Page 123 of The Way We Collide

“You know that makes me horny.” Hendrix sticks his head around the corner to waggle his eyebrows at me and make me snort.

We didn’t do a big Christmas, since Hendrix had an out-of-town game. Haddy’s too young to remember much about the holidays, but we took pictures with Santa and bought her way too many toys.

Hendrix found the squeaky toy that made her laugh so hard in the video Sherri sent us from her very first day in the nursery. He spent hours scouring every vintage toy store and online retailer, but it was worth it just to hear her baby belly-laugh.

We finish the day like always, cuddling together in front of the big screen, only now we raise the armrests, and Haddy and I both curl up at Hendrix’s side.

She falls asleep halfway through the film. Hendrix declares it a decent holiday movie, and we put our daughter in her crib before going to his bedroom to celebrate our own holiday in his bed.

30

Hendrix

“That was a pretty spectacular play against the Admirals last week.” Garrett’s voice is amped, and we’re on the show again to break down the recent playoff games and what’s coming as we count down to the Big Game.

We’re barreling through the playoffs, and the games are coming fast. Raven and Haddy don’t travel with me. Babies aren’t so great at staying in hotel rooms, but when we’re in town, they’re in the box, cheering us on.

I look up to see them in my jersey waving their hands or Raven chewing her nails when it’s close. She’s understanding the game more, and I’m finding it harder to keep my eyes off her and on the field.

“I’d argue if it hadn’t been for the handoff you made to Rogers, they might’ve won it,” my brother continues.

“It was close.” I exhale a laugh, thinking about the final play of our last game against Baltimore. Their defense wasn’t letting me do anything, and in the final minutes, Tyler passed me the ball, which I tossed to our other TE, who ran it in for the score.

“A little too close for my taste,” I confess.

“I think if they had a better kicker, you’d have been in trouble.” Logan’s polished voice joins the chat. “Too bad for the Admirals there’s only one Zane Bradford.”

“Thanks, bro.” Zane’s smile is self-effacing. “Jackson’s getting there. He’ll be one to watch next season, mark my words.”

“He’s no first-round draft pick,” Jack says, and Garrett holds up his hand for the high five.

If I can’t play football with my brothers, I do enjoy getting together and talking about it. Maybe Garrett’s right, and taking a job like this with Logan would be something that would make me happy.

“What’s happening on the college front, Coach?” Logan turns the conversation to Jack, who is an occasional guest, filling us in on which high school seniors to watch.

He mentions boys I don’t know, and I watch our daughter across the room, standing beside a plastic ball-toy similar to the one at the nursery. She crawls inside and takes the balls from the base then pulls herself up to drop them in one by one.

It feels like an advanced move to me, but maybe it’s typical ten and a half month-old behavior. I should ask Garrett. Maybe send him a video and see if Gigi’s doing anything like this.

Knowing Liv, she’s probably already reading.

“Austin Sinclair is drawing a lot of attention from the college recruiters,” Logan says, and my ears perk up at the mention of Allie’s son.

“Yeah, he’ll have his pick of schools.” Jack leans on his forearms not making eye contact. “He needs to think about where he’ll be happiest, and what he wants for his future.”

“If anyone can help with those decisions, it’s you, bro,” Garrett says, slapping our oldest brother on the back. “You held all our hands through those difficult decisions.”

“Not yours.” Jack laughs, deflecting the compliment. “You knew where you were going from the time you could walk.”

“Yeah, and maybe I should’ve thought a little more aboutwhat I wanted for my future.” Garrett looks down, and I know he’s thinking about Liv. “It would’ve saved me a lot of heartache.”

“Heartache’s part of life,” Jack says. “It’s how you learn.”

A half-smile pulls my lips, and I study my oldest brother. For the first time, I wonder who guided Jack through those difficult decisions.

“It all worked out,” Zane says. “Now about this week’s championships.”

We’re back on track, and everyone’s making predictions about the last two games. We wrap up the chat. The guys wish me luck, and I head out for a run.

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