Danny was the fourth player to emerge on the field, and as he sprinted toward his coach, his green eyes diligently searched the bleachers. When he spotted Mia, he smiled and waved, but his gaze kept seeking even after he’d acknowledged his sister.

Her spirits plummeted when she realized who he was looking for. Their mother.

Who, as far as Mia could tell, hadn’t shown up tonight.

Shocker.

She watched her brother’s face as he continued to scan the crowd, her heart aching when she glimpsed the disappointment that befell his expression. His shoulders slumped briefly beneath his pads, but then he straightened up and turned to talk to Ken Jones, the head coach.

“You okay?”

Jackson’s voice was gentle, his touch even more so as he rested a hand on her arm.

Mia pasted on a smile. “I’m good. Just worrying about Danny again.”

“Ah, he’ll be fine, sugar. Check out those offensive linemen,” he said helpfully. “Those kids are monsters. They’ll have your brother’s back.”

I have his back, she almost blurted out, but she swallowed the words at the last second.

It was the truth, though. She was the only one in this world who had Danny’s back. Who loved him unconditionally. Not his coach, not his teammates, certainly not their sorry excuse for a mother. Just her.

And God, it took so much out of her. Knowing that she was solely responsible for Danny, for raising him right, was so daunting it often kept her awake at night. Because what if she screwed him up? What if she made a wrong decision and he ended up in jail? Or the subject of a TV show like Dexter?

She was only twenty-six, damn it, way too young to be taking on this kind of responsibility.

“Game’s about to start.”

Jackson’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts. Now wasn’t the time to be pondering such heavy notions, anyway. This was Danny’s big night, and she needed to concentrate on supporting him.

Taking a breath, Mia forced away her worries and focused her gaze on the field.

By the time the clock on the jumbotron counted down to zero, Jackson’s date had cheered herself hoarse. She’d jumped to her feet whenever the offense took the field, yelled out encouragements, whooped each time Danny successfully completed a pass, and when her brother had run the ball in himself to score the winning touchdown, Mia had bounced up and down like a kid in a toy store.

Her glee and excitement made the entire game even more entertaining, and Jackson stood up at the end of the final quarter with a grin on his face and a light feeling in his chest. This was what dating ought to be. Fun, easy, just a nice evening with a woman who didn’t cry the whole time, or tell him she loved him on the first date, or broke into his house after he explicitly stated he wasn’t interested in seeing her again.

“The kid did good,” Jackson remarked as they descended the bleacher steps. “He’s a natural. Got a great arm.”

“He does, doesn’t he?” Mia’s eyes shone with pride. “Do you think he’s got what it takes to play college football?”

“Definitely. Only issue I saw was that he takes a few seconds too long to read his offense, but those kind of instincts will come with practice and experience.”

They moved through the crowd, falling behind a middle-aged couple who walked slower than molasses, but Jackson didn’t mind the leisurely place. It gave him the opportunity to reach for Mia’s hand and interlace their fingers.

She stiffened for a beat before relaxing, then looked up at him with a tentative smile. “I had a lot of fun tonight.”

“Me too,” he said gruffly. “What should we do now?”

“I usually go out for pizza with Danny after his games.”

She actually sounded regretful, so much so that Jackson wanted to give himself a solo high five. He was winning her over. Hot damn.

“Is it a bonding thing or can I tag along?” he hedged.

“Let me see what Danny says. I always wait for him outside the clubhouse.”

Jackson tried not to raise his eyebrows, but dang, football really had changed since his high school days. He’d been a defensive end on his school team, and they’d practiced on a muddy field and played every game on a baseball diamond that doubled as a gridiron. Madison High, in contrast, not only had its own stadium, but the team locker rooms were housed in a structure separate from the school. A “clubhouse”. The boys were clearly living the life of luxury here, lucky bastards.

He and Mia headed for the small building next to the field, where several other people were already waiting. Most of them were older folks, undoubtedly parents of the players, but scattered groups of teenagers also milled around, many of them female. Football groupies, most likely.

At least that hadn’t changed, he thought with amusement.

It was ten minutes before Mia’s brother appeared, with his dark hair damp from the shower and his lean body wired with leftover adrenaline from the game.

Jackson instantly noted the resemblance between the siblings. Same hair color, same dark-green eyes, except while Mia was a tiny little thing, her brother stood close to six feet and would probably get even taller, Jackson suspected.

“Did you see that final play?” Danny demanded when he reached his sister. “The Panthers had no clue what was happening!”

“It was awesome,” Mia declared. “You played brilliantly, kiddo.”

“That was an impressive game,” Jackson chimed in, smiling at the younger boy.