.”
“Awesome. Hey, thanks, Ma. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
When we hang up I see that I’ve got less than five minutes before I need to get into the film session. I quickly dial my agent and when he sends me to voicemail, I dial him again immediately. “Hawk? Baby? Is someone arrested?”
“Real quick, Bri. I need to give a million dollars to the housing fund at the Hope church in Loudonville in Ohio.”
“What? Jesus, Hawk! Warn a guy before you just spit out something like that.”
“But then I also need to create a foundation here, for legal support for women.”
“Hawk, baby, is this about the sunglasses endorsements? Because I told you I could have them put a shirt on you in the ad if that was a problem.”
“I don’t give a fuck about my chest hair, Brian. I need this foundation set up pronto.” I hang up on him and head into the film room, finally feeling like I have a proactive plan.
This time, when I drive to my brother Tim’s house, I don’t have to hide down the block while his family bustles out the door. Instead, I hear them a mile away as I approach. I look at the expensive watch Brian has me hawking all over the internet. Apparently the Stag family shows up early for things. The door flings open and I hear a pop sound. I duck before I’m hit in the face with a foam dart, and there’s a roar from inside.
Ty appears with a kid clinging to each of his legs. He has a dart gun, mimicking Sylvester Stallone in Rambo. Then he sees me wide-eyed on the doorstep. “Oh, hey, bro.” He grins. “Come on inside and meet everyone. Don’t tell Tim we were using guns in the house.”
I shake my head. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Ty and Thatcher line up all the kids in the hall and introduce me to my nephews Petey, Wesley, Odin, Gunnar, Alder, Stellan, Byron, Ricky and Tucker. Before I can repeat the names, the kids scatter into the back yard and someone yells at them to only hit each other with the plastic bats. I can’t help but grin at the chaos.
“Okay, so, these are our wives.” Ty drapes an arm around my shoulders and guides me into the kitchen, where Tim is wearing an apron and following instructions from a curly-haired woman at his side as they prep a giant salad.
“Oh, Hawk!” The woman claps her hands and runs around the counter to hug me. “I’m Alice! Tim’s wife. It’s amazing to meet you.”
She pulls back and a redhead waves at me from nearby. “I’m Emma. Thatcher’s wife.”
I feel Ty steer my body so I’m facing the woman behind the stove sautéing a bunch of chicken. “And this is the Honorable Judge Juniper Jones,” he says. “My wife. The Olympian.”
She rolls her eyes and hands him the spatula. “Hi, Hawk.” She shakes my hand. “Sorry about him.”
I grin. “I think it’s great how much he loves you.” I shrug. “I didn’t really get to see a lot of that. My family was always just my mom.”
Juniper takes a swig of her beer and grins. “Oh, I know all about that. I just had my dad and then…well you can see the family now.”
I look around the kitchen. Tim has stuck his head out through the sliding door to holler at the kids to stop beating up Tucker. Tim shakes his head and sits down at the table. “Good to see you again, Hawk. Have a seat.”
“Yes, please sit. Dinner is just about ready.” A few seconds later, Alice has heaped chicken and salad and roasted carrots onto our plates. The smell is amazing, like citrus and savory goodness. And, strangely, it all seems in line with my diet plan.
“I can’t believe I can eat all this. The entire meal…” I stare at my plate as Alice beams.
She pats my hand. “I had Tim call up the nutritionist you guys are using,” she says. “I asked what the parameters are for in-season and then I consulted with Juniper to make sure everything sounded yummy.”
I furrow my brow, staring at her. “Are you for real? I didn’t imagine you? This is amazing. Seriously, guys, this is just so far beyond anything I expected.”
Thatcher grunts and adjusts his chair. “You’re family, man.”
They all burst into conversation, talking over each other to make sure I understand the terrific attributes of everyone at the table. I eat my food and soak it all in, listening to them talk about supporting each other’s careers and helping to overcome health crises.
Eventually, Ty points his fork at me. “You should ask my wife for advice about your whole scenario. She does a lot of family law stuff, unlike Timbo.”
I arch a brow and turn to Juniper. “You see custody cases and stuff?”
She gives me a puzzled look. “Yes, but you’re not worried about custody, surely? You’re over 18…”
I wave a hand and laugh. “Not with Ted. No, I’m not ready to deal with him yet. I’m just thinking about a friend.”
Ty gives her a brief rundown of what I told them last night. God, was it only last night where they made me go running in my Yeezy’s and bare my soul to them in the park? Juniper nods, looking sympathetic and wincing when I mention that Lucy’s ex showed up at the stadium looking creepy.
“Hm. Those cases are always so difficult. I hate how long they take to move through the system.”
“Yeah, no shit,” I say, and then I look up in horror. “I’m sorry I swore.”
Thatcher laughs. “We don’t give a fuck about that.”
We all share a laugh, and I explain that Lucy has been spending all the money she has on her lawyer. I drift off and Tim surprises me by saying, “It sounds like Lucy shares my tendency to avoid trusting others. To accept help.”
Alice squeezes his hand. “You’ve been doing so great, honey.” He smiles at her.
I clear my throat and tell them what I asked my agent to do. “I just don’t know how to convince her to become the foundation’s first recipient.”
Thatcher finishes his food and shoves his plate forward, sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. “Maybe she doesn’t need to,” he says. He shrugs. “She’s got the good job now, right? Maybe she just wants to know that the foundation exists.”
I blow out a breath and stare at my water glass. “Thatcher, you make a really good point. I just hate the idea of her in that apartment while this asshole is free and roaming the streets.”
Tim clears his throat. “Lucy is still with the Forge in an interim capacity. The team will make a decision about a permanent contract after the season ends.” He meets my gaze. “To be frank, I don’t see why they wouldn’t keep her on. With a bonus. The Forge have never made playoffs before and it’s their first year at the premier level…not that any of that helps with the asshole ex.”
Ty scratches his chin and drapes an arm around the back of Juniper’s chair. “Gosh, if only you had any connections with anyone in the position to grease the wheels of the legal system…”
Juniper winks at him and rubs his leg. “Well, I am on the local rowing team with a few folks from the D.A.’s office.”
Ty kisses her on the forehead. “Lord even knows what you all talk about early in the morning, out on the water…”
I stare at my brothers, at this family I found, who jumped at the opportunity to make me welcome, and now to help me help someone I care about. “I don’t even know what to say, guys.”
Tim grunts. “Say you’ll keep your nephews overnight during the off season so I can sleep past six on Sunday morning.”