by Lisa Bilbrey
Where Penelope had appeared to miss the early stages of morning sickness, now at sixteen weeks along, she had had several bouts of nausea. Travis had made the point of asking if Penelope was okay to travel when they went in for her last appointment and Dr. Chan has insisted she would be fine. Dr. Chan explained that as long as Penelope drank a lot of fluids and tried to eat, that they shouldn’t have any problems. Travis was trying not to let his worry get the best of him, but his family was the most important part of his life.
“Is it always so hot here?” Penelope griped, reaching over and turning the air conditioning on full blast. She adjusted her vents so that they blew cool air on her.
Through the rearview mirror, Travis saw Max reach down and pull a blanket off the floorboard, tucking it around his legs. While the urge to laugh filled him, he didn’t let it out. It wasn’t Penelope’s fault that her hormones were out of control.
“Pretty much,” Travis replied. “You get used to it.”
Penelope snorted. “If you say so.”
Smiling, Travis reached over and took hold of her hand as he drove them through the streets of Miami. Every once in a while he would point out one of his favorite haunts, explaining how he had found it or sharing a story that tended to involve one of the other members of the Sharks football team.
After almost twenty minutes, Travis turned into the parking lot of Sharks’ stadium. Once again, he spied on his son through the rear view mirror. Max’s face lit up and his eyes widened as he took in the sheer size of the stadium.
“Wow,” Penelope murmured, causing Travis to look over at her. “You played here?”
“Yeah, pretty cool, huh?” Travis replied, pulling into the covered parking.
Penelope laughed. “That’d be an understatement.”
Travis had called Stewart Thornton when they had made the decision to visit Miami and had arranged for a private tour of the stadium. The way Travis saw it, he had brought in a lot of revenue for Stewart over the years. The least the owner of the Sharks could do was allow Travis to share the place that was once his home with his wife and son.
Parking in one of the visitor spaces, Travis turned and looked back at Max. “You ready, little man?”
“Yep,” Max beamed and unbuckled his seatbelt.
Laughing, he turned to Penelope. “And you? Are you ready, baby?”
She smiled. “Yes.”
Together, the three of them climbed out of the car and headed over to elevator that would take them to the top of the stadium where the business office was located. Travis could feel the excitement rolling off of Max as they were lifted higher. After a couple of minutes, the elevator came to a stop, causing Penelope to groan at the suddenness of the movement. Sliding his hand into hers, Travis tried to comfort her without smothering her. She had gone through one pregnancy all on her own and giving up even the smallest amount of control had been a struggle for Penelope. Travis hated that he hadn’t been there for her when she was pregnant with Max, but was vowing to be there for her this time around.
As they made their way along the corridor, Travis pointed out each photo that included him. There were framed covers from magazine shoots he had done, clippings from the local paper, as well as a few candid shots that had been taken on the sidelines by the Sharks’ personal photographer. It used to annoy Travis when the camera was shoved in front of him — almost like they were taking bits of his soul with each click — but now, he saw the beauty in the action. They were memories that would forever hang on the walls of Sharks Stadium.
Pausing outside of the business suite, Travis turned to Penelope and Max. “Before we go in there, I feel like I have to apologize.”
“For what?” Penelope asked, a laugh lacing the simple words.
“You’ll know when we go inside.” With a warning hanging in the air between them, Travis grabbed the doorknob and opened the door, ushering his wife and son inside. Just as he expected, the moment he stepped inside, the woman sitting behind the oak desk squealed.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the great Travis McCoy!” Margaret Keller stood up and rushed around her desk, throwing herself in Travis’s arms. Though he hadn’t seen her in almost three years, the secretary to the owner of the Sharks hadn’t changed at all. She still kept her black hair short, though if he looked hard enough, he would be able to see the handful of greying strands. Shifting her hazel eyes up to his, she glared. “You promised to stay in touch and it’s been almost a year since we’ve heard anything from you. You’re in big trouble, young man!”
Travis sighed, letting his head lob forward. “I’m sorry, Margaret, but I’ve been busy.”
“Oh, I know,” she said. “You just took your third straight team to the state championships, didn’t you? You must be one . . . ,” she shifted her eyes over to Max before looking back at Travis, “. . . heck of a good coach.”
“It’s not me; it’s those boys.” Travis smiled and turned toward his wife and son. “Margaret Keller, I’d like you to meet my wife Penelope and my son Max. Guys, this pushy but wonderful woman is Stewart’s assistant.”
“I prefer secretary,” Margaret snickered. “I know I’m old fashioned like that. Anyway, it’s nice to meet you both.”
“You, too.” Penelope offered the woman a hand to shake, but Margaret rolled her eyes and wrapped her up into a fierce hug. “Oh, okay.”
“I warned you.” Travis laughed.
“Oh, you hush,” Margaret scoffed, leaning back. She smiled at Penelope. “I’m sorry if I come on too strong. Travis is . . . well, he’s kind of like our prodigal son here. He doesn’t come home often and when he does, I get a little excited.”
“This isn’t his home.” At the sound of Max’s voice, they all looked over at him. Though, he tried to hide it, Travis could see the hurt and anger in his eyes.
“No, little man, it’s not — not anymore — but it was once. That’s all Margaret meant,” he explained. However, before anyone could say anything more, the door to Stewart’s office opened and they looked over to see him and Malcolm Rollins walking out. The two men spotted Travis, Penelope, and Max and smiled, though Travis could feel the tension between them.
“McCoy, been a long time.” Malcolm offered Travis a hand, which he took. “How’s it going?”
“It’s good. How about for you? You had a good season last year. Gotta be gearing up for next year, right?”
Malcolm’s jaw clenched shut for a moment before he replied, “Yeah. Look, I’ve gotta run. It was nice seeing you.”
Before anyone could utter another word, he left. Travis shared a look with Penelope. He hadn’t even gotten to introduce his wife and son to the man who’d taken his place as quarterback. Shifting his attention to Stewart, he noted how tense and uncomfortable the man seemed. It was clear that their meeting hadn’t gone very well.
“Well, since Travis isn’t going to introduce us, I guess I will,” Penelope said, breaking the awkward silence that had filled the room. “I’m Penelope and this is our son Max.”
“Oh, sorry,” Stewart murmured, crossing the room and offering his hand. “I’ve heard so much about you, Penelope. I’m Stewart.”
She laughed, eyeing Travis closely. “Should I be worried about what he’s told you?”
This time Stewart chuckled. “No, I can assure you that it was all good.”
“Like I would say anything else,” Travis scoffed, sliding his arm around his wife’s waist.
“No, I know you wouldn’t.” Penelope leaned into his embrace, and brought her hand up to her stomach. At sixteen weeks, she’d just started to show, but unless one was paying attention, it wasn’t noticeable.
Travis cleared his throat. “Well, we’re just gonna take a look around, if that’s still all right?”
“Oh, of course,” Stewart said, moving over to Margaret’s desk and rifling through the papers on top.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Margaret walked over to him, pushing him away from her desk. “I have e
verything just where I want it and you’re going to mess it all up. Now, what are you looking for?”
Stewart stared at her for a moment before he said, “Visitors’ passes.”
Margaret slipped her hand under a stack of papers and pulled out a small bundle of passes. She picked up her pen and scribbled on three of them before handing them to Travis. “These should get you anywhere you want to go inside the stadium.”
“Thanks,” he said, smiling.
~*~*~*~
By the time Travis led Penelope and Max out onto the field, they had explored every inch of the stadium. Travis had lost count of how many times Max had gotten excited on this trip. First, it was the view from the business office that overlooked the field, which Travis had to admit that was amazing.
After leaving the business office, they headed down to the locker rooms. Thankfully, it was empty. While Max loved it and ran from locker to locker, amazed by the Sharks names listed on each, Penelope stayed close to the door with a grimace on her face. It was clear that she didn’t enjoy the smell of “sweat and boys,” as she declared. Travis was so used to it, he hadn’t even noticed the odor until she pointed it out.
From there, they headed out onto the field, where they found the rest of the team running drills — everyone but Malcolm. He was standing on the sidelines, next to James Jorkins, head coach of the Sharks. Based on the hand motions between both men, they weren’t having a pleasant conversation.
“McCoy?” At the sound of his last name, Travis looked over and smiled at the three-hundred pound lineman jogging his way. Gary Clark was about the same height as Travis, though he was twice as wide. Embracing him in a one-armed hug, he asked, “What are you doing here, man?”
“Thought I’d bring the family by,” Travis explained, motioning to his wife and son. “This is Penelope and Max.”
Gary looked from Travis to Penelope, and then down to Max. “Nice to meet you both.”
“You, too,” Penelope murmured. “You should open your stance on the line. It would stop you from getting pushed back on your butt.”
Gary’s mouth dropped open as he shifted his attention from her up to Travis. “Dude, your woman knows football?”
“Better than any of us,” Travis admitted. “And she’s right. You were playing like you had . . .” He let his words trail off as he looked down at his son. “Well, let’s just say that you need to loosen your stance up.”
“Yeah, I know. JJ keeps telling me the same thing.” Gary tilted his head toward the sidelines where James and Malcolm were still standing. “Anyway, mind if I take the kid around and introduce him to everyone?”
Max snapped his gaze over to Travis and the pleading look in his eyes had Travis laughing right away. “Of course. Just remember that he’s just thirteen, so be mindful about what you say in front of him.”
“Not like I’m taking him to a strip club or something.” Gary scoffed before placing a hand on Max’s shoulder and leading him out into the field.
“Can we trust him not to corrupt the boy?” Penelope asked, while they watched the lineman and their son join the rest of the team that was waiting for them.
“No,” Travis laughed, “but when you’re thirteen and you get the chance to meet an entire team of professional football players, you take it. What kind of father would I be if I took that from him?”
“A good one?” she tittered, causing him to frown. “Oh, I’m just kidding.”
“He’ll be fine. I promise.”
Travis led Penelope over to where JJ and Malcolm were standing and introduced his wife to his former coach and the man who had taken his place as the starting quarterback for the Sharks.
“It’s nice to meet you.” JJ tilted his head toward Penelope, offering her a polite nod.
“You, too,” she replied. “Your team looks good, though you’re going to have a tough season from the looks of it.”
“Yeah, the hardest we’ve had in a while,” he told her.
Penelope gestured over toward the team. “You’ve got a lot of young players. Think they’re going to be able to handle the pressure?”
Appraising her for a moment, JJ smiled. “They’re gonna have to grow up fast, but with proper mentoring from the older members of the team, they should be fine.”
“Yeah, just dandy,” Malcolm grumbled. “Excuse me.”
He brushed passed Travis and headed toward the tunnel that led toward the locker rooms. Travis looked over at JJ, who had a frown on his face. “He’s being traded.”
“What?” He couldn’t hide the shock in his voice.
JJ rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head. “Denver made an offer that Stewart just couldn’t turn down. We’ve fought against it, but Malcolm is officially off the Sharks’ roster.”
Travis dragged a hand over his face and through his hair before turning to Penelope. “Will you be okay here for a minute? I’m gonna go talk to him.”
“I’ll be fine,” she replied, placing her hand on his chest.
He found Malcolm in the locker rooms, sitting in front of his locker with his elbows on his knees and his face buried in his hands. At the sound of the door opening, he looked up, scowling when he saw Travis standing there.
“What do you want?”
“Just thought you might need someone to talk to,” Travis said, shrugging his shoulders.
“And what? You’d be the one I’d turn to?” Malcolm shook his head. “Thanks, but no thanks.”
“Look, I get that you’re angry —”
“Angry?” he seethed, clenching his fists. “Angry doesn’t even begin to cut it. This is my home and now, I’m being tossed out because Denver offered Stewart more money for me than he could say no to.” Pausing for a moment, he took a deep breath. “I don’t know how to do this.”
“Do you love the game?” Travis asked.
“You know I do.”
“Then you hold your head up high, and you make a new home for yourself in Denver. The colors will change, your teammates won’t trust you at first, but you go there and you prove to them that you’re worth every penny they’re paying for you.”
“What if I can’t do it?” he wondered. “What if I go to Denver and find that I can’t do it without those guys out there protecting my ass?”
“You did it when you left high school and went to college, didn’t you?”
Malcolm nodded.
“And you did it again when you came to the Sharks, right?”
“Yes, but —”
“There are no buts,” Travis said, holding a hand up. “You’ve proven yourself to every member of this organization, to every fan that sits in the stands and cheers for you. And I have faith that you’ll go to Denver and prove yourself there, too.”
Malcolm sighed. “I hope you’re right, man. I really do.”
“Just remember why you’re playing the game and you’ll be fine. That’s a promise.”
Turning, Travis left Malcolm sitting in the middle of the locker room. Penelope and Max were waiting for him by the goal post. Sliding his arm around his wife and placing a hand on his son’s shoulder, he watched his former team practice, thankful for the chance to share this part of his life with his family.
***
Chapter Five
Lighting up the Mountain Sky
“Papa, where do you want me to put the wood?” Max asked, shifting his eyes over to Sherman Stone. The term of endearment, Papa, had been established from the day Max was born. From the way Penelope tells the story, shortly after she’d given birth to Max, Sherman lifted him to his chest and whispered that he’d be the best Papa in the world. Penelope had told Travis that her father hadn’t wanted to be just any grandfather; he wanted to be special and needed a special name for his grandson to call him.
“Over by the fire pit,” the man replied, gesturing to the hole he and Travis had just finished digging in the back yard.
Max walked over and dropped the armful of logs he’d pulled out of the wood, running
off before they could put him to work again. Travis ran his fingers through sweat-soaked hair. He, Penelope, and Max had driven up from Texas to Colorado Springs two days ago and had been enjoying the fresh mountain air, as well as the chance to spend some time with his in-laws. Though she tried to hide it, Travis knew that his wife missed her parents.
Penelope’s tinkling laughter trickled toward him when a breeze shot through the air and Travis looked over his shoulder, finding her sitting on the back porch with Wanda. Mother and daughter were leaning toward each other, both oblivious to the fact that they were being watched. Bringing her hand down to her stomach, Penelope smoothed out her white, cotton tank top before tugging on the hem, trying to make sure her stomach was covered. In the three weeks since their trip to Miami, she had blossomed and was unable to hide her growing tummy any longer. Travis couldn’t be happier. He wanted the whole world to know that they were having another baby, and that this time he wasn’t missing a single second.
“Are you gonna keep staring at my little girl, or are we gonna get this done?” At the sound of his father-in-law’s voice, Travis looked over and watched as Sherman tore the baseball cap off his head, displaying his elegant silver hair and laughing at his blatant ogling.
Travis felt his ears turn red. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be,” the older man replied. “I still find myself lost in my wife’s beauty, too.”
“You do?” Travis asked.
“Oh, yeah.” Sherman nodded. “I’ve just learned to be a little more careful that I don’t let her catch me.”
“Why?”
Smiling, he brushed his hair back before placing the cap on his head again. “Because if Wanda knew how much I watched her, she’d use it against me. I’m putty in that woman’s hands, Travis. Just like you are in my daughter’s.”
“True,” he admitted, unashamed of the fact that his wife could get him to do anything for her just by batting her eyelashes.
“Come on; the sooner we get these stones placed around the pit, the faster we can go up there and annoy our wives.”
