“So I heard. I didn’t know because he never told me. Or maybe he did and I just didn’t hear him. When he wanted to play football as a kid, the whole idea of it terrified me because it was so damn physical. I thought he could get hurt.”
Grant laughed. “Of course he can get hurt. Little boys get hurt doing all sorts of things. It’s in our nature. You have to loosen up the reins a little and let him do what he wants. As long as that isn’t standing on top of the roof of a car while it’s speeding down the highway at a hundred miles an hour.”
She arched a brow. “Tell me that’s not something you did.”
“I was dared to do it as a teenager. By one of my brothers who obviously was trying to get rid of me. I’m not that stupid, though.”
“Good to know.”
She still didn’t know if it was a good idea for Leo to play, but Grant might be right that she had to let go a little.
They made it back to the condo, and she wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Leo move that fast—at least not recently. He dashed into his room and was back out in record time, having changed into his workout clothes.
“Ready to go?” he asked Grant.
“Sure.” Grant looked over at Katrina and Anya. “Are you two coming along?”
“Why would I be interested in watching Leo run?” Anya asked.
“Because he’s your brother, and you want to give him a hard time in case he sucks.”
“Oh.” She laid her phone on the table. “Good point.”
They piled into the elevator and Leo was the first out, Anya on his heels.
“I can’t believe you encouraged Anya to give her brother a hard time,” Katrina said. “Believe me, she needs no encouragement.”
“Hey. Siblings can be great motivators. Trust me. He needs her here.”
“I disagree. I think you being here is making him nervous enough.”
Grant laughed. “He’s going to do just fine, and you worry too much.”
Grant marked off a hundred yards, and set a starting point for Leo while her brother finished his warm-ups.
“You ready?” Grant asked.
Leo nodded.
“Don’t strain anything,” Anya said, pulling up a spot on the ground at the makeshift finish line. “You might need your groin for something important someday.”
“Bite me,” Leo said.
Katrina shook her head, more anxious than she should be.
“Okay,” Grant said, stopwatch in hand. “Let’s see what you’ve got. You ready?”
Leo nodded.
“Okay, on the count of three. Three, two, one, go.”
Leo shot off the mark. He looked so fast to her, but she knew nothing about this other than races she’d seen on television. When he finished, Grant clicked the stopwatch and looked at the time. Leo made the trek back.
“Not bad, kid.”
Leo came around and looked at the stopwatch. “Really? That’s my time?”
“It is. Faster than you thought you’d be, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
Leo grinned.
“You put some muscle on, it’ll propel you even more. And you need a haircut. You look more like a beat boy than a football player.” Grant ruffled his hair.
Leo actually blushed, then smiled. “Yeah, okay.”
Katrina was stunned. “You’ve agreed to a haircut? I’ve been after you for months about this.”
“But you’re not the great Grant Cassidy,” Anya said, pulling herself to her feet. “So you have no stock.”
“Apparently not.”
“Come on, Leo,” Anya said. “Let’s go fix some iced tea.”
Leo seemed reluctant, until Anya grabbed his shirtsleeve and pulled him along.
“We’ll meet you upstairs.”
Katrina had no idea what kind of scheme Anya was cooking up, but before she knew it, her siblings had disappeared, leaving her and Grant alone in the gym.
She turned to face him. “Again, thanks for doing this for Leo. I really had no idea he hated lacrosse, or that he still wanted to play football.”
“Kids don’t tell their parents—or in this case, you—what’s on their minds half the time. They think you won’t care. And if you shot him down on the football thing years ago, he likely figured you wouldn’t give it a thumbs-up now, either.”
She sat on one of the weight benches. “This is hard.”
He took a seat next to her. “Of course it’s hard. Plus, they don’t make it any easier on you. They’re teenagers, and they’re sullen and moody and given an opening, they’ll take advantage. Or they’ll make everything seem like it’s your fault.”
She turned her head to look at him. “You sound like you know what you’re talking about.”
He laughed. “I have no idea. But I’ve been a teenager, and we all ganged up on our parents. I just know all the moves.”
“You do, huh? Care to take on a couple of difficult ones? I’ll gladly turn them over to you since you seem to be their hero today. You can give them back when they’re adults.”
“No, thanks. And they just like me because I don’t have to tell them to do their homework or give them curfews or tell them no. Trust me, if I had to do that, they’d give me shit, too.”
“Probably.”
He laid his hand on her leg. “Cut yourself some slack, Katrina. They’re really great kids. They’re smart and funny and they ask excellent questions. But they’re also very respectful. You’ve done a good job raising them.”