Chapter Two #3
Those were good times. Nothing got him down back then.
Not his father’s constant carping at him to be the best no matter what.
Not the never-ending warnings that he needed to be careful, that he was too wrapped up in Kenzie, that he had his future to think about and he was too young to waste focus on a girl.
He’d ignored most of the crap that came out of the old man’s mouth.
The way he saw things then, he was going to have everything—the girl he loved and football, too.
The future was his. Nothing could stand in his way.
They might end up at different colleges, he and Kenzie, and that would be fine. They would make it work long-distance.
He’d been eighteen and unbeatable. He and Kenzie were forever. They weren’t like other people. Nothing could tear them apart—
And then they were having a baby and he was terrified—of the responsibility of trying to be a father. He was terrified and hoping he could do better than his own dad. He obsessed over how they would manage. He considered just quitting football and getting a damn job.
And then the baby was gone and…
All he’d wanted then was to get away, start out fresh, forget all the hard emotions he didn’t know how to deal with…
Suddenly, a rabbit darted across the pavement in front of him, breaking into his memories. Finn hit the brakes and the rabbit hopped off into the tall grass on the far side of the road.
Blinking the past away, he reminded himself to focus on the road ahead. He wasn’t some crazy-in-love, high-school kid anymore. His big dreams were behind him and the woman he’d once loved was having some other guy’s baby…and doing it on her own.
Life could really surprise a man. Sometimes in ways that made him wish things had turned out differently.
But, hey. He’d had a great evening with the girl he’d never forgotten. He sold real estate now and he did a damn fine job of it. And he was going to do everything in his power to get the Tenacity Titans in shape to play serious ball this season.
Finn rolled down all the windows, cued up his favorite country playlist and sang along as he drove home.
* * *
For the rest of that week, practice was nonstop action and full contact.
Finn worked the team hard. He tried to keep his goals realistic, but his players were improving by leaps and bounds.
He had a damn good quarterback in Remy O’Dare, whose dad owned O’Dare Auto Repair there in town.
As for the rest of his prospective starting lineup, those boys were beginning to look a whole lot like a real team.
He had to keep reminding himself not to get cocky.
This team he and Barrett had put together worked hard, but they weren’t tested.
They needed time and they were only going to get so much of that before the season opener.
Finn knew damn well he was already getting too invested in the success of the Titans.
The more he worked with these kids, the more he wanted them to kick ass.
And maybe he overestimated what they could do.
One thing was for sure, every day was a whole new adventure. He was loving it. It raised his spirits even higher to see his favorite nurse first thing in the morning, with her baby bump stretching the front of her sports-themed scrubs and that smile of hers that could make the darkest day bright.
He got a real kick out of Oscar, too. The kid knew football and he had no hesitation when it came to offering advice.
Finn found it humbling, to get regularly schooled on the history of the game and the progress of his players by a brilliant sixteen-year-old.
Finn listened to Oscar, anyway. After all, the kid was usually right.
* * *
Friday, after practice, Kenzie was on her way to her car when Finn called her name.
She paused a few feet from her Bronco and turned. “Coach Monahan, what can I do for you?”
He jogged up wearing a sly smile. “I think I deserve a reward.”
She was grinning, too. “A reward for what, exactly?”
He pretended to think about her question, scrunching his eyebrows together and pressing his lips into a flat line. “For patience. And restraint.”
“You? Patient?”
“Yeah. Think about it. It’s been days since our dinner at Satterfield’s.”
“Right.” She collapsed the handle of her medical bag and clicked open the Bronco’s liftgate. “Three whole days, if you include today—and what is this reward you think you deserve?”
“I like hanging out with you. I think we should do it again.”
That made her smile—a giant, beaming sort of smile.
Friends, she reminded herself, frowning now. She and Finn were friends. Their tragic teenage love affair was long over and she needed to remember that.
“Kenz?”
“Hmm?”
“What happened? What’d I do? One minute we’re joking around, and then you blast me a smile like I’ve made you the happiest girl in Montana.
And now, you’re looking miserable. Why do I have the feeling you’re going to jump in your Bronco and burn rubber all the way home just to get the hell away from me? ”
He was right. About all of it. She decided to go ahead and tell the truth. “I still…like you. Maybe too much.”
One thick, sandy-brown eyebrow hiked up. “Why does liking me have to be a bad thing?”
“I just don’t want to…get involved with anyone, you know?”
“Too late.” He was grinning. “We’re already involved.”
She fell back a step. “No. We agreed that we could possibly be friends, but we’re not—”
“Yes, we are.”
She tried not to roll her eyes. “Excuse me. I didn’t even get to finish my sentence.”
“Sorry. Continue.”
“I…” She groaned. “Now, I have no idea what I meant to say.”
“That’s okay.”
“Hah. To you, maybe—and I remember now. I was going to say, once again, that we are most definitely not involved.”
He stepped closer. She should probably fall back another step. But she didn’t. And then he said in a low, teasing tone, “Kenzie, we’re already friends and that means we’re involved…in a friendship. Get over it. I swear I’m not asking you to marry me.”
She glared up at him, defiant. And he just looked at her, waiting. The seconds crawled by. She began to feel a little bit foolish. “Well. Just as long as we’re not more than friends…”