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Priceless
Sarah and Brandt
Haven Dawn Gamble (featured in The Revenge Plan)
* * *
BOOK 9
Consolation Prize
Colton and Julianna
Colton Cress Gamble, Jr., aka Cress
* * *
And now for a few short stories about
the Forbidden Men descendants!
Part Two
Off Balance
For Harper,
the beautiful dancing boy from the Philippines,
whose mama got her wings about the same time mine did.
Here’s the story you wanted me to write.
Chapter One
Julian
As soon as the shrill hiss of a whistle split the air, I knew I was in trouble.
“Ryan!” Coach’s voice made me wince from the grass, where I lay on my back, half-dazed from the fall I’d taken. I winced up at a bright blue sky, complete with cheerful puffy clouds, and knew this was it. I wasn’t making the team. “Get your ass over here now.”
You know, the clouds really should be a lot more downcast and dreary gray to go with the chewing out I was about to receive. Getting cut from the team on such a nice, bright, perfect day didn’t seem very fitting.
Sitting upright, I groaned in pain and swayed unsteadily before pushing the rest of the way to my feet. My helmet had slammed pretty hard into the ground that time, leaving my ears ringing and the world looking slightly out of focus. Hope I didn’t have a concussion.
A few players snickered as I hobbled past. “Dude, thanks for falling down before I could even tackle you,” a defensive linebacker called. “Makes my job a hell of a lot easier.”
Ignoring them, I picked up my pace and jogged to the coach, releasing my chinstrap and taking off the helmet that hadn’t felt as if it had protected shit.
When I reached him, he stepped in close and lowered his voice. Since he was friends with my family, that was probably his way of having mercy and trying to be discreet so the others couldn’t hear how badly he was about to rip into me.
Then he asked for my ears alone, “You okay?”
His uncle-like concern made me wince. I bet any other coach would’ve gone straight into the yelling and lecturing part.
“I’m fine,” I mumbled, kicking moodily at a clump of turf. Sure, I was fine; fine for anyone who was so lousy at something they loved as much as I loved football.
“Good, good.” Nodding, Coach pointed toward the rest of the team as his assistants lined them up for another play. “Then would you like to tell me just what the fuck that was?”
