Chapter 14
Chapter fourteen
Cam
Laughter drifts in from Knox and Brynn’s kitchen, where Brynn’s trying to wrangle a salad bowl out of Knox’s hands before he eats all the croutons.
“Stop it,” she scolds, swatting his arm. “Those are for the salad, not for your mouth.”
He grins. “I’m quality testing.”
Across the kitchen island, Kinsey snorts into her wine. “Pretty sure that’s what he said about Brynn on the honeymoon.”
“Kinsey!” Brynn yelps, face going scarlet.
Kate laughs so hard she has to lean on the counter for balance, and for a second, the sound fills the entire house.
Evie, perched on a barstool, giggles right along without understanding the joke. “Coach Wells, what’s quality testing?”
Knox chokes on his drink.
I grin. “It’s, uh…when you make sure something’s good before you share it.”
Evie nods solemnly. “So like when I quality test cookies.”
I nod too. “Exactly…cookies.”
Dinner is loud and messy—Knox telling a story about his new sophomore player at the high school, Brynn trying to keep Evie from swinging a breadstick like a sword, Kinsey offering to open a bottle of wine “for morale,” and Kate sitting beside me, quiet but glowing in the warmth of it all.
She’s been through hell this week, but here, surrounded by people who love her, she looks a little less breakable.
Dinner winds down with half-finished drinks and smeared napkins.
Kinsey and Evie migrate to the living room with a coloring book, and Kate drops to the rug beside them without hesitation.
She peels crayon wrappers while Evie insists every horse should be purple.
Kate doesn’t correct her—she listens, indulges, and there’s something so soft about the way she lets Evie create her vision.
Brynn starts clearing plates, and I automatically stand to help.
“Are you always this helpful?” she asks, amused.
“Coach instincts,” I tell her. “Idle hands make me twitchy.”
We fall into a rhythm—she rinses, I towel and shelve—and after a quiet stretch she speaks again, eyes flicking my direction.
“You’ve been more reserved tonight.”
“Just relaxing, taking it all in,” I say.
She doesn’t buy it, and she doesn’t try to hide it. “You mean keeping an eye on Kate?”
I huff out something between a laugh and a sigh. “Not holding back tonight, huh, Dalton?”
“Not even a little.” She nudges me with her elbow. “She told me about the custody situation. It’s ugly.”
“Yeah.” I run a hand through my hair. “Thanks for getting her the info for that lawyer. I feel like she’s just trying to hold it together.
It’s such a shitty situation. She’s done everything right, and he still gets to waltz back in with a nice house and a new wife like that erases five years of absence. ”
Brynn’s voice gentles. “Thank you for being there for her.”
“I’ll always be there for her,” I say quietly.
Brynn’s hands pause in the water as she turns toward me. “Does she know you’re falling for her?”
I shake my head. “I don’t think she wants to know.”
“Or maybe she’s just scared,” Brynn says. “Kate’s spent years doing everything on her own. When you live in survival mode that long, love feels like another thing you can lose.”
I nod, putting a plate in the cabinet.
“Cam,” she continues, “whatever you do, don’t back off. She needs someone consistent more than she needs someone who’s perfect. And you”she smiles faintly—“you’ve got consistency handled.”
I look toward the living room. Evie is on her stomach, coloring like it’s a competitive sport. Kinsey doodles mustaches over the horse illustrations. Kate sits beside them, hair falling forward as she focuses, unaware of how completely she holds the room without trying.
Brynn nudges me with her elbow. “You’re staring, Coach.”
“Can you blame me?”
“Nope,” she says with a grin. “Just…don’t run from it.”
“I don’t run,” I tell her.
“Good,” she says, rinsing the last dish. “Because that woman in there? She deserves someone who is ready to be strong and consistent.”
My throat feels tight when I answer. “Yeah. She does.”
“Coach Wells!” Evie calls, brandishing her latest masterpiece. “Look! It’s you!”
The stick figure she’s drawn has shoulders the width of a doorway and a baseball cap floating above its head.
“Strong resemblance,” I say. “Even nailed the posture.”
Kate shakes her head, smiling up at me from the floor. “You’ve got a fan club now, Wells.”
“Just one member,” I say. “But she’s the best one.”
Evie giggles. “I’m gonna draw Mommy next to you!”
Kate blushes, and Brynn’s grin from beside me is pure mischief. “I bet that picture will be hanging on your fridge by morning.”
“Yeah,” I mutter under my breath, half to myself. “Sounds about right.”
Dessert disappears, wine drains low, and Evie’s been blinking in slow motion for the last fifteen minutes. She keeps insisting she isn’t tired, voice slurred around yawns she can’t hide.
Kate laughs softly and reaches for her daughter. “Alright, sleepyhead. Say goodnight.”
Evie groans, melting into her mom’s shoulder. “Can Coach Wells carry me?”
Kate’s eyes flick up to mine, cheeks pink. “You don’t have to—”
“I got her, Kate,” I say, grinning as I scoop Evie into my arms.
She’s out cold before we make it to the front door. Her head rests against my shoulder, small hand curled in my shirt, and for a second, I feel the world narrow down to this.
Kate follows me outside, the porch light painting her dark hair golden. The night air is warm, cicadas buzzing from the trees that line the drive.
“She’s dead weight when she’s asleep,” I say as we reach the car.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” she says with a smile, unlocking the door.
I ease Evie into her booster seat, careful not to wake her. She sighs and slumps against the seatbelt, completely unaware that the world’s been tilted on its axis for her mom all week.
Kate steps closer, tucking the blanket around her daughter’s legs. Her hand brushes mine—barely a touch—but the contact jolts through me like static.
“Thank you,” she whispers.
“For what?”
“For being you, I guess.”
I swallow, searching her face. Her eyes are soft in the moonlight.
She looks up, meeting my gaze. “You’re good with her,” she says quietly.
I glance at Evie asleep in the back seat. “She makes it easy. She’s the sweetest kid I know.”
She smiles as she looks up at me and I could kiss her right now. But I don’t want to disrupt this moment.
“Get home safe, okay?”
She gives a small smile. “You worry too much.”
“Someone’s gotta.”
That earns me the faintest laugh. She opens the car door and turns back once more, eyes glinting under the porch light. “Goodnight, Wells.”
“Night, Katie.”