Page 14 of Power Play

“We’re starting a new segment, since we’re based out of D.C., highlighting local athletes. And we thought for the first one, we’d have you do the interview since you, yourself, are a hometown hero,” Tim says.

I smile. That’s cute.

“I like it,” I say. “Who is the first interview with?”

“Thad Dietrich. He’s projected to go first round in the NFL draft next month. Do you two know each other? I read that he went to the same high school as you. I think he’s younger, but I’m sure in small towns like that, everyone knows everyone,” Ron says. I feel my jaw clench, my hands balling into fists.

“Yeah,” I say through gritted teeth. “We know some of the same people.”

Tim claps his hands together.

“That’s great,” he says. “That’ll make this easy. Well, you can get with your people and then get back with us. We are excited, man.”

I nod and force another smile.

“Great,” I say. “I’ll give you a call soon.”

I close out of the meeting and immediately go to Google.

I type in his name, and I sift through hundreds of pictures of him all over Graver University’s website.

I pull up a close-up of him.

Long, auburn locks that he ties up into a bun.

Freckles on his nose.

And suddenly, it’s all clicking together.

And then I see red.

I grab my keys off the counter, get in my car, and speed off toward the Calway house. I’m not exactly sure what I’m expecting to do when I get there, but I just know that that’s where I need to be.

When I pull up, I’m glad to see that the driveway is pretty much empty, with the exception of a little Honda that I can only assume is hers. I get out and knock on the door, but there’s no answer. I hear water spraying around back, so I jog around the house.

And that’s when I see her, in nothing but a cropped tank top, little shorts, and a messy bun. She’s watering what appears to be some sort of vegetable garden, and she’s humming a song. For a second, I forget the frenzy I’m in. But as I’m admiring her body, watching her every move, I realize that, at one point, someone took what wasn’t theirs from that body. And then I see red again. I walk up to her, and she jumps when she sees me, putting a hand to her chest and turning the hose off.

“Jesus, Levi,” she says.

“I’m sorry,” I say. “I need to talk to you.”

Her eyebrows knit together.

“Okay…” she says, looking around.

“I need to talk to you about Thad Dietrich.”

Her eyes grow wide. She drops the hose on the ground and pulls off her gardening gloves. She takes my arm and pulls me across the lawn to the guest house. She closes the door behind us and turns to me.

“First of all,” she says, “can you shut the fuck up? Jesus Christ, Levi. My family could have been here.”

“Are they?” I ask. She sighs and shakes her head.

“No. My dad just took Harper to the store.”

I nod.

“Did you know about the draft?” I ask her. She swallows, her eyes dropping to the ground. She nods.

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