Cole (The Halversons #10)

CHAPTER ONE

Cole stared out the window of his childhood bedroom. Not much had changed beyond the glass.

The same sprawling oak tree dominated the backyard, its branches now heavy with summer leaves. The basketball hoop his dad had installed when Cole was ten remained mounted above the garage, the backboard weathered but sturdy—just like the family that had raised him.

But while his surroundings were familiar, much had changed inside him. The last time he’d stood where he was, he’d been a different person. Not completely different—he was still passionate about basketball—but there were enough differences between then and now that sometimes he didn’t recognize who he’d once been.

His phone chimed in his hand, but Cole didn’t lift it to see who was trying to contact him. If it was his parents or his sister, Skylar, they could come knock on his door.

More than likely, it was his agent, Theo Anderson, wanting to set up a time for them to talk. Except that Cole wasn’t keen to have that conversation just yet. He’d told Theo that, but the man was persistent.

That persistence had paid off in the past, but right then, Cole wished Theo would turn that persistence on someone else.

He’d told Theo that he was going to visit his family and didn’t want to deal with a conversation about the upcoming end of his contract. He had time. With a year left on it, they couldn’t move into serious talks for a while yet anyway, unless his current team was pressuring Theo to get Cole to commit.

When his phone chimed again, reminding him he hadn’t looked at his message yet, Cole sighed and lifted it to glare at the screen.

Jay: You still up for basketball this afternoon?

There had been talk of playing basketball the night before, but that hadn’t worked out. So now they were trying for that afternoon. It would be a nice distraction, so Cole didn’t hesitate to reply.

You know it.

Jay: Good. I’ve got some of my varsity guys coming, but I haven’t told them you’ll be there.

Cole grinned. His brother had been his high school basketball coach, and he’d continued to coach over the years, even after Cole had graduated. A couple of the guys that Jay had coached had gone on to college basketball fame, but none except for him had made it to the professional league yet.

He’d lived and breathed basketball ever since he’d made his first basket as a kid… with Jay’s help. During that time, he’d also been going to Jay’s games, which helped stoke the flame of his passion for the game.

It had helped that Jay had been on track to go pro during those early years. Even back when Cole had been just five years old, he and Cole had practiced daily. The eleven-year age gap between them hadn’t been a big deal.

Cole knew he owed Jay a lot for his current career, and for the fame and fortune that had come his way. If Jay wanted Cole to hang out with some of his players, Cole would do that.

His best friend, Aiden, would also join them, and probably some family members as well. He hadn’t had a casual game in awhile, so he was looking forward to it.

When the time rolled around to leave, Cole was glad his sister, Skylar, and his best friend Aiden were both going. A former couple, Cole was trying to get the two of them to at least be friends again. If not something more.

As he strode down the hallways of the high school a short time later, Cole was thrown back in time. Back to a simpler time, when his world had focused around family, church, friends, and basketball.

There had been no meetings about endorsement opportunities or contract negotiations, or friends who proved they were only with him for one reason.

The sound of bouncing balls and squeaking shoes grew louder as they neared the gym. They found Jay standing just inside the door, arms crossed, as he watched a few guys warm-up on the court. He turned toward them with a smile.

“Hey there.” Jay pulled Cole in for a quick hug, then moved on to Skylar. “Come to cheer us on?”

“As long as all I have to do is yell,” she said, motioning to her orthopedic boot that she’d been confined to after spraining her ankle quite badly.

“If you weren’t in that boot, could you still do all the cartwheels and stuff?”

“Yep. Once a month, I try all of them. If I can’t do them, I practice.”

“Too bad you can’t show us,” Cole said, grinning as he imagined Skylar trying to turn a cartwheel in her boot.

She flipped her hand in the air. “Next time.”

The action on the court had stopped, and Cole could see that the guys’ attention had turned from the balls and hoops to where he stood with the others. It had been bound to happen, so Cole wasn’t surprised or annoyed by it.

Being noticed was part of the game—literally—for him. And besides, these kids were different. They were following in his footsteps by playing high school basketball. And they were part of the family Jay built with his players each year. It was a family that Cole was also part of.

Jay turned to the group and asked, “What’s going on?”

“That’s Cole Halverson, right?” one teen called out.

“Sure is,” Jay agreed. “And you’re going to be playing against him this afternoon.”

“ Against him?”

“Yep. So keep warming up.”

The players quickly snatched up balls and began to dribble and shoot in a pattern that was all too familiar to Cole.

“Are you two ready to go?” Jay asked. “Or do you need to get changed?”

“Just got to swap my shoes,” Aiden said.

Cole lifted one of his feet. “Me too.”

“I’m going to sit over there,” Skylar said as she pointed toward the bleachers.

“You’re not going to be on your own,” Jay told her. “I think there are a couple wives and maybe some kids showing up, too.”

Cole followed Skylar, then sat down on the lowest bleacher, putting his bag on the floor in front of him. Aiden sat next to him, while Skylar settled on the row above them.

After he toed off his sneakers, he pulled out his basketball shoes, then shoved his feet into them. As he bent to tighten and tie his laces, Cole could imagine he was back in time, preparing to play a game against a team from a nearby high school.

When he finished tying his shoes, Cole braced his forearms on his thighs, lifting his head to watch the young men on the court. There was a lightness to their movements, a lack of the intensity that Cole and his teammates played with.

The boys were there because they loved to play. There was no obligation to come out on a Saturday afternoon to play basketball. School was out for the summer. It wasn’t ball season yet. They could have chosen not to come. Jay would never have held it against them. So these kids were there because playing basketball was fun.

Beside him, Aiden stretched out his legs, and Cole followed suit, going through his usual pre-game stretches. Finally, he got to his feet and reached his hands toward the roof of the gym.

“Let’s see if we still have that old high school magic.”

Cole easily caught the ball that Jay slung at him from across the court, spinning it in his hands before he began to dribble the ball toward the basket. As he neared it, he took two long strides and jumped into the air, slam dunking the ball into the basket.

The cheers from the teens made him grin and take a bow. Jay rolled his eyes, and Cole knew that if he’d acted so cocky in high school, his brother would have made him run laps. Lots of them.

For the next little while, he and Aiden passed the ball between them, then jumped for baskets. Cole made every shot he took. Aiden only made about one out of three of his tries, which made sense since he didn’t play ball for a living the way Cole did.

Cole was standing close to the door when Jay’s son, Peyton, walked into the gym, dressed to play. After exchanging fist bumps, Cole gave his nephew a quick hug.

“Okay, guys,” Jay called out. “Gather round and let’s figure out how we’re going to do this. Since we’re short a player for the adult team, we’ll randomly choose one of you teens to join them.”

The young men shared nervous but excited glances at Jay’s pronouncement. They then decided to play to twenty, figuring that there were enough handicaps on the adult team to offset Cole’s skills.

“Are we playing shirts and skins?” Wilder, one of Cole’s many brothers, asked, then lifted his arms to flex. “I think my wife would like skins for me.”

“Well, Lexi is in for disappointment, I’m afraid,” Jay said. “We have jerseys.”

Soon, they gathered around Jay for the jump ball. Jay was going to be the ref for the game, but Cole didn’t expect any preferential treatment. If anything, questionable calls would go in favor of the teen boys’ team.

The score stayed pretty close throughout the game. Cole chose not to play with the aggressive intensity he usually did. After all, this was a game for fun, not for rankings or a championship. Cole let the excitement and joy of the teens rub off on him, and just gave himself over to having fun.

“Head’s up!” Wilder yelled.

The ball Wilder had thrown in his direction was definitely going wide. Glancing over, Cole saw it was heading toward the young woman who’d arrived with one of the teen boys a few minutes earlier.

Moving quickly to the side, he lunged and reached out to block the ball from hitting the woman. He managed to just keep his footing as he knocked the ball back onto the court.

“You okay?” he asked as he turned to face the woman.

Her blue-green eyes were wide as she stared at him. “I’m… fine. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

With the game continuing behind him, as if he hadn’t just bravely stepped in front of a fast-moving ball to protect a lovely young woman, Cole jogged back in time to catch a pass from Aiden. He dribbled, spun around, and positioned his back against the teen guarding him, maneuvering until he had a clear view of the basket.

When the ball sailed smoothly through the hoop, he exchanged high-fives with the nearest teammates. A quick look at the woman he had shielded earlier revealed she was clapping as well. Since the young man she had come with played on the opposing team, Cole wondered whether that made her his fan.

Though his curiosity was peeked, Cole pulled his attention back to the game. It was one thing to have a close game because he wasn’t playing his best, but it was something else entirely if he lost a game because some woman on the bleachers distracted him.

As the game progressed, Cole’s gaze was drawn to the mystery woman more often than he wanted to admit. There was something about her—the way she leaned forward during intense moments, how her eyes tracked the ball with genuine interest rather than just polite observation. She wasn’t just there to support someone; she understood the game.

Their team pulled ahead in the final minutes, and when the game ended in their favor, Cole grinned like he hadn’t in years. This simple high school gym game had given him more genuine joy than his last three professional victories combined.

The only other things that gave him more joy were the basketball clinics he helped organize and teach for lower income kids. He loved seeing their excitement and willingness to learn. After several years of playing professional ball, he searched for ways to keep his passion for the game alive.

He hadn’t expected to find something to do that in coming to Serenity, but he was glad he had. And he’d been able to play the hero for a pretty lady as well. Win-win!