“More than,” I replied, and ran my hand over June’s pencil-drawn cheek. I could still feel her warm skin under my fingertips. Something exploded in my chest, a feeling I had never felt before. “She’s got me good, Mom.”
Mom leaned her head on my arm. “I’m glad you have her, Sunshine. You need some good in your life.” My gut twisted at that. Some nights I worried that, even if I did reach remission in this trial, there just wasn’t enough time to get healthy enough to play football at UT. Those fears sent me spiraling, so I focused on the road ahead and just kept hold of the blind faith that I could do it.
“I’m glad I have her too,” I said, pulling back from my panic. “C’mon, I’ll take you to meet Chris. June and Emma are at the stables, but they’ll be by later to meet y’all.”
I went outside to the porch and shouted in the miniature tornadoes and led them to the rec room to meet Chris. He jumped up as soon as we entered.
“Mrs. Taylor, nice to meet you, ma’am,” he said and shook Mom’s hand. I smirked at how proper my clown-like friend acted. Emily and Lucy pushed by Mom to shake Chris’s hand too.
We hung out with Chris and his parents until Neenee called us all out for the cookout. My sisters immediately got dressedfor swimming and jumped into the pool. Silas came up with a person who was clearly his little brother in tow. The kid must have been about ten.
“What’s up, man?” I said, as Mom chatted to Paster Noel and Michelle around the firepit.
Silas put his arm on his brother’s shoulder. Silas was slim, wore glasses, and was a gamer. His brother, although he looked like Silas, was the complete opposite. “Richie here is a football player and has dreams of being a QB. I told him about you, and he wanted to meet you.”
“Hey, Richie,” I said. “You wanna be a QB, huh?”
“Silas said you’re going to UT to play for the Longhorns?” he said in response.
“That’s the plan,” I said, refusing to entertain any other outcome. This was a happy day. A good day. A family day. I would focus solely on that.
“I’m gonna play for the Longhorns too,” Richie said as I tossed my football between my hands.
I grinned at his confidence. I’d been like that as a kid too. Hell, most of the time I still was. “Then let’s see what you’ve got, little man.” I moved a few steps away and signaled for him to get some space away from everyone. Richie waited for me to throw the ball. I had to grit my teeth when the ache that light throw brought made sweat break out on my forehead. But Richie caught it, and I whooped.
“Good catch, little dude!” I clapped my hands. “Now, back to me.” Richie threw it, and even with the pain slicing up and down my arm, I was back throwing a ball. This was me in my element.
An hour passed with me coaching the kid, only for his mom to call him away to get something to eat. I’d missed throwing the ball, but with the sting I was feeling in my shoulder, a break was smart. I would probably pay for it tomorrow, but in that moment, I didn’t care in the slightest.
A light round of applause made me look over my shoulder. June had returned from the stables and had been watching me. “Have you been standing over there checking out my ass, Junebug?” I said, and chuckled when her face blazed red.
She walked toward me, pointing at my grin. “You’re nothing but trouble, Jesse, I tell ya.”
When she finally reached me, I laid my tired arms on her shoulders, still gripping my football in my left hand. June rolled her eyes at me still holding the ball. “Gotta keep tight hold of my two favorite things, Junebug,” I said, and kissed her forehead.
June was getting better at letting me show her affection. She’d grown less shy and reserved, and more comfortable and bolder around me.
“Now, now, son. Enough of all that,” Mr. Scott said from behind me.
It was my turn to go red as Mr. Scott approached. I immediately dropped my arms and took a step back from June. He threw me a mocking wink. We’d grown closer from watching football together, and it was…nice. My dad up and left when I was only twelve. From then, I’d only had my coaches guide me in being a man. Mr. Scott was a good father. But as nice as he was, at times, it reminded me what I’d missed out on—and I couldn’t deny that it crushed me.
“Sorry, sir,” I said, and he nodded in acceptance. I quickly searched the cookout and found my mom just breaking from having a discussion with Emma’s aunt, who had also come to visit. “Mom!” I shouted, and she turned toward me.
As soon as her eyes landed on June, her face lit up. Mom grabbed hold of Lucy and Emily, halting them from stuffing their faces, and brought them toward us.
June stepped back a touch. By the sudden flush to her skin, she was clearly nervous as all hell. I put my arm overher shoulders to keep her by my side. “Mom,” I said, “this is Junebug.”
June held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
“You too, June,” Mom said, and my chest squeezed tightly. Seeing June meeting my mama seemed to soothe something a little broken inside me.
“Wow. You’re so pretty,” Lucy said to June, staring up at my girl, blurting out whatever she was thinking as always.
June laughed and crouched down to Lucy’s height. “Thank you, sweetie.” She flicked her amused gaze up to me. “Your brother pretty much said that the first time he saw me too. I can tell y’all are related.”
“I like your headscarf,” Emily said next, touching the end of June’s green scarf.
June was dressed in black leggings, a white T-shirt, and a green sweater tied around her waist. She dressed casually, but it made her look just as beautiful as a ball gown would have. “Thank you,” she said.
