“You’re panicking. Don’t intentionally ground the ball unless you’re a hundred percent sure that some sneaky defenseman isn’t gonna snatch it up.” Jackson voiced the advice to Mia’s younger brother, who’d screwed up another practice play and was now grumbling with irritation.
The two of them were tossing a football around in the grassy field behind Mia and Danny’s building until Mia got home from her shift at the Sandwich Stop, a Subway-style ma-and-pa eatery near the harbor. Jackson had already been on his way when she’d called to say she was running late, but fortunately Danny had been home to let him in. They’d started watching a college game on TV, during which Danny had confessed that he was having trouble making split-second calls under pressure, so Jackson suggested they head outside and go over some plays.
Truth was, he genuinely liked spending time with Mia’s brother, something he’d done a lot of these past two weeks. He’d been in the stands when the Warriors had won another game, then consoled the kid when the team lost their next one. He’d had dinner with the Weldricks on two separate occasions. And he and Mia had even gone to see a movie with Danny and his girlfriend the other night, a romantic comedy that made the girls cry while the guys grinned and rolled their eyes.
Earlier today Jackson had been startled to realize that he’d been seeing Mia for more than a month already. It was the first week of October now, and he couldn’t believe how fast the time had passed. Not that he was complaining. He loved spending time with Mia. It was all he looked forward to when he was running training missions on the base, and he knew she felt the same way.
The only problem? She continued to refer to their relationship as a “fling”, a label that didn’t sit right with him. This thing between them had moved way beyond a fling for him.
Mia was the one.
Call him crazy or naive, but after a mere five weeks, Jackson knew with bone-deep certainty that Mia was the woman he was meant to be with. She was so dang smart, so incredibly generous. She made him laugh, she challenged him, she rocked his world in bed. If he could wake up to her gorgeous face every morning for the rest of his life, he’d consider himself the luckiest man in the world.
He was in this for the long haul. Like, forever type of shit. And though he desperately wanted Mia to be on the same page, he suspected she wasn’t, and that troubling notion was beginning to keep him awake at night.
Danny’s voice interrupted Jackson’s train of thought. “I didn’t see the sweatshirt.” The boy gestured to the bright red hoodie that sat on the grass twenty yards away, serving as one of their open receivers. “I didn’t think there would be an eligible receiver there when I grounded the ball.”
“Always be aware of your surroundings,” Jackson said sternly. “You’ve gotta keep your eyes open, kid.”
“I know.”
“C’mon, let’s practice ball protection. This time I’ll sack you for real and we’ll see if you can hold on to the pigskin.”
Danny eyed him dubiously. “You planning on coming at me full-strength?”
He chuckled. “Of course not. I’ve got five inches and forty pounds on you. I’d frickin’ kill you.”
They got into position, squatting so Jackson could snap the ball into Danny’s waiting hands. The second Danny straightened up and got ready to throw, Jackson assumed the role of defenseman and launched himself at the boy.
The two of them hit the ground with a loud thud. Jackson’s body landed squarely on the kid, and he immediately redistributed his weight so he wasn’t crushing him to death. Despite the heavy hit, Danny kept a protective grip on the ball, and his green eyes sparkled as he hopped to his feet.
“Nice job,” Jackson said proudly.
“Thanks. Let’s do it again. There’s no way I’m fumbling the ball again like I did during that last game.”
The intensity in the teenager’s eyes sparked Jackson’s admiration. Mia’s brother had focus and determination, two qualities that Jackson greatly appreciated. He suspected that Danny Weldrick would land a scholarship to any school of his choice—the boy was that serious about going pro, and worked his ass off for it.
After they ran the same drill a few more times, they called it a day and wandered through the field retrieving the various placeholders they’d laid on the grass. Jackson was just picking up the last marker—an empty Gatorade bottle—when Danny approached him with a hesitant look.
“Hey, can I ask you something?”
Jackson tucked the bottle under his arm along with the two sweatshirts he’d collected. “Sure.”
“So next week the team is heading up to Irvine for the weekend,” Danny started. “We play a game on Friday against the Devils, then this charity game on Saturday as a joint fundraiser type of thing.”
“Okay…”
He waited for Mia’s brother to continue, but the kid didn’t say a word. He just stood there fidgeting with the sleeve of his white T-shirt.
“Whatcha waiting for?” Jackson said with a laugh. “Spit it out already.”
Danny’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “’Kay, well…here’s the thing. I—”