Page 12 of Home Town Advantage (Fourth Quarter Fever #1)

I see the number twenty-two on her jersey.

I know why she wears that number. It was Finn’s.

I noticed on her senior night in high school that she was number nineteen.

I wondered if it had anything to do with me.

But she’s been twenty-two ever since. I have no doubt Finn would love that. I’m happy she made the change.

Daylen nods. “She’s very nice, but Kennedy Jeffries is a meanie. Stay away from her.” He makes a look of disgust. I swear I’ve never seen a woman get under his skin like Kennedy has .

The players are all introduced. I can’t help the tears that sting my eyes when Sulley is announced to a huge standing ovation, and she points up at the sky. I know who she’s thinking of in her big moment. It’s the same person I think of during my big moments.

Finn is looking down with so much pride right now. Knowing I had a small hand in making this happen fills me with happiness, even if Sulley doesn’t realize it.

I can’t help that my hand finds the spot on my body under my left arm, close to my chest. My small testament to Finn.

The game gets underway. Their starting lineup includes all four girls from the other night, plus Shay Walker, a veteran power forward. It’s cool that Sulley is a starter right away. She’s that good.

The cameras find us during the first timeout, where we all happily engage in a beer chugging contest. It’s not even close.

A beer is like a shot to a man like Beau Fudd.

He can down an entire can of beer in under two seconds.

It provides entertainment for the crowd though.

They seem to get a kick out of famous athletes chugging beer.

The other team is pushing the envelope on physicality with Sulley. It’s pissing me off. We’ve been yelling at the refs all night, but the other team is barely ever called for the blatant fouls taking place.

Kennedy, on the other hand, has been pushing and shoving anyone who does anything underhanded to Sulley. Kennedy is undoubtedly the enforcer and protector. Despite her slightly off-putting personality, I find that endearing.

As the muscle of the group, Kennedy boxes out the other team and grabs rebound after rebound, feeding Sulley. I can see Coach Jeffries beaming with pride as he watches her tough, selfless play.

Palmer is getting manhandled a bit. She’s the biggest player on the Beavers, and I imagine she’s usually one of the biggest players in any given game, but their opponents have a few girls who have been overpowering her all night. It’s flustering her.

Sulley, on the other hand, is cool as a cucumber, hitting logo three after logo three. She’s unstoppable. I think every person here knows we’re in the presence of true greatness. That we’re witnessing the beginning of what we all know will be a historic career.

The capacity crowd is going nuts. All the Beavers’ games are being nationally televised, something nearly unheard of in women’s basketball. The Sulley effect, as it’s being called in the media, is real. She’s a bona fide superstar.

The Beavers are down two points in the final seconds. Kennedy is inbounding the ball right in front of me. She stomps on my foot. It’s not the first time she’s done that tonight. What’s her problem?

She passes the ball to Sulley and then immediately sets a pick for her.

Sulley dribbles around the pick, pulls up at least ten feet behind the three-point line, and shoots the ball.

The opposing player practically tackles her when she does.

It’s overly violent. It’s the same player who has been elbowing and pushing Sulley all night.

The shot goes in. At the same time, the crowd goes wild, but Kennedy comes barreling toward the player who fouled Sulley. The head coach runs to pull Kennedy away from the girl before she can do anything too drastic. Damn, Kennedy has a temper.

Time has expired. The Beavers win. The whole team runs to Sulley, the hero. We’re all on our feet, clapping and cheering.

Daylen grins at me. “She’s fucking good, man. The real deal.”

I can’t help but crack a smile of my own. “She sure is. She’s gonna go down as the best of all time. Mark my words.”

After the excitement of the victory dies down, most people begin to leave the arena, but Daylen and I stick around a little longer, as do Tanner and Harper. I know Sulley hates me, but I want to congratulate her when the media is done with her.

Harper tugs on Daylen’s jeans. She loves the big oaf. “Uncle Daylen, wasn’t that the best basketball game ever?”

He nods. “Sure was. Sulley was great.”

She shrugs. “I liked watching Kennedy. She’s tough, like a softball player.” Harper holds up her little fists like she’s going to fight.

As if on cue, Kennedy walks over to us with her pout firmly in place. She looks at me with pure hatred. “You should take off, asshole.”

Daylen interrupts, “Hello, sugar lips. Cheery as ever. Harper, the little girl standing right here in earshot of you,” he raises his eyebrows in warning to Kennedy, “was just saying how much she looks up to you. Maybe do a better job of acting like a role model.” He glances down at Harper.

“Kennedy is a good example that a little girl can be anything she wants when she grows up.” He mumbles, “Despite her disposition.”

Kennedy narrows her eyes at him. “Don’t tell this little girl she can be anything she wants when she grows up. Then it might occur to her that she can’t, which she never considered in the first place.”

Daylen scowls at Kennedy before softening his face and turning his attention back to Harper. “Sweetie, let’s go find your dad. Crazy is sometimes contagious. Let’s get away from it before it rubs off on you.” He takes her hand, and they walk away toward Tanner.

When they’re out of earshot, Kennedy looks at me. “Why are you still here?”

“I want to congratulate Sulley.”

She shakes her head. “Stay away from her. You’re a walking trigger for her. She doesn’t need that in her life right now.”

I roll my eyes. “You don’t know anything about our relationship. ”

She crosses her arms. “I know more than you think, McCaffrey. She’s a superstar. Don’t dim her shine.”

Both our eyes move to Sulley, who appears as though she’s finally giving her last interview.

I’m about to walk over when an extremely tall, skinny man, likely in his twenties, walks over to her, lifts her, and twirls her around.

They both smile before he kisses her on the lips.

He then starts talking to the reporter, basically hijacking her interview.

My eyes widen, and I practically bark out, “Who’s that?”

Kennedy smirks. “Her boyfriend.”

“She’s been in town for all of five minutes. She already has a boyfriend?”

“They’ve been together for over a year. He went to U of Montana but now plays ball in Europe. He flew in for the weekend. He surprised her last night.” She winks at me. “It was quite a reunion. Palmer said she had to wear headphones to drown out the screams.”

I ball my fists, and my jaw tightens. I didn’t know she had a boyfriend. The thought makes my stomach turn.

Kennedy studies me carefully. “Do you have a thing for her?”

I shake my head. “No. I’m just protective, that’s all. I didn’t know about this guy.”

She pauses briefly, clearly not believing me. “Like I said, leave her alone. You’ve inflicted enough damage on her.”

At that, she turns and walks away.

I stand there and watch as the guy holds up his phone and pulls Sulley close to him. It seems like he’s talking into the camera and recording something. Who the hell is this guy?