Page 166 of Hometown Halftime
“It is what it is.”
At that moment, my phone vibrates loudly against the counter. Brynn gasps before I even flip it over.
“Oh, my God.”
I stare down at the screen.
“Answer it,” Brynn whisper-yells.
I slip quietly out onto the back porch, the cool March air wrapping around me while I hit answer and lift the phone to my ear.
“Hey.” I force out.
His voice hits me like a tidal wave of deep warmth. It’s soothing enough that my eyes burn before we’ve even been talking for thirty seconds.
“Hi, Kinsey.” His voice softens. “How’s Beau? Knox said they were bringing him home today.”
I glance back through the kitchen window where Knox currently stands in the middle of the living room, showing his one-month-old son football highlights, like Beau can comprehend what ESPN is.
“Tiny,” I say with a watery laugh. “Brynn cried at least seven separate times tonight.”
“Sounds about right.”
“And Knox threatened bodily harm if Ty touched the baby without using hand sanitizer first.”
A quiet laugh leaves him, softer than I remember somehow.
“Sounds like everything’s going wonderfully.”
Silence settles briefly afterward, but this time I notice noise in the background on his end. It sounds like guys yelling distantly down a hallway. The sharp echo of a place that I don’t know.
“How are you?” I ask finally.
I hear him exhale. “Busy. Classes are killing me and I basically live at the gym.”
His answer feels flat and vague.
“What about you?” he asks.
I draw a squiggle through the snow on the railing.
“Just the usual. Working and helping Ramsey plan for next year’s rugby season.”
His voice lightens. “That’s awesome, Kinsey.”
“Yeah, guess it is.”
Another stretch of awkward silence fills the line, and it makes my stomach ache.
Then Riley says quietly, “I got the official invitation for the combine.”
“Oh my God.” My smile spreads even as tears sting my eyes. “Riley, that’s so exciting.”
A soft laugh leaves him, but there’s something restrained underneath it.
“Yeah.”
And suddenly I hate how far away he feels.
