Page 45 of Knox
“Not enough to put up with your shit,” I threw back.
“This stadium’s even nicer than it looks on TV.” Dad took in his surroundings.
Since I had been traded to the Seawolves halfway through last season, the timing had never worked out for my family to attend a game, so I was excited for them to finally get a look at my home field.
“It’s a great park to play in. I’m glad you guys finally got a chance to see it.”
The sound of cleats hitting the dirt behind me caused me to glance over my shoulder.
“Hey,” Crew said, breathing a little heavier than usual, like he’d jogged over to us.
“Hey,” I returned. “Mom, Dad, everyone, this is Crew. Crew, these are my parents, Doug and Teri, and my annoying siblings, Noah, Owen, Avery, and Ella.”
“Hi there.” He grinned. “I’ve heard a lot about all of you.”
“Same,” Mom replied. “We’re so happy Knox has finally met someone. His father and I were worried he’d never want to settle down.”
I groaned. “I’m only twenty-five, I don’t think that needed to be a concern.”
Before my family could continue embarrassing me, another voice shouted. “There’s my daddy!”
I looked up and saw Grady pointing toward Crew and running down the steps with Archer hurrying behind him while Mallory moved at a slower, careful pace.
“Hi, bud! Perfect timing. There are some special people I’d like you to meet. These are Knox’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Singleton, and his brothers and sisters.”
Grady moved closer to Archer, the shyness I hadn’t seen in a long time returning. “Hi,” he mumbled.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Grady,” Mom said in her kind teacher voice.
Mallory finally made it to us, and we repeated the introductions with her and Archer.
“Looks like you two have a huge cheering section tonight,” Mallory observed.
“Yeah, don’t let us down.” Avery smirked, but I ignored her.
We all chatted for a few more minutes before Crew and I went back to the clubhouse.
“How was breakfast?” he asked as we stepped into the tunnel, our cleats echoing against the concrete.
I shrugged. “It was fine.”
He lifted a brow. “Just fine?”
I let out a breath. “Yeah, it was fine. Just would have liked it if you’d been there.”
“I didn’t know I was supposed to go too.”
“You weren’tsupposedto do anything. I just thought today was sort of a big deal, and you’d want to be there.”
Crew slowed, and a few teammates passed us. “You said they had mentioned getting breakfast, but it didn’t sound like there were any set plans, and you didn’t actually invite me.”
“Yeah, but I thought it was sort of implied.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Obviously, it was a misunderstanding. But I’m not going to feel bad about going to see Grady. I’ve been out of town for almost two months and only have a few days at home with him.”
“I’m not asking you to feel bad.” I pulled off my hat and ran my hand through my hair. “A lot was going on, and your focusshouldbe on Grady. I guess I felt like today was a big deal with the home opener and meeting my family. That’s all.”
“It is a big deal, and I’m sorry things didn’t work out.”
