“Mama,” I say, spreading my hands. “Come on. Me and Serena? We don’t see each other that way.”
“As long as you’ve thought it through,” she says, the frown on her face smoothing out.
“We have,” I reply. “It makes sense. It gets rid of the question of dating. I don’t want to date, and I don’t want people to keep offering themselves as my dream match. I don’t need any distractions right now. I just want to focus on my game.”
Mama pats my arm. “What you call distractions, I call living. And sometimes we are at our best when life throws us distractions.”
She pauses, letting her words sink in. I know what she’s trying to say. The throwaway comment I made after the game against the Ironclads at the start of the season didn’t just ignite the Chasing Love hashtag. It also worried Mama. She wants us all to be happy. To share our lives with someone. Now that Dylan and Jake have found that, I know she wants the same for me. But I meant what I said. Love isn’t on my horizon. And I’m OK with that right now.
All I need in my life is football.
She opens her arms and we hug. I let myself sink into the embrace. Because this woman is everything to me. She’s so much more than my agent and the woman who built my career brick by brick and is the reason I’m playing at the top of my game for my home team.
“Thank you,” I whisper, hugging her tighter for a moment before letting go.
Her gray eyes fix on me. “Chase Sullivan, how many times?”
I give a rueful smile. “Sorry.”
“You’ve got nothing to thank me for.” She’s said it so many times, and yet I can’t stop sharing my love and gratitude. Mama took me in when I was a scared and quiet two-year-old boy, and her sister—my mom—said she couldn’t cope anymore. No hesitation. No conditions. She gave me a second chance at a childhood, a family, and a future. I owe her everything.
Mama gives me one more squeeze before pulling away. “Harry would’ve been so proud of you.”
“I still miss him,” I admit.
“Me too.” Her smile is sad and for a moment it’s as though the years melt away, and the grief is still raw. “He had a way of bringing you out of your shell in a way no one else could. The only thing that ever came close after he died was football. Anyway,” she continues, patting my arm, “I better get ready for the ball. It takes me a lot longer to look my best than all you young, bright things.”
“You’re always beautiful to me,” I say, pulling her in for another hug.
Her smile brightens. “You always were smooth, Chase. Good luck tonight.”
I’m about to ask her what I need luck for, but she’s already walking toward the tall spruce trees and her new lake house. When I glance in the direction of the highway, I spot the cloud of dust and Serena’s truck heading my way. No point trying to fight the smile that spreads across my face.
A few minutes later, Serena pulls up beside me, and I jog over, hopping into the passenger seat.
“Did you know that mountain lions can leap up to forty feet in a single bound?”
“How long have you been waiting to tell someone that?” I ask.
“All day.” She flashes me a smile and turns left onto the new track that leads toward the spruce trees and the lake.
A few minutes later, we pass Mama’s house first, then the track curves around, following the line of the lake to my house. It’s a tall structure with four bedrooms and plenty of space. Too much space for just me. It’s modern with clean lines and large windows, creating bright, open rooms. But there are whiteshutters on the windows and a wraparound porch that makes it feel like it’s always been a part of the ranch.
A little way along the track is Jake and Harper’s. All three homes are positioned with views of the lake and privacy. Mama really did think of everything. I can’t see the other houses from my place, but I can walk to either of them in less than two minutes.
I hop out and grab her bag from the back, making a show of struggling to lift it. “Just checking, Serena—you are just getting ready here, right? You’re not moving in?”
“Shut up.” She swats at my arm, grabbing another smaller bag. I spy her book on mountain lions sticking out the top and smile, wondering what fact I’ll be told next. “And I’ll have you know, I need everything in that bag.”
I open the door into a spacious hall that leads down to an open-plan kitchen-diner that overlooks the lake. There’s a cozy den to one side with a fireplace and a TV on the wall, and a smaller room that would make a perfect study, not that I can imagine ever sitting behind a desk.
Serena spins around, taking it all in just like she did the first time. “Chase! You promised you’d get furniture. That’s it, I’m calling an intervention. We’re going shopping. This place needs some serious home touches.”
“It’s fine,” I reply, even though I know she’s right. I open the fridge and pull out a bottle of water. The fridge is equally empty, with only a row of protein shakes and a few pots of leftovers Mama has stashed in here for me.
“You wanna drink?” I ask, shielding the bare fridge from Serena’s sharp eyes.
She shakes her head. “I should get ready.”