Chapter 3
Chapter Three
AUGUST
Generally, I got on well with everyone on my football team.
I’d signed with the Tigers nearly three years ago and hadn’t looked back since.
Even Brock Ford couldn’t ruin the good energy — and I couldn’t stand the guy.
He was insufferably cocky and perpetually unserious, plus he fucked around enough to give even me a run for my money. Or, at least, the me of six months ago.
Muscles aching and body warm from the shower, I was half-dressed by the time a familiar shit-eating grin walked around the corner. Speak of the devil.
I grunted a hello at Brock and blinked in surprise when my brother stepped out from behind him.
River had on what I liked to call his game face.
It wasn’t one he wore often and generally it was a result of some antics I’d cooked up.
I wracked my brain, trying to think of anything I might have done recently that would put that look on my brother’s face, but it had been a long year and a lot had changed. Including me.
“We need to talk.”
Brock gave a low whistle and I rolled my eyes. Whatever River had to tell me, we could fix it. He was my agent because he was good at his job, not because he was my brother.
I pulled my shirt on over my head, grimacing when it stuck to the remnants of the shower water still on my skin. “Sure.”
Our footsteps were loud against the luxe tiled floor as I followed River out of the locker room and into the player’s lounge.
A perk of playing pro was that the facilities and equipment were the best, modern and brand-spanking new, but it didn’t matter how nicely decorated the locker room was — it was never going to not smell like sweat, rubber, and a jumbled mix of body spray.
“What’s up?” I grabbed a glass and filled it with ice and water, taking a long drink before looking back up at River as he scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “That bad?” We paced over to the couch and coffee table and sat down facing each other across it.
River, like anybody else, had his tells, and right now his tight jaw and mussed dark hair was telling me a lot. He was stressed. Big time. “It’s—Fuck, I don’t even know how to say this, so I guess I’m just going to come out with it. Okay?”
The ice in my glass clinked as I set it down on the table and leaned forward to hear whatever River had to say, gut churning as I imagined the worst. “Are Mom and Dad okay? Tyler?”
River softened, his shoulders easing as he watched me. “Everyone is fine. It’s the team. They’ve brought in some kind of new investor.”
My fingers relaxed their grip on each other and I shrugged, the tension fading from my shoulders. “So?” People sponsored or bought shares in the team all the time.
River shook his head and stood, pacing back and forth. “So there’s new management, new sponsors… There’s talk of line-up changes.”
I blinked at him dumbly, his words not quite processing. “What?”
The set of River’s mouth was grim as he dropped back against the brown leather chair. “I’ll know more soon. But the word I’m getting so far is that they’re re-branding. Wholesome, family values.”
Ah. Now I could see the problem. Up until very recently, I wasn’t exactly what anyone would have described as wholesome.
My life had been made up of parties, a revolving door of women, and training.
But it had never mattered much as long as I kept my head in the game and did what I was here to do: win.
My priorities had shifted around the same time that my brother unexpectedly became a new dad.
It was rare for any players to be kicked off the team, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t shuffle you off to one side and restrict your time on the field until you were the one who decided to leave.
Plus, I was getting closer to thirty-five now and my body couldn’t be expected to keep withstanding the physicality of the game for too much longer.
If they were looking to make big team changes, I was probably a prime candidate for reshuffling.
“You need to keep your head down and your nose clean,” River confirmed and my eyes narrowed.
Sure, I loved the team, but right now my priorities were about following the money to make my family as comfortable as possible.
As long as I got to play, I didn’t much care who it was for so long as they paid me enough to take care of the people I loved.
That said, this was a sweet gig, close to my family and with enough perks that it would be tough to move to a smaller team, potentially far away…
“August,” River said, gritting the word out from between his teeth.
“That’s exactly the kind of look on your face I don’t want to see right now. Just… be discreet. Please.”
I nodded, the movement short and jerky, and he breathed a sigh of relief. The flare of irritation that followed was inevitable, I never had liked being told what to do.
“Oh,” River said as he stood, switching between agent and brother with ease. “Mom said something about family dinner tonight? You’ll be there, right?”
My family were relatively relaxed, good-natured people. There was only one thing we didn’t mess around with and that was family dinner twice a month.
“You heading there now?” I followed River in the direction of the door, stopping only to place my used glass in the dishwasher. “Mind if I tag along?”
He shrugged. “Sure. I’m picking up Tyler first though.”
I smiled at the thought of my baby nephew.
He wasn’t quite one and already he ran River ragged.
In fact, I was half-tempted to bring him here into the training facility to liven things up a bit.
Everything in here was white, it was a color that wouldn’t last five seconds around a stubborn baby boy with a love for finger painting.
“What are you smirking at?” River asked as we stepped outside and the cool air hit us.
“Just excited to see my favorite nephew.”
“He’s your only nephew.”
I grinned and River shook his head, leading me over to his jeep. He was still grumbling under his breath by the time we pulled away into traffic.
Tyler seemed to have more energy than usual as we took our seats around my mom’s dining table.
River had set him up in a highchair that tucked into the table and I’d been happy to give my brother a break and feed the baby some kind of blended up spaghetti while River ate his own food.
I wrinkled my nose as I sniffed at a spoonful of baby food, it wasn’t anywhere near as nice as the lasagna my mom had made.
“Soon you’ll be able to eat the good stuff,” I murmured to Tyler as I scooped some soft bolognese off of his mouth with the side of the plastic spoon and plopped it back in his mouth.
He flapped his hands, burbling happily and blowing a raspberry that sprayed baby food through the air. River winced and wiped a few specks off his cheek. “I can take over if you like.”
“Nah, I don’t mind.” I chuckled as I wiped a napkin over my own face.
Tyler kicked his chubby legs in time with his raised arms and I stood, taking his bowl out into the adjacent kitchen and returning with a fresh bowl of sweet rice pudding.
Tyler’s blue eyes lit up, pudgy fingers making grabby motions until I set it down on his built-in tray.
He immediately stuck both hands inside and wriggled his fingers.
The chair creaked as I sat back down, the wood feeling fragile under my solid weight. My parents had owned these chairs for as long as I could remember, the only thing that had changed were the cushions tied onto their tops.
I resumed eating, keeping one eye on Tyler as I ate, letting him get on with his sticky dessert by himself. He preferred to mash it into his mouth with his fingers, the spoon usually ending up chucked across the room, so I didn’t bother with offering him any utensils for it any more.
My parents sat opposite the three of us, a soft look on their faces.
It had changed all our lives for the better when Tyler had come along.
His mom wasn’t in the picture. Uninterested in raising a kid, she’d dropped him off on River’s doorstep without much explanation.
He hadn’t even known she was pregnant, she’d been just a one-night-stand he hadn’t expected to see again.
We all chipped in to help my brother, but it wasn’t like it was much of a hardship. Kid was cute.
Things would be easier for River soon though, my parents had volunteered to look after Tyler during the day while River worked.
My dad had recently lost his job, which wouldn’t have been a big deal at his age except the payments on their house had recently doubled thanks to the soaring interest rates.
If they’d lived in the city rather than just outside, there was no way they’d have been able to keep their place — our childhood home.
It wasn’t the kind of thing I wanted them to worry about, especially if I could provide for them thanks to the decent pay I got from the Tigers.
Not that my parents were big on accepting my money.
“How’s training going, son?” My dad smiled, the blue eyes that Tyler had inherited wrinkling at their corners. River frowned but I ignored him, not wanting to put any further stress on our parents by telling them about the change in management.
“Good.” I smiled and made a show of flexing my arms. “Can’t you tell?”
Mom laughed. “In my mind you’re still a skinny fourteen year-old that needs feeding up.”
I smirked. “You’re welcome to make me lasagna any time, Mom.” We laughed and Tyler squealed like he was trying to join in on the joke. “It’s our pre-season, so I’m trying to bulk a little whilst maintaining my stamina before games start up again — or that’s what my trainer tells me anyway.”
“Gotta be careful,” River said, a humor in his eyes that had been in short supply since unexpectedly becoming a new father. “Or people will assume you’re nothing but a dumb jock under all those muscles.”
I snorted. He was one to talk, his coping mechanism for stress often involved several punishing hours in the gym.
"There's nothing wrong with being a dumb jock," I said, sniffing haughtily and grinning when my mom laughed.
"I'm glad things are going well for you." My dad smiled and when he looked back down at his nearly-empty plate, I glanced at River hoping I wouldn't have to correct our dad any time soon.
"Me too." The words were soft and River's jaw ticked. The more I thought about it, this reshuffling of the team and their sponsors couldn't have worse timing. More stress was the last thing I, or my brother, needed.
Once our plates were cleared and River had started the long process of removing the baby food from Tyler's dark hair and between his fingers, I stretched and exhaustion fell over me. Full belly, good company, that was all it took to have me ready for bed nowadays. Thumping bass and a different woman every night had lost their appeal as soon as Tyler had come into our lives and I’d watched my brother with his son.
Going out was the last thing on my mind, but one look at River had me reconsidering my plans.
He was smiling at Tyler, wiping his face with a gentleness that belied his large form, but there was an inherent tiredness to his movements, in the way he held himself. When was the last time he’d been able to let loose?
My mom raised an eyebrow at me before tilting her head meaningfully towards my brother. Clearly she could see it too. River needed the chance to blow off some steam.
I pushed River to one side and swung a now-blessedly-clean baby Tyler into my arms. "What do you say, little man? You going to spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa? Let me and your dad go and have some fun?"
"August—"
"Please Daddy, pleaaase," I said, waving Tyler’s tiny hands in the air as I pitched my voice high.
"Okay, okay. Fine. But only if you promise never to call me daddy ever again."