“Let’s talk next week,” Raymond said. “A little bird told me there’s going to be a pick-up game between you and the guys and the assistant coaches.”
“Feel free to join us. We need more position players. You played tight end, right?”
“Good memory,” Raymond said. “I’d love to join.”
“I’ll gather the guys.” He held up his whistle. “Be fun to have them at my beck and call for another little while.”
Raymond laughed, and Blake jogged off. Sure enough, it felt fun to blow the whistle one last time.
“All right. Who’s ready for some flag football?” he called out in a booming voice across the field.
The boys cheered, and his Once Upon A Dare buddies ran toward him along with the assistant coaches. They broke up into teams, and Tom and Raymond were on his. When it came time to pick a quarterback, Jordan simply handed him the ball.
“Lead us to victory, oh captain, my captain,” his friend said.
“I thought we were going to flip for it,” he responded, getting all choked up as Zack and Sam shook their heads at him.
“Not this time,” Sam said. “Today’s your day.”
His team huddled around him, and it didn’t matter that they weren’t wearing helmets, pads, or regular uniforms. This was the sport he loved, with the people he cared about. He told Jordan to run a post play straight out of the gate. The other team wouldn’t see it coming.
When they lined up, it felt incredible to stare the opposing team down as he pointed at them, reading their defense. Grant was going to rush him for sure. Then Zack spiked him the ball, and he dropped back in the pocket as Grant darted toward him. He let the ball fly.
Sure enough, no one had picked Jordan up, and the Sunday quarterback was halfway down the field when he caught the ball. He easily ran the rest of the way, yelling like a warrior when he made the touchdown.
Blake ran toward his friend with the rest of his teammates. They engaged in what would have been called excessive celebration, but he didn’t care one bit.
He’d found a way to bring football into this new part of his life, post-retirement, and that was something worth celebrating.
Chapter 31
Natalie felt a decided pinch in her heart as she watched Blake’s victory dance in the end zone with his teammates. Somewhere inside her, she felt a deep sense of sorrow for what she’d cost him. Football was his greatest joy, just like catering was hers, and he’d given it up for her prematurely. All of a sudden, it was too much.
He needed to be on the field. He needed to be with his teammates.
And she’d taken that away from him.
“It’s too bad he left the NFL in his prime,” a man’s voice nasally said from behind her.
When she turned around, she recognized Cormack Daly from Hairy’s Irish Pub. Was he here to see Blake’s coaching skills on display? Could Blake have invited him here?
“He’ll make a wonderful coach,” she said, taking the measure of the man. He was wearing a purple polo shirt, tan slacks, and white tennis shoes.
“Yeah, he would have. Too bad he’s not interested in coaching.”
Her eyes widened at the revelation. “He’s—”
“When Blake turned the job down a few weeks ago, I was livid. We had to hustle to find someone for the job. At first I thought the issue was that he didn’t want to commit to being in Dare Valley that long. No one in this town understands your unusual relationship.”
This guy was a total jerk. She’d sensed it before, but this confirmed it. “No one needs to understand it except for us.”
Cormack rolled his eyes at her. “Then I realized what a small pond this is for Blake. He could go anywhere. Based on what I’ve seen in the media, he’s been offered commentator jobs with most of the major networks and head coaching and assistant coaching positions around the country.”
While that didn’t surprise her, it made her feel even worse.
“I came today because I was hoping he’d suck at coaching.” He jingled the change in his pocket. “But he doesn’t, dammit.” He paused, and then said, “Do you know why I really think he turned us down?”
Blake aired out another pass, which Sam caught beautifully. “Why?”
“Clearly your ex-husband—or whatever he is to you—doesn’t have football out of his system. He’s not ready to take a step back.”
Hadn’t she just been thinking that? Part of her felt like she was sinking into a pit of sticky, cloying mud. It would be a crime for Blake to stay here when he was still this happy playing football.
“I’m going to head on home,” Cormack said. “You tell Blake we’re going to have a great season without him.”
The man’s bitterness did nothing to alter her inner turmoil. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from Blake’s face as he and his team continued to score their way to victory.
“It’s wonderful to see Blake this happy again,” her mom said when she came and joined her.
“Yes,” she answered.
She wrapped her arms around herself, fearing she’d have to set him free.
Chapter 32