Chapter 3 #2
“Your sister never fails to surprise, does she?” Artie's voice made me turn. She'd appeared beside me with two fruity drinks decked out with umbrellas and all. She had on her Jules designed graduate shirt too. Only hers read “Now I'm Even Hotter By One Degree”.
Not wrong, Jules, not wrong.
“No kidding.” I accepted the drink and sucked about half of it down. “I guess Flynn and I are gonna have to look for a three-bedroom condo or something. You had any luck finding a place yet?”
“I've been chatting with a couple other girls who are moving out to train with the Olympic Elite team too.” She kind of waved it off like moving halfway across the country was no big deal.
But, of course, she'd moved halfway around the world before.
Several times. I'd never lived anywhere but here.
“Hopefully I can room up with some of them.
I'm so not ready to pack though. I can't believe how much crap I've accumulated in the last six years.”
“Ugh. Do not talk to me about packing. Can't I just buy new stuff when we get there?”
“I guess that all depends on how much your damn signing bonus is.”
Right. “The second we win our first Big Bowl ring, I'll buy you all new stuff too.”
“You mean when we win the gold medal at the Olympics and I get some badass endorsements that will put yours to shame.”
I nodded sagely or risked getting slugged. “Yep, you're right. That is exactly what I meant.”
As the excitement died down, the family naturally rearranged itself into smaller groups.
I noticed how the women—Nana Kingman, Grandma De La Reine, Mom's sisters, Sara Jayne Jerry, Mrs. Moore, and Aunt Kik, all formed a protective circle around Jules, celebrating her choice and offering practical advice about living in LA.
“I've already got all my girls ready to look out for you, or show you the best places to shop,” Sara Jayne was saying, “I'm always looking for an excuse to hit Rodeo Drive.”
“And I know people in the psychology department,” Trixie's mom, who'd been our neighbor for years, added. “Have you picked a major yet?”
Jules's eyes lit up. “I'm going undeclared, but psychology sounds cool.”
I drifted closer, drawn by the easy way these women stepped in to support Jules's dreams. This was what I'd always loved about our extended family, the way they filled in the gaps, never trying to replace our mom but always letting us know we were supported.
Flynn appeared at my elbow. “They've got it handled,” he said quietly.
“Yeah,” I agreed, but I couldn't quite make myself move away. There was something comforting about watching Jules surrounded by all these mother figures.
“Plus, she'll have her brothers,” Aunt June pointed out, noticing our hovering. “Two strapping young men who can intimidate any boys who come sniffing around.”
“We'll be very intimidating,” I promised, which made everyone laugh.
“You two are about as intimidating as golden retrievers,” Jules said fondly.
“Golden retrievers can be fierce when protecting their families,” Flynn protested.
“Exactly,” she said. “Fiercely loyal and completely hopeless at actual intimidation.”
“The world doesn't need more intimidating men,” Aunt May said warmly. “It needs more men like you two. The kind who show up and care.”
The conversation continued around me, but my attention was drifting. This easy support network, this automatic safety net and it was exactly what I was going to miss most about home. In LA, we'd have to build this from scratch.
I didn’t even know if I knew how to do that.
I caught Artie watching me from across the patio, that same thoughtful expression on her face. When our eyes met, she didn't look away or offer a reassuring smile. Instead, she just nodded slightly, like she understood exactly what I was thinking.
Maybe she did.
The sun started to set, and the core family gathered around the fire pit. Chris cleared his throat, immediately commanding attention.
“Before we call it a night,” he said, “I have something for Flynn and Gryff.”
“Please tell me it's not another lecture about fiscal responsibility with our signing bonuses,” Flynn said.
“Actually, it's the opposite,” Chris grinned, pulling out his phone. “Trixie?”
Trixie opened her laptop with a flourish. “Boys, you know how Chris likes to buy houses.”
“His hobby that makes the rest of us feel financially inadequate?” I said. “Yeah, we're familiar.”
“Well, when you got drafted to LA, he may have gotten a little excited about investment opportunities.”
Chris looked slightly embarrassed. “I may have bought a couple of houses.”
Flynn and I exchanged glances. “That's... nice?”
“For you,” Chris clarified. “As your congratulations gifts.”
The silence was so complete I could hear the fire crackling. Finally, Flynn found his voice.
“You bought us houses?”
“As gifts?”
Chris nodded, looking increasingly pleased with himself. “Great neighborhood, close to the training facility, big backyards.”
I stared at him, trying to process. “Chris, you can't just buy people houses.”
“Why not? I bought Hayes a house. And Declan. And Everett. It's what I do.”
“Wait, what?” I looked at my other brothers. “I thought he just talked you into buying those with your signing bonuses when you started with the Mustangs.”
“To be fair, I won mine in a bet,” Everett said.
“Shut up,” Chris groaned. “I was gonna give it to you anyway. I like making sure we can all be together.”
“But we're moving to LA.” Did Chris not want us to go?
“I guess we can use them in the off-season,” Flynn suggested.
“I bought you houses in LA, stupids. They're across the street from each other. Just like all our houses here.”
The thoughtfulness hit me unexpectedly hard. Chris had anticipated something I hadn't even admitted to myself. That the idea of being completely alone was terrifying.
“Show them the pictures,” Trixie urged pushing the laptop toward him.
The houses were really fucking nice, modern but warm, with big windows and porches that reminded me of home. They looked like places where you could build a life.
“This one's yours, Flynn,” Chris said, pointing to the screen. “And this one's Gryff's.”
“I don't know what to say,” I admitted.
“Thank you usually works,” Dad said dryly.
“Thank you,” Flynn and I said in unison.
“There's one more thing,” Chris added. “They're fully furnished. You can literally just show up with your suitcases.”
“Chris,” Jules said, awed, “that's incredibly thoughtful. Now what did you get me?”
“Twenty-four-seven security guards. Former Secret Service. You'll never know they're there, but no one touches you without a deep background check.”
Jules rolled her eyes and then kissed our oldest brother on the top of his head like he was a little puppy. “Good try. I'll take the necklace of the Flatirons I know you've got in your pocket, thank you very much.”
As everyone oohed and ahhed over Jules's new jewelry, Trixie handed over her laptop and I flipped through the photos, studying the images carefully. Three bedrooms. Two-and-a-half baths. A big kitchen perfect for having the whole crew there eating spaghetti meals together like the good old days.
For one person.
I'd never eaten a meal alone, never watched a movie by myself, never gone to sleep without the sound of at least one other Kingman somewhere in the house.
“The houses really are perfect,” I said, meaning it. “Chris, seriously, this is incredible.”
“Glad you like it.” Chris grinned. “Keep one of those rooms for us to stay in when we come visit.”
I glanced around at my family, at Dad telling stories about his playing days, at my brothers arguing about whose team would have the better season, at Jules glowing with excitement about her own adventure.
This easy chaos, this automatic support system.
In a few weeks, Flynn and I would be three states away from all of it.
My eyes found Artie across the fire pit. She was listening to something Tempest was saying, but I caught her looking at me with that same thoughtful expression she'd worn all evening, those knowing blue eyes, like she could see right through my carefully maintained optimism.
Maybe she could.
“You know what?” I said suddenly, loud enough to get everyone's attention. “Tomorrow night can't come fast enough.”
“Tomorrow night?” Jules asked.
“Final Kingman family game night,” I grinned. “One last chance to destroy you all before Flynn and I become Los Angeles residents.”
“Oh, you're going down, little brother,” Declan said immediately.
Hayes pointed my way. “I've been practicing my trash talk.”
“I get the lucky pillow,” Everett said and literally held the green throw pillow over his head like he'd been planning this all day.
“Cheater,” the rest of us all declared in unison.
As my family dissolved into the familiar chaos of competitive planning and good-natured insults, I felt some of the tightness in my chest ease.
Tomorrow night, we'd have one more evening of this.
One more game night with the lucky pillow and ridiculous arguments and everyone trying to cheat at board games.
One more night to tuck into my heart before we left our home behind.