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5

Hendrix

Fifteen months later

August is the hottest month in LA, and we’re in the final weeks before preseason begins. Before it’s time to start another year of football every week, sometimes twice a week.

I can’t wait.

Satisfaction unfurls in my chest as I stand on the balcony of my prairie-style mansion. It’s concrete with metal beams and a steel roof built into the side of a hill, and as I look out over the city, I’m like an emperor surveying his domain.

I’m alone, but I’m content as I contemplate the year ahead.

Last season my team made it all the way to the playoffs. We fell short of the big game, but this year is shaping up to be different.

Adrenaline beats in my chest as I think about it. I’m so ready to get started. I can feel it—this year is the one. We’re going all the way, and I can practically see that championship ring on my finger.

All the sportscasters are talking about it. I’m at the top of my game. It’s the pinnacle of my career, and I’m ready to do this.

Then my phone lights up with a text.

Jack

You got time to come home for a few days?

My brow furrows as I study my oldest brother’s question, and I quickly tap back a reply.

Is something wrong?

Jack

Nothing’s wrong—just family business. We need you here.

My jaw tightens, and I look around the place. I have plans with a few of my teammates tonight, but I can bow out and book a flight to our little hometown on the coast in south Alabama.

I don’t know what “family business” means, but Jack never asks me to come home. It must be important.

I can leave in a few hours.

Jack

Plan to stay a few days.

I always do.

It doesn’t take long to arrange for the team jet to fly me to the small, private airport ten miles south of Newhope. The pilot needs about an hour to file a flight plan, and in that time I can pack and catch a car to the airport.

As the starting tight end for the LA Tigers, I tend to attract a lot of attention. This small jet has become my go-to means of getting across the country, and the pilot and crew are like old friends.

The attendants welcome me with my usual scotch on the rocks, and I settle into the recliner-sized seat with my headphones in and my phone out. Usually, I watch reruns of past games when I fly across the country, but tonight I’m restless.

My late dad was a legendary quarterback for the Texas Mustangs, and he taught my three older brothers and me everything he knew. He taught us to watch all the games during the season. He taught us to study what the other players in our positions were doing. He even taught us to study past players of his generation to see how they handled situations.

Every weekend, we were in the park running plays and working on our passing game.

As the youngest in a family of star athletes, I loved it. It was my dream to play professionally with all my brothers. Now I’m the only one still at it.

Gazing out into the growing darkness, I think about my dad.

We lost both our parents less than a year apart when I was still in middle school.

Jack had just signed on as the starting quarterback for the Mustangs, and all eyes were on him. As the oldest Bradford Boy, the entire pro-football world was waiting to see if he’d be the next Art Bradford.

He was.

He managed to be the best player in the league and keep us all in line from three states away. Zane, my second oldest brother, helped of course.

He was in college and close enough to keep tabs on us through his last year before signing on as a first-round draft pick with the Baltimore Admirals.

He left and Garrett took over.

It was hard, but all five of us believed in keeping our family together. We didn’t get into trouble, mostly because we all had our eyes on our goals. Even my youngest sister Dylan had her sights set on joining the New York Ballet Company—until an accident changed her plans.

We all inherited our dad’s laser focus, and when Jack announced he was retiring from the league to be the head coach at our old high school, I couldn’t believe it.

“Retiring?” I stared at him like he sprouted a second head. "Why would you do that? You’re a star. Hell, you’re on track for the MVP!”

Jack’s grin was tight as he messed the front of my hair. “There’s more to life than football, little brother.”

He tried to play it off like it was no big deal, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“What about Dad?” I asked, doing my best to shake him out of it.

“What about Dad?” he said through a chuckle.

“Dad dedicated his life to training us. He taught us everything he knew. He opened the doors, paved the way?—”

“Dad taught us the only path he knew to a better life, but there are other ways.” Jack’s tone was calm, reasonable, and it pissed me off.

“I don’t believe that.” I pushed back. “Not for you.”

My mind tripped back to all the Saturdays we scrimmaged in the park; all the Sundays we sat in front of ESPN.

I’d been sleeping with my head on a football since I was old enough to carry one. I’d been busting my ass to be as good as my three big brothers since the first day Dad told me to get out there and play with them.

At six-foot-two, I’d always been the receiver to Jack’s quarterback. Garrett was a born lineman at six-foot-four, two hundred pounds. Dad guided Zane to being a kicker, and for a disinterested loner, he had the most natural talent of all of us.

Still, Jack was our constant. He kept us on track like a good team captain, and I always thought we were the same.

Until then.

“You’re walking away from your career to coach high school ?” I couldn’t keep the disgust out of my tone. “I don’t believe it.”

“It’s what I want to do, Hen. It’s what I’ve done since Mom and Dad died. Taking care of all of you changed my priorities. Then Kimmie changed them even more.”

His hand slid up and down the back of his sleeping daughter Kimmie Joy. Her head was on his shoulder, and it all made sense. I understood the resignation in his eyes, the smile that wasn’t completely genuine.

“This is because of Danielle.” I flat-out said it. No point beating around the bush.

Jack’s first wife was a two-bit country singer from Fort Worth who caught his eye somehow. I only met her once, but I could tell right away what she wanted.

What I couldn’t figure out was why he was with her. Jack never dated girls like that in school. Then she turned up pregnant. Then she ditched him for a singing career in Branson.

“It’s not because of Danielle.” His voice was low, but I caught the hint of a growl.

“She ruined Texas for you, and you think being here will make it all go away.”

Don’t get me wrong, I love our hometown on the coast. When Dad decided he couldn’t play anymore, he and Mom moved to Newhope and opened our family’s restaurant. They raised us in a tight-knit community that rallied around us when we were orphaned.

Still, as sweet as it might be, nobody’s getting famous in Newhope, Alabama.

“Sometimes I forget how young you are.” He said in that paternal tone that ticked me off even more.

“Don’t listen to him.” Dylan pushed past me, reaching for the baby, her amber eyes shining.

“Come here, Kimmie! Come see your favorite aunt.”

“Her only aunt,” I groused.

Dylan is eighteen months younger than me, and she’d love nothing more than for all of us to give up football and move home.

“I’m so happy you’re back.” Our sister’s voice was soft and high as she talked to the toddler, shaking her head and rubbing their noses. “You’re going to love it here. We’ll take baby swim classes at the Y, and I’ll get you in at the preschool?—”

I couldn’t take any more, and I wasn’t finished with our conversation. “You want me to believe that being a high school football coach is better than being the best quarterback in the league? Better than winning the Big Game. Better than getting your championship ring?”

“Being with my daughter, being here with my family, and yeah, coaching the next generation of star players is better than the grind.” Jack’s tone was firm. “Maybe Danielle did spoil Texas for me, but my goal was always to save enough money to be able to walk away when I was ready. I’m ready.”

“I’m so glad you are.” Dylan took his hand. “I can’t wait for all of you to retire.”

“Don’t hold your breath waiting on me,” I grumble. “I’ll never throw away my career for a woman.”

“Never say never unless you’re hungry,” my brother chuckled. “You’ll end up eating those words.”

“Not me. I know what I want, and it’s not quitting.”

“I’m not quitting, little brother.” He put a strong hand on the top of my shoulder, and gave it a squeeze. “I’m doing what I want to do, and one day, you might find something you love more than football, too.”

“Doubtful.”

A light touch on my shoulder rouses me, and I realize my memories turned into a doze. The smiling hostess lets me know we’ve made it to the private airport south of Newhope.

It’s dark as I descend the stairs to a waiting black SUV, and by the time I arrive at the hotel, it’s after midnight.

I always book a room when I visit home. Dylan and her new husband Logan live in our old family home up the hill from the restaurant, and I like to have my own space in case I meet someone or just want to lie around all day in my boxer briefs and watch football .

Besides, Dylan and Logan are newlyweds. They don’t need me lurking around the house, interrupting their marital bliss. They should be able to have sex on the kitchen floor if they want.

I send a brief text to the brother’s group chat that I’m here, then I crash for the night.

Eight hours later, I open my eyes to a string of texts telling me to come to breakfast at Cooters & Shooters. The restaurant doesn’t open to the public until eleven, but when the family is all home, we have breakfast together.

My little sister’s wish has almost come true. She likes to say I’m the lone holdout.

Garrett was the third brother to retire after reuniting with his high school sweetheart at Dylan’s wedding and getting her pregnant.

I still can’t believe he was so careless.

He keeps saying it’s Liv, and I get it. Garrett and Liv were inseparable in high school. None of us could believe it when they broke up in college, and we never got the whole story on why. Garrett only said he blew it.

Then they saw each other again at Dylan’s wedding, and it was on like Donkey Kong.

It sounds romantic.

It’s not.

Never have unprotected sex, kids.

I park my rented Rover at our family house and walk down the pea-gravel path leading to the long, tin-roofed restaurant. It’s a gorgeous place in classic, Creole style. It has cedar plank siding painted white with the oversized French doors and windows.

The hurricane shutters are open wide to allow the bay breeze to stream through the space, assisted by massive ceiling fans down the center of the room. On this steamy August morning, like every other August morning in the south, the breeze makes it tolerable.

Briny sea air touches my tongue, and I do love it here.

One day I’ll come back here and retire. I’ll be an old, old man at that point, and I’ll sit around and fish and talk shit with the other old-timers.

I’ll be too old to play football, but I’ll have a legendary career to look back on with pride. I’ll have carried on Dad’s legacy like he always dreamed his sons would.

“Hey, bro!” Garrett meets me at the door, pulling me in for a hug. “Good to see you.”

He almost seems smug about me being here, which puts me on guard. “Good to see you, too.”

Garrett towers over everybody, and today he’s in his Deputy Sheriff’s uniform. It’s made of thick khaki, and at his height and build, with the heavy, black leather gun belt on his waist and all the stripes and badges on his chest, he looks pretty badass.

“Busted any criminals lately?” I tease.

“Just the usual—kids acting up, tourists getting drunk, folks driving too fast.” His brow arches. “We’ve had some excitement, but nothing illegal.”

“Oh yeah?” I’m intrigued, but Jack catches me by the arm.

“How was your flight?”

“I slept most of it.”

“Come with me to the kitchen.”

I’m a little confused as he guides me in the opposite direction of our family and friends, but okay. I go with him.

Zane and his fiancée Rachel sit at a booth watching us. Liv is with them, holding her and Garrett’s new baby on her shoulder, patting her back. If it weren’t for my brother hustling me to the kitchen, I’d go over and meet my new niece. I can see she has Liv’s strawberry blonde hair, and she’s a chunky little baby.

Instead, I give them a wave, continuing after Jack.

Dylan is in the kitchen, I assume, and Logan’s probably with her—if he’s not at that radio station he bought and has been busting his ass to get off the ground.

He wants to make it the premier sports destination on his dad’s communications network, and once a month, I drop in for a broadcast Zoom chat to break down the week’s games and talk about what’s coming. It’s pretty cool.

“What’s going on?” We’re just approaching the kitchen when the doors open on their own, and I stop in my tracks.

My chest tightens, and I’m face to face with a girl I haven’t seen since my sister’s wedding. I’ve thought about her… more than once. She’s petite and pretty with brown hair and golden highlights around her face.

She has a great smile with a big dimple in her left cheek, and her body is banging. She’s soft and curvy, and fuck me, her boobs look even bigger than the last time I saw her.

Heat surges below my belt, and my mind jumps back to the night we shared after Dylan’s wedding. We had a lot of fun and a lot of sex.

It left an impression.

And I’ve got to stop thinking about it before I pop an inappropriate boner right here in front of my whole family. Glancing around, they’re still watching us, and it’s a nice bucket of cold water on that train of thought.

“Raven, hey….” Clearing my throat, I extend a hand. “It’s been a minute, but wow. You look great.”

Her brown eyes widen, and she seems flustered, which is new. When we were together, she was so confident and bold. She was funny, and our chemistry crackled in the air around us.

“Is he here?” Dylan emerges from the kitchen, with a dark-haired baby on her hip.

I frown, confused. No one told me Dylan was pregnant. Has it even been nine months since I saw her last?

“Yes.” Raven’s voice is quiet, and her eyes are worried. “Hendrix… I didn’t know you’d be here so soon. We didn’t exchange contact information, and I… I needed to reach you.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“We have a little surprise!” My sister is using her baby-voice as she bounces the infant on her hip, then she smiles up at me brightly. “Hendrix, meet Hayden. She’s your daughter! ”

My chin jerks back in surprise, and my face cools as all the blood drains from it. “My what ?”

“That’s right!” Dylan leans forward, rubbing her nose against the little girl’s and making her smile. “Raven brought us another baby to love. Sweet little Hayden Lucille Bradford. Isn’t she adorable ?”

“I’m sorry…” I’m having trouble speaking around the boulder in my throat. “I don’t have a baby.”

The room falls quiet. My eyes move quickly over the crowd of familial spectators all watching me.

“Sorry, bro.” Garrett steps forward with that smug grin on his face and slaps the top of my shoulder in a forceful way. “Looks like you do.”

“Get off me.” I shrug him away, stepping closer to Raven and lowering my voice. “But we used condoms every time.”

“We did.” Raven nods. “I was so impressed by how responsible you were.”

“I’m always responsible.” I’m doing my best not to raise my voice. “I’m responsible so this doesn’t happen. How did this happen?”

“I don’t know.” Raven’s voice is equally quiet. “I guess one… failed?”

I swallow air. “Condoms cannot fail. Condoms have one job, and that is not to fail.”

Raven’s eyes drop, and her tone is placating. “I didn’t want to tell you this way. It’s a shock, and you…”

“Want to hold her?” Dylan extends the baby to me like Rafiki in The Lion King .

“Whoa!” Both my hands shoot up, and I take a step back while I try to restart my brain.

The small human blinks at me with wide blue eyes, just like mine.

She’s weirdly like looking in a mirror. Her head is covered in shiny dark hair that ends in soft curls around her chubby cheeks, and as I study her, her tiny lips press into an angry scowl .

I don’t know shit about babies, but I’m pretty sure this one’s about to scream in my face.

Raven steps forward quickly, taking her out of my sister’s hands and hugging her little body close to her chest. “It’s okay, Haddy.”

The baby puts her head on Raven’s shoulder and two fingers in her little mouth, sucking furiously.

Then Raven turns to me. “We need to talk.” She catches my hand, pulling me with her through the double doors into the kitchen.

We leave my family in the dining room, buzzing with chatter, and if I know my brothers, they’re having a field day with this one.

If I know my little sister, she’s floating on cloud nine and making all kinds of plans for preschool and baby swim lessons and holy shit.

Raven turns to me when we’re alone. “I’m really sorry. This wasn’t my plan, but I didn’t know how to reach you. I didn’t have your number, and I had the worst morning sickness the whole time I was pregnant. I actually lost weight. Then after she was born, it took me a minute to get back on my feet, and the longer I waited, the harder it seemed. I knew I had to tell you, but I didn’t know what to do.”

She pauses to breathe, and I can tell she’s stressed. I’m fucking stressed, but when I see other people stressed, I snap into action. It’s what I do.

We’re adults. We can fix this.

“Hang on. Just slow down a minute.” I’m still groggy from the jet lag, but I’m doing my best to strategize. “So you got pregnant after Dylan’s wedding…”

Brown eyes meet mine followed by bright blue ones framed in thick dark lashes. “Yes.”

Baby Haddy is curious, sucking her fingers and watching me like she’s wondering what I’ll do next. I have no freaking idea .

“And Haddy is…” The words get stuck, so I clear my throat. “My daughter?”

“Haddy is our daughter.”

Our daughter.

Adults.

We’re adults, but what the ever-loving fuck?

This was not supposed to happen.