Page 76 of Hail Marry
“Nice work, Callahan,” DJ says in his calm voice. “Keep studying. I’m looking forward to seeing how you do on the field.”
He and Moose walk away, and my gaze shifts to Bennett, who looks at me for a second, then laughs softly and heads for the door.
I get the feeling he thinks I’m brown-nosing. Or trying to steal his position.
Which, to be fair, are both accurate to some extent. Of course I want a starting spot. Of course I want to prove I know my stuff. But I also have respect for the current players, and I trust he’ll understand that as we start running drills. If he thinks he can trash-talk me until I break down, though, he’s got another think coming. I learned how to steel myself against that from a young age, thanks to my mom’s boyfriend, Clint.
By the end of the first week of OTAs, I’ve met the majority of the team. A few of the star veterans haven’t come, but they’ll be at the mandatory mini camp and the rest of the pre-season training come July.
It’s a solid team. There are always interesting personality dynamics, but I try to keep my head down and work rather than getting caught up in the push and pull of team politics.
So far, I’ve grown closest with Moose, DJ, and Richins, one of the starting wideouts who doesn’t seem as threatened by me as Bennett. Louie did end up getting picked up by the team, but I just give him a wide berth, and he seems good with that.
“Is that Victoria?” Bennett asks as everyone changes after showering at the end of the day on Friday.
My eyes, which were on a text from Tori, sweep to him, and I set my phone facedown on the shelf of my locker.
He smiles. “No shame in texting your wife, Callahan. Just try to keep it PG-13.” He narrows his eyes as he surveys me. “I bet this all-day training is killing you, right? Newlyweds and all that. Louie said you two can’t keep your hands off each other.” He winks.
I glance at Louie, who’s got headphones in.
I don’t respond to Bennett because I don’t know what to say. Iwastexting Tori, but it’s weird to me that he knows her name. Or that he was looking at my phone. Our texts aren’t for public consumption—but not for the reasons he assumes.
“You did your research,” he says, “and I did mine. You two got married like six weeks ago, right? After you saved her from getting run over by a truck? Congratulations, man.”
“Thanks,” I say, but there’s a knot in my stomach. I don’t need him researching my personal life.
“Tell Mrs. Callahan hi from me,” he says, slinging his duffel over his shoulder and heading out.
I watch him leave, then pull in a deep breath, letting it out slowly.Shake it off, Luca.
Saturday is moving day,and it’s the first time I’ve seen Tori since we made the no-kissing rule. I told her she didn’t need to help with the move, but she insisted, and I wasn’t strong enough to protest more time with her. I may be able to bench 320 pounds, but I’m notthatstrong.
A car pulls up as I’m taping up one of the last boxes, and I look through the open blinds, squinting. It’s not Tori’s car in front of my place, though.
My brows shoot up as Troy climbs out of the driver seat. Tori’s in the passenger seat, and Jack climbs out of the back.
Tori hurries to the front door, and I go to open it for her.
“Hey, sweetie,” she says loudly, her eyes wide as dinner plates as she pulls me into a hug. “You haven’t been answering your phone!” she whisper yells. “They wouldnottake no for an answer when they found out you were moving today.”
“Tor,” Troy yells over, standing at the bed of his truck, “what do you want to do with your boxes?”
“Your boxes?” I repeat, looking at her.
“Yes,” she says, that same deer-in-the-headlights look in her eyes. “Myboxes. So that I have stuff there when I come stay with you on the weekends. Like a married couple.”
Suddenly, her more-than-usually frizzy hair and mismatching socks make sense. She must’ve shoved a bunch of stuff into boxes as fast as possible so Troy and Jack wouldn’t get suspicious that we were only moving my belongings. It’s already hard enough to explain why my everyday stuff is still at my place instead of at Tori’s. Thankfully, most of it’s already boxed up, so they won’t actually see the contents of what we’re moving. Which is literally everything I own.
Troy and Jack might not have been the most welcome sight at first, but their strength is definitely appreciated. I also genuinely like both of them. Between them and Tori, there’s a whole lot of banter and laughter happening amidst the grunting and box stacking. I get the sense that the Sheppard family doesn’t do boring or dull.
The four of us make quick work of loading everything into my car and Jack’s truck.
“You okay?” Tori asks as we caravan to San Diego, Troy and Jack bringing up the rear.
“Yeah,” I say. “Of course.”
She looks at me suspiciously. “You’re just…quiet.”
