Free My Everything by Heidi McLaughlin Page A

there.”
    Noah turns to face me. His smile is wide and bright. “I have my own room?”
    “If you want to come stay the night or need to stay, you’re always welcome.”
    “Will this be like Junior Appleton when he has to go to his dad’s house on the weekends?”
    I shake my head. “No, we aren’t sharing custody of you. I just get the liberty of having you visit.”
    “Cool. Thanks for wanting me,” he says as he pulls me into a hug. I’m too choked up to respond. “Do you want to throw the ball around?”
    Thank God for short attention spans. “Yeah, I do.”
    Noah and I head out to the field. He picks up the football and tosses it up in the air a few times. I stand about forty yards from him. This was the goal last year and if this new coach messed up his game, I’m going to have a lot of work ahead of me.
    Noah steps into his three-step drop and fires. The ball falls short, going only twelve yards or so. I know he’s young, but for his age he has a rocket. Seeing his face fall when his throw doesn’t reach his target kills me.
    I jog to the ball, pick it up and carry it over to him. His expression is pure defeat. I haven’t seen him this way since we lost our last game. I set my hand on his shoulder and hand him the ball. He takes it reluctantly.
    “What kind of game did you guys play this year?”
    Noah sighs. “Mostly just a passing a game and anytime we’d throw, he brought his son in.”
    This is why not just anyone should coach. You have to know the talent that you have an exploit it. Noah could throw and now that he can’t, which means his arm is out of shape.
    “Tell you what. We can throw in the park across from your mom’s shop after school as much as we can during the winter. We need to work on your arm and get it back in shape before baseball. You’ll be fine, bud.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “Yeah I am. I’m your coach, right?” I hold out my hand for a high-five.
    Noah smiles and slaps my hand.
    I head back out, but only about eight yards so we can play catch. We throw the ball back and forth until it’s too dark to see. We walk back to the bleachers so he can get his backpack and head home.
    “Want to come meet Aubrey?”
    “Sure. I have to call my mom and ask.”
    “Yes, you do.”
    I walk forward giving him a bit of privacy. He races to catch up with me, happy. “Mom said yes and said you have to feed me and help me with my homework.”
    I laugh as I get into truck. I hope that everything can be this easy. I know I have no say in how things go, but I hope that this will be an ongoing thing. Noah climbs in and shuts his door, happy that our night isn’t over. He sings along to the radio and it’s like nothing has changed, like the last year hasn’t happened with the exception that he’s coming over to my place to meet my wife.
    Aubrey opens the door before I have a chance to turn the handle. Her hair is pulled back and she’s wearing a Beaumont sweatshirt. When she sees Noah, her eyes light up. I kiss her cheek as we step into the loft. Noah looks around, setting his bag down in the chair.
    “Noah, this is Aubrey. Aubrey, this is Noah.”
    Noah smiles and extends his hand. “It’s very nice to meet you,” he says politely. “My dad… um I mean Nick ‘cause he’s my dad too, he smiles a lot when he talks about you.”
    “He smiles a lot when he talks about you, too. I’m very happy to meet you and have heard so many great things.”
    Noah smiles and lets his eyes wander.
    “I’ll go start dinner.”
    “Thanks, babe.” I watch her walk into the kitchen before giving Noah my full attention. “How about a tour and then we’ll start some homework?”
    I show Noah around the loft and let him take in the room that Aubrey made up for him today. I’m not sure if Josie and Liam will let him stay over, but if they do, I want to be prepared. I’m going to take whatever they are willing to offer.
    “Your wife is really pretty.”
    “Yeah she is. She’s great. I