The Playbook

  With a nod, I stood. “I’ve been thinking about what Annie told me about the ranch across from the Salt River.”

  “The McEwen’s place.”

  “It’s for sale. We sell Marfa, invest that money into that place. It’s only four thousand acres, but they’ve got a lot of pasture land that they are growing alfalfa on. He’s been talking about subdividing it.”

  My father’s eyes widened in horror. We’re a little under two hours from Jackson Hole. The idea of growth wasn’t that far off. The longer I could put it off, though, the better.

  “We buy it, we keep it ranch land,” my father replied, deep in thought.

  Smiling, I replied, “Yes, sir.”

  His blue eyes met mine. “Don’t do this because you think it’s what I want you to do.”

  It felt hard to breathe. How did I explain it to my father I had a bad feeling something was about to turn all of our lives upside down? It was time for me to step up to the plate and do what I knew deep in my heart I was meant to do.

  “I’m doing this because it’s what I want to do. This place is as much in my blood as it is yours.”

  Slightly bobbing his head in thought, he turned and looked out the wall of windows. “Would make a beautiful place for a wedding.”

  My heart ached. How could I ever ask Aubrey to move to Wyoming? In the middle of nowhere with the closest airport two hours away. I had laid in bed the last few weeks trying to decide if I should call her, or let her go. In the end … I made the decision I thought was best for her.

  Finally finding my voice, I agreed with my father. “It would indeed make a beautiful place for a wedding.”

  Turning, he reached down and picked up a magazine and handed it to me.

  “ESPN’s Magazine. The college football preview. She did a great job.”

  Looking down, I saw her name.

  SITTING IN JOE’S office, my knee bounced up and down at a fast rate. I wasn’t sure if I was nervous or it was from lack of sleep. I’d hardly slept a full night since the day I left Austin two months ago. I walked away from the love of my life and there wasn’t a day that went by I didn’t regret it. Although my sister Nelly insists I couldn’t fall in love that fast. I was almost positive I fell in love with him that day on the sideline when he smiled at me.

  My gaze drifted down to the ESPN magazine on my boss’s desk. Brett’s picture on the cover caused my heart to ache.

  He hadn’t even called or texted about it. It came out last month and not a word from him.

  Silence.

  Pat had called me, though. He told me how wonderful the article was and thanked me for the good reporting I had done.

  The door opened, pulling me from my thoughts. Joe walked in with another guy. He was about my age, cute, and a smile that would make any girl blush. Not this girl, though. I couldn’t seem to make myself move on even two months later. It was clear with no communication from Brett that we were over. Maybe he got back together with Nicole. The thought made me nauseous.

  Every night before I went to bed, I searched the Internet for any signs of Brett. Each night turned up nothing. According to Michelle, it was rumored Brett Owens had hung up his bachelor days and was living pretty much out of the limelight.

  “Thanks for clearing your day, Aubrey. I know you’re heading out tomorrow.”

  My stomach dropped thinking about tomorrow. I was scheduled to fly back to cover the charity football game that Brett’s foundation was doing. It was the kids versus the University of Austin football players. Joe wanted me to do a follow-up piece.

  With a quick nod, I forced a grin. “Not a problem.”

  “I’d like for you to meet Logan Hill. He’s an analyst for the NFL.”

  My heart started pounding. Maybe Joe was impressed with my piece and he was starting to second-guess keeping me in college. Standing, I reached for Logan’s hand. “It’s a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Hill.”

  “Likewise. Please call me Logan.”

  Trying not to let myself jump ahead, I grinned.

  “I have to say, I’m impressed with your article on the University of Austin and Brett Owens. That must have been hell spending so much time with a man like Brett.”

  Anger engulfed me immediately. “Mr. Owens is a very respected and well-loved coach. Not only by his team, but his staff and the university as well. I was honored to get to cover both the university and Coach Owens.”

  Joe and Logan seemed to be caught off guard by my response. Matter of fact, so was I. The way I was so quick to come to Brett’s defense had Joe giving me a questioning look. He never once asked how I got along with Brett. I’m sure he knew something had happened between us, but he never brought it up.

  “I didn’t mean he wasn’t well respected. I guess I’ve heard things about him.”

  Forcing a smile, I sat back down. “Well, we shouldn’t always believe what we hear.”

  Damn it, Aubrey. What in the hell are you doing?

  Joe coughed and Logan laughed. Turning back to Joe, he said, “I like her. She’ll fit right in.”

  I sat up straighter. Oh. Shit. Don’t jump ahead. Do not jump ahead.

  “Fit right in?” I asked nonchalantly.

  Joe held up his hands. “Don’t get your knickers in a twist. Logan here read your piece and was impressed. He wanted to know why you were covering college football and not NFL.”

  Glaring at Joe, I wanted to tell Logan exactly why I was covering college football, but I kept my mouth shut. The last thing I needed was to piss Joe off any more than I already had.

  “I told him I didn’t think you were ready, but with the great job you did on Owens and The U of A, we might have to reconsider where you’ll be next year.”

  My breath hitched and I cursed myself. Play it cool. Save the excitement for when you leave.

  “Well, I’m sure this year my experience on the sideline of the college teams will be a great learning experience. One that I hope takes me to the next level.”

  Jesus, why did that sound so rehearsed? Did I even believe that anymore? I used to love my job … now it felt as if I was going through the motions. The passion I used to feel was slowly slipping away.

  Logan stood behind Joe. He wore a huge smile on his face. Almost as if he knew I didn’t belong on the college level.

  Truth be told. I wasn’t sure where I belonged any more. The only place I longed to be was in the arms of one said, Brett Owens.

  “You had dinner with him?” Michelle asked as we made our way through the Austin airport. She’d been bugging me about Logan Hill since we left for our five a.m. flight this morning. I lucked out when she fell asleep almost as soon as she buckled her seat belt. One of the perks of my job was that we got to fly first class. Michelle was out before the mimosa was even finished.

  “Yes, I had dinner with him. It’s not that big of a deal.”

  I could feel her look of disapproval so I avoided direct contact with her. “What about Brett?”

  Coming to a stop, I turned to her. “Brett? You mean the guy who let me walk away from him when I said I wanted marriage and kids in my future? The guy who hasn’t even bothered to check and see if I’m alive or not? Fuck. Brett.”

  Her eyes widened in shock. “Ouch.”

  Spinning on my heels, I marched toward the exit door. A part of me knew I had backed Brett into a corner that day. It was so out of left field for me to demand that from him. We’d only been dating for a small amount of time and here I was talking marriage and kids.

  Ugh. What in the hell was I thinking?

  Jealousy. I was jealous of Nicole. Bottom line.

  “He called me.”

  All the air left my lungs in one nanosecond. I stopped walking and waited for her to come up to me.

  “I wanted to tell you, but he asked me not to.”

  I fought like hell to keep my feelings in check. “What did he want?” I asked in a whispered voice.

  “He said he wanted to see how you were and to ask about your d
ad.”

  My entire body shuddered. Opening my eyes, I turned to her. “That was it?”

  Michelle swallowed hard. “Kind of.”

  “Kind of?” I asked, my heart feeling like it was being ripped from my chest. Why hadn’t he called me? He could have asked me how my father was doing.

  “He, um, well he told me he regretted letting you walk away that day, but he knew it was the best thing for you. He mumbled something about not keeping you back from the things you wanted.”

  A tear trailed down my cheek. “He’ll never change his mind about marriage or a family will he?” I asked as I sob escaped from my lips.

  With a slight shrug, she replied, “I don’t know if that’s it, Bree. I mean, don’t you think you might have been putting a lot of pressure on that seeing as you guys were just starting your relationship?”

  Wiping my tears away, I stood up straighter. Ouch. The truth hurt even more coming from my best friend’s mouth.

  “Well, whatever it is, marriage, kids, career, he doesn’t seem to think I can handle it. So either way, it doesn’t matter right?”

  I went to walk when she took me by the arm. “Doesn’t it?”

  Thinking back to last night’s dinner with Logan, I realized for the first time in two months I actually felt alive again. Logan lived in the same town as me. We worked for the same company. It was convenient.

  Swallowing hard, I forced the next three words from my mouth. “No. It doesn’t.”

  My phone rang. Reaching into my purse, I grinned when I saw his name. Looking directly at Michelle, I answered it. “Hey, Logan. How’s it going?”

  Her eyes turned sad before she turned and walked ahead of me. My hands started shaking and I covered my mouth to keep my emotions in check.

  “Hey. So, I have tickets to this great outdoor play Tuesday night. Are you free?”

  Dragging in a deep breath, I slipped into the cab Michelle had gotten for us. I could decide right now to go another few months crying myself to sleep wondering if I had pressured Brett or if we really truly didn’t have a future together, or I could move on from him. My heart told me one thing, while my head told me another.

  My heart lost.

  “I am free. It sounds like a lot of fun. I’ll be back in town Sunday morning.”

  “Oh, fast in and out, huh?”

  Forcing out the words, I answered, “Yep. Nothing really in Austin to keep me there longer.”

  “How about dinner then, Sunday night?”

  “Sounds great. I’ll call you when I land.”

  After saying our goodbyes, I slipped my phone back into my purse. Sneaking a look at Michelle, she had her head turned away as she looked out the window.

  I knew what I was doing was the right thing to do. Brett didn’t want the same future I did. Maybe Logan would.

  “What brings you two lovely ladies to Austin?”

  The cab driver’s friendly voice pulled me from my thoughts. “I’m covering a benefit football game at the University of Austin,” I answered, looking over at Michelle, who was still ignoring me.

  “Ahh, Brett Owens’ foundation. Bright Futures.”

  Hearing his name pained my heart. How long would it truly take to get over him? I’d never felt this way about anyone ever before. Not even, Cliff. “Yes.”

  “We’re very proud of Coach Owens in this town.”

  I nodded. “Yes. I know.”

  “He’s a good man. I got to meet him once.”

  Michelle turned her head. “Oh yeah? How?”

  The cab driver stopped at a light and turned back to smile at us. “It was Thanksgiving. He came to the shelter I work at and helped hand out meals to the homeless. Good man. He does it every year.”

  Now it was my turn to stare out the window as Michelle replied, “That was very thoughtful of him to do that.”

  “This morning he was at Dell Children’s hospital. His family donated a large sum of money for help in getting some piece of equipment for them. I wish I could remember what it was.”

  My head snapped forward. “Really?” I asked.

  “Yes. His parents were in town, maybe you’ll meet them at the game!”

  “I’ve already met them. Very nice couple and so is Coach Owens. I’ve done an article on him.”

  “Oh,” he replied. “Then you know how lucky we are to have Coach Owens. He not only loves the U of A, he loves helping our community.”

  With a barely-there nod, I responded, “Yes. I know how lucky you are.”

  I WAS COACHING the Bright Futures team and Troy was coaching the college team. It was flag football, but I wouldn’t be surprised if my little guys here took an opportunity to try and tackle one of the big leagues.

  We all gathered in the locker room as we got ready to play. “Remember who I always say the winner is?”

  The room all answered back, “We are, Coach.”

  “Why?”

  “Because we try.”

  I nodded. “That’s all I ask for. If you try the hardest you can, you’re already a winner. What’s the main thing I want you to do today?”

  They erupted in cheer. “Have fun, Coach Owens.”

  Smiling, I replied, “Have fun. The rest is just bonus. Now let’s do a group hug.”

  The kids jumped up and gathered around in a circle. Wrapping arms around each other, we dropped our heads. The air in the room felt charged as I quickly looked up.

  Standing in the door was Aubrey, and next to her, Michelle Brown. My stunned stare bounced between them both before they landed on those warm brown eyes. My stomach dropped at the sight of her. What was she doing here?

  “You gonna pray or what, Coach Owens?”

  I opened my mouth, but nothing would come out. It was the first time I’d seen her in two months. Fighting the urge to rush over to her, I looked away and over to Pat.

  He saw the pleading look in my eyes and jumped into action. “Um, that’s my job today, y’all.”

  Bowing my head again, I didn’t hear a damn word Pat said. All I could hear was the sound of my heart pounding in my ears.

  Aubrey looked beautiful. Her eyes were filled with such sadness and it killed me knowing I caused that.

  “Coach Owens, you have anything else to say?” Pat asked, dragging me away from my thoughts.

  “Ah … no. I said all I’m going to say. Let’s go out there and be safe first and foremost, and let’s have some fun!”

  Clapping my hands, I motioned for the kids to head on out of the locker room.

  My heart stopped when I heard her call my name. Glancing over my shoulder, I forced myself to stop.

  Michelle walked by me first. “Hey, Brett.”

  Nodding my head, I mumbled, “Hey, Michelle. Good seeing you.”

  Aubrey stopped directly in front of me. “I take it from the look on your face they failed to tell you I was coming to interview you?”

  Fighting the urge to pull her into my arms, I replied, “No. I wasn’t aware you would be here.”

  “Oh,” was all she said in return.

  “The piece is out. Why another interview?”

  She smiled and my heart broke in half. Fuck, I’d missed that smile.

  “It’s a follow-up piece since the first one was such a hit.”

  I wanted to tell her everything. Tell her my father sold the ranch in Marfa, tell her I would only be coaching one more season. There were so many things I wanted to say to her. I wanted her to go with me to Wyoming. I wanted to be with her. Only her. If she needed a promise of marriage, I’d give it to her now.

  My mouth opened as I was about to pour my heart out to her.

  Her eyes had lit up for one brief moment. Almost as if she knew I was about to open the flood gates of emotions.

  “Coach Owens! Come on!” Turning, I saw Chuck, one of the kids, had his head poked in the door, motioning for me to hurry.

  Looking back at Aubrey, I forced a grin. “Good to see you again, Bree.”

  The way her body slump
ed, I knew that was not what she was hoping for. She grinned and started heading out of the room. The second the door shut I closed my eyes, counted to ten, and then punched one of the lockers.

  Fucking asshole.

  The game was over and, of course, team Bright Futures had won. I’d successfully kept my focus on the field and off of Aubrey. She sat with Pat, and the last thing I saw was her beautiful smile as she cheered the kids on.

  I was glad she was happy. Unlike me. I’d spent the last two months practically hiding in my condo.

  “We won! Coach, we won!” Chuck shouted as he ran over to me. Little Casey was right behind him. She’d recently been adopted by her foster parents and I could see what a positive effect of being with a loving family had had on her.

  “We did it, Coach Owens,” Casey exclaimed, waving her pom-poms all around.

  Leaning down, I looked them both in the eyes and beamed with pride. “You did it. I’m so proud of all of you.”

  I had asked for the cameras to give me ten minutes after the game before they came rushing over for all the political shit to start. Ever since that article, I’d been hit up to do more and more interviews. I turned them all down. They would get their news from me later in the season.

  After talking with the kids, I stood and turned to face the media. Aubrey was standing next to Pat and, of course, she got first dibs. ESPN and all that shit.

  Taking a deep breath, I walked over to her. Glancing over her shoulder to the camera man, she pointed and then turned to me. This would be the first time she had officially interviewed me on camera.

  “I’m here with the University of Austin’s head football coach, Brett Owens.”

  She turned and smiled at me. “Coach Owens, we just saw your team from Bright Futures beat the University of Austin’s football team. How proud are you of this amazing team you’ve built with Bright Futures?”

  I was so fucking tired of playing this game. Putting on the show I was expected to give, I grinned. “Very proud. These kids have all come from different backgrounds and situations, but the football and cheer programs let them have some needed fun while building character, as well. And they learn team work and what it means to be there for each other.”