Page 38 of Catching Our Moment

Shaw

I remember walking onto the football field the summer before my freshman year—well, actually, Tyler dragged me there—and that had been the first time I’d met Coach Hammer.

I’d been a knobby-knee, reed-thin, awkward teen with big feet and, without a father in my life, virtually no idea how to play the game.

I’d also met his fire-plug-sized daughter that first day and admired the way the other boys—some twice her size—followed her through drills, listened as she yelled at them from the tackling sleds, and watched teenage boys fall to their knees while she passed them running suicides uphill.

I knew then that I had to be friends with her.

“No one touches Coach’s daughter, so don’t get any ideas,” Tyler had said.

I didn’t even know what to do with a girl back then. But I knew she was special.

And so was her dad. Coach Hammer had filled a void in my life, giving me direction and discipline. He’d believed in me and pushed me to my limit. He’d taught me the very basics of throwing a spiral and, later, called recruiters, begging them to come see me play. I owed him the career I have now.

One thing that had always been a touchy subject, though, was my friendship with his daughter.

He’d been fine with our group of friends, but he hadn’t liked Kelcie and me being as close as we were.

More than once, he’d sat me down, reminding me there were plenty of girls out there that weren’t his daughter.

I’d tried not to be hurt by his uneasiness with our relationship. Hell, I’d even teased him about my unworthiness. But he’d never wavered, even though we’d reassured him repeatedly—by dating other people, even double-dating sometimes—that we were just friends.

He hadn’t had trouble with her dating—just with the idea of dating me.

Yeah. That wasn’t insulting or anything.

Not more than twenty minutes after Aaron gave us the heads up, Holden Hammer was on our porch.

I opened Kelcie’s front door to meet him eye to eye.

He hadn’t changed much over the years. His walrus mustache was perfectly trimmed but downturned, and his hair was unruly under his Carolina baseball cap.

Coach Hammer was probably two inches shorter than me, and even though I was stronger and more fit, just his glare could still halt me in my step.

“Coach.” I forced a pleasant smile. “Come on in. Aaron told us you were back in town.” I would normally go in for a hug, but I could tell that he wouldn’t appreciate it. His body was rigid as he rocked back on his feet.

“Why don’t you join me outside for a moment first?”

It was cold enough to see your breath outside. But his tone brooked no room for dispute. “Okay.”

I closed the door behind me and walked a few steps away from the door, knowing this wasn’t something Aaron needed to overhear.

“How was your trip? You’ve been gone since the summer, right?”

He leaned against the porch railing and crossed his arms over his chest. “Last I heard, you were going to rehab that shoulder and get back to Charlotte. Why are you still here?”

Straight and to the point. “I am going this week. The clavicle takes longer to heal than other bones. I still can’t play. But yes, I’m heading down tomorrow?—”

“Dad?” Kelcie walked out, closing the door behind her and wrapping her arms around herself against the cold.

I just caught myself from reaching out to her.

Given our audience, that would throw me in the deep end of the pool before I could swim.

“Why don’t you come in? It’s freezing out here.

I just made some dinner. Where is Maria?

” Maria was Coach’s wife of twenty-some years.

Kelcie’s mom hadn’t been part of her life since she was a baby.

I learned from Kelcie that she’d expected Coach to be a big football star.

However, that dream disappeared when he blew out his knee shortly before the draft and after Kelcie was born.

Inevitably, her mom decided she could do better than being the wife of a high school football coach.

“Home. Unpacking.” His eyes shifted, measuring the distance between the two of us as if daring me to touch her. He pointed back and forth at us. “What’s going on here? Aaron said you’re living together?”

“No, Dad. Shaw is living next door.” She nodded toward my house.

He eyed her, remaining silent, as if waiting for our real explanation. Finally, he asked, “Then why is he answering your door at night?”

“He’s having dinner. Jeez,” she said, motioning to the door. “Which is probably burning. Can we please go inside?”

I shook my head. I was fine with her wanting to take some time telling Aaron, but I didn’t want to lie to her dad. I stared up from my shoes and said, “Kelce…”

She caught my gaze, and one of those heavy moments passed between us—the kind that occurred between people who knew each other’s thoughts and didn’t need to put words to them. This meant something to me—to tell her dad. It was a step to making this real.

She drew in a breath then walked back over and stood between the two of us. Staring up at her father, she said, “Fine. Dad, Shaw and I are dating. We’re…together.”

And with those words, my smile couldn’t be contained.

“Aaron doesn’t know yet because we are still figuring things out, and I don’t want to tell him yet. So, please don’t make this a thing.”

Coach opened his mouth to say something, and she stopped him. “I know you don’t approve, but know this: Shaw has always been the closest person to me. You know that. It’s always been us. We’re older now, and we’ve held back our feelings for each other for too long."

The entire time she talked, he shook his head his head and began to pace.

“Just because you are both lonely and living next to each other, that isn’t a reason to do…

this.” He waved his hand between us. “He’s heading back to Charlotte, for God’s sake, and you have a son who just got acclimated to town. ”

“Dad, I know. That is why we are taking things slow, allowing some time to figure it out. We have things to work through. But you have to know that we’ve had feelings for each other for a long time.

It was like he didn’t even hear us. He just turned around and stared into the yard.

“You live in different worlds. He’s a goddamn celebrity, and you—” He pointed at her.

“You aren’t meant to be anyone’s arm candy.

You’re a professional woman with a special needs kid.

That is where your priorities should be. ”

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t lecture me about my priorities, Dad. I’m in my thirties, and I think I’ve figured them out pretty well on my own.”

He gestured at me wildly. “He doesn’t have a 9-5 job. He won’t be home for dinner. He will be on the road. Trust will be an issue. That wears on a marriage—a relationship.”

“Kelcie and I aren’t you and her mom,” I added. “In fact, her relationship with James wasn’t like that, either…even if it was a disaster,” I couldn’t help saying.

“You think the reason I don’t approve of you two together is because of her mom?”

“Isn’t it?” I asked. “I mean, her mom married you and then took off when you discovered you couldn’t go pro. She went in pursuit of greener pastures. But you are still here coaching football, never having the chance to reach for your own dreams.”

“Shaw!” Kelcie’s surprise at my bluntness gave me a moment of pause.

“Sorry. But we are grown-ass adults, and whatever issues he has with me being good enough for you?—”

“I raised her to be her own person and not depend on riding anyone’s coattails or, worse yet, being left behind. I wanted my daughter to carve her own path, her own future. I didn’t want her chasing a man who was chasing his own dreams.”

Kelcie whispered, “You thought I was so shallow that…” The pain on her face was striking. She stared at her father as if it was the first time she’d ever really seen him.

Her father laid out his reasoning, “James was from a good family. He was consistent and dependable, and he had a successful career ahead of him.”

“Yet he made me miserable and ended up dumping me anyway.”

Her father ran his hand over his face and turned away. “You didn’t exactly come with a manual when you were born, Kelcie. I did what I thought was best.”

He stepped toward Kelcie but then froze in place. “If nothing else, he was your son’s father. It was his responsibility,” he said, tilting his chin up.

Then he turned to me. “Shaw, I wanted you to chase your dream without hesitation or commitment.”

He held out his arms to us both. “I just didn’t want to see you hinder each other or resent each other.

” He looked at Kelcie. “I’m sorry if I pushed you into a loveless marriage.

I’m sorry if I projected my own experiences onto you.

I did what I thought—as your father—was the right thing for both of you. ”

Kelcie and I exchanged a look, and she slowly gripped my hand. I cleared my throat and sat forward. “I can appreciate your intentions, Coach—er—Holden. Um. Mr. Hammer.”

“Coach is fine.”

“Coach.” I stared at the man who had been more than a teacher, but a coach, a mentor, a friend. He’d been the only adult who’d truly believed in me, but he’d also been the reason Kelcie and I could never see a future together.

“I’ve been in love with your daughter for most of my life. I’ve waited years to show her—and prove to you—that I am worthy of her.” I brought her hand to my lips, kissed her fingers, and opened my heart…my soul…to her. Right there in front of her father.

I should’ve done it when we were alone. I should’ve saved those words for her ears when we were by ourselves.

But I had to show her how serious I was about us.

Unleashing years of unrequited feelings for her in front of her father…

It was the only way I could think of to show her—to show both of them—how much she had always meant to me.

Because while I respected the hell out of the man and could never repay the confidence he had in me, I was never again going to let him interfere with my relationship with my Kelce.

But it was her reaction I needed. Not his.

So, I repeated my words—those oh-so-important words—directly to her.

“I’m in love with you, Kelcie. I think I have been since the day you outran me in suicide sprints at my first football practice.

” Tears filled her eyes as she bit her bottom lip.

“I loved you when you helped me pass my high school literature class so I could graduate. And then there was chemistry…and well, trig too, come to think about it.” She let out a tearful laugh, and that was fuel for me to continue.

“I loved you all the times I knew I shouldn’t.

But how could I stop loving someone who is my best friend, my home, the person who inspires me most?

You’re the most beautiful human being I know. ”

She put her finger gently over my mouth as a tear escaped.

Still staring at me, she said, “Dad, I know your heart was in the right place...” She turned to me as I put my arm around her. “But I think we can take it from here.”

Her father stroked his mustache and studied his feet.

“I’m not a man who believes in fate, and Lord knows I’m not a romantic sort.

” He looked down at Kelcie and then up at me.

“Fine. I’ll admit you’re different people than you were fourteen years ago…

” He stepped back. “And I’m not saying I wouldn’t do things differently, if I could.

But I probably would’ve told you the same things back then. ”

Both Kelcie and I opened our mouths to protest. But her father stopped us with his upturned hands.

“However, if you love each other and think you can make this work, then who am I to criticize?” he asked.

Kelcie leaned forward, breaking her hold with me to hug her father.

“But be smart about this. You aren’t the same people you were, and life has become a lot more complicated.

It’s okay to make sacrifices for each other, but don’t lose your own way.

” He looked up at me. “That’s all I ask. ”

I nodded once. Kelcie was re-establishing herself, her goals, and her priorities. The last thing she needed was my lifestyle, my career interfering with hers. “Message received, sir.”

That wouldn’t be a problem. I hoped…