Page 80 of The First Play

Carson snatches the ball and starts running. He’s a hell of a lot faster than Wily, and the wide receiver leaves the lineman in his dust.

“Carson!” I shout, raising my hands and trying to warn him about the bullet coming up behind him.

Grady’s the fastest guy on the team, and Carson doesn’t sense his approach quick enough. With a little yell, he hurls the ball my way, but the pass is made reckless by Grady’s side tackle. The ball ends up arcing straight over my head and bouncing into the playground behind me.

I shake my head as the two guys start to tussle and figure Tyrell can take this one while I retrieve the ball. Running into the playground, I head for the sand pit, where a little girl with blonde ringlets is gathering up the ball.

Aw, cutie.

I crouch down with a smile, ready to get the ball back, when the air is knocked clean from my lungs. My lips part as I watch this blonde cherub totter toward me. Holy shit. She looks exactly like Monica did as a toddler. Photos of my older sister as a baby flash through my head, and I can’t believe the similarities. It’s freaky.

The little girl stops a few feet away from me and holds up the ball. “Bawl.”

I nod and can’t help grinning at her. “That’s right. Football.”

“Foo-bawl.” Her sweet little voice pitches with excitement, and she laughs.

“Do you want to throw it to me?” I beckon with my fingers, then glance around, wondering where this little girl’s parents are.

She giggles again, then throws the ball with a little grunt, raising her hands in the air with a cheer when it lands a foot away from me before dribbling to a stop by my feet.

“Good job, kid.” I wink at her, then laugh when she claps her hands.

Far out. That smile is just like Monica’s.

This is seriously freaking me out.

“Zan-Man, let’s go!” Wily calls me, holding up his hands to catch the ball. I fire it through the air, then jog back to the edge of the field, turning one more time to look at the little girl. She’s crouching down in the sand, gathering handfuls and creating a little mountain.

For reasons I can’t even explain, I find myself watching her until my friends are shouting at me again.

“Dude, what’s up?” Grady calls across the grass. “Let’s go, brother.”

“Just give me a sec!” I hold up my finger, pulling out my phone and calling my sister while this little girl is still within sight.

“’Sup, lil bro?”

“Do you have a daughter I don’t know about?”

“Ew, no. Why would I ever have kids?” Her reaction makes me laugh, and I shake my head.

My sister has taken independent woman to the next level. She’s in a relationship now, but who knows if it’ll last. She likes to go intense and hard… for short bursts of time. That just seems to be her style. I get why she’d never want to bring kids into that equation.

“Why are you calling to ask me stupid questions? You know I’m at work, right?”

“It’s Sunday.”

“I have a big case.”

“Oh, well, sorry. I just…” Shaking my head yet again, I gaze at the little girl and let out a breathy laugh. “You must have a doppelgänger in Nolan, sis, because I am staring at a kid who looks just like you when you were two. You know that picture on Dad’s office desk?”

“The one of me playing on the beach in that frilly abomination Mom insisted on dressing me in?”

I laugh. “That’s the one. Well, this little girl right here isn’t in frills, but man… she looks just like you. It’s freaking me out.”

Monica snorts. “Well, her mother must be very beautiful, then.”

“And look just like you.” I start to search the playground for her, but there are so many parents around. A group of moms is standing by the sand pit, watching their kids and talking together. My eyes skim across them, but I don’t see any Monica replicas. And the rest of the playground seems clear too. Darting my gaze back to the girl, I shake my head again. “It’s seriously incredible.”

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