Cade stood midfield, waiting for Zach to take his place at the line of scrimmage.
“When’s the last time you threw a football?” Zach asked worriedly.
Aside from the few times Cade had tossed one around casually with friends, a long time. “About twelve years.”
Zach threw him a panicked look.
“I won’t push it,” Cade said. It wasn’t as if his shoulder was entirely unusable; in fact, on a daily basis it didn’t bother him at all. His rotator cuff simply couldn’t withstand the repetitive stress of competitive football. “I just want to see what I can do.” He pointed emphatically. “And if the answer is ‘not much,’ you better not tell a soul. I’ve got a reputation to uphold here.”
Zach smiled, loosening up. “All right. I don’t want to stand in the way of you reliving your glory days or whatever.”
“Good. But in case this all goes south, my car keys are in the outside pocket of my duffle bag. When you drive me to the emergency room, if I’m too busy mumbling incoherently from the pain, just tell them I’ve got Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance.”
Zach’s eyes went wide.
“I’m kidding, Zach. Now get moving.”
They started with shorter routes, with Cade faking the hike and dropping back while Zach sprinted for the pass. He pushed Zach hard that morning, just like every coach had ever pushed him, but he knew the kid could take it. He saw how good Zach was—so much so, that it got Cade’s own competitive juices flowing. Luckily, he’d kept in shape over the years, lifting weights, swimming, and running, so he was primed to be back on that field, every muscle in his body ready and raring to go.
Save one.
After an hour or so, Cade felt the soreness creeping into his right shoulder. “Why don’t we take a break?” he suggested to Zach.
They grabbed a couple of bottled waters from Cade’s duffle bag and sat in the grass. The field they were playing on that morning wasn’t much to speak of, with its view of the warehouse and the adjacent empty parking lot, but there was open space and lots of grass. Two guys playing football on a Saturday afternoon didn’t need much more.
“How long have you lived in this neighborhood?” he asked.
“Since I was five,” Zach said. “We’d been living in an apartment on the west side before that, but then my dad got a new job that paid enough for us to buy a house here.”
Cade debated where he wanted to take the conversation from there. He looked across the field, keeping his tone casual. “What does Noah do for a living these days?”
“He’s a night security guard at Water Tower Place. My mom also works, as a customer service rep for ComEd.” Zach plucked at the grass. “I told her about you.”
Cade tried to picture this unknown woman for whom Noah had apparently settled down. He felt a flash of protectiveness toward his own mother, who’d had to do everything on her own. “How’d that go over?”
“She thought it was great that you and I were spending time together.” Zach paused. “She’d like to meet you.”
Cade took another sip of water, grateful that the sunglasses he wore hid the uncertainty he felt. He deliberately kept his voice cool. “Does Noah know we’re talking?”
“No. But I know he’d like to see you, too,” Zach added quietly.
Cade looked out at the field again, having serious doubts about that one. He deliberately changed the subject. “How are things going with Paige?”
A flicker of disappointment crossed Zach’s face. Probably, he’d been hoping to talk more about their father. But despite the fact that Cade was quickly growing closer to Zach, there were limits on how far he was willing to go when it came to Noah Garrity.
“I bought some book of poetry I saw at the bookstore. One that didn’t look totally uncool,” Zach said. “But it’s been a busy week. I haven’t had a chance to give it to Paige yet.”
Busy week? The kid was on summer vacation. From the way Zach was squirming right then, Cade had a sneaking suspicion his brother was still nervous about talking to the girl. “You said she works at an ice-cream shop around here, right?” He made a big show of wiping the sweat off his brow. “Come to think of it, a nice double cone would really hit the spot in this heat.”
Zach’s expression was one of pure teenage mortification. “Yeah, because that’s exactly what will help my inability to talk to her—my older brother watching and critiquing all my moves.”
“I thought we’d already established that you don’t have any moves.”
“Now that’s funny. Picking on someone half your age. Hey, here’s an idea: I’ll introduce you to Paige as soon as I meet this so-called smart, witty, and hot woman you’re supposedly seeing. Sounds a lot like one of those made-up girlfriends who live in Niagara Falls.”
“She’s real. I’m seeing her tonight, in fact.” They hadn’t decided their specific plans yet, but Brooke had texted him last night, asking if he was free.
“Wow. You actually, like, beamed when you said that.”
“Get out of here,” Cade scoffed. “I did not.”
“What’s her name?”
Cade opened his mouth to answer, then paused.
Zach grinned. “Worried you can’t say it without beaming again?”
Ridiculous. “Her name is Brooke.” He deliberately maintained a straight face.