Page 185 of Need You To Choose Me

“No.” I grab my beer, running my thumb over the label. “They offered me a coaching position.”

“No shit.” Miguel’s eyes widen. “They want you to take Coach Higgins’ place?”

“They didn’t specify. I assumed they meant the assistant position, but now…” I take a pull from the bottle, letting the cool liquid slide down my throat. “Even if I wanted the job, it would be stupid of them to put me as the main defense coach.”

“Why the hell do you think that?”

“Because I don’t have the experience?” I point out the obvious. “Coach Higgins has been doing this for the past twenty years. I haven’t coached a day in my life.”

“That’s bullshit,” Miguel bites out. “You know what’s the first thing they told me when I got to Austin? Stick to Walker. He knows his shit, and if you need anything or help practicing, he’s your guy. And they weren’t wrong. I wouldn’t have been half as good of a player if you didn’t help me with the transition that first year. Hell, even now, some days when the coach is showing us new plays, the first thing I do is turn around so I can ask you what you think. And I’m not the only one.”

Miguel’s words leave me speechless for a moment. I always had a good relationship with my teammates. When you work together as much as we do, you become somewhat of a family. I still talked to some of them, even some guys from my previous teams, but this…

“You left a legacy, Walker. I’m sure guys would be ecstatic to have you back as a coach.”

“I…” I open my mouth, unsure of what to say.

I love football, I really do, but I love my family more. The whole point of retiring and moving to Bluebonnet was so I could spend more time with my kids. To take this job would defeat the purpose of this whole move. It would mean long hours, going back on the road for half the year. It would mean time away from my boys, from my newborn baby, from Savannah…

“Does Savannah know?” Aaron asks quietly as if he can read my mind.

I blink, the room coming into focus. “No.”

The flash of blonde over Miguel’s shoulder draws my attention as the person in the booth next to ours gets to their feet.

My muscles tense as recognition sets in. “Fucking hell.”

Savannah’s mother spots me. Her light blue eyes hold nothing of the warmth her daughter expresses. No, they’re empty, her pupils dilated, and her cheeks pink from drinking. The corner of her mouth lifts in a smirk, the calculatingexpression on her face sending a shiver of unease running down my spine.

Why the hell is she still here?

My fingers clench by my side. I never wanted to punish a woman more than I do her for hurting Savannah the way she did, and it took everything in me not to do exactly that.

I guess it was too much to expect her to disappear into the hole she crawled out of.

“What?”

“Savannah’s mother is here.”

“Seriously?” Miguel looks over his shoulder.

“When did she come back?”

“A few days ago,” I mutter, glancing up, but the woman was gone.

Dammit.

“How is Savannah doing now that she’s back?” Aaron asks, drawing my attention. “Somebody saw them having a fight on Main Street the other day.”

The muscle in my jaw twitches in irritation. “She says she’s fine, but I can see the whole thing has hit her hard. And her mother isn’t making it easier on anybody, especially not Savannah.”

Miguel curses. “Did she at least say what she wants?”

“Money,” I grind my teeth, my brows pulling together as I remember the interaction with the woman.

“Okay, so just pay her off and be done with it.”

Aaron snorts. “As if it’s going to be that easy.”

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