Page 111 of Player Misconduct
Good. Because I'm not letting the medical board or the league or anyone else take this away from her.
I snap a photo before I can overthink it.
Kendall barefoot at the kitchen island, fork in hand, belly gently rounded, the sunlight from the backyard shining through. She's mid-laugh at something I just said, eyes crinkled, completely unaware I'm capturing the moment.
It's perfect.
I send it to my mom with a simple caption:First morning in the new house.
The reply is instant.
Mom:Oh, Aleksi. She's glowing. You're both glowing. Send me the address. I'm mailing another care package immediately.
I grin, typing back the address, and her next message comes through with a string of heart emojis and a promise to include "something special for the baby's room."
Kendall notices me smiling at my phone. "What?"
"My mom," I say, turning the screen toward her. "She's already planning the next care package."
Kendall's eyes soften as she reads the messages. "Your mom is the sweetest person I've never known. I hope I can meet her soon."
"She's going to love you in person," I say. "Fair warning—she'll probably cry. And feed you. A lot. She’s already talking about some kind of breastfeeding cookie that helps your production. Something about oatmeal stimulation…" I trail off because it’s all lost on me.
"I can handle that." she smiles.
"Good," I say, pocketing my phone. "Because she's already planning a trip once the baby's here."
I watch her face shift… surprise, but in a good way. Not like surprising her with a house she didn’t ask for. "She is?"
"Of course she is," I say gently. "You're family now."
The words hang between us. They might be heavy to say outloud but that doesn’t make them any less true.
She blinks fast, looking down at her plate. "I'm not used to that."
"I know," I say, reaching across to lace my fingers with hers. "But you will be."
Later, after we've finished breakfast and Kendall's curled up on the couch with her phone, scrolling through furniture ideas withVivi while on speaker phone, I grab my sneakers from by the door.
"I've got practice in an hour," I say, lacing up. "But before I go—"
I slide a key across the counter toward her.
She looks at it, then at me. "What's this?"
"Your key," I say. "I'll take the realtor lock off later. I left the Pending sign up so you didn't feel any pressure to say yes to the house."
Her eyes go wide. "That’s why it was still up. You did that for me?"
"Of course I did."
She crosses around the island, stopping in front of me, and for a second she just looks at me—like she's trying to memorize something.
Then she kisses me. Soft and full of gratitude.
"Thank you," she whispers against my lips. "For everything."
I cup her cheek, thumb brushing over her skin. "Don't thank me. Just move in before the third trimester. Mom says that's nesting season. She's already planning to ship curtains."
