Page 2 of Home Town Advantage (Fourth Quarter Fever #1)
ONE
EIGHT MONTHS AGO ~ DRAFT DAY
VANCE
“ Y ou’re sweating like a whore in church, man. Chill the fuck out. Everything will be okay.” Daylen reaches into a bowl and grabs a celery stick. He’s always got celery sticks around and eats them like normal people eat M&Ms or a bag of chips.
I turn on my sofa and scowl at my closest friend, Daylen Humblecut.
He and I have played football together for nearly ten years on the Philly Camels.
I’m the quarterback, and he’s the tight end who’s my go-to man in all big situations.
Our personalities might be night and day, but we have an on-field chemistry that can’t be manufactured. It’s special.
I take in his appearance. He’s even larger and taller than I am, and I’m a huge man.
Despite his size, he’s the biggest marshmallow on the planet.
He’s always happy and full of silliness.
I’m the opposite, taking things too seriously and rarely seen with a smile on my face.
It’s only gotten worse for me through the years, especially the last five.
Daylen recently shaved his blond hair short, but it’s already grown at least an inch this week. He often messes with both the hair on his head and his facial hair. In fact, he’s currently sporting a bizarre mustache. “Why do you look like Rollie Fingers right now?”
Rollie Fingers was a famous baseball player in the seventies who was famous for his handlebar mustache that looked like he twisted and curled the ends with his fingers.
He throws his head back and booms out his famous house-shaking laugh. “Oh shit, that’s funny. Kam called me Captain Lou Albano the other day when I still had the goatee decorated with rubber bands.” Captain Lou is an old-school professional wrestler.
I can’t help but chuckle. Kamryn Hart is a professional softball player in Philly.
She’s been dating our buddy, Cheetah, for a few months.
He’s a professional baseball player. Kam is a riot.
Besides my firecracker of a grandmother, Kam and Daylen tend to be the only people who can make me smile with regularity.
Running my fingers through my wavy, overgrown hair, I blow out a long breath and nod toward the television. “If the Beavers draft Sulley, shit is going to get weird for me.”
Daylen and my agent, Tanner Montgomery, are the only two friends who know my full history. It’s something I’ve miraculously managed to keep under wraps for years.
I gave Tanner my blessing to pursue Sulley as a client, and he’s now her agent.
In some small way, this is how I can keep my promise to her brother, Finn, to always look out for her.
There are a lot of shady agents out there.
Tanner is one of the best men I know. He’ll make sure no one takes advantage of that big, innocent heart of hers.
Daylen’s smile fades, and he pats my back. “I know, man. It’s not ideal, but Philly is a big city. I doubt you’ll have to see her much, if at all.”
Seeing my childhood best friend’s little sister on a regular basis would be crazy for me on about a thousand different levels. I’ve known Sullivan Aisling O’Shea her entire twenty-three years, but I remember the first time I truly saw her.
It was also the last time I saw Finn. The last time things were good in my life.
FIVE YEARS AGO
I pull my old beat-up pickup truck, the one I still keep at my parents’ house in my hometown, into the small airstrip at the Helena Airport. Finn is due to land any minute now.
Nearly eight years ago, when we were eighteen, he enlisted in the Marines.
That’s what most of the boys in our hometown do if they don’t have a family ranch.
They enlist. A few lucky ones, like me, get college scholarships to play sports, but those without a working family ranch answer the call of duty.
It’s an old-school town full of cowboys and blue-collar workers.
No one can afford to go to college without significant financial assistance.
After I signed a big contract last year, I started funding college scholarships for the top ten students in my high school’s graduating class.
I wanted to encourage the kids to work hard.
My annual donation is technically anonymous, but everyone knows where it comes from.
I’m the only person from this town to ever make six figures, let alone the eight I’m currently being paid to throw a pigskin ball.
When we were twenty-two, Finn was up for re-enlistment.
I had just signed a small rookie contract, but I offered to pay for him to go to college if he didn’t re-enlist. He was too proud and declined my offer.
His second and final deployment is almost over.
Even if he has the money saved, this time, I’m going to insist he let me pay for him to go to college.
All he ever talked about when we were kids was becoming an architect.
He’s been drawing Finn’s Fantastic Designs for as long as I can remember.
That’s how he started signing his drawings when we were in kindergarten, and it stuck.
All his designs have that at the bottom, but the cabin he designed and we built in high school was his pride and joy.
The days and nights working with him to help make his dream cabin become a reality are some of my best teenage memories.
Watching his drawings from a notepad turn into a home truly blew my mind.
He’s so talented. It’s time for his dream of being a real architect to become a reality. I can’t wait to be his first client.
I exit my truck as soon as I see him appear on the airplane steps. With a huge smile, I shout, “Look at Sergeant O’Shea. Fucking handsome little devil.” He’s six feet, one inch, which isn’t small, but it’s a lot smaller than me, and I’ve always loved giving him shit about it.
As soon as his eyes find me, I see his larger-than-life grin. It’s been a long time since he’s been home. Years. He looks a little worn but still has his Irish good looks with fair skin, light hair, and blue eyes.
In his uniform, holding himself with perfect posture, he makes his way to me and we hug for the first time in over two years. I do my best to hide my emotions as I slap his back. “So fucking good to see you, brother.”
He squeezes me tightly. “You too, man. Thanks for the ride.”
He pulls away and peeks into the back of my truck. “Where’s Maddie?”
Finn had asked me to stop by his girlfriend’s house to pick her up on the way here, but not to tell her why. He wanted his last-minute short visit to be a surprise for her.
Finn and Maddie have been on and off together since junior high.
He wanted to get married before his first deployment, but she told him she wanted to wait until he was done with his service, which was originally supposed to be only four years.
When he didn’t have enough saved for college, he re-enlisted.
She was angry and temporarily broke up with him, but they rekindled things when he was last home visiting and plan to get engaged when this final deployment is over in just one more month.
“Her mom said she was at work,” I lie. “You mentioned you wanted it to be a surprise, so I couldn’t exactly pull her away from work without explanation.”
He nods in understanding as his eyes find my backseat again. “I see you got the bouquet I requested.”
“I’m a good listener.” I blow him a kiss. “I love being bossed around by a big, bad, sexy Marine.”
He chuckles as he lifts his wrist and looks at his watch. “I need you to get me an hour away in fifty minutes. Is your slow ass up for the challenge, nineteen?” He’s called me by my number for as long as I can remember.
“Let’s hit it, twenty-two.” And I’ve always called him by his.
He was a talented wide receiver in high school, not quite good enough for a college scholarship, but he was my number one target from Pop Warner ball through high school.
Us throwing the ball around in the backyard until it was too dark to see was the norm throughout our early childhood.
He tugs on my hair, which I wear a lot longer than I did the last time he saw me. “I hope your long locks don’t slow us down. Fucking hell, you’d be crucified by the guys in my platoon.”
I chuckle as we both get into the truck, and I peel out of there as fast as I can, knowing how important it is for me to get him to our final destination.
He motions toward the cowboy boots I’m wearing. “I can’t imagine you have much need for those in Philadelphia.”
I shrug. “You can take the cowboy out of the small town, but you can’t ever take the small town out of a real cowboy.” I wink. “Besides, chicks dig the cowboy vibe I bring to the big city.”
He lets out his unique Finn laugh. One I haven’t been able to hear in person in a long time. For some reason, it comforts me. It makes me nostalgic for my youth.
“I guess grumpy cowboys are a big hit in the city?”
I uncharacteristically allow a small upturn in my lips. “I do alright.”
“Anyone special?” he asks.
“Nope. I’m having too much fun. I’m in no rush. Not like you. Maddie will be happy that you’ll finally be home for good next month.”
His face twists a bit.
My shoulders fall. “What am I missing?” I suck in a breath. “Don’t you fucking tell me you re-enlisted for another four years.”
He shakes his head. “No, nothing like that. They’ve asked me to stay on an extra six months to assist in training the new recruits, but don’t worry, I said no.
I thought about it for a hot second. The extra money would be nice, I could buy Maddie the ring I know she wants, but I’m done.
It’s time for me to come home. It’s time for my life to begin.
One more month, and then it’s civilian life for me. ”
I’m not sure if he’s trying to convince me or himself. Either way, I sense trepidation. Without hesitation, I offer, “I’ll pay for the ring. Please just come home as scheduled.”