Rally (Treasure State Wildcats Book 3)

Faye did a double take when she came through the swinging door at the diner and saw me standing beside the Please Seat Yourself sign. Her cheeks pinkened. “Hi.”

“Hey, sweets.”

She carried a platter in each hand, both plates loaded with hash browns and chicken-fried steak smothered in country gravy.

My stomach growled.

“Be right back,” she said, taking the food to one of the booths along the window.

Dolly’s was busy. Well, busier than it was in the evenings. About half of the tables were occupied by Sunday-morning patrons and each of the front-row spaces in the snow-covered parking lot were full.

Faye delivered the food, smiling at the customers. She snagged a coffee pot from the warmer in the beverage station, then made the rounds, refilling ceramic mugs before putting it away and joining me beside the door.

There was a shy smile on her face. It was the same adorable smile she’d had when we’d woken up in her tiny bed this morning. The same smile she’d had when she’d left the house for her shift and I’d gone to campus to work out and meet with the team.

I really loved that smile.

This girl. She was it for me. She was the real deal.

“I thought you were at the fieldhouse all day,” she said.

“Changed my mind. Coaches told us to take the rest of the day to study and review plays. Thought I’d do that here.”

I bent and kissed her cheek. How long had I wanted to do that? To come in here and let a restaurant full of people know she was mine? Too long. Fuck, it felt good to stop pretending like we were nothing.

Her smile brightened. “Want something to eat?”

“Surprise me.”

“Breakfast or lunch?”

“Breakfast.” It was noon, but Dusty’s all-day breakfast never got old. “Has it been busy?”

Faye sighed, taking in the dining room. “Not really. It’s been normal for a Sunday morning.”

“Sorry.”

She shrugged. “I’m not giving up.”

“That’s my girl.” I hauled her into a hug, pressing my lips to the top of her hair. Then I let her go so she could get back to work, and I could do the same.

It was impossible to corral my focus when Faye was in the room. Every time she walked by or I heard her voice, my attention would shift away from the playbook spread in front of me. There was a reason the coaches made us stay on campus this time of year. That we’d study as a team.

But today, I didn’t want so much distance between us. Not after last night. I didn’t want her to have a chance to disappear behind those walls.

Though considering that when I looked at her, more often than not she was already staring at me, maybe there was nothing to worry about.

She disappeared into the kitchen, and I concentrated on the open page in front of me. It was a play we’d run for years, one I knew like the back of my hand. I studied it anyway, closing my eyes and visualizing it in my head.

Twins right, special.

It was one of the simpler plays, but it gave me a chance to run the ball if my running back wasn’t open to receive a pass. Some quarterbacks didn’t like the risk it put us in for injury, but I wasn’t afraid to get hit, and if it meant yards gained, I’d run.

I’d just turned to the next page in the book when a plate slid across the table. Chicken-fried steak and hash browns.

“I saw you drooling over it when you came in,” Faye said.

“Maybe I was drooling over you.”

She smiled and took a seat on the opposite side of the booth. “How’s it going?”

I lifted a shoulder, unwrapping the silverware from the rolled napkin. “It’s all right.”

“What’s this?” She motioned to my book.

“Playbook. It’s my constant companion this week.”

“And your next game is Saturday?”

I nodded. “Yep. Because of our record, we’ll have another weekend of playing at home.”

“Are you nervous?” she asked.

“Yes.” Any other person, even my parents, I probably would have lied. I would have said no. But not with Faye.

“Can I help? Quiz you or something?”

“I’ve got this.” I tapped the corner of the book. “But yeah, you can do something. Come to the game.”

She dropped her gaze to her fingers clasped on the table. It would be cold and the forecast was predicting more snow. She was probably scheduled to work too.

The worst she could say was no.

And I was going to make her tell me no. That’s how badly I wanted her at the game.

“Okay.”

My heart soared. “I’ll get you a ticket to sit with my parents.”

Relief flashed across her face. “Thank you.”

The only dream I wanted her to have after Saturday’s game was about me. I didn’t need Halsey’s bullshit messing with her head.

“I’ve been thinking,” I said, shifting the book out of the way so I could cut up my steak. “We should move in together.”

“Didn’t we already do that?”

“No, I mean just the three of us. You, me and Squish.”

Faye’s pretty eyes softened in that tender way they always did when I called the baby Squish. “We really need to come up with a different name, or he’s going to hate us once he starts school.”

I grinned and took a bite. Damn, it was good food. I swallowed and took a drink from the water glass she’d brought earlier. “Henry.”

“You said that one already.”

“Trying it again.”

“It’s a maybe. How about Brock?”

“Nah. Rylie?”

“Liam.”

“Carson,” I said, even though the moment it was out of my mouth I knew it wasn’t right.

Thankfully, she shook her head. “Maverick.”

My fork and knife stilled. “You’d want to name him Maverick?”

“Not even a little bit.” She grimaced. “No, I’m wondering if Maverick is the reason you want to move.”

I set my utensils on the edge of the plate. “Yes and no. I want us to have some privacy, but there’s history with Maverick too.”

“Is it the same reason why you and Halsey always stayed at her place?”

This wasn’t exactly where I’d thought we’d have this conversation, but maybe it was better here. Dolly’s was Faye’s safe place, and in a way, it had become mine too. It had become ours.

I leaned back in the booth, glancing around. While I’d been reviewing plays, most of the tables had cleared out. There were a couple of guys visiting in a table on the far end of the room, but their napkins were balled up on their plates and Faye had already dropped off their check.

“Mav and I have known each other since freshman year. He was my roommate in the dorms.”

“Oh. I didn’t realize you’d been living together that long.”

“He’s a good roommate.”

She arched her eyebrows.

“To me.” I held up a hand. “He’s been a good roommate to me. And he’s been a good friend, even when I haven’t deserved it.”

“What do you mean?” Her eyebrows came together.

Where did I even start? “Mav and I met freshman year. We both were known for, well . . . screwing around.”

Her nose scrunched. “Maybe I don’t want to know.”

I didn’t want to know about her past lovers either, but if she wanted to know the truth about my friendship with Mav, it was part of the past.

“Maverick met Halsey first. It was toward the end of freshman year. We were at a friend’s house, and she showed up with some other friends. They hooked up and kept hooking up for a few months.”

“Oh.” Faye blinked. “Wow.”

“It was never serious. They weren’t dating. But Halsey didn’t like that he was screwing around with other women too.”

“She wanted it to be exclusive.”

“I guess. There wasn’t really anything to break off, but she came over one night to do it anyway. Except he was gone. Out with someone else. I wasn’t.”

“And you got together.”

I nodded. “Yeah. They might not have been together, but I crossed a line. Not my finest moment. I should have sent her home.”

“But you started dating instead.”

“We did. About a month later. Maverick wasn’t in it for a relationship. He swears he never cared, but our friendship changed after that. I guess, I’ve been trying to prove my loyalty. Prove that I was sorry. Prove that he could still trust me as a teammate and friend.”

Prove that I wasn’t an asshole who’d slept with his roommate’s hookup when she’d come knocking on his door, even though that’s exactly what I’d done.

It was why hearing Halsey call me a cheater had cut so deep. She knew how we’d started. She knew how much I hated our beginning.

“Mav would have been right to be angry, but he wasn’t. He never really cared for Halsey. It was his idea that we get a place together sophomore year, even though Hals and I were dating. I was afraid if I said no, it would cause drama and ruin our friendship.”

And ever since, I’d been walking on eggshells. Part of that was keeping him and Halsey apart, which was why I’d never had her sleep over. Not that she’d cared. It would have been awkward for her too.

“I knew a while ago that Halsey and I weren’t end game. But I stayed with her, I dragged it out, when I should have walked away.”

“To prove that it wasn’t a mistake,” Faye guessed. “To Maverick? Or yourself?”

I gave her a sad smile. “Both.”

She reached across the table, holding out her hand. “For the record, I think you’re a good friend. Even if you made a mistake.”

“Thanks.” I covered her hand with my own, my palm flat against hers. “I let Mav get away with more shit than I should.”

“Maybe he knows that.”

I drew a circle on her inner wrist with my finger. “Maybe.”

“Your food is getting cold.”

“I don’t care.”

The door chimed behind me and Faye pulled her hand away before I was ready to let her go. Her eyes drifted over my shoulder, hardening at whoever had come inside.

I twisted. Gloria stomped her shoes on the entryway mat.

She searched the space, looking for Faye. When she spotted us, Gloria trudged to the edge of our booth and stuck out her lower lip in a dramatic pout. “I hate it when you’re mad at me.”

“Then don’t lie to me.” Faye crossed her arms over her chest.

“I’m sorry,” Gloria said.

I believed her. And from the way Faye’s gaze gentled, she believed her too.

“I just wanted you to talk to Mom.”

“Why?” Faye asked.

“Because. She’s our mom.”

Faye stood from the booth and put a hand on Gloria’s shoulder. “That’s not enough of a reason.”

“Then do it for me. Please,” Gloria whispered. “She’s been different lately.”

Faye sighed. “I’ll think about it.”

“Thank you.” Gloria pulled her into a hug, then let her go, taking her place in the booth across from me. For the first time, she seemed to even notice I was here. “Hey.”

“Hey.” I picked up my fork for a mouthful of hash browns.

“So you got my sister pregnant.”

I stopped chewing. “Yeah.”

She narrowed her eyes. “If you break her heart, I’ll break every bone in your body. Twice.”

“Gloria,” Faye snapped.

I burst out laughing, nearly choking on my food. I pounded a fist against my chest as I swallowed, then gulped some water to clear my throat. When I looked up again, Gloria’s glare was harder than ever.

“Don’t worry, G.” I held up both hands. “Her heart is safe with me.”