“I love you more.”

Drew walked out of the room to more clapping and Kendall’s voice: “I was hoping she’d want to go to Stanford for undergrad like I did.”

Drew could hear the laughing and trash-talking all the way down the hall.

The team doctor was thorough. Drew was poked and prodded and had an MRI. When it was all over, he was asked to wait in the doctor’s office. Kendall was already there with the baby.

“How’d it go, champ?” she said.

“I had a blood draw. I wasn’t offered a cookie,” he said.

She let out a laugh. “I’ll bet we could find one on the way home.”

“I’ll bet we can too.” He reached out for his daughter. Kendall handed her over. “How’s my daddy’s girl?” he cooed to Tessa as he settled her in the crook of his arm.

Kendall moved her chair closer to his. He slung his other arm around the back. A year ago, a family wasn’t in his frame of reference, and now he had one. He pulled his wife a bit closer.

A minute or so later, the team doctor walked in and sat down in his chair behind the desk.

“Well, Drew, would you like the good news or the bad news?”

Kendall reached out for his hand. Tessa had already fallen asleep on her daddy’s chest.

Drew took a deep breath and braced himself. He hoped the news was good, but he wasn’t sure. Mostly, he knew Kendall would face whatever it was with him.

“I’ll take the bad news, Doc.”

The doctor tossed his file and the CD of information from Drew’s MRI on the desk. “Your days as a house husband are numbered, Drew.” He grinned at Drew, Kendall, and Tessa. “Everything looks great. The repair looks solid and has healed much faster than we anticipated. We’ll ask you to wear a lightweight brace for the first practices with the team, but I feel confident that you are ready to return. I’m not putting any other restrictions on your training regimen or your ability to play.”

Drew let out the breath he’d been holding. He saw tears rising in Kendall’s eyes.

“What’s the good news, doctor?” she said.

“He’s in great condition. You’re going to have him around for a long time.”

“That’s what I want most,” she said.

“One more thing,” the doctor said. “If it works for you, I’d like to hold the baby for a few minutes.”

Drew got up from his chair and transferred Tessa to the doctor’s arms. She didn’t stir.

“My daughter is due next month. It’s our first grandchild. My wife has done a lot of shopping over the past few months,” he joked.

Drew and Kendall both nodded. Their parents had done a little shopping too. Actually, more than a little. Tessa’s wardrobe was complete until she was out of preschool at least. When Drew and Kendall said Tessa was outfitted for years, the two grandmothers met up in Seattle and sewed a “baby quilt” that could comfortably fit on a queen-sized bed.

The grandfathers bought Tessa her first tricycle.

Drew thought he had a lot to be thankful for before he met Kendall and they had Tessa. He had to admit he was the luckiest guy in the world now.

“Is there anything else we need to know?” Kendall said.

“It’s all fine. I suppose I have to give the baby back now.” The doctor cuddled their daughter and was rewarded with some cooing and another gummy smile.

“Not unless you’d like to move in with us, Dr. Kinkaid.”

Nine months later

SMOKE FROM DRY ice swirled around the Sharks as they packed the tunnel to run out onto the field for the first game of the season at their home stadium. It was a perfect, blue-skies day in Seattle: sunshine, sixty degrees, a soft breeze, with the underlying bite of fall in the air. Fifty-three men ran in place, jumped up and down, and swung their arms to burn off the adrenaline and nerves as they waited to be announced.

In the alcove beside the entrance to the tunnel, a young man and his mother waited for their cue. He wore a McCoy jersey, Sharks warm-up pants, prototype shoes, and a lanyard with an all-access pass around his neck. The sound of a siren split the air, and the stadium shook with applause and shouts of “Go Sharks!” as the announcer called out, “For the first time this championship season, your Seattle Sharks!”

Drew paused to wait while the bulk of his teammates ran out onto the field. Nolan needed his grand entrance. Even more, Drew wanted to make sure every eye in the stadium would be riveted on the young man who’d won.

He reached out to grab Nolan’s hand. Derrick had his other hand. Seth took Nolan’s mom’s hand.

“Are you ready?” Drew shouted. “Let’s go!”

Derrick grabbed Nolan’s mom’s other hand as they emerged from the tunnel. The ovation from the sold-out stadium was deafening. The ground shook beneath them. His teammates had formed a line on either side of the tunnel to shout encouragement and slap Nolan on the back as they went by.

“Congratulations!”

“Good job!”

“You kicked cancer’s ass!”

“That jersey is fresh. I wonder where I could get one,” Seth Taylor joked.

The Sharks’ QB, Tom Reed, reached out his hand to grab Nolan. “You ready?”

Nolan was beaming. The team clustered around him. They all put hands into the circle and Tom said to him, “It’s all yours.”

Nolan glanced up at the men surrounding him. “We’re going to win today, because that’s what we do. We win. We always win.” He pulled in a breath. His cancer was in remission. He was still getting his strength back, but he didn’t waver.

He shouted, “We always win,” and fifty-three men shouted back, “GO SHARKS! GO SHARKS! GO SHARKS!”

Drew glanced at Nolan’s mom, who still clung to Seth’s hand. She was crying. Derrick was crying. Seth was brushing tears off of his face. The stadium rang with cheers, shouts, and stomping feet.

They won.

Author’s Note

ONE OF THE subplots of Covering Kendall is how Kendall deals with a Miners player that attacks his girlfriend. Domestic violence is present in all segments of our society, and all women deserve a relationship without fear of violence against themselves and their children by a domestic partner or spouse.

If you are in a dangerous situation, please know there are people who want to help you. You are not alone. You are important and you matter.

Here are some resources:

Your local police department is always available at 911 in the United States.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline has both a phone number and a website. There are options to make a call, have an online chat, or look up information and resources at the following.

http://www.thehotline.org/

1-800-799-7233 | 1-800-787-3224 (TTY)

LifeWire is located on Seattle’s Eastside, but there is important information on their website and they can point you toward resources in your community as well.

http://www.edvp.org/

1-425-746-1940 or 1-800-827-8840

If readers would like to help financially, the above organizations would be thrilled to get even a small donation for their very important work.

Again, if you’re reading this and you need help, I know it is so hard to make that phone call or reach out to a friend. You deserve a life free of fear and full of love that doesn’t hurt.

MORE LOVE AND FOOTBALL!