Quarterback Keeper (Fall Lake Ballers #1)

Chapter Ten

CHAPTER TEN

GIA

I took the bus to Kylian’s mom’s apartment and, after climbing the stairs, stood in front of her door, laden with groceries. On the run for so many months, I’d gotten good at finding bargains. And while I hated spending even a dime of the money Kylian gave me for living expenses, I didn’t mind sharing some with his mom. No matter how much I didn’t want to ask him for more, I would eventually have to because I had to squirrel away every little bit I could in case I needed to go on the run again—which was why I took the bus there and would walk home. Ubers were expensive.

Before I knocked, I slipped the engagement ring into my pocket. She didn’t know about it yet, and I didn’t want to be the one to tell her. It took a few minutes before the door opened and Evalyn stood in front of me. Deep circles etched the skin under her eyes, and her shoulders curled in.

I pasted a bright smile on my face. “Hi, Evalyn. I hope you don’t mind me stopping by unexpectedly.” I lifted the groceries a little to draw her eye to them. “I thought I could do some meal prep for you.”

“Oh, Gia. Of course. It’s so nice to see you.” She opened the door wide and stepped to the side to make room. “Come on in.”

“Thanks.” I lifted the bags slightly. “Mind if I go straight to the kitchen?”

“Go right ahead.” She reached for one of the bags. “Here, let me help.”

“It’s fine. I’ve got it.” The last thing I wanted was to use any of her energy.

I came to make things easier for her. Kylian had shared his schedule with me. It was insane. Most mornings, he ran with his teammates at the crack of dawn, followed by team meetings or strength and conditioning, classes, football practice, and dinner somewhere in there. Then, he used whatever time was left for homework or his mom. And I got the feeling he did his best to spend the most time with her. With everything on his shoulders, I suspected she wasn’t getting as much help as she needed.

I set the groceries on the counter by the sink and started unloading. “Did you have lunch?” It was close to that time, and I hoped I’d caught her before she’d made anything.

“No. I didn’t have a taste for anything.”

“What about a smoothy?” I’d done some research before walking to the grocery store about what cancer patients should eat to help their immune systems and strength. It was basically a whole lot of vegetables and fruit. There were other things, too, and I would prep some plant-based meals as well as some chicken and fish.

“That sounds good. What can I do to help?”

I grinned over my shoulder as I filled the sink with cold water to wash the fruit and veggies. “Keep me company?” I had a plan. “Kylian’s so busy, and I figured you might have more free time, like I do.”

She showed me where the cutting board and blender were, and I got to work as she pulled out one of the kitchen chairs and sat. “You’ll have to tell me how much all that cost so I can reimburse you.”

“No need. Kylian paid for it.”

“Oh, that was nice. And I’m glad you’re here too. Watching TV can get old.”

“I agree.” I wouldn’t confess that I wasn’t working, and so far, she hadn’t asked. I hoped to avoid anything too personal—other than stuff about my uncle. I liked to talk about him. It made me feel like he was close. I launched into a few stories about how he’d drawn me out of my angry shell after Mom had died and gotten me into the kitchen. In turn, she told me some hilarious ones about Kylian when he was young.

The repetitive motions of cutting the vegetables and putting them into containers soothed me, and I relaxed into the easy conversation. “Football was king on Sundays at our house. We used to prepare the menu during the week and make a feast. It was the only day Uncle Jimmy was a 49ers fan, and I volley between whatever team has the best offensive line, especially quarterbacks. So when Kansas City played the 49ers, we upped the competition in the house through food—his menu against mine.”

“He sounds amazing. Was it just the two of you?”

I placed a green smoothy in front of her and returned to meal prepping. “Yeah. My grandparents had passed, and Uncle Jimmy was Mom’s only brother. I’m lucky I got to have the time with him that I did.”

“Gia.”

I turned at the surprise in her voice, and a knowing smile curved my lips. “It’s good, isn’t it?” Very few people thought a smoothy consisting mostly of vegetables would taste delicious.

“It’s amazing.” She took another sip. “And now you’re in trouble because I’ll want one of these every day.”

“I love them too.” I separated a few containers. “Do you have any Post-it notes?”

“In the drawer to the left of the fridge.”

I got them then wrote directions on each container. “These are easy to prepare, but I’m putting notes on everything so you can make whatever sounds good.”

“You’re an angel, Gia.”

I jerked as my nerves took a hit from the term of endearment. Tingles traveled from my arms down to my hands, and the pen fell from my numb fingers.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, sorry.” I bent to pick up the pen, grateful for the moment to get control of my reaction. “I think I’ll make myself one of those too.” I flipped the switch on the blender, filling the room with the whirling motor’s noise. By the time it was done and I poured it into a glass, I was back to myself. I sat at the table with her, jumping into questions about what Kylian was like as a kid to distract her further.

It worked. She launched into one story after another. The more she talked, the better I felt. Spending time with Evalyn was just as therapeutic to me as I hoped it would be for her. When we finished our smoothies, I washed the dishes and put everything away.

I didn’t want to overstay my welcome and made plans to come back the next day to do some cleaning, despite her initial protest. It didn’t take much convincing on my part, and by the time I made it back to the boat, I had a solid plan to help and spend time with Kylian’s mom.