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“You’re his mom?” I state in disbelief as I get knocked into by the person behind me. The woman helps me from falling, and as I regain my footing, I just stare at her.

She nods.

Now that she says it, I do see the high cheekbones and blue eyes of Beck on her face. He’s always favored his father, and in the many years I’ve known him, I’ve never seen any pictures of his mom. But I do see some similarities in their features.

Snapping out of my shock, I shake my head. I don’t really know what to say because I’ve never really heard much about his mom, other than his parents divorced when he was little. “Sorry, I’m just a little stunned. I didn’t realize you lived here. I’m sure he’ll be surprised to see you.” I grab her hand from the railing.

“Do you know how I can get to him? I’m a bit overwhelmed right now.”

I tuck her hand onto my arm. “Here, just hang on to me. You can come down to the field with me.”

She squeezes my hand gently. “Really? You would do that for me? It would mean everything to me just to say hi to him. It’s been so long since I saw him.”

Part of the security team is starting to move toward the gate, and I watch them as they appear to be waiting for a signal. I feel her squeeze my hand lightly.

“For sure! Brooke is here, too, so you’ll get to see them both!” I smile, but when I look at her, her smile drops.

“Ryan must be here then too?” With that question, she starts looking around. She’s biting her bottom lip with her top teeth.

Trying to break the tension, I smile. “Yeah, he is. I guess that might be awkward though, huh? Oh, by the way, I’m Charlie.”

She answers distractedly, “I’m Stevie.”

“Nice. Like Stevie Nicks?”

“Something like that.” She tries to smile, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.

The sound of the gate opening has me turning my attention away from her. With her hand still in mine, I move her behind me and step up to the guard. I hold my badge, and he nods, but as we start to walk by, he grabs Stevie’s arm and tells her she has to get back.

I’m standing on the step below her, so I turn and look up at the guard. “She’s with me. She’s Beckham Linson’s mom.”

He looks at my jersey, then my pass again and waves us through.

We reach the grass near the end zone, and we’re told to wait there. I can feel the heat on her hand in mine. It’s starting to sweat.

“Are you nervous to see Beck?”

He’s never talked about his mom to me, so I don’t really know much about her. I guess I always just figured because they lived with their dad that she didn’t really want to see them or something. They didn’t go spend time with her like other kids of divorce.

She doesn’t look at me, but she nods. And when I lightly squeeze her hand, she looks up at me and pulls her hand from mine.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m sweating all over your hand.” She tries to say it lightly, but I can see she is nervous. It’s in her eyes.

I offer her another smile, and as I start to speak, we hear the announcers begin the award ceremony. The security on the field starts to usher us to the podium area. As we get closer, I see Beck standing on the stage, along with Archie, Bo, and a few seniors. I find my brother on the field and go to stand near him. I turn my head to the side and look at Stevie to make sure we didn’t get separated.

I lean into her and point at Casey. “Ahh, there’s my brother. Let’s go over near him until Beck comes off the stage.”

Again, she doesn’t say anything, but she nods.

When I reach Casey, I grab his biceps and squeeze. He turns toward me, and when he sees it’s me, he lifts me up into a hug. He’s laughing, and I’m laughing.

“Congrats, Case! I’m so proud of you guys! You killed it out there!”

“Thanks, Char! Isn’t this awesome?! I can’t believe we’re going to the final show! Dude, did you see that last catch Beck made? It was a beauty.” His face is animated as he speaks, his excitement radiating off of him in abundance.

It’s freezing out here, but I can still see the heat coming off of his body. I’m sure he doesn’t even feel the cold right now.

The announcer starts talking again before I can answer. I look over to find Stevie, and she’s standing slightly behind me. I reach back for her arm and pull her a little closer.