AllFreeNovel
Share Us
You home?
Me:
No, I’m at the school. I promised Timothy I’d stop by and check out the kids.
Why?
The knock on my window has me looking up to find the man in question on the other side. With one final glance at my phone and no new messages, I lock it and push open the door.
“Hey, man!” Timothy slaps me over the shoulder. “Thanks for doing this.”
“Of course. I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner, but things have been crazy lately.”
Between helping Aaron on the ranch, taking my parents to Dad’s follow-up doctor’s appointments, and sneaking in every chance I can get with Rebecca, I’ve had my hands full. Still, I meant what I said. I didn’t mind stopping by and seeing the kids Timothy was coaching. After all, this was where I started too. My coach was my biggest support and influence at that time, and it was niceseeing that Timothy was following in his footsteps. So, if I could help even one of them get the chance I did, I would gladly do it.
“No worries, I completely understand. How is your dad doing?”
“The usual. He’s complaining because we’ve been annoying him with our constant nagging and worrying.”
Timothy laughs as we make our way to the field. “Why am I not surprised? My dad would be the same way.”
I shake my head. “That man will be the death of me, I swear. But then, on the other hand, I have Mom worrying about him. She’s putting on a brave face for the most part, but I can see how the whole situation unsettled her.”
“That’s normal. A heart attack is no joke. It’s nice of you to have stayed.”
“I don’t really mind it.” I shrug, and that much was true.
Yes, some of Dad’s comments and brushing off his health concerns annoyed me to no end, but staying here wasn’t as awful as I thought it would be.
When we step on the sidelines, I see a group of boys running around the field.
“It depends on a day-to-day basis, but these four are practically glued to the field. The one at the front is Austin. He’s the team quarterback. Next to him are Michael, the wide receiver, and Kenny, the running back, and finally, we have James, our star defensive end. I swear that boy doesn’t let anything past him.”
Just then, one of the boys, Kenny, lifts his head and spots us. His eyes widen, and his mouth falls open. “Holy shit!”
The corner of my mouth twitches upward. Although I was pretty new to the pros, since Lonestars had a good last season, I’ve gotten my fair share of fans already, but nothing beats meeting kids and seeing that look of wonder and excitement ontheir faces when they realized their idol is standing in front of them.
“Language,” Timothy reprimands, crossing his arms over his chest, but I don’t miss the note of amusement in his voice.
“What?” his friends ask, looking up to see what had his attention. The tallest of the four, James, loses his footing for a second.
“Holy shi— shoot!”the quarterback comes to a sudden stop. “You’re Miguel Fernandez! LiketheMiguel Fernandez!”
I chuckle softly. “That would be me.”
“That’s fucking insane!”
“Do I need to make you do twenty pushups for every curse word that leaves your mouth, Austin?” Timothy asks sternly.
It was amusing seeing one of my friends, who used to be a laidback jokester, in this new authoritative role.
“But this isMiguel Fernandez, Coach!” Austin protests.
Timothy nods. “I’m aware of that. We used to play together in high school.”
“You used to play with him?” I didn’t think it was possible, but his eyes widened even further. “He was in theSuper Bowl.”
“We were in the playoffs,” I correct. “I’m currently prepping for the next season and summer camp, so I figured I might come here and work out a little. You guys game?”
