Page 50 of Game On

“Now you have to decide if you want to contest the will. It will be a long, protracted process, Shane. And I don’t have to tell you, you won’t come out smelling too pretty,” Roscoe said.

When Shane didn’t answer, he continued. “There are other options. Troy has enough money to live well. You can hire someone to look after him full time. Consuelo, perhaps? You wouldn’t have to alter your lifestyle too much.”

Shane found the situation ironic. When his mother died, Bruce Devlin was a homeless junkie. Shane was sent to live on welfare with his grandparents in their double-wide trailer. Troy could afford to live in a palace anywhere in the world.

“Not an option,” Shane said firmly.

Shane wanted to believe his staunch refusal was about him concentrating on his career, on breaking Bruce’s records. But that was only part of the truth. A very small part. If he was being honest with Roscoe, he’d tell him he didn’t have the emotional arsenal to help the kid. What did Shane know about raising a kid, much less nurturing him? He certainly didn’t know a thing about love. His mother checked out when she got cancer and his dad…well it was common knowledge how that turned out. You had to be loved to give love, and Shane had no experience with that. But Shane wasn’t going to admit that to anyone.

“What’s with you, man? Do you sleep in a coffin or something?”

“If I did, you’d have already read about it in the tabloids.”

“Stop being a smart-ass and talk to me, Shane,” Roscoe pleaded.

When Shane didn’t answer, Roscoe sighed wearily. “Fine,” he said. “Keep your phobias to yourself. The other option is boarding school. He can afford the best.”

Boarding school. Carly had gone to boarding school, and she’d turned out okay. In fact, the two of them had shared a few laughs last night over her tales of classic dorm pranks and late-night escapades. Christ, had it only been last night since they’d been together? His nerve endings hummed and his body tightened up at the thought of her. Maybe she’d help with the whole boarding school process. She had promised to help out with the kid. Then again, maybe pigs would fly. The tightness in Shane’s chest ratcheted up a notch as he recalled the look of utter regret in her eyes this morning.

“That sounds like the winner,” Shane said. “How long will it take to get him into one?”

Roscoe let out an exasperated huff. “I really have no idea. I’ll get someone working on it tomorrow. You are planning on letting Troy have some say in where he goes, aren’t you?”

“It depends on how black my heart is tomorrow,” Shane said sarcastically.

“You’ve got a freakin’ screw loose, you know that?” Roscoe asked. “You’re punishing an innocent kid for the way your father treated you.”

“I don’t pay you to analyze me, Roscoe. Just find a school for the kid.”

Roscoe let loose a few obscenities before hanging up.

Shane snapped the phone closed and placed it on the tile floor surrounding the Jacuzzi as he leaned his head back against the wall. Roscoe was the second person today to accuse him of punishing Troy for Bruce’s sins. Carly was the first.

Closing his eyes, he could still clearly see her angry face right before she stormed out of his office. It was better this way. It was easier to break it off if she was angry at him. He never should have gotten involved with her in the first place. Hell, a few weeks ago his life had been so simple: make the team, become the starter, and break Bruce’s remaining records. The starting job wasn’t guaranteed. Just today, he’d had to share reps with an undrafted rookie from Idaho. Potato Head had youth on his side, but Shane still knew the game better than any quarterback.

Fooling around with the coach’s sister-in-law, though, likely jeopardized not only his status as starter, but his spot on the team. Yeah, it was definitely better to have her hating him. It seemed something positive had come out of the mess Bruce had left him after all.

Shane hefted himself out of the Jacuzzi and toweled off. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he went down to the kitchen to set up the coffeemaker for the next morning. On his way, he paused at the door of the guest bedroom to check on his uninvited guest. The kid was zonked out, one arm tucked under the blanket and the other gripping a tattered pillow he must have brought from home. His eyes were puffy and his cheeks tear stained, but he was finally sleeping peacefully.

The kid hadn’t said much when Shane retrieved him from the Richardsons’. Penny was as unhappy as his posse to let him out of her sight. One hard look from Shane, and she’d bit back whatever she’d wanted to say. Apparently all women associated with Coach couldn’t wait to give him a piece of their mind.

Beckett lay sprawled across the foot of the bed. The dog opened one eye as Shane passed, but didn’t bother to get off the bed. Traitor. Shane closed the door and headed to the kitchen.

As he stood at the sink filling the coffee carafe, his mind drifted back twenty-four hours. He could still feel Carly’s hip pressed up against his as they stood side by side washing dishes. For the life of him, he couldn’t remember ever washing dishes with another woman, much less enjoying it. Hell, most of the women he dated had so many food hang-ups they wouldn’t be caught dead in a kitchen. But the previous evening with Carly was more than just a night of sex. He’d let his guard down with her, and that could only lead to disaster. Women like Carly wanted more than Shane was capable of giving. He just wasn’t genetically programmed for a lasting relationship with anyone.

Flicking off the light, he padded barefoot up the stairs trying to shake off the memories of last night. When he reached his bedroom, he yanked off the towel, tossed it on a chair, and climbed into the king-size bed. The scent of Carly’s citrus perfume clung to the pillow. For a split second, he contemplated changing the sheets before succumbing to temptation and curling his face into the pillow.

He’d been a fool to get involved with Carly. But he’d been unable to ignore the sexual pull she had on his body. The look of contempt she gave him this morning didn’t do too much to lessen the pull, but at least whatever they’d shared had ended quickly, with her seeing his flaws for what they were. Heck, he’d never pretended to be anyone other than who he was. Carly March was like all the rest of the women who thought they could change him and were disappointed when they couldn’t. Only this time, Carly’s disappointment stung.

A blast of cool air hit Troy in the face as he came into the locker room. It was a hot June day, more than ninety degrees, and he’d spent most of it outside on the practice field watching Shane in mini-camp. The air-conditioning felt good on his damp skin. He grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler and slid down the wall to sit on the floor, rubbing the bottle over his face before guzzling its contents.

The last couple of days had been like a dream come true for Troy. After Shane’s initial shock when Troy had surprised him at his house, he thought his brother would send him immediately back to his grandparents. But Shane had instead surprised Troy, letting him tag along to the training facility. The first day, Shane kept him on the field with him, telling the reporters to leave them both alone. It was cool how the reporters wanted to talk to them. It made Troy feel important. They wanted to ask questions about their dad, but Shane said the reporters should respect their privacy and not distract practice. So, Troy stood on the sidelines, ignoring the media and watching in awe as his brother threw one perfect spiral after another.

Clearly, Shane had gotten all the athletic genes and that’s why Troy was such a klutz. But he was okay with it because his big brother was a superstar who was finally paying attention to him. His mom and dad would be so happy. Troy shook off the numbness that threatened to overtake him whenever he thought about his parents, refocusing on the good times he shared with his brother these past few days instead.

That first night, Shane and his friend, Donovan Carter, took him to get burgers. The three then played a few rounds of mini golf at a local ice cream stand. Donovan teamed up with him so they could beat Shane. Troy couldn’t remember a night being more fun.

Yesterday went the same as the one before. C.J. Richardson recruited Troy to work as a ball boy, toweling off the sweaty footballs and trotting onto the field with Gatorade for the players. Afterward, Shane invited C.J. over for steaks and to watch Gladiator. Troy’s mom would never let him watch that movie. He swallowed a huge lump as he thought of his mom and how much he missed her. But he had his brother now. He was so happy he’d talked Tiny into bringing him to Shane’s house. Things were going great.

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