Page 31 of Crazy Love

She’s smiling now and it undoes any progress food poisoning has made. I sigh.

“You sure?” she asks.

Troublemaker.

“Addy.” My voice sounds strangled.

Her brows lift. “What?”

“You know what.”

She hums, tapping her keyboard, her eyes shining with amusement. “I don’t know, maybe I should redo this plan. Looks like you may have some…excess energy to burn.”

I groan and clench the folder for dear life. “Oh, if you only knew.” My jaw clenches. “Sorry, this is…inappropriate.”

“Don’t worry,” she says. “It happens to everyone. Probably.”

I give her the side-eye. “You’re enjoying this?”

“Oh, immensely.” Her cheeks bloom with color and she looks at her screen, pointing out what she’d like me to look at, and I’m grateful for the redirection.

We manage to get through the meeting without me embarrassing myself any further, and I bolt out of there, thanking her for her time.

I run a few exercises with the team before heading out. Tomorrow will be more intense and I need to sleep tonight. Ever since seeing Addy again, I haven’t gotten much.

The next night after practice and a day of staring longingly at Addy—she wears a turquoise jogger suit that makes my pulse skyrocket—I have a meeting with Mrs. Murphy, the social worker. She’s more sympathetic this time, but her words still don’t offer much in the way of a solution.

“Penn,” she says, her voice softer than before, “you have a lot in your favor, but the reality is, the court prefers a two-parent household. Without someone steady at home to help when you’re out of town, it doesn’t bode well.”

I grit my teeth. “I can provide stability. I’m paid very well and can provide Sam with anything. My job is demanding, but I have a strong support system. My friends have already offered their homes for Sam when I’m away. I have a list of their names and references if you’d like to see. My parents have offered to move to Silver Hills to help too. Sam knows and loves them already.”

She nods, taking the paper from me and jotting down a few notes. “This is good. Having a network of reliable people helps. But I want to be honest with you—judges tend to look for an environment where the child has someone consistently at home.”

I lean forward. “I get that. But there are plenty of single parents out there doing just fine.”

“Of course.” She offers a small smile. “And you might be one of them. But right now, you’re fighting against a system thatprioritizes a certain kind of family structure. I’m not saying it’s always fair, but it’s what we have to work with.”

My chest tightens. “So, what am I supposed to do? Just accept that Sam might have to stay where he is forever? He’s miserable.”

She sighs, setting down her pen. “I’m saying don’t lose hope. Keep showing up. Keep proving that you’re the best option for Sam. These things take time and persistence. And you’ve proven you’re in it for the long haul. We still just have to wait for the agency to approve.”

I nod, the weight in my chest not lifting. I’m not sure it will until Sam is at my house full-time, safe and fed.

“Thanks for being straight with me,” I tell her.

“Always. We’ll keep pushing forward, Penn. I’m sorry these things take so much time.”

I leave the meeting feeling like I’m stuck in the same loop. No matter how much I want this, I can’t shake the feeling that it won’t be enough.

Iwon’t be enough.

CHAPTER TEN

LEFT FIELD

ADELINE

After a week with the players, I’m beginning to settle in. Everyone’s been kind and thoughtful, and they’ve been super accommodating with my food suggestions. The whole reason I was hired was because the previous dietitian had been too lenient on the players and gave them what they wanted instead of what they needed. And I think it showed in their playing. The years that they won the Super Bowl, they had a top-notchdietitian…who went on leave to take care of her sick mother and never came back.

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