by Zoë Lane
The Running Back
Zoë Lane
Contents
Website/Mailing List
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Reader Letter
THE RUNNING BACK
Zoë Lane
www.zoelaneauthor.com
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This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are fictitious. Any similarities to actual events and persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. Trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used. The reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or mechanically, without the express written consent of the author constitutes a copyright violation.
THE RUNNING BACK
THE ROOKIES 3
Copyright © 2018 Zoë Lane
Cover Art Designed by Yocla Designs
Created with Vellum
1
SEAN
Three more reps.
I grunted and then pushed for a fourth.
Then a fifth.
My biceps burned, but I’d learned a long time ago that in the space of pain is where growth lies.
“Sean! Sean! You’re on the TV!”
I let my muscles slacken and put the weights back on the rack. Sweat poured down over my eyes, and I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand, managing to redirect most of the streams to my cheeks.
Casper Taylor was pointing with his good arm to the television above me. I smiled. I remembered that day.
“The Boys and Girls Club can’t even begin to repay Sean Miller for his incredible generosity. He was always an empathetic child, and we’re so proud that he’s grown into such a philanthropist as a man.”
My eyes stung. Probably the sweat. My cheeks hurt as I grinned even harder.
Nico Langetti slapped me on the back as we stood around watching the news, showcasing the gift I had presented to the Boys and Girls Club yesterday. “You’re making us all look bad.”
I laughed. “Not hard in your case.”
He put a hand to his chest in mock offense. “Ouch!”
“That’s the one you went to as a kid?” Casper asked.
I nodded. “If it hadn’t been there, I would’ve been in so much trouble. Probably wouldn’t even be here,” I said soberly, remembering the relief I had felt each time I’d walked through those doors. It was like going into a sanctuary.
Growing up in the part of town where people’s houses weren’t behind gates and police rarely patrolled, kids were the most susceptible to negative influence. The Boys and Girls Club did what they could, and I wanted to be a part of them continuing to make a difference in the lives of those kids.
“That’s awesome, man,” Nico said before growling out dumbbell fly reps.
I saw myself shaking the hand of the location administrator and then being surrounded by children for photographs.
The newscaster returned to the screen. “Sean Miller is a local hero. From growing up on the south side of Richmond to becoming a Heisman Trophy winner in college and now the Richmond Rhinos’ first-string running back, that young man has had quite a life, and he’s giving back so others can have the same. Well done, Mr. Miller. And we’re rooting for our team, the Rhinos.”
Cheers went up from the gym as other team members shook my shoulders, gave me congratulatory slaps on the shoulders, and high-fives. My stomach twisted into tiny knots of embarrassment. I hadn’t done it for the attention; I just knew what it was like to have a safe place to go, and I wanted to make sure that legacy continued.
“Yeah, congrats, Sean.”
I turned at the sound of Landyn Gallagher’s bullshit acknowledgment. “Thanks,” I said with equal snideness. “But I didn’t do it for myself.”
His jaw was set. “Sure you didn’t.”
“When your goal is to give back, it shapes how you act and what you do.”
Landyn stepped forward. “Right.”
I held my ground.
Casper’s worried face came between the two of us. “We’re all on the same team, guys. We graduated college months ago.”
“Yeah, the enemy is who we’re playing this week,” Nico said. He dropped the weights onto the rack. “We gotta have our heads in the game for this one. It’s the rookies against the division lead. If we lose bad, we’ll look like idiots.”
“What makes you think we’re going to lose?” Landyn barked the question.
“You never think we’re going to lose, Landyn,” Bat said with a frown. “But the last one didn’t exactly go our way.” He leaned over the bench he was working on and worked on his triceps.
Bat had every reason to be worried. His matchup would probably run circles around him on the field. He was a good wide receiver, but his opponent was one of the best.
“It’s called a champion’s mindset.” Landyn looked at us with eyes wide and looking half-crazed. “And you guys better have it by the time we run out onto the field. ’Cause I’m not carrying your asses.”
“You’re so full of yourself,” I shot at him.
Landyn faced me. I hated that he was a few inches taller than me, but whatever. He might’ve punched me in the face at that nightclub when he was looking for his sister, but he wouldn’t jeopardize hurting his hands, not when we were days away from probably the biggest matchup of the season. If we won this game, we’d take the lead.
Oh yeah, he punched me in the face.
My hands formed fists by my sides.
I’d put that scene out of my mind for weeks, for Lacey’s sake. She’d been drunk and totally out of it because her dad had been a real dick on television, and she’d given me that lap dance.
I was getting hard just thinking about that.
And then Landyn had punched me in the face. I was the one that texted him to come get her!
“But I’ve got the Heismans to back it up,” he hissed into my face.
I showed him my teeth. “Yeah, but not the character. Where’s your manager? Don’t you have to visit another charity and fake care?”
The whites of his eyes grew as did the veins in his neck. I had to admit, I enjoyed pissing him off.
“Break it up, you two!” Coach Hicks’s voice yelled from the doorway. He rushed forward, his naturally pale skin going red as a stop sign. “I don’t want to see the two of you in each other’s faces for the rest of the season, is that clear?” His hands gripped our shoulders and shoved us apart. “I don’t care what it’s about, drop it.”
His ey
es vaulted between the two of us before landing on me. “Sean, just saw the news spot. Was coming to congratulate you.” He shook my hand. “That was a good thing you did. We’ll be happy to host them here one day if you’d like.”
“I have a team that I help coach. Middle school. Maybe they can practice here one day?”
Coach Hicks’s brows went up. “Really? Absolutely, they can come. I didn’t know you coached.”
I shrugged. “Just something I like to do. I’m only the assistant coach.”
“Either way, proud of you, Sean.”
Coach Hicks was one of the reasons why I’d picked this team over the others that had phoned me before the draft. I’d been offered more money with other franchises I’d only dreamed about.
But Coach Hicks…
I had followed his college career and his work ethic stood out the most—that and how his team rallied around him like he was some sort of god. It was like having a father; and I had no idea what that was even like, or even who the man was. A boy, probably. A man would’ve stuck around.
Coach Hicks made being on the Richmond Rhinos sound like a real family. Like a team that prided itself on excellence even though it hadn’t been proven yet.
I wanted to be a part of that.
And it meant I didn’t have to move the person who’d first taught me about goals and succeeding—my grandmother. She wouldn’t want to leave her home anyway. She was too important a figure in the community. Always remember where you came from, but keep your eyes forward up the mountain. It’s okay to leave home.
I’d made the right choice.
And on Thursday, I’d prove it again to all the kids watching and wanting something—or someone—to believe in.
2
LACEY
Carmencita handed me a cup of hot chocolate. I inhaled the sweet, warm aroma. “Thank you.”
“De nada. I don’t understand how you can drink that and eat all of this.” Her arms spread wide.
I smiled and sipped the hot drink. “Simple. I just open my mouth and stick it in.”
Carmencita grunted and made a face at my crude comment. I sat the cup down and reached for another slice of pizza. Carmencita sank onto the opposite end of the couch and nibbled on chips and guacamole.
We both stared at the screen in silence. The Rhinos were trailing by a touchdown, but it was only halftime.
“Who do you think is cute, Carmencita?”
Carmencita harrumphed. “No one. They are all boys.”
“Not all of them! One of the linebackers is in his thirties, I think.”
“You?”
I stuffed a couple of chips into my mouth and moaned at the taste of fresh guacamole.
“Good?”
I nodded. “Sí. Muy bien. Sean Miller.”
Her brows came together. “Who is Sean Miller?”
I pointed to the screen and the highlight box of Sean’s current game statistics.
“Ah,” Carmencita said with a giggle. “Muy guapísimo.”
More chips and guac. “Mmm-hmm.” To both.
Too bad my brother didn’t like him. But Landyn was wrong about Sean—and so many other things. Like how I just needed to stop drinking and everything would be fine. Rehab forced me to stop, and everything wasn’t fine. I had such…bad thoughts that mainly revolved around me hurting my dad.
And really good ones that involved us being a family and finding mom.
Didn’t make any sense. My doctors told me more talking and laying on a couch would resolve it all.
Looking at Sean in those pants…I thought a different lay was in order.
My phone buzzed, and I cursed underneath my breath. Landyn forced me to change my number to avoid any calls from the press—and all my new drinking friends I made when I returned home.
“Who is that?” Carmencita grinned wickedly. “You have a secret lover?” She giggled.
I smirked. I wish.
There were only a handful of people who had this number. One being Mr. Desmond.
I read the text confirming my work schedule for the week. “Nope. It’s work.”
“Ah.” Carmencita gave an approving nod. “It is good for you to work. Makes you strong inside and out.” She flexed her flabby arms. I stuffed my face with pizza so I wouldn’t laugh.
I was grateful to Landyn for getting the judge to sign off on me completing my community service at Rhinos HQ. I had a room here in Landyn’s condo, and he bought me whatever I wanted—within reason. I still had work to do on getting that BMW convertible. There were worse sentences than being stuck here for the foreseeable future.
The players jogged back to the line of scrimmage. Sean took his position.
He would likely be at HQ for most of the week.
Maybe Carmencita was right. Work would be good for me inside and out.
3
SEAN
“I know that was a rough one, guys,” Coach Hicks said from the front of the locker room. He removed his hat and wiped at sweat on his forehead. He handed both his hat and his metal storage clipboard to one of the staffers near him before leaning against one of the lockers.
We hadn’t had time to remove our uniforms and shower.
All I wanted to do after a loss was shower and crawl into bed.
But Coach Hicks kept us in our uniforms, like always, to start the process of analyzing what had gone wrong and what we had gotten right. Then we’d sleep on it and start fresh the next morning.
Coach Hicks crossed his arms over his chest and dipped his head. Nobody moved.
Least of all me.
I had dropped a pass late in the third quarter on a third down. So close to the end zone. If I had caught it…
“Guys, that’s two in a row for us. Now, we’ve still got a winning season, but we’re going to take a hard look at what happened tonight. What was different from last week that we either didn’t improve on, or that we spent too much time doing that handicapped our game in another area? The coaching staff included.” He gestured to the guys who stood on either side of him. “We’re a team, which means we share in the glory and the heartache. Not one of us can do this alone. It doesn’t ride on just one person.”
Landyn snorted.
Eyes shot to him.
“Well, if it did ride on any one person—”
Here we go.
“—then it would’ve been on Sean Miller’s back.” His narrowed gaze zeroed in on me. “Seeing how he forgot how to catch the ball.”
Coach Hicks shook his head. “Landyn—”
“Nah, let him speak,” I said, filling out my chest and squeezing my hands into fists. “Maybe if you’d put enough on the ball, I wouldn’t have to practically run back to get it.”
“What the fuck?” Landyn yelled and came forward. “If you had learned how to catch!”
People gripped my arms, but I hadn’t moved from my spot. Landyn had to be restrained.
“Landyn! Sit down, now,” Coach Hicks ordered with a stiff finger pointed at him.
Teammates had to shove him toward a chair, but his eyes remained on me. I held his gaze until he chickened out first.
For the first time, I saw fear cross Coach Hicks’s eyes. Then, his reddened face slowly lost its flush. He blinked, and the fear was gone. He released a heavy sigh and caught my gaze. He sucked in his lips and nodded once.
That was all I needed. He didn’t blame me for the dropped ball because I already blamed myself.
And obviously Landyn blamed me.
The QB Who had conveniently forgotten all about the interception he had thrown early in the second quarter.
If I were operating on his level, I’d bring it up.
But I’m not.
I’m better than that.
“Man, Landyn’s taking it hard,” Bat whispered into my ear. “Like that one play was the turning point. We were down the entire game.”
Which was true. At no point had we led on the scoreboard. Although Bat had played his heart out in his position,
even he’d been shut down. The Cowboys’ defense was just too good.
“If we’re going to win any more games,” the coach said in a low voice, “then we’ve got to put our egos aside. If you all can’t think like a team and operate like a team, then we might as well not be a team. Because that’s how you lose!” he finished with a shout. “You lose when you’re not a team. Sometimes it comes down to the last few seconds of the game. To a turn in the momentum. But this whole game… we were all over the place. Completely out of sync.”
He looked around at the room in disbelief. Dejected faces stared back.
“What is going on with you?” Coach Hicks whispered the question. “Okay, get out of your uniforms. Take the rest of the night. We’re going to have video playback tomorrow morning at oh eight hundred. Nobody be late, I mean it.”
The staff left. The rest of us slowly moved towards our lockers. Not only had we been beaten by more than two touchdowns, it had been an incredibly physical match.
I kept my eyes down.
“You heard the coach, we need to figure out what we did wrong and improve for the next game.”
Damn. Landyn’s voice was really irritating.
I snarled. “How ’bout we start with you?”
“What did you say?” Landyn shot back.
I didn’t bother looking at him. “You heard me. You’re the quarterback. Start with yourself.”
