Page 111 of Home Safe

The man looks taken aback. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he says as he holds the door open. Once inside the locker room, I don’t need a guide to find the room where Griffin is. The rest of the locker room is deathly quiet, and I follow the sound of his agony, tears endlessly flowing from my eyes with each step.

As I enter the room, Griffin spots me, and the pain on his face crumples with relief. “Danae,” he says, more a sob than a word. I rush over to the training table where he’s propped up and grab his right hand. Training staff buzz around the room, assessing and gathering supplies and creating the atmosphere of a bee hive.

“Griff, I’m here, babe,” I say, cupping his face with my free hand. “I love you, Griff.”

Tears have streaked paths through the dirt on Griffin’s face, and he grunts in pain as they shift his position. I try to stay out of the way yet locked by Griffin’s side as they discuss the course of action.

“We’re going to give you a shot to manage the pain, West,” one staff member says, approaching with a tray of disinfecting wipes and a syringe.

“He’s afraid of needles,” I say, voice quivering. “We need to elevate his legs first.”

The shadow of a smile crosses Griffin’s face. “Needles are the last thing I’m worried about right now,” he says. “Just stay here with me while they give me the shot.”

I trade hands so I’m holding his with my left hand, using my right hand to shield his eyes toward me as they clean the area for the shot. “I love you,” I say. “I love you, and I’m going to be here with you through every step of this recovery. We’re going to get through this together.”

He grimaces, and I don’t know if it’s due to the immediate physical pain or the memories of the arduous rehab process. “What if I can’t do it again?” he whispers. I know that there are a dozen other people in the room around us, yet it’s only the two of us as we stare into each other’s eyes. Griffin swallows hard. “What if this is it for me? If the Wizard doesn’t make the comeback this time?” His voice is a shadow of his usual self.

A tear slips past my lips as I smile. “You’ve never been the Wizard to me. You’ve always been Griffin—the man who makes people feel special. The man who takes time to value everyone, from the bartender at the restaurant to the book club ladies ambushing him to the kid at camp whose world was turned upside down.” A tear skates down Griffin’s cheek as his eyes search my face, and I wipe it away with my thumb before it hits his beard. “You’re the man who got me to open up about some of the most painful parts of my past on our first date. Because you ask real questions in the most inviting, unassuming way. The man who broke through all of my prejudices against people with financial wealth because you don’t use it to manipulate the world. You’re the man who opens up his life to people who need him—to Samantha, to Jason, to me. You might be the Wizard of Defense to some people, but not to me. You’re my safe place, Griffin. And I’ll be yours too, now and long after the Wizard is gone. I’m withyou.”

Chapter forty-eight

Griffin

“Griff! We’re here and brought food!” Danae’s voice calls from the entryway. I hear the pattern of Jason’s bare feet running on the wood floors next, drawing closer to my spot on the couch in the living room.

It’s been almost a month since I reinjured my shoulder and had surgery two days later. I’ll never forget the vision of Danae’s face peering over me as I came out of the anesthesia—her eyebrows furrowed with worry, then springing back in relief at the sight of my small smile.

Last year, when I woke up from surgery, it was a matter of seconds before my mind dove deep down the dark pit of worry over whether my career was over. Whether I could be my old self again—the self I thought was the totality of who I am. But this time, my first conscious thoughts were about how much I loved the woman looking at me. Atme. The woman who was worried sick over whether I would be okay—not if I would be able to play baseball again. The woman who spent every possible moment with me throughout the first two weeks of my recovery—time she normally would have spent planning for the start of the school year. Jason was usually with her, and he kept me apprised of all significant baseball-related news. I’ve taken a break from watching the Crowns games because it all felt too raw. Too fresh.

Instead, we spent time watching a couple more of theHarry Pottermovies with Jason, until Danae decided the series would be too scaryto continue with him. I finally beat Jason at a couple out of a hundred rounds of Trash played together on the back patio. We had lots of long evenings with Danae tucked under my right arm, quietly reading while I binged popular shows I’ve never had time to watch before. The unfamiliar change of pace was refreshing—simply existing with the people I love instead of immediately working toward the next goal.

Sam and my mom filled in the gaps when Danae couldn’t be here, but I’m back to being an almost-fully functional adult again. Which is good, since Danae and Jason have been in school for two weeks now. We’re celebrating a successful start to the school year for Jason by going to the Crowns game tomorrow night together. We’ll be watching from the suite, which will be an entirely different experience for me. But I’m excited to watch my teammates play again with my safe person by my side.

Jason greets me and instantly starts chattering a mile a minute about his day at school, bringing a smile to my face. He’s in the middle of a story about one of the kindergarteners bringing a hamster to school hidden in her backpack when Danae’s gorgeous face fills my vision.

“Hey, babe,” she says as she leans over me from behind the couch. I tilt my head back to catch her kiss, earning an “ugh, gross!” from Jason.

“I’m going to go get drinks out of the fridge,” he says, covering his eyes.

Danae glances up at him with a smile, then looks back down at me, leaning her hands against the back of the couch. She takes in the heating pad on my shoulder. “How did physical therapy go today?” she asks, eyes filling with concern.

I reach behind me to grab her right hand and steer her around the couch to come sit beside me. “Painful, awful, hard—about what I expected.”

She tucks one knee under her to sit facing me on the couch and leans in to brush a soft kiss against my lips. As she draws back, I catch her chin between my thumb and forefinger. Glancing down at her perfect lips, I murmur, “You know, my lips aren’t broken. You don’t have to be so gentle.”

Danae gives me a wry smile as I pull her chin closer to me, and she responds with a kiss that is not at all delicate. Remembering that Jasonis in the next room, I playfully nip at her bottom lip before releasing her.

“How was school today?” I ask.

Sighing, she responds, “I’m gonna need food for sustenance to rehash the day.”

I smirk and remark, “That good, huh?”

“Let’s just say the hamster incident is the tip of the iceberg with this new kindergarten class. They’re keeping all of us on our toes,” she says. “But I had the most precious conversation about books with a new fourth grader today. I'll tell you all about it. Do you want me to bring your food over here so you can keep using the heating pad?”

Clicking the button off, I sit forward. “Nah, I’ll come eat at the table with you. I’ve about hit the time limit for heat anyway.”

Jason takes the lid off of my burrito bowl when we get to the table, then starts building his tacos. I’ll still wear the sling for another week or two, but this is food I can easily eat with one hand. Danae and Jason take turns sharing more about their days, and Jason asks about what I did in therapy today.

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