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It’s fireworks.

Not sparklers, not sparks from a fire starting—it’s fireworks.

Emmie gets a National Age Group record in the 100-yard freestyle in her first ever meet. Not only does she break the record, she smashes it by almost two full seconds. The sound in the pool is silent as we wait for the results to be official, and then it’s just an explosion of noise. Emmie’s screaming as she jumps up and down, surrounded by her team who immediately congratulate her. When she launches herself at me for a hug, on her way to get to her brother, she whispers two small words with so much meaning behind them. “Thank you.”

And I couldn’t be prouder.

“So, what’s the plan now?” Bryce asks. “Is she wanting to work toward Trials? See if she can make the team?”

I laugh lightly. “If you ask her brother, the first priority is graduating from high school and getting into a good college.”

“But…” he presses.

“But if a trip to Los Angeles for the Olympics is part of that, I think he’d be okay with it.”

He chuckles. “You’re gonna have your hands full, O’Brien. Which is why I’m almost hesitant to ask, do you think you could take on another one?”

My brow furrows. “What are you talking about? Is there another kid you want me to…Holy shit.”

When I look at Bryce, he’s not looking at me. He’s staring out at the pool, a look of longing in his eyes. All those early morning swims, the long sessions in the gym, the few times he’s had me time him…it was all starting to click into place.

“Are you fucking kidding me, Clark?”

“I want to go out on my own terms,” he comments. “My shoulder is feeling better than it has in years and I miss it.”

“Have you talked to Josie about this?”

“Not yet, but I know she’ll be excited,” he assures me. The last thing I need is his fiancée thinking I talked him into this somehow. “Now all I need is a coach, and there is no one better.”

“Don’t let Carter hear you say that.” It’s a joke, but my mind is spinning a hundred miles a minute.

Bryce is giving me yet another reason to stick around. I don’t think that’s his intent in asking me, but it’s there. Plus, I’d seen it in his gaze. There has been a wistfulness there for the last few months; I was just waiting for him to say something.

“Carter’s my best friend and I wouldn’t have accomplished any of the things I have without him, but this is different. I don’t need someone in my corner; I need someone who’s not afraid to kick my ass,” Bryce says.

I remember watching the Tokyo Games, watching how Bryce could barely pull himself out of the water. There’s a difference between being able to see that someone is in pain and knowing firsthand what that pain feels like. I hated watching that, especially when he’d given his all to that race. He got the gold, but I knew it might have been at the cost of the rest of his career.

“You weren’t done.”

It’s not a question, nor is it a statement that needs an answer. It’s the truth and we both know it. I’ve heard about how he coached Carter through his final year, stressing how important it is to make sure you’re done. To make sure you’re not leaving this sport behind with regrets.

God, I have so many regrets.

“I’m not done. So, man, what do you say? You want to stick around long enough to help a washed-up Olympian make a comeback?”

My brow arches. “Are we calling it a comeback?”

He laughs. “Hell no.”

“Then I’m in.” I turn enough to shake his hand, which he accepts. “Looks like I’m planning to send two swimmers to the Olympics.”

The irony that one of them will be thirty-four while the other won’t even be twenty isn’t lost on either one of us.

“I guess I should probably go tell my fiancée,” he declares, standing. “Seriously, man, Carter and I brought you on for a reason. A reason you just proved. We’re happy you’re sticking around.”

Involuntarily, my gaze drifts past him to where Mia is making her way toward me, stopping to chat with some parents and other swimmers along the way. A warm comfort settles in the pit of my stomach.

I look back toward Bryce, standing as I do so. “I can’t thank you enough for giving me this opportunity. I never thought I’d find somewhere I want to stay.”