a rub of Ronan’s head, and he obliged. Cole waited patiently. It was going well, he thought. He was actually…enjoying it. Ronan finished with his fans and turned his attention back to Cole. “Where were we?” he asked.
Like he didn’t know… “Ever thought about playing internationally?”
Ronan nodded slowly, obviously considering each question now, examining it for the true meaning. “Of course. If the right opportunity came along.”
“I imagine that’s a good possibility. You thinking anywhere in particular?”
“Lotta countries out there have amazing teams. Amazing programs.”
“That’s true,” Cole said. “Europe has very healthy league competition. Very lucrative. Italy, France…others. They’re all very good.”
“They are,” Ronan agreed. “Australia, too.” He paused for a second. “Of course, it’s all about the coach, really. That’s the ultimate decider for me.”
“Yep. That’s wise.” Ronan Dempsey was smart. Strategic. That would get him a long way. He could make a lot of money, or he could be up there with the best. It was gratifying to see that he recognized the difference. “Any coaches in particular on your hit list?”
“Well, sure…I mean, who wouldn’t want to be coached by Griffin King?”
Every hair on Cole’s body stood on end. He’d never been more idle in his life on a rugby pitch, but he’d also never felt so energized. Sure, it was a different kind of energy but no less real. The adrenaline rush was real. He and Ronan Dempsey were standing around talking—not even talking straight—they were having a conversation inside a conversation. But he was pumped!
“Right?”
“He’s one of the best. In fact, I’d go as far as to say he is the best. Why he’s not coaching the national team, I don’t know.”
No one really knew the answer to that, other than he’d turned it down continually for years. Cole suspected, as did pretty much everyone else, that the tragic and accidental death of his daughter many years ago had left him deeply wounded and intensely private. But it wasn’t his place to speculate, and he was as closemouthed about Griff with outsiders as any other member of the team.
“Their loss is the Smoke’s gain.” Your gain, he wanted to say but didn’t. “Well…” He stuck out his hand again. “It was great meeting you. Whatever happens, you’re going to have an amazing career.”
If Ronan was disappointed that this conversation seemed to go nowhere, he didn’t show it as he shook, which led Cole to believe he’d had this type of conversation more than once.
So, the sharks were circling…
“You got a card?” he asked.
A card? Jesus. Now that he hadn’t expected. Cole hadn’t thought about anything so fancy. This was just a conversation. A favor. Not his job. But it would be a good idea to have a contact number for Ronan. He unlocked his phone and handed it to the younger guy. “Put your number in here.”
Ronan smiled as he took the phone, and Cole glanced around, wondering where Finn had gotten to. His heart seized in his chest as he caught sight of him with Jane. They were standing in a little circle, talking to a couple of the other Barbarian players. One of Finn’s arms was hooked around his mother’s leg, the other hooked around his father’s, as a fly half showed Finn a neat trick with the ball, spinning it on his index finger. Finn was staring with rapt attention, paying no heed to Jane’s hand absently on his head sifting through his hair or Tad’s hand resting easy on his shoulder.
Tad said something that made Finn look up at him like he hung the fucking moon and laughed. The vision slugged Cole straight in the center like a ball catapulting into his gut. It’d been easy the past couple of weeks with Tad dicking around in Las Vegas to think of Finn as fatherless. To feel a connection with the boy born from their shared fatherlessness. But Finn wasn’t fatherless.
Sure, Tad obviously had reliability issues, but it was clear he loved his son—and, as Jane had mentioned, when he was present, he was present, being super attentive and engaging with Finn since he’d landed on them this morning. Maybe that was an act, but Tad was very comfortable in this role, supremely confident in his relationship with his son, and Finn certainly wasn’t faking his feelings for his father.
They looked like…a family.
Jesus. What was he doing? Dallying in Credence? Spinning god knew what kind of fantasies with a woman and a kid he’d known for two weeks. Why hadn’t he rung