Page 131 of Hometown Halftime

“Fair argument,” I admit.

Kinsey laughs beside me, and the sound pulls my attention back toward her.

Right, holy shit, my family hasn’t formally met her yet. My mom's gaze bounces between us, and then she smiles in that mom way that makes me nervous.

I clear my throat. “Uh—Mom, this is Kinsey Malone. Our Head Coach.”

Kinsey steps forward, smiling warmly while offering her hand. “It’s nice to officially meet you.”

My mother shakes her outstretched hand.

“You too,” Mom says pleasantly. “We’ve heard quite a bit about you.”

Oh, my God.

“Mom, that’s not needed.”

“What did I do?” she asks innocently.

Lucy snorts beside her. Traitors, every single one of them.

Emma twists toward Kinsey while still hanging from me. “Are you Riley’s girlfriend?”

I choke on my tongue.

“Emma,” Jackson groans.

“What?” she asks.

Kinsey’s eyes flick toward mine, amusement sparkling while my entire nervous system catches fire.

“Kinsey’s the Head Coach,” I say as my eyes stay locked on Kinsey's.

Thankfully, my mom changes the subject.

“The team did great today. You two make a pretty good duo if you’ve got the girls playing like that so quickly.”

Kinsey nods, “Riley makes it easy, and the team is passionate, so I say we’re pretty lucky.” Kinsey turns to me. “I’m going to go say hi to my crew. Mrs. Weston and tribe, it was great meeting you.”

“You too, Kinsey.” My mom smiles.

She watches Kinsey walk away before telling my siblings, “Kids, go gather our things so we can head out, please?”

They scramble for the bleachers, leaving me alone with Mom.

“So, you and Kinsey, huh?”

Damn it.

“Mom, we work together and we’ve become friends.” I pause, then lay it all out. “And she’s staying in the spare room of the duplex. Her apartment flooded, so she’s staying with me while they fix everything.”

Mom’s eyes go wide. “You’re living together?”

I check my surroundings. “Mom, keep your voice down! She needed a spot, and I had a spare room. We’re roommates, not living together.”

Her eyes scan my face, surely checking for lies.

“Okay,” she draws out. “I believe you.”