clear she expected her players to make an appearance at the event. A lot of time and money went into planning it, after all. But both the team’s owner and most of his teammates knew about Katie’s challenges, so if he decided it wasn’t in her best interests to attend, they would surely understand.
“I got my Father’s Day gift this morning,” Duane said with a big smile on his face.
“We don’t need to hear about your wife’s wake-up BJs again, Fry,” Austin grumbled.
Duane gave Austin a shove. “Get your brain outta the gutter, man.” He paused, then tacked on, “But Shannon does give some mind-blowin’ head.”
When everyone groaned and started turning away, Duane laughed. “I’m playin’ with y’all. Naw, my gift was hearin’ my little angel say Dada for the first time.”
Longing struck Will so painfully that he hurried to put his wallet in his back pocket and headed out without saying a word to anyone. Actually, it wasn’t the yearning that drove him out of the clubhouse so much as the rather shameful amount of resentment he felt toward his teammates over their seemingly perfect families.
Of course that was unrealistic. None of them actually had perfect home lives. At times like these, though, he more clearly felt the disparity between them.
You’ve got more to be thankful for than a lot of people, he reminded himself as he started his truck and headed home.
He had a supportive father and siblings, and a beautiful, talented little girl. Sure, Katie communicated differently than most kids. Maybe she hadn’t ever called him Dad or Daddy. Maybe she hadn’t expressly said she loved him. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t ever hear those things from her. Gareth assured him Katie would develop those types of bonds at her own emotional pace.
And, hey, she’d drawn hearts on the Father’s Day picture she made of the two of them, proudly presenting it to him before his game that day. Hearts were the equivalent of love in silent-kid-speak, right?
Somehow, his mental pep talk only made him feel sorrier for himself.
Since self-pity wasn’t his thing, he tuned the radio to his favorite alternative rock station and cranked the volume. Focusing on the music rather than his thoughts, he absently reached up and took the pendant he wore between his thumb and forefinger. As it had since he received it the year before, rubbing the circular charm offered him comfort. He habitually brought the circle to his lips before he took the mound, considering it a sort of talisman.
By the time he turned onto his street, his head was back where it needed to be. It seemed like a good omen that the sun was shining here, as though the gloom remained at the stadium. He prepared to spend a fun evening playing games with his dad and Katie.
When he spotted Jasmine’s car in the driveway, a blend of confusion and excitement coursed through him. She wasn’t due for a lesson that day. Had she come for a visit because she wanted to?
He tried not to get his hopes up. They had managed to sneak in a few incredible rounds of sex in the past couple weeks since they made their “pact,” but she hadn’t given him any indication that she wanted things to move beyond that. If anything, she talked more about focusing on her upcoming auditions than she used to.
Then he had another thought.
Was something wrong?
He made a sharp turn into the driveway, slamming the truck into park, and disconnecting his seatbelt so fast he almost gave himself a contact burn as it zipped back into place. He hopped out, shoved the door closed, and started toward the front door at a jog.
He was in such a rush that he almost missed the sidewalk chalk artwork. Only because it covered every inch of the four rectangles between the driveway and the front door with bright, cheerful color did he finally slow enough to look down. Realizing that he had stepped on the first rectangle, he eased back onto the grass so he could fully appreciate what his daughter—and Jasmine, as there was no question of her involvement—had done.
Each of the rectangles looked like framed pictures. The first one was surrounded by an ornate, bold yellow frame. Inside it were the words “Welcome home, Daddy!” written in fancy script.
He stared at it for a long moment, unable to believe he was seeing it after the thoughts he’d had on the drive home. It was like he made a wish