The Backup Plan: A Friends to Lovers Sports Romance (One Pass Away: A New Season Book 2)

by Mary J. Williams

Raising a hand, he rapped his knuckles against the office door.

  “Come in, Levi,” Darcy Stratham called out.

  In college, Levi was known as the QB with nerves of steel. Nothing rattled him. Yet, with a decade more of living under his belt and even though he was prepared for what he knew was about to come, his fingers shook like an untried virgin on his wedding night as he turned the doorknob.

  Stepping over the threshold, Levi barely managed not to trip over his own feet when he saw the group of people assembled.

  Darcy, he expected. She was the general manager, after all. Made all the sense in the world that Joshua McClain, the Knights’ head coach, would be there. Mac was the teams’ on-field general, the strategist, and the one who personally kicked ass to motivate his players.

  Besides, Mac was the one who summoned Levi to Darcy’s office in the first place.

  What gave Levi pause—what put a lump the size of the hope diamond in his throat—were the other assembled bodies.

  Riley Preston, the team’s owner smiled at him from the sofa. Gaige Benson, the Knights’ legendary, long retired quarterback leaned against the far wall, an enigmatic expression on his handsome face. Next to Gaige, as he had been for the entirety of his playing days, stood Sean McBride, onetime wide receiver and future NFL hall of famer.

  Finally, to Sean’s left, Levi spied Logan Price. In his day, the star running back was dubbed the Comeback Kid after he returned to football after what everyone thought to be a career-ending injury during his rookie season.

  Slightly shorter, a bit stockier than Gaige and Sean, like his fellow ex-Knights, Logan had the look of a man who defied the aging process. Fit and trim, they all possessed the looks of men who could walk onto the field again and play the game at its highest level without missing a beat.

  And honestly, who would stop them? They led the Knights to their first Super Bowl, coming away champions. As far as Seattle fans were concerned, the three men were sports Gods who could do no wrong.

  As Levi’s gaze circled the room, lingering on each face, his heart soared and sank to his feet all at the same time. Had he assessed the situation incorrectly? Perhaps it wasn’t his career that was terminal, but him.

  “Tell me straight. Am I dying?” Levi asked, only half-joking.

  “Yes,” Sean said with one nod of his head, his dark eyes somber.

  Levi felt his legs turn to rubber. He wobbled toward the nearest chair and sank onto the cushion like a lead weight.

  “Sean!” Riley admonished with a stern look. She leaned over and patted Levi’s leg. “Don’t mind him. “Unfortunately, my husband’s sense of humor has never progressed beyond that of a thirteen-year-old boy.”

  “Am I wrong,” Sean asked, looking to Gaige and Logan for support. “Aren’t we all dying?”

  “Sean has a point,” Gaige said with a shrug of his broad shoulders.

  “Can’t argue,” Logan agreed, his lips forming a half-smirk, half-smile. “Fingers crossed that the process is long, slow, and as pain-free as possible. But history tells us, the journey ends the same for us all. Six feet under.”

  “Unless you choose cremation,” Gaige mused as he rested his blond head against the wall.

  “Or a Viking sendoff,” Sean piped in. Thoughtfully, he scratched his chin. “Does the law let you burn a body? Ceremonially, of course.”

  “Jesus,” Mac scoffed rolling his eyes. “I’m freaking relieved I never had to coach such a set of jokers. I don’t know how my predecessor survived as long as he did without permanent brain damage from banging his head onto his desk.”

  “Harry Coleman was old school,” Sean said of their retired head coach. “When in doubt, he saved himself a headache and banged our heads together.”

  Without a word, Darcy surged to her feet, automatically commanding everyone’s attention. From behind her desk, she crossed her arms, the look in her blue eyes leaving no doubt who was in charge. The men outweighed her, could have easily overpowered her, and yet with the rise of one of her perfectly arched brows, their rotating banter quieted immediately.

  “And that, my friends, is why I hired Darcy Stratham to run my team,” Riley said with a delighted laugh. “How could I resist a woman who can make grown men cower like chastised puppies.”

  “We aren’t cowering. Just didn’t have anything else to say,” Sean insisted. Gaige and Logan nodded their agreement.

  “Anyway,” Darcy said, giving her full attention to Levi. “I apologize for the unrehearsed comedy routine. I invited Gaige, Sean, and Logan to lend support, not to regale us with their best Three Stooges impersonations.”

  Levi entered Darcy’s office resigned to his inevitable fate. In a short blink, he’d gone from nervous, to panicked, and now bewildered. Now, the only way he could describe his mental state was utterly confused.

  “Not that I don’t appreciate the gesture,” Levi said, his frown deepening. “But why do I need their support? It’s not like I haven’t heard what you have to tell me before.”

  “Have you?” Darcy asked.

  “More times than I care to remember.” Levi tapped his temple. “Each one is etched into my memory.”

  “Sounds painful,” Riley said, her smile filled with sympathy.

  Levi shrugged. The first time he lost out on the starting quarterback job, the news was like a red-hot dagger to his gut. The second time, he felt an additional, bitter twist of the knife. Eventually, the bleeding became less severe, the pain slightly less agonizing. He wouldn’t say he’d become numb. But he was close.

  “We’re all grateful that Monte Oliver will make a full recovery. And thank the Lord he didn’t’ hurt anyone,” Mac said through gritted teeth. Under his breath, he added, “The inconsiderate, irresponsible, asshole. And where the freaking hell did the jerk get some booze?”

  “Must have snuck a bottle onto the plane,” Levi said, kicking himself for not paying more attention to what Monte was up to.

  “Exactly. He knows all team flights are dry—to and from. Do you think I wouldn’t like a cold beer after a tough loss?” When Levi gave an understanding nod, Mac continued. “Damn straight, I would. But like everyone—except dickwad Oliver—I follow the rules. In fact—"

  “Joshua.” Darcy sent the head coach a warning look. “You’re starting to ramble.”

  Darcy—his boss and fiancé—was the only person who called Joshua McClain by his given name. The effect on the tough as nails ex-football player was a sight to see. Smiling, he ducked his head, rubbed the back of his neck, and, if Levi weren’t mistaken, a slight blush stained the surface of Mac’s cheeks.

  Somehow, the soon to be a married couple had discovered a way to make their professional and personal lives mesh without letting the inevitable gossip and heightened media coverage come between them or affect their jobs. Truly Amazing.

  “As I was saying.” Clearing his throat, Mac’s gaze turned razor-sharp. “Let’s not be hypocrites and pretend the loss of Monte Oliver as QB was a tragedy for the team.”

  “One more loss and you would have benched him anyway,” Darcy said, her tone matter of fact.

  More of a newsflash than a revelation, Levi couldn’t say he was surprised. However, no team decided to bench a starting QB without a lot of soul searching and plenty of angst. He could only imagine the hours of discussion, debating, and agonizing that went on behind closed doors.

  “You aren’t naïve, Levi,” Darcy continued. “You’ve been in the game long enough to understand how things work behind the scenes.”

  Here we go, Levi thought. His shoulders stiffened as though anticipating the blow he knew was coming. Then, breathing out, he relaxed. He’d been bruised before, occasionally, bloodied. As always, he would survive.

  “I won’t lie and say we haven’t been on the phone exploring our options for some time.” Darcy exchanged looks with Riley and chuckled. “Our owner doesn’t believe any of the talent that’s currently on the market is worth the a
sking price. Coach McClain and I agree.”

  “We’ve tossed around the idea of a trade,” Mac said with a shrug. “At this time of the year, teams are pretty stingy with their quarterbacks.”

  “The injury bug can hit at any time. Though you don’t expect your players to shoot themselves in the foot the way Monte did. Metaphorically speaking.” Darcy let out a deep sigh—the first sign she’d shown of how much pressure she was under. “In the end, after some long hours and heated discussions, the solution turned out to be a simple one.”

  Levi knew the routine. As a veteran player with a hefty, some might say overly generous salary, he knew what management expected of him. One last time, he would do his duty.

  “Whoever you decided to bring in, the team will rally around him,” Levi promised. “I’ll get the players on board and do whatever I can to make the transition smooth and painless.”

  Darcy's gaze moved from Levi to Mac. Cocking her head to one side, she smiled at the head coach

  “Tell him,” she said.

  Rolling to his feet, Mac planted his feet in front of Levi’s chair. His gaze sharp and steady, his expression emotionless.

  “Levi Reynolds. As of right now, you are officially the Seattle Knights’ starting quarterback.”

  Mac’s words made no sense. Little more than gobbledygook, each syllable bounced off Levi, pinging off the walls and settling somewhere in the corner. Certain he’d suddenly lost his ability to understand the English language, Levi tugged on his ear as he tried to clear away the loud buzzing that suddenly filled his head to the exclusion of everything else.

  “Did he faint?” Logan asked.

  “No,” Mac said, peering into Levi’s eyes. “He’s conscious. I think.”

  “Give the man some air.” Gaige pushed everyone aside. Picking up a folder from Darcy’s desk, he fanned Levi’s face. “Breathe before you pass out. In. Out. In. Out. Understand?”

  Yes, he did! He understood every word. Relieved, Levi closed his eyes and concentrated on pulling oxygen into his lungs. Slowly the feeling of lightheadedness receded. The sense he’d entered an NFL sanctioned version of The Twilight Zone, not so much.

  Levi nodded his thanks when Logan handed him a bottle of water. He downed the contents in four large gulps. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he looked around the room.

  “I don’t mind standing as the butt of the joke from time to time,” he said. “But some subjects just aren’t funny. Not to me.”

  “Do you see anyone laughing?” Mac asked. With an exasperated shake of his head, he handed Levi a sheet of paper. “Here’s the official press release. The Knights’ P.R. department sent out the notice fifteen minutes ago.”

  The announcement was straightforward. The Seattle Knights are happy to announce… Yada, yada, yada. The usual jargon used by every sports team for as long as anyone could remember. The one glaring difference, the thing Levi’s eyes couldn’t move past, was the sentence that, win or lose, would forever change his life and legacy.

  Ownership and management are proud to announce that Levi Reynolds will take over as the Knights’ starting quarterback. He has our full backing and support.

  The wisest thing would have been to shake everyone’s hands, say thank you, and get his ass out the door before common sense prevailed and they changed their minds. However, Levi—fool that he was—couldn’t leave well enough alone.

  “You know that I’m a thirty-two-year-old career backup. Right?” Displaying a sense of cool he didn’t feel, Levi held Gaige’s gaze. “I haven’t started a game since college.”

  “Worried you forgot how?” Gaige asked.

  “Nope,” Levi answered with all the false bravado he could muster. “Just figured it wouldn’t hurt to address the elephant in the room.”

  “Here’s the truth,” Mac said while wearing his best, I’m in charge so don’t give me any backtalk, expression. “You’ve always had what it takes to be a starting QB. Maybe bad luck, or lousy judgment by the teams you were on? For some reason I’ll never fathom, you were relegated to spending your career on the sidelines.”

  With a sigh, Levi thought of all the times he’d wondered why the football gods that loved him like a favored child during his college days had deserted him the second he turned pro. He’d never come up with a satisfactory answer. Mac’s theory that the problem had been bad luck or lousy judgment by those who had the decision-making power worked on some level.

  However, at this late date, the reasons for Levi’s failure to achieve his dream of starting at QB for an NFL team mattered less than the reality. Certain his window of opportunity was firmly shut, he couldn’t quite wrap his head around the idea that, after a decade of wondering what might have been, he would finally get his chance.

  “I wish you had some time to assimilate your change in fortune,” Darcy said with a sympathetic shrug. “Unfortunately, because of Monte’s poor decision making, none of us are blessed with the luxury of time.”

  Mac tossed a book onto Levi’s lap.

  “I already have a copy of the playbook,” Levi said with a frown.

  “We’ve added a few wrinkles. Nothing radical,” Mac assured him when the line between Levi’s brows deepened. “Just a few plays geared toward your abilities.”

  The next game is only six days away,” Levi reasoned. “Is now the time to throw in something new to the game plan?”

  Six days. The more the truth of Levi’s new reality sank in, the more it felt as though someone’s fist was wrapped around his heart, squeezing. Harder. Harder.

  “You already know the plays backward and forward. You could make the calls in your sleep.” Mac raised an eyebrow. “Am I wrong?”

  Knowing the plays and executing them were two different kinds of beasts. Like trying to make a giraffe with an aardvark. Not impossible, per se. However, the process of working out the logistics and technicalities was daunting—to say the least. Especially for the poor animals who were expected to perform a freaking miracle with little notice.

  Levi didn’t know who he was in the story—the giraffe or the aardvark. One thing was certain. If he wasn’t careful. If he put one foot wrong. He could be well and truly royally fucked.

  “If you don’t think you can do the job, speak now,” Darcy said, crossing her arms, her expression all business. “As your friend, my heart is with you all the way, Levi. But as the Knights’ general manager, I don’t have time for sentimentality. Either you take the field on Sunday, mentally and physically ready to play, or I find someone else who can and will lead our team.”

  Levi raised his chin, a cool glint entering his eyes. Yes, the news that he would start on Sunday had been a shock. He hadn’t been prepared and he’d let a few doubts creep in. But he understood the chance to play football at the highest level would never come his way again. Now or never.

  “You can count on me.” Levi looked Darcy in the eyes. “Just one thing you should know. A warning.”

  Darcy placed her hands on her hips then shook her head as though amazed that someone in his position could be so arrogant when he should be on his knees giving thanks.

  “I’m listening,” she said.

  “I’m grateful. Really,” he added when Darcy didn’t look convinced. “You just handed me a precious gift—one I’d given up on ever receiving. However—”

  “Here we go,” Mac growled. “Why are quarterbacks so goddammed arrogant?”

  “Not arrogant,” Gaige corrected, quick to defend the position he’d once played with the kind of skill players and fans still talked about with awe and wonder. “The word is confident.”

  “Finish what you have to say, Levi,” Darcy said. “You have a warning for me?”

  “If you decide to change drivers before the season ends, you should be prepared.” Levi’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I won’t give up the wheel without a fight.”

  “Damn, son.” Gaige grinned. Looking like a proud parent, he slappe
d Levi on the shoulder. “Now you sound like a quarterback.”

  “We have a lot to do before Sunday,” Mac said—almost cracking a smile. “You’ve always been a hard worker, Levi. Now, you need to take your commitment to another level.”

  “Whatever it takes, Coach.”

  “Tomorrow, we start.” Mac gave a firm nod. “Etch the words crack of dawn into your brain. Don’t be late.”

  “He could sleep here,” Gaige said, tongue in cheek.

  “Hey.” Looking thoughtful, Mac latched onto the suggestion. “Not a bad idea.”

  “Stop feeding the beast,” Darcy told Gaige with a warning frown. “You know how obsessive Mac can be.”

  “I’m prepared to bunk down with him,” Mac said.

  “I’ve become accustomed to having your warm body next to mine.” Darcy smiled. “And since I prefer the comfort of our bed to the Knights’ locker room, I veto your idea of a slumber party.”

  “Fine. We’ll stay home.” Mac sighed. “But neither of us will get much sleep tonight.”

  “Promises, promises,” Darcy teased. A second later, she was all business. “You aren’t alone, Levi. Gaige has offered to be your mentor.”

  “I don’t want to overstep,” Gaige rushed to explain. “If you need anything. Advice. If you just need to vent. Call me. Anytime, day or night.”

  “Same goes for us,” Sean said, nodding toward Logan. “We’ll leave the QB stuff between you and Gaige. However, anything else football related, we’re your men.”

  Levi was humbled. He was certain at some point he’d take advantage of the help they so graciously offered. Probably sooner than later.

  “Thanks.” Levi shook Gaige’s hand. Sean and Logan were next. “Really. I’m grateful.”

  “Knights for life,” Sean said with a wink. “We bleed blue and gold.”

  “Go. Get some rest.” Taking Logan’s arm, Darcy led him to the door. “You have more to celebrate tonight than just Piper’s birthday.”

  Piper. In all the excitement, their plans for the evening had completely slipped his mind. He looked at his watch. Damn, where had the day gone?