Page 191 of Let You Love Me

True to his word, Dad took the rest of the season off football, and despite his plans to return in the fall, he surprised Mom with a trip for their anniversary. A thank you, he said, for putting up with him through years of football.

“I’ll miss your Sunday brunches, though,” Teagan says, eyeing the platter of crepes behind her on the island while he pats his flat stomach which I know firsthand is rippled with muscle.

Mom laughs. “That’s why I made extra today, so Lane can freeze the leftovers and feed you while I’m gone.”

“If didn’t already love your daughter, I would now,” he says in reverence.

I snort at the same time Dad enters the room in a hurry. “Sorry. Got caught up on a call. Where’s the food? I’m hungry,” he says, glancing into the dining room, looking all forlorn.

“We’re coming. We just got to chatting.” Mom hands us each a platter of food to take to the table while Dad places a kiss on my head, gives Sophie a squeeze, and Teagan a pat on the back.

Once we’re seated, we begin to eat when Dad clears his throat. “So, I have something I want to discuss.”

I tense, my body instantly rigid. Though it’s been months since Chance’s name has been mentioned, it’s still conditioned in me to expect these Sunday brunches to be hyper-focused on football and all things Chance Lockhart.

Shortly after Teagan’s injury and my father’s leave of absence, the athletic board decided not to press charges against Chance for the stolen playbook, but theydidsuspend him from the team indefinitely.

He had to sit out the last month of the season, including quarterfinals, and just this past week, instead of getting drafted to a team in the Big Ten on the East Coast like he’d hoped, he was drafted to the Los Angeles Chargers as second string.

Looks likehe’sbackup plan now.

I smirk to myself before I sober, hoping this isn’t what my father wants to discuss.

“I just got off the phone with Harvey O’Neil,” Dad says, and I instantly relax.

“The athletic director at John Marshall high school?” Mom asks. “Gosh, we haven’t heard from him since you left your spot there. What did he want?”

“I guess they lost their assistant coach this summer. Moved to Colorado with his family.”

I stare at my father for a moment while I chew my food. I know him well enough to know he’s getting somewhere with this, I’m just not sure where.

“So Harvey wanted to know if I had anyone in mind.” He shrugs, then lifts his head, his gaze finding the man beside me. My heart beats faster as I realize what my father’s getting at. “I was wondering if maybe you’d want it,” he says.

Teagan’s eyes widen. “Me?” he chokes out.

Dad nods, his gaze steady as he waits for Teagan to process what he just proposed. “I think you’d be a great fit. You have a season of college football under your belt, and you’re good. More than good. It would be a shame to waste all that talent when it could be put to good use coaching young men. Plus, it would be a foot in the door at John Marshall High for a teaching gig once you graduate and great experience for a head coaching spot someday, should you want it.”

Stunned into silence, my heart swells as I glance between them.

If Dad’s willing to put his neck on the line for Teagan professionally, it speaks volumes of how highly he thinks of him.

“Uh, I mean,” Teagan’s throat bobs. “I’d love to talk with them about it, yeah.” He turns his baby blues to mine. “What do you think, Lane?”

As if he has to ask.

I offer him the biggest smile I can manage. “I think they’d be really lucky to have you.”

“Okay, great. I’ll set up a meeting, then.” Dad grins, then turns back to his food while I hold Teagan’s gaze,

Reaching under the table, he clasps my hand in his and I mouth,I love you, to which he mouths back,I love you more.

The rest of brunch flies by with the five of us sitting around the table long after the food is gone and the leftovers tucked away. Eventually, we wander to the back porch where we play cards for a couple hours while Sophie plays on the swing set.

After a while, we head home where we grill on the back patio, then catch fireflies with Sophie before tucking her into bed.

I step out onto the dock where Teagan waits for me, a bottle of wine and two paper cups behind him on the tattered wooden boards, and I grin to myself. Seems we haven’t upgraded our choice of tableware since those many months ago.

He glances up at the sound of my footsteps and smiles, a radiant, beautiful smile that brings out his dimples and sinks straight to my bones.

I settle down beside him, taking the paper cup he offers me, smiling into the brim as I take a sip and stare out at the setting sun.

“I see those wheels spinning. What are you thinking about, Lane Turner?” he asks.

I turn to find him staring, thinking how we’ve come full circle.

Humming, I rise to my feet and grip the hem of my shirt.

His gaze darkens, zeroing in on the movement, before drifting back to my face where I arch a brow. “Want to go skinny dipping?”

Teagan hops to his feet and grabs me so fast, I squeal. His mouth finds mine while he helps me out of my shirt, whispering against my lips, “And they say there’s no such thing as a stupid question.”