Play Along(75)

It’s cute. It’s really fucking cute.

It had always been just Kai and me until Max came along. It was terrifying when he was left to be raised by my brother, but at the same time it felt like hope. We had always kept a small family circle, as if we were protecting ourselves from losing anyone else, but then Max came along and forced that circle to grow.

Miller bulldozed her way in shortly after, and Monty too. Though I think Monty had wormed his way into our family long before my brother started dating his daughter.

And now there’s Kennedy, who views this marriage as temporary and convenient, but I won’t lie and say it doesn’t feel right having her here in my brother’s house with the rest of my team while wearing my mom’s ring on her finger.

“Fine,” I relent. “It’s a good thing I love you so much, Bug, because there’s not a chance I would share her attention with anyone else.”

“Max,” my brother calls out as he crosses the room to us. “Time to get ready for bed.”

“No!” Max turns, hiding his face entirely from his dad against Kennedy’s shoulder.

“Come on, Bug. Say good night to your aunt and uncle. And to everyone else too.”

“Monny.”

“Yeah. Grandpa Monty is on his way. We’ll let him be the one to read you a story before bed, all right?”

Max lights up at that because he loves Monty.

I can barely call him “Grandpa Monty” with a straight face. Monty is in his forties, solid mass of muscle, covered in tattoos, and intimidating as fuck if you don’t know him. But his non-biological daughter now has a non-biological son, and though there’s no blood relation, Monty is very much Max’s grandpa.

I’m sure to remind him of that fact as often as possible. Typically, in front of the team or when I’m feeling especially eager to mess with him.

“Aw, Grandpa is coming over?” Travis asks.

“I can’t wait to see Grandpa Monty,” I chime in.

“But we’ve got to get through bath time first,” my brother continues. “So we should start now, don’t you think?”

Max’s bright blue eyes scan Kennedy for her opinion and she gives an excited nod of approval, as if that’s the best idea she’s ever heard.

That doesn’t seem to be the response he was looking for, so instead, he shifts his attention to me.

“Oh, now you want to talk to me, huh? First you steal my girl and now you want my help to get out of bath time?” I laugh incredulously. “I don’t think so, little man. You’re on my sh . . . poop list.”

Max’s head falls back in a fit of giggles at the word. “Poop,” he repeats.

“Amazing.” Kai’s tone is all sarcasm. “Exactly the word I was hoping you’d add to your vocabulary. Your uncle is about to be on my poop list for that. Say good night to the boys, Bug.”

Max walks himself through the entire living room, tapping knuckles with all our teammates before Kai picks him up and slings him on his hip.

Max waves goodbye at me, then to Kennedy before bringing his chubby little hand to his mouth and blowing a sloppy kiss her way.

“Oh, come on!” I protest. “I’m right here, man!”

Kai shakes his head with a suppressed smile and Max’s laughter follows them all the way down the hall to his bedroom.

The room settles back into watching the game on TV.

“Jealous of a two-year-old,” Kennedy says quietly. “That’s a new look for you.”

“I’ve been jealous over you for years, Ken. Couldn’t care less how old the guy is.”

She bites back her laugh as I adjust, taking a seat on the floor next to her, back to the wall.

“Hi.”

“Hi.” Her smile is soft, her posture relaxed, vastly different from the type-A doctor I’m accustomed to seeing at work. She’s comfortable, which, with the team here, I didn’t expect.

The front door opens and Monty walks into the already crowded house, right over to his daughter before swinging an arm over her shoulders and placing a kiss on the top of her head.

“Grandpa is here,” Travis announces. “Do you need help getting your walker out of the car?”

Cody glances into the kitchen. “Oh hey, Grandpa Monty. I found a pack of little blue pills in the clubhouse. I’m assuming those are yours.”

“Shoot,” I begin. “I should’ve sent you to the grocery store instead of going myself. It’s senior discount Wednesday.”

With a slow blink, he turns to his daughter. “Is Max around?”

“He’s taking a bath.”

“Great.” He brings his attention back to us. “You three idiots can all shut the fuck up. Travis, when you’re done running sprints tomorrow, then we can talk about who needs a walker. Cody, if you need medication to get your dick up, just say that. Nothing to be ashamed of, but you don’t need to pretend to have found them when we all know those are on a subscription delivery to your apartment. And Isaiah, I’m going to restrain myself, so I don’t embarrass you in front of your wife. We all know you do that plenty on your own.” He sighs, looking down at his daughter. “I’m so looking forward to this year’s trade deadline.”

“Cranky old man,” I mutter loud enough for him to hear.