Page 16 of The Way We Collide

“I think it might be. I just spent the night with you.”

Leaning down, I kiss her cheek. “Lucky me.”

Our eyes meet, and we hesitate. A fleeting sense of something… a sense ofalmost… passes between us. I’m sure she feels it, too, but it’s time to say goodbye.

I’ve got plans, and they don’t include romance—or “widows” of any variety.

She starts the engine, and I step back, crossing my arms over my chest as I watch her drive away.

5

Hendrix

Fifteen months later

August is the hottest month in LA, and we’re in the final weeks before preseason begins. Before it’s time to start another year of football every week, sometimes twice a week.

I can’t wait.

Satisfaction unfurls in my chest as I stand on the balcony of my prairie-style mansion. It’s concrete with metal beams and a steel roof built into the side of a hill, and as I look out over the city, I’m like an emperor surveying his domain.

I’m alone, but I’m content as I contemplate the year ahead.

Last season my team made it all the way to the playoffs. We fell short of the big game, but this year is shaping up to be different.

Adrenaline beats in my chest as I think about it. I’m so ready to get started. I can feel it—this yearis the one. We’re going all the way, and I can practically see that championship ring on my finger.

All the sportscasters are talking about it. I’m at the top of my game. It’s the pinnacle of my career, and I’m ready to do this.

Then my phone lights up with a text.

Jack

You got time to come home for a few days?

My brow furrows as I study my oldest brother’s question, and I quickly tap back a reply.

Is something wrong?

Jack

Nothing’s wrong—just family business. We need you here.

My jaw tightens, and I look around the place. I have plans with a few of my teammates tonight, but I can bow out and book a flight to our little hometown on the coast in south Alabama.

I don’t know what “family business” means, but Jack never asks me to come home. It must be important.

I can leave in a few hours.

Jack

Plan to stay a few days.

I always do.

It doesn’t take long to arrange for the team jet to fly me to the small, private airport ten miles south of Newhope. The pilot needs about an hour to file a flight plan, and in that time I can pack and catch a car to the airport.

As the starting tight end for the LA Tigers, I tend to attract a lot of attention. This small jet has become my go-to means of getting across the country, and the pilot and crew are like old friends.

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