Page 96 of Faking the Shot

Lehtonen smirked. “Brent Karlsson was at me to come to something like this for years.” He shrugged. “I figured now I’m out here on the west coast that it was time to figure it out.”

“Good to see you, man,” Chris said. “Even if it’s kind of not.”

The others laughed, as yeah, they welcomed the competition but knew the competition Doug brought would be tough.

Mike and Jai explained a little more about the group’s objective—to support each other as men trying to live with godly standards in an oftentimes harsh world. “It’s great to be with guys who have your back, beyond teammates who we all know aren’t always around the following year.”

Thanks to trades, or injury, or retirement for various reasons.

“And I know that it might seem a little weird, but we like to talk about our lives, discuss how the Bible relates to us, and pray for each other. So tonight isn’t a Bible study as such, but more a chance to connect and share a bit about what’s been happening.”

Mike shared a bit about his family Christmas, how his twins were doing now they were one-year-olds. “It’s amazing to see what God’s done in the past year.”

Ryan joined, looking pretty smiley. “Sorry I’m late. Hey, good to see you guys.”

“Dude, what’s going on with you?” Luc asked. “Too busy for us, huh?”

“Obviously not. That’s why I’m here.”

“So, it looks like some people have been keeping busy over New Year,” Luc continued. “What was the headline I saw? Parotti the hottie? Ainsley’s MVP?”

“Dude, no.” Zac shook his head.

“No, it was Ainsley Gets Her Gun.”

He shoved Chris as the others laughed.

“You looked like you were enjoying your time with her,” Jai said with a wink.

Who knew what pictures they’d seen?

“I’m looking forward to finding out the truth when we’re there soon.” Franklin said. “My sister, Cassie, she’s the one who runs the film set on the ranch where Ainsley filmsAs The Heart Draws, she’ll be coming too. And Harrison Woods,” he added.

“You can get the lowdown,” Chris said to Zac.

Maybe he could. Maybe he could find out their thoughts on whether Ainsley could see a future with him. Whether this could be real.

“Anyone else got something to share?”

“Actually…” Ryan grinned.

“No way. You didn’t?” Luc said.

“I did. And she said yes.”

“Really? Congrats, man!” Luc said, as everyone else offered their congratulations. “You didn’t announce it anywhere.”

“I leave that social media stuff to Zac and Ainsley,” Ryan said.

“Zainsley,” Doug Lehtonen murmured.

“Stop,” Zac pleaded.

“Can’t.” Doug crossed his arms. “It’s too fun to stop making fun of you.”

Tom laughed. “You can’t blame us for enjoying watching you squirm. You make the rest of us look bad.”

“Well, to be fair, that’s not hard with some of you,” Chris said.

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