Page 51 of Game On

Until Troy had ruined it.

He really needed to learn to keep his mouth shut. Last night, while they were cleaning up and getting ready for bed, Troy asked Shane if he had an Xbox. Everyone has one. Especially rich sports stars. Surely Shane had one somewhere.

“Nah,” Shane said. “Those things rot your brain.”

Troy laughed because that was what his father always said. “You sound just like Dad,” he’d joked.

Only Shane didn’t think it was funny. He just stared at Troy for a long moment, looking a little scary. Then, he snatched up Beckett’s leash, snapped it on the dog’s collar, and yanked him out of the door for a walk. Troy waited up a while, but when Shane didn’t come back, he crawled into bed and tried not to cry.

He’d waited all his life to meet his brother. He wanted Shane to like him. He desperately needed them to be a family. Without Shane, he had no one else. And now he’d gone and blown it. When he woke later that night, Beckett was back and laying on Troy’s feet in the bed, snoring softly. At least Beckett still liked him.

This morning, Shane told Troy they’d be going to his cabin in western Pennsylvania the next day. Troy wanted to ask questions about the cabin, but his brother was back to grunting at him. When they arrived at the training facility for mini-camp, Shane told him to stick with the other ball boys and to make sure he drank plenty of water. Troy wanted to believe Shane was concerned about him. But more likely his brother didn’t want Troy dropping dead of heat stroke because it would interfere with his precious practice.

All Shane cared about was football. He didn’t even seem to care about girls. Troy thought all sports stars cared about girls. But, except for that first morning, he hadn’t seen any women hanging around. Maybe that’s why Shane was so mad at him. The girls wouldn’t come over if Troy was there. But Troy could be polite and all. He could make himself scarce if that’s what Shane wanted him to do.

Even Carly was ignoring Shane. At first, Troy thought maybe she lived with Shane. That would be okay. She was really pretty and nice. And, she was Molly’s aunt. Molly said Carly was really cool. But Molly had looked at Troy funny when he’d asked if Carly was Shane’s girlfriend. Then Molly had laughed. Maybe Troy was wrong. Maybe Carly was just there that morning to borrow some coffee or something. After all, she didn’t look like she liked Shane at all. She always smiled at Troy when he saw her in the commissary or around the practice facility, but she never looked at Shane. Except when she thought no one was looking. Then she stared at Shane, but her eyes were really sad when she did it.

C.J. strolled into the locker room, a blast of hot, sticky air following him in. He had a bag of footballs slung over his shoulder and was mumbling into his cell phone. He wasn’t paying attention to where he was going and Troy quickly scrambled to his feet before being stepped on. Troy didn’t want to get C.J. mad at him, too. C.J.—all the Richardsons—were nice to him. C.J. treated him like any of the other ball boys, overlooking the fact that he was smaller and younger than the other kids. He didn’t smirk or laugh when Troy threw the football even though they both knew he threw like a girl. Like Shane, C.J. had been given all of his father’s athletic genes. Troy liked him in spite of it.

“Hey, Short Stuff,” C.J. called from the equipment room. “Let’s go get some ice cream in the commissary.”

Okay, so he didn’t like being called Short Stuff, but Troy’s friends were few and far between right now, so he’d take what he could get.

SIXTEEN

The hot afternoon sun beat through the commissary’s giant windows, warming Carly’s bare legs, which she’d stretched out on the chair in front of her. In deference to the record heat, she wore a floral wrap skirt and sleeveless linen blouse to work. One slide sandal hung precariously from her foot, its spiked heel dangling off the side of the chair. She dipped her spoon into a bowl of frozen yogurt and sighed as the cool chocolate slid down her throat. Mini-camp had wrapped up earlier in the day and a quiet calm had now settled over the training facility. After the hustle and bustle of players and media the previous week, she was amazed at how quickly the place had cleared out.

“I thought this week would never end,” Asia said from her seat beside Carly.

She glanced over to where her friend sat. Asia’s neck arched gracefully as she lifted her closed eyes toward the sun streaming in the window. “It’s amazing how a controversy over who is going to play quarterback can rally the media.”

Carly sucked on her spoon, wishing Asia hadn’t brought up the subject of the Blaze quarterback. She’d spent the last couple of days trying not to think of him. Unfortunately, Shane was everywhere she turned. Avoiding him in the flesh had been easy. She simply stuck to her side of the training complex. It was harder to avoid him when she closed her eyes, though. At night when she slept, she could feel his hands exploring her body. Carly dreamt about his greedy mouth as it made love to her. His smell still permeated the thick comforter on her bed. She could taste his skin . . . Argh!

Ripping the spoon from her mouth, Carly stuck it in the bowl of half-eaten yogurt. Yanking her feet off the chair, she slid closer to the air-conditioner vent. Fantasies of Shane were wreaking havoc with her internal body temperature. In spite of her resolution to keep her distance from all things Shane Devlin, she found herself asking Asia about him.

“Isn’t Shane the starting quarterback?”

Asia’s body never wavered from its relaxed position. “Not necessarily.”

Obviously she needed to pay more attention to how American football was played. She didn’t want to examine why the thought of Shane not playing for the Blaze suddenly bothered her. “But I thought he was supposed to replace Gabe?”

“You really know nothing about how this game works, do you?” Asia asked, her tone incredulous.

“I grew up in Europe, remember?”

Asia huffed, closing her eyes once more. “There are no guarantees in this game, Carly. Hank brought Devlin in because he needed a strong veteran at the position. But he drafted a rookie quarterback the very next week. It’s anyone’s guess who’ll replace Gabe,” she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

Well, wasn’t that ironic. Even if he behaved, Shane still wasn’t guaranteed a starting gig. No wonder he was so obsessed with mini-camp. It still didn’t explain—or excuse—his behavior regarding Troy, however. She hadn’t spoken with Troy since that morning she’d left him with Lisa. She’d seen him on the practice field with Shane, however. His brother practically used the boy as a human shield to get past the media each day.

She stood up and stretched, tossing her unfinished yogurt into a trash can. Asia rose next to her, gathering her cane as she did so.

“I guess I’d better get my stuff together so I can make my flight,” Asia said as both women headed across the room.

“What time are you leaving?”

“I’m on the eight o’clock flight to L.A. But I need to get home and grab my bags first. What are you planning to do with your free time?”

It was a sad commentary on her boring life, but Carly had no real vacation plans. Julianne was headed to her NASCAR wedding for the weekend. Matt, Lisa, and the kids were leaving shortly for two weeks of much-needed family time at the beach. All week Lisa had been pestering her to join them, but Carly was looking forward to some downtime herself. She meant to take advantage of a quiet office to get everything ready for the next season.

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