She's a Sinner
Page 26
Laughing at their own antics, Alix called back, “You betcha!”
Epilogue
Alix “Legs” Lindstrom Billodeaux punted for the Sinners for six years, longer than most men who held that position in the NFL. During that time, she was consistently ranked among the top five punters in the league and often number one. She hung up her cleats as she approached thirty and turned her mind to the babies her husband, Tom, imagined and desired.
Mia arrived a year later made to order with her strawberry blonde hair and Billodeaux brown eyes. Two years after, Anders, named for his great-grandfather, came into the world kicking, and Nelson, so called for their grandfather who had only daughters of his own, followed a mere fourteen months later. As Tom remarked to any who wanted to hear, “They are as close as Dean and me always were.” Both had those famous brown eyes, but fine blonde hair.
The boys idolized their cousins, Beck—who could bounce a soccer ball off his head and showed no interest in football—and Dean Joseph Billodeaux, Jr.—or D.J., already being groomed as a quarterback. “Let’s hope with initials like that he doesn’t decide to go into music,” his mother, Stacy, quipped, greatly upsetting her husband and Daddy Joe.
Last came Xoxo with her bright red curls and big blue eyes. Aunt Xochi warned her parents this child glowed with an aqua light the likes of which she’d never seen before but assumed it to be a good sign.
Whenever a woman’s sports group convinced Alix to address them despite her dislike of public speaking, she cited her children as her greatest achievement. “Oh, and playing in three Super Bowls and winning two rings, that was good, too.”
The rest of the world disagreed. She’d made football history and opened the way for several more female punters and a place kicker as well as women referees who worked their way up in the system to officiate. They credited her for greater respect for their sex and much improved locker room conditions. Her advice to female athletes in a man’s sport—“Work hard, be the best you can, and learn to get along with guys. That’s all it takes.”
Despite her modesty, Alix Lindstrom made the Hall of Fame on the first vote. Tom Billodeaux followed her there after a long career as a kicker that rivaled Ancient Andy Mortenson. When asked what he considered his greatest achievement, Tom said, “Being mated for life to my perfect woman.”
A word about the author…
Once a librarian, now a writer of romance, Lynn Shurr grew up in Pennsylvania Dutch country. She attended a state college and earned a very impractical B.A. in English Literature. Her first job out of school really was working as a cashier in a burger joint. Moving from one humble job to another, she traveled to North Carolina, then Germany, then California where she buckled down and studied for an M.A. in Librarianship.
New degree in hand, she found her first reference job in the Heart of Cajun Country, Lafayette, Louisiana. For her, the old saying, “Once you’ve tasted bayou water, you will always stay here” came true. She raised three children not far from the Bayou Teche and lives there still with her astronomer husband.
When not writing, Lynn likes to paint, cheer for the New Orleans Saints and LSU Tigers, and take long road trips nearly anywhere. Her love of the bayou country, its history and customs, often shows in the background for her books. Contact Lynn at www.lynnshurr.com or visit her blog—lynnshurr.blogspot.com
Also available from The Wild Rose Press, Inc. are:
The Sinners Series: Goals for a Sinner, Wish for a Sinner, Kicks for a Sinner, Paradise for a Sinner, Love Letter for a Sinner
A Sinner’s Legacy Series: Son of a Sinner
The Mardi Gras Series: Queen of the Mardi Gras Ball, Mardi Gras Madness, Courir de Mardi Gras
The Roses Series: The Convent Rose, A Wild Red Rose, Always Yellow Roses
Single Title: A Trashy Affair
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this publication of The Wild Rose Press, Inc.