Page 133

He was the one who had escaped this time.

I slid into the seat and turned the keys in the ignition. She rolled the window down to inhale the last whiffs of the salty air. I didn’t know when I would be back to work on the house. It would sit and wait for me. It wasn’t the first time it had been through a storm.

I exhaled and put my foot on the break. It was time.

I put the car in reverse as I pulled away from the house. Away from a place that had become home. Away from where love had found me.

29

Blake

“Get your asses out here,” I yelled at the team.

The receivers were on the sidelines like they didn’t have routes to run and two of the tight ends were sitting on the bench.

“What the fuck is going on around here?” I looked at Coach. He shrugged.

He was worried about the personnel issues he had with the new coaching staff. We had too many new hires. Not enough seasoned talent.

This was how the first part of the season always started. A complete cluster fuck. But I needed it to go smoother than this. I needed to control it.

The season opener was in two days. Camp was over. The pre-season kicked our asses royally. No one had any faith in the Thrashers. They didn’t think we could pull off a winning season. Looking at this group of lazy ass grown men, I knew why. No one gave a shit. No one had an ounce of passion. An ounce of drive.

But I did.

I shouted at the linemen. “Are you ready?”

They nodded.

“Good. Then let’s go.”

If the guys on the sidelines didn’t want to practice, I was sure some of the rookies did. And if they could catch the ball, I’d request they start on Sundays. All I cared about was getting the W.

I heard the receivers grumble on the field. “Thought he went to some fishing hole. He is not relaxed.”

“What the fuck are you saying over there?”

“Nothing.”

I dropped the ball and ran over to the guy. “If you have a problem with how I’m running practice today, maybe you don’t need to show up. Can’t really tell you’re here anyway.”

The receiver stood. “I said it was nothing.”

The other guys had huddled around us.

“Then shut the fuck up and catch the ball when I throw it.”

I turned, but my anger was still back where I’d left him. I didn’t need some new traded tight end, mouthing off. There was only one person who set the rules around here. And they were making a spectacle of my team. No wonder people were betting against us.

“Wyatt, why don’t we take five?” Coach called. “Everyone’s looking worn out. It’s hot.”

He had finally looked up from his clipboard long enough to realize there was a real problem out here. If we didn’t have things straight on the field who in the hell cared who his third defensive coach was.

“After this play.” Sure I was hot. But we were inside. It wasn’t like we were out in the heat like some teams. It was the entire reason we had indoor training facilities.

I ignored him and walked back to the huddle.

“Let’s try this again,” I announced.