Page 76 of The Way We Collide

An unexpected surge of protectiveness rises in my chest, and I’m ready to find out who to punch. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“It’s nothing. Just my mom.” A sad little curve lifts the side of her lips. “She always had something to say about my dishes. She liked to tell me what girls eat.”

Sitting straighter, I frown. “Do girls eat different foods than boys?”

“Absolutely. For example, a handful of almonds is a better snack than a bag of chips.”

“I mean, that’s true. Nuts have protein and other stuff…” I catch her annoyed expression. “But they’re way better covered in chocolate.”

The tension eases slightly, but it’s not entirely gone. “She would say I could chew a bite of candy bar, but I had to spit it into the trash instead of swallowing it.”

“That’s fucked up.” I give our daughter another bite of spinach, and she hums as she eats it. “See, even Haddy agrees with me.”

“She would’ve been so proud I lost weight when I was pregnant.” Raven stands, carrying her bowl to the sink. “She’d tell me to brush my teeth to make the hunger go away. Once she even popped me with a hairbrush for eating a cupcake.”

“Okay, that’s just shitty. Who do I punch?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’m exaggerating.” She sits at the table again, lifting her glass of wine with a sigh. Then she shakes her head. “No, I’m not. And Lawrence Calder O'Halloran was right there with her. He started the nickname Biscuit—right after I’d made a plate of drop biscuits for him.”

“I’d like to meet that guy.”So I can punch him in the face.“Your dad never defended you?”

“He started calling me Biscuit, too, like it was cute or something.” She moves her fingers around the stem of her glass, and I try to imagine how I’d respond to her treating Haddy that way.

“I couldn’t do it,” I confess. “I’d have to say something if you were treating Haddy that way.”

“Because you love her.” Her lips tighten. “The messed up part is my Mom was so certain about everything… all the time. Now, with the way people act about bodies and size, I wonder if she might’ve been right all along. She was an important woman after all.”

A note of bitterness is in her tone, and I put down the spoon.

I slide to my knees in front of her, reaching for her hands. “Look at me, Pink.” It takes a minute for her pretty amber eyes to drift to mine. “Your mom was wrong. You’re beautiful, and I happen to love drop biscuits. I hope you’ll make them for me someday.”

Her eyes mist, but a tiny smile teases her lips. “Maybe I will.”

“You’d better.” I chuckle, rising back into my chair. “Do whatever you want in here. Make the place your own.”

“Okay.” She nods, glancing around the kitchen. “It’s a shame to let such a great room go to waste.”

“It’s all yours.”

I don’t even feel awkward saying it. It simply feels right.

20

Hendrix

Game day is the best day ever, and the first game of the season is even better.

We’re all back, we’ve been training hard, and today we find out if we’ll come together as a team. We’ll see where our strengths are and where we need more work.

Raven has her Rover now, and I kind of miss carpooling. But it’s fun to have Haddy alone in the car with me. We rock out to The White Stripes and Dwight Yoakum.

She kicks her little feet when I play “Fireball” by Pitbull, and I imagine all of us hanging out on a Thursday night at Cooters & Shooters.

My chest warms when I think of having her and my family all together. We’ll be back in Newhope in December for Zane and Rachel’s wedding. Dylan straight up told me I was in the wedding party, walking down the aisle with Raven like before.

I wonder if she told Raven that.

Raven instructed me on how to navigate game-day traffic, as if I didn’t already know how bad it is. I live close enough thatI don’t have to stay in a hotel overnight like some of the guys do. Then she plotted out a route to the stadium that avoids it all. Gotta say, that KCLA gig is paying off.

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