Page 50 of Catch
Her throaty laugh made every part of me tense up. “Yes, but once they are gone then I can get a quick nap in. It’s hard to go to sleep on game days.”
“Because you get so excited?” I was confused. I was surprised that I was still awake. Most Sundays after home games I dropped early.
“Because Grayson is gone all night.”
I sat up. “What? Where does he go? Why is he not home?” I was shocked for her, but I was selfishly more concerned that he wouldn’t make it to practice on time. At least players didn’t have to report until ten.
“He hangs out with his friends. I don’t care though. I like a nice, quiet evening. Going to the games is exhausting.”
“Coaching it is pretty exhausting, too.” I was teasing her a bit.
Her voice was low and her laugh quiet. “I bet. Fifty-three babies, not to mention the coaches and trainers you babysit, too.”
“It’s not that bad.” But it really was. Football was very macho but also very emotional. A lot of guys played the game with their hearts on their sleeves and it showed. Most of the time I walked the sideline ensuring they were okay physically, mentally, and emotionally. “Grayson’s pretty good at keeping the guys pumped up and focused.”
“You’ve done a remarkable job. You were great with the Vikings, but having a say over everything is exactly what you do best.”
Did she follow my career? “Why, Parker O’Neal, have you been stalking me?” I smacked my palm against my forehead because I used her maiden name. She didn’t correct me.
“I always knew you were going to go far, so yes, I tracked your career. I was disappointed you chose the Vikings because come on, they haven’t done anything magnificent since the seventies.”
My laughter startled Crowbar awake. I put my hand on his back to calm him. He put his head back down on the pillow once he realized I wasn’t getting murdered. “They took a chance on me, and for that, I’ll be forever grateful. Plus, I got a chance to coach some good quarterbacks.” I must have been exhausted because I asked her a question that I shouldn’t have. “What else did you stalk me about?” Was I really flirting with my quarterback’s wife? I panicked before she even answered. “No, never mind. Don’t answer that. It’s late and I’m tired.”
“You never got married. I knew that before dinner the other night.”
I was quiet. I could either be truthful or play it off. There was only one right answer, even if it was a half-truth. “I’m too busy to have a relationship.”
“Come on, Sutton. You always wanted kids.”
There was a pregnant pause. “That’s true, but I didn’t want to have failed relationship after failed relationship and not have anything to show for it. At least being a workaholic takes my mind off other things. Some people can have it all, and some people can’t.”
“I understand. Actually, I don’t. I’m just saying that so you’ll still talk to me.”
I looked at the clock. It was almost midnight. What was I doing? “How are your parents? Grayson was kind enough to tell me that they talked about how much they hated me long after we were over.”
“Our relationship is strained to put it mildly. They’re good with the girls, but I’m careful not to let them control them like they did me.”
“That’s a good thing,” I said.
“What’s even better is that they are in Baltimore and don’t have any plans to move to Connecticut anytime soon.”
“Wait. Did they follow you around?”
She sighed heavily. “They did. First Miami, then Pittsburgh, then Baltimore. Thankfully, they really like it there and it’s close enough, like a five-hour drive or one-hour plane ride, so they don’t feel the need to move yet. And I emphasize yet.”
“Your mother hated me. Hated me.” I emphasized hated both times.
“My mother hated everybody I dated. Nobody was good enough.”
“She was probably excited when you dated Grayson. I mean, college graduate, NFL quarterback. That’s probably her dream come true.”
I heard her rustling around and wondered if her voice was low because the girls had crawled into bed with her. I could picture them, tiny versions of herself and Grayson, all curled up with their arms draped across her body for warmth and comfort. I always wanted children, but the women I dated weren’t exactly wife or mother material. Except one. “My mother has issues with everything I do. The girls want to play sports and she wants me to put them into pageants.”
I gasped. “Like Little Miss Connecticut or Little Miss Bridgemont?”
“Yeah, but they aren’t doing it. I’m not putting my children through the hell I went through.”
I had forgotten that Parker participated in pageants from age five until fifteen. “But think of all the trophies they’d win. Cute little buttons like them.” I laughed.
