After a few minutes Payton started to feel sleepy again and dozed off, not waking up until a few hours later when she heard voices.
“Hi,” she said, spotting her brothers crowding in to get a good look at her.
Brad rushed over and hugged her, trying to avoid her arm. “You had us worried sick.”
“I’m fine. See?” She pointed to the cast on her left arm. “Aren’t you guys supposed to be eating and getting ready for your game?”
“Yeah, but we wanted to come up and check on you first.” Marino sat on the edge of her bed, rubbing her hair out of her face. “We love you and can’t help but be big brothers. You can blame Dad for having so many sons.”
She rolled her eyes. “Funny. I-I … Well, good luck tonight.” She took his hand in hers and squeezed. “I wanted to be there for you.” The wetness pooled in her eyes.
“Well, I want you to get better more than I want you at my game. In other words, get some rest, and we’ll see you at home tomorrow.” He kissed her cheek as did the rest of her brothers.
Craig came in next, holding even more flowers. “Hey, gorgeous, I just wanted to drop in real quick before the game to see how you were.”
“Hanging in there, but I’ll feel a lot better tomorrow when I get to go home. So catch me a touchdown tonight, okay?” She brought his hand to her mouth, kissed it, and then laid her cheek against it.
“You bet. I hope you know you’re the school’s hero—everyone’s been talking about your comeback and injury.” He laughed as she squirmed to sit up. “Don’t worry, though. I’ll beat off the crowd. But listen, I better get going. I promise I’ll drop by the house tomorrow.” His lips brushed hers, and he smiled. “Get some sleep,” he said as he headed out the door.
It took some urging to get her dad to leave and go to the game, but after she assured him she would only be sleeping anyway, he finally ambled out, taking Elway with him. Payton turned the radio on, trying to find the game on the local station.
“Want some company?” Neal knocked on the door.
“Yes … ” She smiled, feeling the urge to cry come on again. “Thanks for staying with me last night.” She patted the side of her bed for him to sit.
“Did you really expect me to ditch my best friend?” He took a seat next to her. “Matt wanted me to bring you some food because he was pretty sure they weren’t feeding you well enough.”
Payton started laughing when Neal pulled out a bag of marshmallows that were hidden in his jacket. “Very funny. And I’m sure Matt thought of that all by himself?”
“Actually, I think it was more my idea.” He leaned back on her pillow. “So how’s the arm?”
“Don’t know. I can’t really feel it yet.” She nodded toward the IV bag.
“Ah, I see … Oh, by the way, your dad hired me. I think partially because you’ll have some trouble waiting tables for a while.”
“Good. I was pretty sure you were a shoo-in anyway.” She giggled. “You have connections up at the restaurant.”
“Who would that be?”
“Some quarterback chick or something.”
The radio began broadcasting the game, which instantly shut them up. For two and a half hours they sat by it, listening to the play-by-play account. It came down to the final seconds, but Aller Falls was unable to come back. Payton felt heartbroken for Marino, knowing how badly he wanted and needed the win. He still had the best stats of any varsity quarterback, but he’d never made it to the state finals.
“Why don’t you try and get some sleep? I’ll stay right here with you,” Neal whispered.
She yawned. “Will you hold my hand until I fall asleep?”
“Yes … Now, no more talking.”
Payton had won the big game and would finally get to go home to celebrate it tomorrow. If only her brothers had more to cheer about.
It’d been a few months since Payton had won the big game. People still talked about her winning play, and the guys always asked to see her scar. It was kind of like an old battle wound, the kind most guys would brag about.
Chance hadn’t talked to her much after the Lawson game but would occasionally give a wave or a nod. She had no idea what to do about that, now that football season was over.
She didn’t even sit with him anymore, because Mrs. Bradford finally decided to move everyone around in English lit. To her relief, Jake was her new partner, although she had to admit they’d gotten in trouble more than once for talking during class.
Payton stared across her bedroom at her framed, bloody jersey, which Coach Youngman had given to her at the fall sports awards ceremony. He’d called it the “Young Blood Award.” She chuckled even now when she thought about it. It was a daily reminder of her win over Lawson, along with the pins in her arm to prove it.
Payton heard the mailman driving away and rushed upstairs. She opened the receptacle and pulled out the pile of mail, most of which was junk. But there was one envelope in particular that caught her eye, an envelope addressed to Marino from the University of Michigan.
Payton didn’t want to open his mail but was well aware that he’d been up too many nights as of late worrying about getting into a good college. What was a girl to do? She slit it open and unfolded the letter.
“Dear Mr. Carter, It gives us great pleasure to congratulate you on your acceptance and full football scholarship to the University of Michigan … ” Of course there was more to the letter, but Payton didn’t get to it because she was screaming and jumping up and down. She had to get to the restaurant. Now. Damn it. Why couldn’t she drive yet?
Maybe she could bike it, but the homecoming picture of her and her boyfriend caught her eye on the mantle, and she dialed Craig’s cell instead.
“Craig, can you give me a lift up to the restaurant?” she begged, nearly out of breath with excitement.
“Sure, I’ll be right over.”
Payton could barely contain herself while she waited on the porch for him.
“Hi.” He smiled as she raced toward the car. “So what’s up?”
“I’ll explain in a minute.” She leaned over and kissed him.
The restaurant wasn’t too busy when she busted in with the letter tucked behind her back.
“Hey, Dad, can we have a quick meeting with everyone? There’s something really important I need to say,” she announced, out of breath.
Her dad raised an eyebrow but called all of his staff over. Payton pulled the letter out and handed it to Marino.
“Read this out loud,” she urged.
“Dear Mr. Carter,” he began, and his eyes widened. “Holy crap.” He hefted Payton up in the air. “I got in—I got in to U of M!”
There were several shouts and plenty of tears, but Payton was proud of her big bro.
From next to her, Neal clutched her hand. “I’m glad you didn’t make him wait until he got home.”
“Yeah, I figured I’d be nice and not torture him.”
Mr. Carter gave a free round of drinks on the house, and the family celebrated with their friends.
“You know you’ll have to come down for some of the games, right?” Marino yanked on his sister’s ponytail.
“Well, I assumed so—but I would prefer Michigan vs. Michigan State tickets.”
“Now you’re being greedy.”
The bell rang, signaling the end of the day. Payton grinned as she cleaned out the remainder of her locker. Craig and Marino had graduated three days prior, and in less than a month her brother would be moving down to Ann Arbor.
She was proud of him, yet that wasn’t what’d brought the smile to her face. Rather, it was the fact that she’d survived her freshman year of high school. Not only did she land the quarterback position, but she also managed to lead her team to the division title. And she’d survived Kibby’s many attempts at torture.
Payton peeled her homecoming picture out of her locker and shut the door, startled to see Chance standing there.
“Hi.” He shoved his hands into his sh
orts pockets. “I just wanted to tell you to have a great summer—and apologize for being a dick this year. You didn’t deserve it. Just because my dad’s an ass doesn’t mean I have to be, too.”
Payton peered at him. Wow. She never thought she’d see this day—Chance Montgomery apologizing. “You’re fine—I mean, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“So I’ll see you at JV football tryouts later this summer?” He gave her a brilliant smile that nearly blinded her.
“Yeah.”
“Don’t expect me to go easy on you, Carter. I know what you can do now.” He winked and started to walk away.
Yep, Payton could definitely hear the clanging of armor as he sauntered away, a knight in shining armor—or at least in designer clothes.
“Hey, Montgomery!” she yelled.
He turned around. “Yeah?”
“You know the QB position’s mine, right? I mean, I do have the battle wound to prove it.”
He let out a loud chuckle. “I might just let you have it. I was thinking more along the lines of being your receiver.”
She grinned and closed her locker.
“You coming?” Neal met her by the front entrance.
“Yeah … ” The next time Payton stepped into the halls, she’d be a sophomore—which had to be better than being a freshman. Right?
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all I have to thank Georgia McBride, whom without this book never would’ve happened! Thanks so much for everything you do! And Annie Cosby, you’re a freaking blessing (and the Queen of Commas) hahaha. Super appreciate your hard work to help get this book in working fashion.
To my lovely crit group YAFF (YA Fiction Fanatics), I honestly can’t say enough things about you ladies! Thanks for dropping everything when I’m on deadline to read through my stories. I love you guys!
To my daughter Erin and BFF Heather who kept bugging me to get this book back out there. Yes, it took me 10 years to listen to you guys, but here it is…
To my lovely, fantabulous agent, Fran Black, who is my behind the scenes warrior! Thanks so much for all your hard work and for always having my back.
To my hubby and kidlets…thank you as always for letting me juggle my writing, and understanding when I’m barricaded in my room, still wearing pajamas! Love you guys.
REBEKAH L. PURDY
Rebekah L. Purdy was born and raised in Michigan where she spent many late nights armed with a good book and a flashlight. She’s lived in Michigan most of her life other than the few years she spent in the U.S. Army. At which time she got a chance to experience Missouri, Kansas, South Carolina, and California. Rebekah has a business degree from University of Phoenix and currently works full time for the court system. In her free time she writes YA stories, anything from YA Fantasy to YA Contemporary Romance. Rebekah also has a big family (6 kids) she likes to consider her family as the modern day Brady Bunch complete with crazy road trips and game nights. When not hiding at her computer, Rebekah enjoys reading, singing, soccer, swimming, football, camping, playing video games, traveling, and hanging out with her family and gazillion pets.
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Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
About the Author
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