He took a deep breath, as if gathering himself, then stepped forward to shake Neil’s hand and clap him on the back. “Congratulations, son,” he said, beaming. Then he pulled Lucy into a big embrace, holding her for several seconds while I heard him say, “Sweetheart. This is wonderful news. Just wonderful.”
“Thanks, Daddy,” Lucy said, giggling and blushing as they separated. “We’re really excited.”
Coach kissed Lucy’s forehead, then chased after Caroline, who was still dancing around the room, and asked her if she wanted a brother or sister—a question as obvious as “Do you want Walker to win it all?”
“A sister!” Caroline screamed at Lucy’s stomach, as if volume could mandate gender, then allowed herself to be caught and scooped up by her grandfather.
“Do you know what it is?” Lawton asked, copying his dad’s manly handshake and clap on the back for Neil, and big hug for his sister.
“No. We’re still really early. I’m only eight weeks,” Lucy said. “But I wanted you to know now. I thought tonight would be the perfect time to share our news.” She faltered a bit but remained calm, steady, purposefully joyful.
“Are you going to find out again? Like you did with this one?” Coach said, tweaking Caroline’s nose before freeing her.
“No. Not this time. Mom will be the only one to know,” Lucy said, glancing up at the star before looking at me. “What do you think, Shea?” she asked, as if making a point to fully include me in the family moment. Guilt-filled, I chose my words carefully, in a way I hadn’t done nearly five years ago when I heard the news about Caroline.
“I think that’s a wonderful plan. Be surprised this time,” I said and could feel myself getting choked up. “I’m so happy for you, Luce.”
“I’m happy, too,” she said. “I’m finally a little bit happy.”
I smiled, then inadvertently made eye contact with Coach, who was now standing just beyond Lucy. He gave me a look that seemed to say the same thing that I was thinking, Thank goodness we didn’t tell her yet.
I wish I had left then, on a high note—the advice that Mrs. Carr had always given us. Instead, I lingered, staying after Lawton departed, while Lucy and Neil went upstairs to put Caroline to bed, unable to resist Coach’s magnetic pull.
“Another baby. Wow,” Coach said when we were alone, cleaning up the kitchen.
“I know. I didn’t see that one coming … At all,” I said, though I wasn’t sure why I was so surprised when I always knew that Neil and Lucy wanted more than one child.
“Me either,” he said, rinsing a cookie sheet, then putting it in the dishwasher while I wiped down the island.
“Do you think it’s a boy?” I asked him.
“I do,” he said, turning to glance at me over his shoulder before returning his gaze to the sink. “Which is weird because I never get feelings about this stuff. I’d love a grandson, but another girl would be great, too. And a little sister would be wonderful for Caroline.”
I nodded and studied Coach’s back, as my mind selfishly raced with implications for our situation. Would Lucy’s news make it easier or harder for us? There was no way to predict it, as babies had a way of making things better and worse at once. Lucy would have a distraction, but she would also have raging hormones stirring up her grief. And nothing, including holidays, would highlight the hole in her life like a newborn.
We could hear the clamor of bedtime antics upstairs, Neil and Lucy loudly negotiating with Caroline, and I knew that it would take them at least another thirty minutes to get her to bed. Coach must have been thinking that we were safe, too, because he bit his lower lip and took a few steps toward me. “I need to kiss you again,” he whispered, glancing toward the front hallway. “Everywhere.”
I shivered, then whispered, “Let’s go back to the family room. Safer.”
He nodded, leading me to the sofa, where we sat at a close but still strategically safe distance. We chatted about Lucy’s baby for a few minutes more, before his face grew grave and he said, “I need to talk to you about something important …”
“What?” I said, wondering if it had anything to do with the NCAA investigation.
He shook his head and said, “Not now. Later.”
His expression concerned me, even more so when he touched my hand and said, “Don’t worry. It’ll be okay.”
“Are you sure?” I said.
“Yes,” he said. “I just need to … tell you something. That’s all.”