Chapter Six #3
Nick wasn’t sure why it mattered, but he wanted to tell her what football had meant to him once.
Not because he wanted to convince her not all football players were like the dirtbag she’d met in Las Vegas, but because he wanted her to know he’d had big dreams once—was compelled to show her he wasn’t always so…
serious. He was not grumpy, but he’d accept too serious.
“I made it, actually,” he said quietly, keeping his gaze on the smoke sneaking out from under the grill’s lid. “I got a scholarship to a D1 school in Texas, and by the end of my junior year, I was already considered a top draft prospect.”
“Were you a quarterback?” she asked, nose wrinkling. “You seem like a quarterback type.”
“I was a running back. And I’m a little offended by that comparison due to your recent and, as far as I know, only interaction with a quarterback.”
She scoffed and flicked her hand, as if swatting thoughts of that other guy away. “I just meant serious and bossy. You seem like a guy who’d want to be in charge of the team.”
“The coaches are in charge of the team.”
“Whatever. But why football?”
He sighed, resigned to talking about it now that he’d opened the door. “I was obsessed with football for as long as I can remember. I also loved running. My mom was convinced I’d be a track star, but then my dad signed me up for the local football league for kids and that was it.”
“Admittedly, I know very little about sports, but I know you have to be really good to be high in the draft.”
“I was. And for the first time, I had my own identity. I wasn’t just Sully Slater’s oldest kid, destined to pound nails for a living.
I wasn’t lumped in with my brothers as ‘one of those Slater boys.’ By the time I was varsity, I was the pride and joy not only of Wayward Harbor, but the entire region.
And by high school graduation, nobody in Maine talked about football without saying my name. ”
Her eyebrow arched. “You must have been insufferable.”
“Probably. But I was also disciplined and focused, and shared a common goal with a team of guys who were like brothers. Being in that locker room and on the field felt like home to me.”
“You’re not much older than me.” She frowned. “Right?”
“I’m thirty-five.”
“Okay. Again, don’t know sports, but did you retire already?” She covered her mouth. “Oh no, did you get hurt?”
“I never played pro ball.”
Lucy dropped her hand. “Wait, after all that, you didn’t get drafted?”
“My dad passed away suddenly, right before I started my senior year.”
“Oh. I’m so sorry.” Her eyes softened, and he got up to check the steak just so he didn’t drown in them.
“I came home for the funeral, and it was a mess, of course.” He shook the potato packet and closed the lid again, though he didn’t turn around.
“Gray was a senior in high school. Beck was fifteen and Theo fourteen. We’d not only lost Dad, but he had jobs in the works.
Some were unfinished. Some he’d scheduled and taken deposits for.
Mom hadn’t worked outside the home since I was born—she mostly helped Dad with the office part of the business.
This was before college athletes could earn money on their merch and stuff, so I couldn’t do that.
But I told her if she could hire somebody to keep the jobs going and keep the roof over their heads, I’d be able to send money when I signed my rookie contract. ”
Nick stopped to breathe for a minute because he hadn’t even gotten to the hardest part yet. Lucy was quiet, seeming to know there was more, but not pushing him to continue.
“I went back to Texas, but my mom—she couldn’t get her feet under her.
She called me every night, crying about how difficult it was to manage my brothers.
My mom was dealing with depression and my brothers were acting out.
It was pretty obvious they were falling apart and needed me, and it doesn’t matter what the choice is—I’ll always choose my family. ”
“That had to be devastating,” Lucy said softly. “I’m sorry you lost football. It obviously meant a lot to you.”
“It did. But time went by, and Gray and Beck had things pretty well in hand, with Theo…being Theo. He was a handful, but he was making good choices, so I started thinking about football again. I interviewed around and was offered a position as a JV coach just outside of Boston. Two weeks before I was supposed to start, our mom was diagnosed with cancer.”
He heard her gasp. “Nick. I’m sorry.”
“She was one of those stubborn, skeptical women who avoided doctors and hospitals, so by the time it was bad enough to get her in there, there wasn’t a lot they could do. But I couldn’t leave her and my brothers. And after she passed…well, here I am.”
Because the chairs were on grass, Nick didn’t realize Lucy had gotten up until she was standing next to him. He turned, intending to tell her it was fine and send her in for a platter, but she wrapped her arms around him and the words stuck in his throat.
She was the perfect height for hugging. Her arms went around his waist, and he wrapped his arms around her back, holding her close enough so his face was buried in the neck of the blue hoodie.
He knew he should keep it short, but he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been hugged.
It was probably when he and his brothers had to line up after their mother’s funeral service and accept handshakes and hugs from what felt like the entire population of Wayward Harbor.
He’d been numb, and the hugs had been awkward and rushed.
Not Lucy’s hug, though. She held him until his body relaxed. His heart rate slowed. Even his breathing slowed, until he felt more at peace than he’d felt for a long time.
Only then did she back away and give him a smile. “I’m going to start bringing out the stuff we need. Don’t let those potatoes burn.”
So along with the gorgeous hair and eyes, and looking damn good in his favorite sweatshirt, the fact she could offer comfort and then let him be went on the list of things he really liked about Lucy Macauley.
By the time the steak and potatoes were on the table, the mood had lightened, though the breeze was kicking up as the sun went down. The light next to the door and the solar light topping the deck posts gave the meal a nice ambience.
He laughed when the wind kept blowing her hair in her face as she tried to lift her fork to her mouth. With an exasperated sigh, she pulled the hood up and tucked the hair in.
“You should make a list,” he said between bites. “The steps you have to take to make the Miami thing happen.”
“I just have to drive there,” she said with a shrug. “I can figure out the rest when I get there.”
“Yeah, just driving to Maine with no plan worked out so well for you.”
She grinned at him across the table, and it took his breath away. “It hasn’t really worked out that bad, actually. And if I have to make a list of serious things I need to do, then you should make a fun list. Like a shenanigans list.”
“A shenanigans list?”
“Yeah, you know—a list of fun shenanigans you want to get up to.”
“I don’t get up to shenanigans.”
“And there’s your problem.”
“I don’t think we’ve established I actually have a problem.”
“Haven’t we, though?” She flashed him another smile. “What’s something you’ve always wanted to do for no other reason than it seems like a cool thing to do?”
“Sunrise on Cadillac Mountain,” he said without thinking.
“I don’t know what that means. Where is Cadillac Mountain?”
“About two hours up the coast, give or take. It’s in Acadia National Park, and because of the elevation, it’s the first place in the United States you see the sun rise.”
“Two hours?” She held up her hands. “Put it on your shenanigans list and we’ll do it.”
He chuckled, appreciating the enthusiasm. “To go during the season, you have to make a reservation. You can’t get near it on the weekends and holidays, but getting up and out of here at like two in the morning isn’t really feasible on a workday. It’s not worth the effort.”
“Something you’ve wanted to do for so long it was the first thing that came to mind when I asked you means it’s absolutely worth the effort.” She pointed her fork at him. “I’m putting it on the list.”
And sure enough, when he’d finished cleaning the grill and went in to help her with the kitchen cleanup, he saw a fresh sticky note on the fridge.
Under the heading of Our Shenanigans were two bullet point items. Sunrise at Cadillac Mountain. And going out in a boat.
Our. The word echoed through his mind and he smiled. He liked the sound of that.