Page 22 of The Yips

“I’d want to know. I would never want that type ofrelationship. There is nothing that someone could ever buy me that would replace trust.”

Sam’s expression was unreadable. “I grew up watching my mother get hurt by my father repeatedly. It’s hard to watch my teammates submit to the stereotype.”

“What about you? Do you ever meet women on the road?” I asked and instantly regretted asking such a personal question. I only wanted to hear the answer if it was no.

“When I first started in the league, I made some mistakes. I don’t date seriously and haven’t had a serious girlfriend since college. Life on the road is not conducive for trust, and I just figured I’d wait until after I retired to meet someone.”

“What’s your mom like?” I asked, wanting to understand as much as possible about him.

“She’s amazing. She was a powerhouse model before she met my father, and while their marriage was terrible, she emerged from it stronger than ever.”

“Do you have any siblings?”

“My sister Josie. She’s also a model, and her husband plays professional football for Dallas. She works extremely hard and is one of my closest friends. I don’t trust many people outside of family.”

“Your entire family is famous.” It was hard to reconcile this down-to-earth man with someone surrounded by models and professional athletes.

“No, not famous, exactly.”

“I guess I meant that they are very public figures. My family is just normal.”

“You seem overwhelmed, I’m sorry.”

“I’ve been overwhelmed since the minute you sat at my bar,” I said honestly.

“I appreciate you not mentioning the Uber ride.”

“I don’t know much about you, but from what I’ve seen since that night, that’s not typical ‘Sam’ behavior.” At some point, I’d made the subconscious decision to judge him by his actions and forgive him for that night in the Uber.

“I think I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Sam looked at his watch and realized that he would be late if he didn’t leave to go to the stadium. I thanked him for breakfast, and Crew and I headed back up to our suite to relax before heading to the game ourselves.

CHAPTER 20

Sam

Carlos cornered me during our pre-game warm-up and prep and tried to get the story on Kelsey.

“I have so many questions and don’t know where to start. If you were any one of these other assholes, I’d think maybe the kid was yours.”

“He’s not.”

When I said it out loud, I realized that my answer was tinged with disappointment. When Kelsey returned to the table at breakfast this morning, she had missed me clumsily, fumbling with the straps in the stroller as I pulled Crew out to soothe him. But damn if I didn’t melt when that little guy smiled at me. I had always thought that I would have my career, and then afterward, I would move on to my second stage and maybe have a family. Watching Kelsey as she put all her plans on hold and handled Crew with grace, without even a hint of resentment, made me question almost everything I knew.

“She must be incredible, then. I know nothing about your personal life because I suspect there isnothing to know. Then you show up with this smoke show with a baby…I don’t know what to think. How did you meet her?”

Carlos stared at me incredulously as I relayed the story, including our first interaction in the Uber. “So, you aren’t interested in her?”

“I’m not interested in disrupting her life if I can’t promise everything to her. She doesn’t need complications.”

“Yet you asked her to drop everything to fly to Minnesota with an infant to help you win a stupid ballgame?”

“When you put it like that, thanks. I sound like a dick.”

“Where is the kid’s father? He’s okay with him jet-setting all over the place?”

“He’s not in the picture.” I was already annoyed with the question and could imagine how frustrating it was for Kelsey as she explained it over and over again.

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