Page 33 of The Perfect Pass
The substitute quarterback let loose with a pass. It wasn’t pretty. It was wobbly and a bit all over the place, but miraculously, the throw had just enough of an arc for it to reach one of the receivers.
Three…
Two…
Calla’s heart leaped straight to her throat as little Tommy Riess tripped over his feet running toward the ball.
No way,she thought.No possible way.
Time seemed to stand still, and all around her, the crowd held its collective breath. Tommy stumbled again, but this time, fate must’ve been watching over that kid because he careened straight into the ball’s path. It landed squarely in his hands and when it did, he finally found his footing and ran for the end zone like his life depended on it.
One…
Tommy’s foot stepped over the goal line and the ref threw his arms in the air.
“Touchdown!”
Calla couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She felt like she was in a fever dream as the team scored the extra point following the touchdown and the sidelined players rushed the field, hoisting Tommy into the air as if he’d just scored the winning point in a tied championship game.It was crazy. No one seemed to care about the huge point spread. They knew they’d just witnessed something electric…something special. Something that was undoubtedly going to be splashed all over the front page of tomorrow’s edition of theLone Star Gazette.
“Oh my gosh, did that seriously just happen!?” Bailey grabbed on to Calla’s arm and jumped up and down as she let loose with a stream of throaty laughter. “This is—”
Her voice drifted off as she glanced over at Calla. “Hon, are you okay?”
Calla blinked furiously against a wave of unshed tears.
“I’m fine,” she lied.
Bailey wasn’t buying it. “It’s okay to get emotional. You know how I am. I cry every time I watch a Hallmark movie.”
“That’s very sweet, but I’mnotcrying.” Calla sniffed.
Bailey’s gaze flickered with a tenderness that made it difficult for Calla to breathe. “It’s normal to feel things. Just last night I cried over a photo of a three-legged puppy dressed in a tiny sweater that popped up in my Instagram feed.”
This was why Calla adored her best friend so much. After everything they’d been through, she still felt things with her whole heart.
Calla was the complete and total opposite. Usually, anyway. But if Bailey didn’t stop talking about the sweater-wearing three-legged dog, she might lose it. The second Tommy crossed that goal line, her heart had somehow leaped outside her body and now it was positioned right on her sleeve for all the world to see.
“It’s just a little cedar fever,” she insisted, dabbing at the corners of her eyes.
As if a little pollen could bring on a crying jag of epic proportions.
“Sure, it is.” Bailey cast her a knowing look and then went back to whooping and hollering with the rest of the Bulldog fans.
Calla took a steadying inhale and tried to get a grip on herself. She was a journalist, for goodness’ sake. When was the last time a SportsSphere commentator wept openly at an athletic event?
It was no use, though. The floodgates had opened, and there was no stopping the sting of tears at the backs of her eyes, especially when her gaze found Jackson.
He beamed with pride as Tommy broke free from the celebration taking place on the field and nearly bowled him over with a bear hug. Even the notoriously grumpy Bob Simmons cracked a smile as he stood a few feet away. Whatever happened for the rest of the season, no one in Bishop Falls would forget this moment. Jackson had just solidified his place in Bulldog history in the most unexpected way possible.
“Sometime the smallest players make the biggest moments. Right, honey?” Dad said.
Calla turned watery eyes toward him.
He didn’t say a word about her atypical display of emotion. He just wrapped his arm around her, squeezed her shoulders and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
Calla closed her eyes and leaned into the embrace. It had been a long time since she’d shared a heartfelt moment with her father in these stands. She didn’t hate it nearly as much as she thought she would.
“I told you Jackson Knight was going to change things around here,” Dad whispered against her hair.
