Page 4 of When You Wish Upon a Wideout

“Don’t shake so hard when you flip the coin,” Henry told her from across them, pushing his glasses up. “You don’t want to mess up.”

Grace immediately locked her knees. “Can you mess up a coin toss though? It only needs to hit the ground, right? Was I supposed to practice?”

“Just make sure it doesn’t hit anyone elsebeforethe field.” Henry pushed up his tortoise-framed glasses, smirking at his sister.

Turning to her mother, Grace pursed her lips. “What are the chances Iactuallymess it up?”

Sienna rolled her eyes, not wanting her brother to see how hard she chewed on the inside of her cheek. “Don’t be nervous.”

She wasn’t sure if those words were only meant for Grace.He’ll be on the sidelines with the rest of the team and wouldn’t put two and two together anyway. Grace is doing the coin toss, not me.

“Are you ready?” Janet asked Grace eagerly. “We’ll walk out to the middle of the field with the referees and captains.”

Sienna watched Grace’s throat bob before she turned to her. “Mom?”

“You’ll be great,” Sienna told her with an affirming nod. “You can’t mess up a coin toss.”

But Sienna knew from experience, you kind of could.

Janet stood at the front of the tunnel with a stadium attendant, both looking at Grace anxiously.

“Mom?” she asked again.

Sienna looked at her brother. “Henry will go with you.”

“No, I’m good,” Henry said.

“Just go with her,” Sienna muttered quietly.

“You go.”

Janet looked uncomfortably between the three of them. “Grace, why don’t we—”

“Mom?”

Sienna pushed off the wall, taking Grace’s hand. “This wasyourwish,” she reminded her as they followed Janet out of the tunnel. Her feet angrily stomped on the turf but feeling Grace’s fragile, trembling fingers wound in her own, she slowed her pace and softened her heart. “You’re the bravest person I know.”

Blood draws, bone marrow aspirations, chemo, stem cell transplants, and you’re worried about all these people?But Grace was her mother’s daughter and hated crowds as much as Sienna.

“There’s justsomany people.”

Sienna held her breath as she looked up, overwhelmed by the thousands of faces. “If you want to be an actress, you need to get over your stage fright. Picture them all naked.”

Her daughter laughed.

“See? It works.”

“Not really,” Grace said, turning her head to the sidelines. “Number twenty-two on the other team is kind of hot.”

“Stop it.”

Grace sighed. “Maybe I should’ve taken some Zofran.”

“You’re notthatnauseous. Just smile and toss the coin and let’s go up to the suite and eat candy.”

And drink wine, Sienna added mutely.Lots of wine.Sienna was about to tell Grace she bet there was ice cream too, when her voice got stuck in her throat.Yeah, a lot of wine. Because we have a driver and becausehe’sstanding right there.

Beau was yards away, as tall as ever, even broader in his pads and white uniform, with the royal-blue star right smack on his chest as he stood in the center of it all—the small huddle, the middle of the field. It seemed fitting, considering he had been the center of Sienna’s universe once upon a time—her shooting wideout.

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