take Truman some dinner at the shop, when Pim and Bill had spotted me on the sidewalk and offered to walk with me.
Bill reached out and ruffled my hair. He was a quieter, sweet sort of man who’d surprised me with physical affection as soon as he’d gotten to know me a bit better. He was a hugger with a great big belly and strong arms. He smelled like fried onions mixed with coffee, and it was like getting a hug from the diner itself.
Winter and Gentry had hosted me for dinner the night before and had invited several other LGBT families to join as well. I’d spent at least half an hour swapping recipe ideas with Bill while Gent had sat with Solo in the other room teaching him how to play the guitar and a woman named Mindy had talked Winter’s ear off about the hand pain she was experiencing after taking a wood-carving class. The evening had been comfortable and friendly, exactly the kind of atmosphere I’d hoped to find there in Aster Valley.
I glanced at the phone in my hand and debated whether or not to text him I loved him. The tinkle of a bell rang in the cold mountain air as Truman stepped out of his shop and turned to lock the door behind him. It was quickly followed by the sound of my phone ringing. Since I was expecting a call back from Stacy with the answer to a zoning question for the cabin we’d looked at, I answered the phone without looking.
23
Tiller
“Sam, dammit, tell me what the fuck is wrong with him? He won’t even answer my calls.”
I’d completely lost my patience with Mikey. Something was wrong, and he wouldn’t fucking talk to me. I’d almost decided to ditch practice on Wednesday and fly out to Colorado to shake him in person and ask him what the hell was going on. In the end, I forced myself to stay put since I was playing in the game Thursday and my team was counting on me.
But that didn’t mean I couldn’t shake down our friend for information. I left Sam a message Wednesday night but didn’t get a call back until I was heading into the Bills’ stadium late Thursday afternoon.
Sam had been busy with a family thing. I knew that, but I couldn’t help but think he might know what was happening with Mikey.
“Tiller, take a breath.” His voice sounded calm the way it always did. Sam was steady like a rock. “And then sit down. Because you’re not going to like this.”
My face started tingling with fear that he was going to impart some terrible news. Teammates jostled past me on their way to the locker room, but I ignored them. “Just spit it out.”
Markus glared at me for taking a personal call this close to the game, but I waved him on ahead. He’d supposedly come to Buffalo to meet with another client of his, but I suspected he was really here in case he had to handle another injury involving his highest-paid asset.
He tapped his smartwatch and tilted his head toward the locker room. I waved him on again without looking up.
Sam sighed. “I’m not supposed to know this, and I sure as hell am not supposed to tell you, but you two fuckers need to get your head out of your asses before you get railroaded by external forces.”
That didn’t make any sense. My head wasn’t in my ass. I was all-in with Mikey. Hell, I’d spent the better part of the week making plans to show him how all-in I was. “How so?”
“He accidentally sent me a text that was meant for someone else. But it looks like maybe his dad is threatening him to make him leave you.”
“Leave m—” I stopped as I realized what he was saying. He didn’t mean quitting his job as my chef and assistant. He meant walking away from the relationship. “How?”
“He told Mikey he would play you injured or possibly trade you. He said he would deny the Riggers’ endorsement of Mikey’s cookbook deal.”
Sudden hot rage came over me. My personal life was none of my coach’s business, but more than that, how could he be such an uncaring asshole to his own son? How could he deny Mikey a chance at happiness?
“Fuck.” I felt like my back teeth were going to crack. I’d never felt so angry at my coach before, and that was saying a lot since he’d