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Hendrix

“ T hat was a pretty spectacular play against the Admirals last week.” Garrett’s voice is amped, and we’re on the show again to break down the recent playoff games and what’s coming as we count down to the Big Game.

We’re barreling through the playoffs, and the games are coming fast. Raven and Haddy don’t travel with me. Babies aren’t so great at staying in hotel rooms, but when we’re in town, they’re in the box, cheering us on.

I look up to see them in my jersey waving their hands or Raven chewing her nails when it’s close. She’s understanding the game more, and I’m finding it harder to keep my eyes off her and on the field.

“I’d argue if it hadn’t been for the handoff you made to Rogers, they might’ve won it,” my brother continues.

“It was close.” I exhale a laugh, thinking about the final play of our last game against Baltimore. Their defense wasn’t letting me do anything, and in the final minutes, Tyler passed me the ball, which I tossed to our other TE, who ran it in for the score .

“A little too close for my taste,” I confess.

“I think if they had a better kicker, you’d have been in trouble.” Logan’s polished voice joins the chat. “Too bad for the Admirals there’s only one Zane Bradford.”

“Thanks, bro.” Zane’s smile is self-effacing. “Jackson’s getting there. He’ll be one to watch next season, mark my words.”

“He’s no first-round draft pick,” Jack says, and Garrett holds up his hand for the high five.

If I can’t play football with my brothers, I do enjoy getting together and talking about it. Maybe Garrett’s right, and taking a job like this with Logan would be something that would make me happy.

“What’s happening on the college front, Coach?” Logan turns the conversation to Jack, who is an occasional guest, filling us in on which high school seniors to watch.

He mentions boys I don’t know, and I watch our daughter across the room, standing beside a plastic ball-toy similar to the one at the nursery. She crawls inside and takes the balls from the base then pulls herself up to drop them in one by one.

It feels like an advanced move to me, but maybe it’s typical ten and a half month-old behavior. I should ask Garrett. Maybe send him a video and see if Gigi’s doing anything like this.

Knowing Liv, she’s probably already reading.

“Austin Sinclair is drawing a lot of attention from the college recruiters,” Logan says, and my ears perk up at the mention of Allie’s son.

“Yeah, he’ll have his pick of schools.” Jack leans on his forearms not making eye contact. “He needs to think about where he’ll be happiest, and what he wants for his future.”

“If anyone can help with those decisions, it’s you, bro,” Garrett says, slapping our oldest brother on the back. “You held all our hands through those difficult decisions.”

“Not yours.” Jack laughs, deflecting the compliment. “You knew where you were going from the time you could walk.”

“Yeah, and maybe I should’ve thought a little more about what I wanted for my future.” Garrett looks down, and I know he’s thinking about Liv. “It would’ve saved me a lot of heartache.”

“Heartache’s part of life,” Jack says. “It’s how you learn.”

A half-smile pulls my lips, and I study my oldest brother. For the first time, I wonder who guided Jack through those difficult decisions.

“It all worked out,” Zane says. “Now about this week’s championships.”

We’re back on track, and everyone’s making predictions about the last two games. We wrap up the chat. The guys wish me luck, and I head out for a run.

I’m training hard, doing my best to stay offline and keep my focus on winning—when it’s not on my ladies, of course.

The championship game is on Sunday, and after our last near-miss against Baltimore, the tension in my chest twists hard. So much has happened this season I never accounted for. So much has changed, but one thing is the same. I still want a legacy. I still believe this is the year for us, and I still want to go all the way.

Sitting in the locker room in Seattle, I smile down at the faces on my phone.

“We’ll be here cheering you on the whole time.” Raven is in my royal blue jersey with her dark hair pulled into a ponytail.

“Dada!” Haddy stands at the coffee table, also in her Number 85 jersey, bending her knees and bouncing.

Her hair’s getting longer, but she still has the two little blue puff balls on the top of her head. She’s active and so close to walking.

“I’ll miss seeing you guys when I play.” The twist in my chest tells me just how much I’ve gotten used to looking up and seeing them smiling and waving.

“I wish we were there, too.” Raven’s tone is wistful. “Seattle’s so close, maybe we should’ve just made the flight?”

“It’s okay. Either way, I’ll be home tonight.”

“Then we’re headed to New Orleans!”

The excitement in her voice makes me smile. “That’s the spirit. All the way.”

“You bet we’re going all the way! We didn’t come this far not to win it!” Her enthusiasm is just what I need to get me hyped. “When I hang up with you, I’ll FaceTime with the family. We’re all behind you.”

“Thanks, babe. I love you, Pink.” Her chin dips, and she blinks a few times like I just said it for the first time. “What?”

“That’s the first time you’ve said it in your uniform.”

“Is it?”

She nods. “I had to catch my breath. I love you, too.”

Nodding, I give her a wink. “Sleep in that jersey tonight, and when I get home, I’ll say it so many times, you’ll lose count.”

Her pretty eyes shine, and she lifts my daughter’s little hand to wave to me. I blow them a kiss just as the guys start yelling it’s time to get moving.

I end the call and put my phone in my locker, exchanging it for my helmet.

Jogging to the field, Tyler slaps me on the shoulder. “Man, that’s some good shit.”

“What?” I frown as we head out onto the sidelines.

The noise is deafening between the cheering fans and the blast of the music and the voice of the announcers.

“Having a sexy mama like that and a cute little lady at home cheering for you.” He holds out his hand, and we do our fist bump, hand-jive, point routine with our shoulder rotation at the end.

The fans do it with us, and I can’t resist a tease. “You see something you want? ”

Pulling his helmet over his head, he shrugs. “Maybe I do.”

Nodding, I can’t argue. It’s a pretty sweet gig. I hang back thinking about them as he runs onto the field for the coin toss. My eyes lift out of habit, but we’re not on our home turf.

“I remember when you were more focused on the team than the spectators.” Rusty stands beside me waiting to get the signal. “It’s funny how it changes.”

“I never even felt it happening.” I look up at him as we hear we won the toss.

He gives me a salute before jogging onto the field. “Best feeling in the world.”

For years Seattle has been a sleeper team, but it’s been a breakout year for them. They’ve made it all the way to the championships and they want it bad. Which means they’re fighting hard.

Every down is a battle. I’ve got big guys forming a wall to keep me from getting open. A rookie cornerback is on Rogers, and he’s a fast one. Tyler’s forced to throw the ball many times, resulting in dumb penalties and turnovers that should’ve been first downs or scores.

At halftime, Coach hands us our asses for being sloppy. He lets me have it for not breaking out and running down the field. He’s right.

We didn’t get here because of luck, and we can play better than this. We have played better than this all season.

Tyler grabs my pads and gives me a shake. “Get clear. I need you.”

Nodding, I study the guys holding me back. It’s two big guys, and they’ve got my routine memorized.

“It’s time to mix it up,” I say, and he nods.

“Keep your eyes on me.”

Tyler and I’ve been playing together long enough that we can read each other’s minds, but their defensive end has come close to sacking him twice.

I do my best to keep him away while dodging the linebacker coming at me, but we don’t make much progress through the next series of downs.

My jaw is tight, and it’s a low-scoring game. We’re at six and three after failing to get the extra point in the last half. Seattle’s kicker is better than ours, and standing on the sidelines watching our D-line work, my mind flashes to Zane. He never missed a point.

Just then the unthinkable happens. Their running back breaks free and makes a thirty-yard break to score. Then their kicker gets the extra point.

Their fans go crazy, and my chest sinks. We only have a few minutes left on the clock, and if we don’t get this, it’s all over. My throat is dry, and Tyler gets in my face.

“It doesn’t end here!” he yells, going from player to player.

We stand behind him, yelling yeah , then we head onto the field. I think of my ladies at home watching us play. I picture Raven chewing on the side of her fingernail, and I’m doing this for her.

Down after down, we slowly make our way closer to the goal. Less than a minute is left, and Tyler runs up, getting in my face.

“See if you can get clear,” he says, and I nod.

I only need a few feet, and I can take it over the corner. Lining up, I just touch turf when the snap happens. My guy heads straight at me, but at the last moment, I dig in with my toes, zagging in the opposite direction.

For once, I’m open, and I turn back to see that fucking DE headed straight for Tyler. Our eyes lock, and he manages to get the pass off just before he goes down.

It’s not a great throw. It’s too high, and it wobbles. The safety is coming at me, but I’m not looking at him. My eyes are on the ball.

I jump, reaching out with both hands as hard as I can while stretching my feet to stay in the zone. We fall together, going all the way down in the end zone, but I’m holding on with everything I’ve got.

This one’s for the win, and every muscle in my body flexes as I hold the ball tight against my chest. We hit the grass with a loud oof . Our arms are tangled, but I turn onto my side with only half my body outside the goal line.

It’s good, and the stadium explodes. Vince gets to me first, pulling me up, and I stagger to where Tyler is running straight at me.

“We’re going all the way!” he yells, jumping and pulling me into a hug.

The fans go wild, and everybody’s flooding onto the field. It’s chaos, and I wish the girls were here in the box. They’ll be with me for the big win. It’s time to start packing.