Page 73 of Saving the Halfback

“I don’t care, it’s insured.”

He turned back around and began walking again. Fine. I could be stubborn too. I turned around and walked back to the truck. I got in and turned it on, pulling around and slowly creeping behind Ethan.

“What are you doing?” he asked when I rolled down the window.

I shrugged. “Either you take the truck and drive back, or I follow you the entire way, then drive back home. Take your pick.”

Ethan stopped walking, and I pressed on the brake before I would run him over. Giddiness filled me as he looked up to the sky, likely contemplating his choices before growling and turning around. I got out of the truck as he got in. “I’m usually done with chores by five.” I smiled sweetly at him.

“I’m going to park this at Lach’s.”

“Whatever you want.”

He sighed. “See you at five.”

27

Bailey

Thursday

Between schoolwork, driving the guys to and from school, and football, I found myself pushing Ed further and further from my mind. Now and then, he would make an appearance when the guys weren’t around, but he just stood there, judging silently.

Ethan didn’t talk much during our drives, but at least he got in the truck and didn’t fight me. He probably knew I would win…again. Although, as soon as I picked him up at the mechanic’s shop—where he went after school as well—he insisted on driving. He didn’t seem to care that I’d stayed completely sober since that one day.

It rained all week, which didn’t change our practice schedule. We played through the rain until we were all muddy messes, making me extra grateful for the warm showers in the girls’ locker room.

“It reminds me of the pitts,” Lachlan said as he slid into the back seat after school. He smelled of sandalwood, no earthy scent. Tomorrow was our first game, and he said he normally stopped smoking a day or two before games.

“The pitts?” Nolan asked.

“You know where the bridge is at the bend in the river?”

“The one that cuts through the park?”

“Yes,” Lachlan said. “When it rains like this, it tends to flood the river a bit and makes the field beside it into one big mud pit. It’s best after spring, but this would be good too. We would play football or tag or just run around in the mud. It was fun.”

“I wonder if kids still do that. We weren’t the only ones,” I said.

“We should do it.” Nolan leaned forward. “Think it would be flooded now?”

I made eye contact with Lachlan; he was likely thinking the same thing I was. “Maybe we can ask him,” I suggested.

Lachlan shrugged. “We could try. It would be weird going without him.”

“Who?” Nolan asked.

“Chase. He was the one that always made us go,” I answered. “He comes from an uppity family, so I think it was his way to piss off his parents. Showing up at home, covered in mud.”

“He won't.” Ethan spoke for the first time all day; it was obvious something had been on his mind.

We dropped Nolan off first, then Ethan at the shop. I got out and walked over to the driver’s seat while Lachlan moved up to the front. “Do you know what happened between Ethan and Chase?” I asked as soon as Lachlan and I were alone.

“I don’t know the details, but I know they had a falling out. Likely Ethan being stubborn, and Chase said something to piss him off.”

“Yeah, well, it had to have been big.” Ethan didn’t hold grudges like this for nothing. But he was also the kind of person to prove he didn’t need anyone. He would rather do everything himself, even if it meant he was struggling. Even if it meant he was seconds away from drowning.

When I pulled into Lachlan’s driveway, he asked, “Ready for tomorrow?”

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