Page 51 of The Aster Valley Collection, Vol. 1

TILLER

When I was fourteen, I’d snowboarded right into a tree, breaking my leg so badly the bone had pierced through my skin.

Seeing Mikey Vining crying hurt ten times worse.

When the door to Coach’s office opened and a bedraggled Mikey came out sniffing, I thought my heart would fly right out of my chest and land at his feet.

“Are you okay?” Before I could get the words out, he smacked into me, tightening his arms around me and holding on for dear life. “Baby? Is it bad? Is it Mr. Nibert?”

He shook his head against my chest, and I heart a soft sigh from Noreen’s desk. When I glanced at her, she looked away quickly but not before I saw the affectionate look in her eyes. She’d always had a soft spot for Mikey.

I ran a hand through Mikey’s hair before leaning down to press a kiss on his head. The familiar smell of his shampoo reminded me of home and sleeping in his bed. “Do you want to talk about it?”

He pulled back and wiped at his cheeks. The poor guy looked miserable. “No. Not really. Not right now. But will you be home for dinner?”

“Of course. I saw the ingredients for apricot chicken in the fridge. I’m not missing that for love or money,” I said with a grin, trying to cheer him up.

It didn’t work. He looked even more miserable.

“What did the doctor say?” he asked.

My stomach dropped. I’d forgotten why I’d come to Coach’s office in the first place. To plead my case.

“The specialist says I absolutely should not be playing yet. A dislocated shoulder should result in six weeks of rest regardless, but the bigger concern is this: if I get hit again before it’s completely healed, the nerve damage could be permanent.

That means permanent numbness and tingling in addition to loss of grip strength.

The problem is, the team doctors are of the opinion none of this matters since it’s my nondominant hand.

Which makes no sense to me since I catch with both arms and hands.

They’re clearly more concerned about my ability to do my job than the risk of permanent injury.

Not gonna lie. I’m scared of getting hit again, and I’m worried it’s going to make me play too conservatively.

If that’s the case, they might as well have Brent out there anyway. ”

As I spoke, Mikey’s face dropped in disappointment and worry. “Oh. Shit.”

I ran a thumb at the dampness remaining under one of his eyes. “It’s fine. I’m going to talk to Coach, try to plead my case. Are you really okay? Do you need me to bail on practice and come home with you?”

The question made his chin wobble a bit, but he gave me a smile. “No. I’ll be fine. But… can you…” He swallowed and firmed his jaw. “Can you wait here for a minute? There’s something I forgot to tell my dad.”

I nodded and waited while he went back into the office for a minute. When he came out, he wouldn’t meet my eye.

“Mikey,” I said, lunging out to grab his arm before he raced past me. He winced and stopped in his tracks. Whatever it was going on with his family friend must have been bad. I hadn’t seen him this upset in a while. “You sure there’s nothing I can do?”

He shook his head and kept his eyes on the floor. “I’m sure,” he whispered. “Go easy on your arm, okay?”

I nodded and leaned in to press a kiss to his lips. He melted against me a little bit and kissed me longer than I expected. When he finally pulled back, he looked dazed.

“I… I’ll see you later,” he said.

I grinned at him. “If Sam gets there before I do, tell him to keep his hands off my apricot chicken.”

This time his smile was genuine and unforced. It made it easier to say goodbye to him and watch him walk away. My relief only lasted thirty seconds until I got into Coach’s office and prepared to be disappointed.

But Coach surprised me. Before I even had a chance to tell him what the specialist said, he told me, “I’m going to play Brent, after all,” he said with a big smile.

“Give you another little while to get that arm back to full speed. No need risking permanent nerve damage. I still want you on the bench and focused, but I expect you to keep your flailing hands and strong opinions to yourself. Got me?”

I nodded. “Yes, sir. Thank you.”

I wanted desperately to ask him what had changed his mind, but I wasn’t inclined to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“Was there anything else?” he asked, reaching for the tablet he usually brought to meetings.

Only the teeny tiny issue of my sleeping with his son. But I wasn’t stupid enough to upset the apple cart right now, especially if they were dealing with a family issue.

“No, sir.”

“Then get out of here. I need to meet with the college scouting team, and I’m late.”

I hustled out of there and down to the locker room where I got an odd smile from Colin Saris.

“That Mikey I saw in the parking lot?” he asked. My stomach curdled. I didn’t like the look on his face, especially if the topic at hand was my… Mikey.

I nodded and reached into my locker for my turf cleats. “He was here to see Coach.”

“Yo, listen… can I get his number from you? It’s just that my, ah, ma wants to order some of his casserole shit for Christmas.”

The man was lying through his teeth. “I thought you already had his number,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. These cleat laces were a bitch, so I yanked on them. Hard.

When he didn’t respond, I glanced up and noticed him studying me. “Why you ask me that like that?”

“You know what?” I asked, feeling a head of steam building up. For as much as I’d never thought of myself as the jealous type, my gut was churning with green rage. “No. No you can’t have his number. Not only that, but if someone else gives you his number, lose it . Got me?”

He studied me for a second before the edge of his lip curled up. “That how it is?”

I glared at him. “That’s how it is.”

“I see. What you’re saying is to give it a little time. Alright. Can do, man. Can do.” He laughed and turned away, shaking his head and moving on to talking smack about something else. I let out a breath and closed my eyes. Asshole .

I spent the rest of the day doing my job.

Meeting with the PTs and trainers, practicing lightly, studying game film, and meeting with the assistant coaches.

When the time came to drive home, I finally allowed myself to think about Mikey and how upset he’d been earlier.

Part of me was disappointed he hadn’t wanted me to comfort him, so I looked forward to spending the evening being there for him however he wanted.

Walking in to discover him singing to himself as he pruned his windowsill herb garden wasn’t exactly what I’d expected.

I’d thought he might be curled up under a blanket watching his favorite baking show or burning through old episodes of Project Runway .

Instead, he seemed much calmer than he’d been before, although he looked worn-out.

When I set my keys down on the counter, he looked up and noticed me. “Oh, I didn’t hear the garage,” he said absently before turning back to his plants. “Let me just finish trimming these really quickly and I’ll get the chicken started.”

I kicked off my shoes and laid my messenger bag on the counter next to my keys. Suddenly, I was hungry for something other than apricot chicken. “Is Sam here?”

“Hm? Oh. No. He had family stuff and said he might need to head out of town. But if he gets back before Sunday, he’ll come to the game.”

I stepped up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist, leaning in to press a lingering kiss to his cheek. He always smelled a little like coffee at the end of the day, but today he also smelled like peppermint for some reason.

I couldn’t wait to tell him the good news. “Tell him not to get too excited since I’ll be riding the bench.”

Mikey’s body stiffened for a beat before relaxing back into me. He let out a deep exhale. “Thank fuck.”

“Yeah, see? Your dad’s a good guy. Said he’d rather give me the extra days than risk permanent damage.

” I licked and sucked a favorite spot on the side of his neck.

“I appreciate him looking out for my career. Can you imagine if something happened and I had to retire at twenty-seven? I can’t even think about it.

Markus called to tell me rumor has it the recruitment team sent someone to check out that wide receiver at Oregon.

I hope they’re not considering trying to get him in case I can’t come back at full power. ”

Markus had assured me the scouts were much more interested in filling in the holes in our secondary.

In particular, there was a safety at the University of Wisconsin who was drawing everyone’s eye this season.

I hadn’t even brought up the subject because I was all that worried.

It was more nervous babbling because I was getting a weird feeling from Mikey.

Suddenly, Mikey turned in my arms and slammed himself into me in a tight hug, holding on as tightly as he would if we were falling into a sinkhole and had nothing but each other to grab onto.

“Baby?” I murmured into his hair. “Is this about the Niberts? Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

“I’m just really glad you’re not playing on Sunday,” he croaked. “I was worried.”

“Shh, it’s okay. Now you don’t have to run away to Aster Valley to avoid watching the game,” I teased.

He still didn’t look up at me. “I’m going to Aster Valley anyway. I have a meeting. I have a plane ticket.”

I pulled back and reached for his chin, tipping it up until I could look into his brown eyes.

“I know,” I said gently. “I was teasing.” I searched his face for information, but he mostly just looked tired.

“Why don’t you let me cook tonight? I’ll turn on a show and wrap you up in your favorite blanket on your chair.

Or you can go get in my bed and catch up on all the Words with Friends games you owe me. ”