Page 100 of The Way Home

She rolled her eyes like he was the dumbest man alive. “Tell him yes,obviously.”She held out her hand for his phone. “Or I can. I know how to send text messages.”

Caleb snorted. “I don’t think I should give you—” He was cut off by a stampede of younger boys.

“Mister Caleb! Do you have any trading cards?”

“Hey, he said those were for me!”

“Where’s Mister Jamie? Is he here too?”

Caleb slipped his phone into Freya’s waiting hand and slung his bag around. Nate, Brody, and Steven stared up at him with eyes the size of beach balls as he unzipped the side pocket.

“Alright, listen up,” he said, digging into his bag. “There aresixpacks and three of you. Who knows math? How many each?”

Brody frowned and started counting on his fingers. His brother answered immediately. “Two.”

Nate rolled his eyes and muttered, “Obviously, dumbarse.”

“Hey,” Caleb warned. “Be nice.” He handed them into the boys’ eager hands. “Two each.”

“Thank you!” they chorused, tearing into the wrappers like feral raccoons.

“Mister Caleb?” Caleb turned to see Freya holding his phone suspiciously close to her face. “Why does Mister Jamie need your pens?” she asked. “He said he’s had some drinks and needs your pens right now—”

“Okay!” Caleb lunged, snatching the phone from her hands and shoving it into his back pocket. What the hell was he thinking, giving his phone to Freya? “He needs, uh, my pens for… homework.”

Freya pursed her lips disapprovingly. “But he’s agrown-up.Grown-ups don’t have homework.”

“You’re right,” Caleb said quickly. “I meant work. Oh! There’s your mum.Angie!”He waved, and thankfully, Angie read the panic in his expression. She jogged over and gathered the kids, shooting a side-eye at Caleb as Freya muttered, “Mister Jamie needs Mister Caleb’s pens.”Nate lingered behind, waiting for his dad, as the rest of the kids marched behind Angie like ducklings.

Coach Halcombe approached from the bench and rested a hand on Nate’s shoulder. “Did you have a good time, son?”

“Yeah, Dad. It was fun. Kinda boring. But look! Mister Caleb gave me cards.”

Halcombe’s gaze dropped to the cards, then lifted to Caleb. It was rare they spoke one-on-one, and Caleb felt himself square his shoulders under the man’s gaze. As the trainer, Caleb mostly hovered on the sidelines or in the training room. They orbited each other more than they interacted.

“That was nice of him,” Halcombe said, though it sounded more like an assessment than a compliment. “What are those characters?”

“They’re from a show,” Caleb explained. “It’s about pirates.”

“Huh. Did you say thank you, Nathan?”

Nate smiled. “Thanks!” Caleb grinned down at the boy.

“No problem, kiddo,” Caleb replied, shouldering his bag. “Brody and Steven love those things. I figured I’d grab a few extra packs for Nate.”

Halcombe’s eyes squinted for a moment, giving Caleb a slow once-over. It felt like being studied under a microscope. Without thinking, Caleb rolled out his bad shoulder. It had been aching again.

Nate looked up at his dad, cards clutched in both hands. “Dad, did you know Mister Caleb and his partner dogamenights?” Halcombe’s face fell on the word partner, but his son didn’t seem to notice. “Steven and Brody go sometimes. They have snacks and everything.”

Halcombe’s hand tightened where it rested on Nate’s shoulder. “No,” he said evenly. “I didn’t know that.”

Caleb felt the air get heavier. “Yeah,” he said, keeping his tone easy. “We host it every few weeks. You guys are welcome anytime.”

A muscle in Halcombe’s cheek ticked. “You and… James?”

“Jamie,” Caleb corrected a little forcefully. “Mypartner.”

Nate beamed. “He’s gay,” he announced cheerfully. “Do you have any gay friends, Dad?”