Page 34 of The Coach

“Why didn’t you tell me? Be right down, guys!” His, presumably, wife yells down at us, and Devon ushers us into the living room where Tanner excitedly helps the little kids open the gifts he got for them.

He’s almost as excited as they are.

“You spoil them, bro.”

“That’s my job as their uncle.”

I smile at him, then look at Devon. “He was speeding on his way here. I think he missed them.” It’s not a lie. I had to tell him at least three times he was going to get pulled over.

Devon sits back on his couch, his gaze on his kids' excited faces, and says, “He’s one of their favorite people. I couldn’t even tell them Uncle Tanner was coming, or they wouldn’t have left me alone.”

A sound of quick feet stomping down the stairs has me turning my head, and a curvaceous woman with short dark hair bounds into the room, her smile wide and bright and fixed on Tanner and the kids. “Tanner!”

He stands and sweeps her into his arms. I push the jealousy down. It is uncomfortable for me to see his arms wrapped around another woman, but I am also being completely silly. From what I knew, Devon and Robin, his wife, had been together for several years. But before that happened, Devon had to get himself together and prove to her that he was worth a shot, and Tanner had befriended Robin, becoming best friends with her in the meantime, to help his buddy out.

I glance at Devon who’s smiling at the pair, still sitting relaxed in his spot, and I can tell that the bond the three of them have is something of a family in and of itself. Tanner releases her and turns them, facing me, his smile proud when he motions to me, and I stand, taking a step forward.

“This is Mick,” he tells her, and if possible, her smile brightens. “Mick, this is Robin, one of my best friends.”

She pounces then, tackling me in a bone-crushing hug and squealing while she’s at it. “I am so excited to meet you! Tanner has been gushing over you on text, and I told him as soon as we found a place here he had to bring you over.” She pulls back, cupping my head with her hands, and I can’t help but smile at the woman. Her excitement is infectious. “I’m so glad he didn’t need to be bullied to do it; you know he can be kind of stubborn.”

I glance at Tanner who playfully rolls his eyes and plops down on the floor with the kids. “I am not stubborn.”

Devon barks a laugh and turns to me, “One time he didn’t want me to take his seat on a plane, and even though he was downing Red Bulls like there was no tomorrow and had to piss like a racehorse, he wouldn’t move. The flight was five hours!”

We collectively look at Tanner like it’s choreographed, he shrugs. “I liked my spot.”

I laugh with them and turn my attention back to Robin. “It’s really a pleasure to meet you. You have a beautiful place.”

They did, too. It was one of the newer townhomes on the north edge of Denver, and I knew for a fact these things went at top dollar. There were at least two levels, the ceilings were something like twelve feet high in the living room, and there was a steel chandelier hanging above our heads.

“Oh, thank you,” she replies, then scoffs a laugh. “Too bad I can’t take credit! We still have boxes in every room that haven’t been unpacked.”

“You got here a week ago,” Tanner replies, looking around. “It should be more of a mess.”

“Yeah,” I say, feeling comfortable enough to join in on the conversation. “You should see Tanner’s place.”

“Hey!”

Ignoring him, I continue. “He’s been there for what, three months? He still has boxes we have to crawl around.”

“Tanner,” Robin admonishes. “You need to make your girl feel comfortable.”

I hold in a laugh at Tanner’s astonished face as he eyes the both of us. “What? How are you two already ganging up on me?”

Robin shakes her head, like she’s disappointed, and says, “Us girls have to stick together.” Looping her arm through mine, she says, “Come, we’ll go gossip while the boys watch the kids.”

She points to Devon, and he shows us his phone’s screen where a little baby is sound asleep on a baby monitor, and I coo for a second before she pulls me away.

Guess I’m about to be grilled.

“I really am so pleased that Tanner found someone,” Robin says as we take seats on her back deck. It’s got a nice couch with two rocking chairs next to it. Our view is of the Rocky Mountains, the day clear for nearing November.

I take a sip of the sangria she insisted I have and shrug, trying not to shy away from the conversation, “I’m glad he found me, too.”

Robin laughs and taps her glass to mine, tucking her legs underneath her and facing me.

I half-mimic the pose.

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