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He hums and I wonder if he’s taking notes. “Does it have a gym facility?”

I consult the notes laid out on the cluttered kitchen island before me. “Yes, but it’ll need a lot of work.”

“How much work are we talking here, Carter?”

“We’ll need to hire someone.” Getting the place up and running probably won’t happen before the Olympics, but we could get started. Especially if he was out there while I stayed in Georgia to train.

“You really already bought it?”

“Yes,” I confirmed. “I saw it online, drove out one weekend, and signed the papers on the spot.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about this?” The question isn’t accusatory, but I can hear the worry in his tone. He’s trying to figure out where I am.

What he’s failing to remember is the fact I’ve gone to therapy since I was in college and was always the one who had a good grasp on his mental health. “You were busy with Josie, and I needed to decide for myself. If you don’t want to do this, I can find—”

“And miss the chance to run a club with you? Hell no.”

A grin overtakes my features. “You’re in?”

“Hell yeah I am,” Bryce assures me. “When do you want me out there?”

“Mid-July?” I ask. “We’ll need to get you added to the deed and all the paperwork before I head to training camp before Worlds.”

I hear him clicking away at something and, for the first time, wonder if he’s at work. Maybe I should feel guilty about bothering him, but what can he really get done in the last two days of employment? It’s not like he has anything to lose. “I can do that.”

“Sweet! I need to get back to the pool, but we’ll talk more about this later?”

“Sure,” he agrees. “Hey, Carter?”

I was about to hang up when he grabbed my attention. “Yeah?”

“Whatever happens over the next twelve months, you’re going to be fine.” My cheeks heat up at his ability to read me so well. After nearly twenty-five years of friendship, it makes sense. “Even without this backup plan, you’d figure it out, and you’d be fine.”

“But this is a great backup plan, right?” I press, not wanting to talk about my fears. “It’s going to work out?”

“It’s going to be great, Carter,” he assures me.

I deflate against the counter I’m leaning on. There is no one I’d rather do this with than him. “You know what this means, right?”

“What?”

“You have right around three weeks to get Josie to forgive you and convince her to move out here with you.”

“Oh, fuck off,” he groans. “Go to practice, you ass.”

I laugh, feeling pleased with myself for throwing him so off-kilter. “Later, man.”

The call disconnects and I stare down at the paperwork still spread across the counter, a weight lifting off my shoulders. There’s only so much about the next twelve months that I’ll be able to control, but this, this is something that’s all mine. It is something I can hold on to when it feels like everything is drifting out of my gasp.

It is the lifeline I need.

August2023

“This place is a mess.”

I glance over at Bryce and try not to wince. His eyes scan every aspect of the building we’re standing in, and I know what he’s thinking.What the hell did Carter rope me into?But I also know he sees it; the same way I saw it the first time I stepped in here. There is potential.

We can make this place into something great. We can give other young, hopeful swimmers the same opportunities we had growing up. Neither one of us is vain; we both know we wouldn’t be anywhere without the coaches we had along the way.