Page 46 of The Way Home

“Why?” She looked genuinely confused. “You guys are crazy about each other. You’re telling me you haven’t fucked?”

“No, we haven’t,” Caleb snapped, a little too harshly. “He’s coming off an enormous injury and doesn’t even remember—” He paused and took a deep breath. “The last thing I want is for him to feel obligated to sleep with me.”

“Whatever,” Sally said, slipping her Chelsea hoodie over her head. “Valentine’s Day is coming up, so…”

“So what?” Caleb blinked. “Do you think I should… like, do something?”

“Um,yes.Great opportunity to bone down.”

“Sally!”

“I mean, do something romantic for the man you love? Sorry, it’s been a while for me.” Her freckled cheeks turned a bit pink. “I think I forget what romance is.”

“Aw, Sal.” Caleb squeezed her shoulder. “Any girl would be lucky to be your Valentine’s date.”

A smile spread on her freckled face, and she reached above her head to stretch. “Oh, don’t worry. I know.” She wiggled her hips from side to side. “Definitely do something with Jamie, though. That would be right strange if you didn’t.”

The small talk ended quickly, because, within moments, the field was flooded with chaos.

Captain-led practice was basically a joke. Dillion allowed the ladies to bring their kids, since so many of them were mothers, and the team did drills while Caleb and the other trainers basically goofed off with the children. Partners were invited, too.

It was the best.

“Caleb!” A little girl came running over with her arms outstretched. She had on a Chelsea sweatshirt that was about three times too big.

“Freya, how are you?” Caleb caught the girl in his arms and laughed as she threw her arms around his shoulders. “Where is your mom?” He looked around for Angie.

“I don’t know!” she exclaimed proudly.

“You are gettingsobig. How old are you now?” He pretended to think really hard. “Four, right? You look about four…”

“I’m five! I just turned five!”

His eyes went wide. “No way. That can’t be right. Five is so big.”

“I am!” She kicked her legs, and he put her down. As soon as her little feet hit the ground, she put her hands on her hips in an exact impersonation of Angie. “I am five, and I canproveit.”

“How’s that?”

“Mummy! Tell Caleb that I’m five!” She rushed over to the group of players chatting near the pile of balls. Angie looked up at Caleb and mouthed,I’m so sorry.He waved her off. Freya was delightful and, for whatever reason, adored Caleb. And now he’d get paid to basically kick the football around with her for the afternoon.

From the corner of his eye, he could see Jamie staring at him from where he sat next to Ellie, watching the commotion. They were seated on the fold-out chairs Caleb used when the benches were full. Jamie’s wool hat was pulled over his ears. He looked adorably snug. A few of his brown curls had escaped and were coiled around his face.

Caleb wondered if he was warm enough. He’d brought an extra coat, just in case.

Ellie had come for emotional support, and even though he always felt a small amount of jealousy seeing Jamie with his ex, he was glad she was here to help Jamie navigate the complexities of seeing people again. Plus, she was the biggest Chelsea fan on the planet and was always thrilled to be invited.

Sally came up behind Caleb, placing a gentle hand on his back. “He’s okay, Caleb.”

“I know. I’m just…worried.”

“Why? He’s doing great. Except he looks freezing.”

“I don’t want him to feel overwhelmed. He…” Caleb’s shoulders fell. “He doesn’t remember you guys, Sal.”

She squeezed his shoulder. “We know. Trust me, we all talked about it. It’ll befine.”

Caleb nodded. The team had promised not to bombard Jamie with questions, and Caleb watched as they each approached him, one by one.