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  Troy shrugged and forced a smile. “Sort of.”

  “Sort of?” she asked.

  “Well,” Troy said, “really it was Mr. Bryant’s idea.”

  She frowned at Troy and said, “A pipe dream, isn’t that what he called it? But I thought I made it pretty clear that was the end of it.”

  “I told you Seth would like the idea.” Troy clenched his hands beneath the table. “Mom, what’s wrong with it? Aren’t you glad he’s here?”

  “Of course I’m glad.” His mom blushed and turned to Seth. “But I know what you want to do and where you want to be. I can’t believe coaching some terrible high school football team in New Jersey is going to help you get there faster than Furman.”

  “I think you made it pretty clear after Troy signed his contract that you weren’t twisting my arm to leave everything and come here,” Seth said, “but I hope you’re not gonna twist it for me to leave, either.”

  Everyone in the room looked at Troy’s mom. The others might not know the importance of her reaction, but Troy did. He knew if his mom didn’t want him there, Seth would be back on a plane to Atlanta by midnight.

  His mom kept her hands in her lap and looked down at the table. Troy studied her face. He could see she was thinking, but didn’t know what. He had stopped a while ago trying to figure out why adults did some of the things they did, especially when it came to love—and he was pretty sure his mom and Seth loved each other.

  Finally, she cleared her throat and stood up.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  TROY’S MOM MOVED OVER to where Seth sat. She put her hands on his cheeks and kissed his forehead.

  “I think I needed you to come up here in spite of me, not because of me,” Troy’s mom said. “Does that make sense?”

  “Honestly? Yes.”

  Troy looked at Ty and rolled his eyes.

  “Good.” Troy’s mom straightened up and then sat back down. “Now all we have to do is figure out how to get you that job.”

  “Well, I’m already working on it,” Seth said. “I landed at one and went right to the school. Mr. Bryant helped me get an application together and he introduced me to the athletic director, Ed Biondi . . . Mr. Biondi to you guys. Great guy. He’s going to interview me tomorrow. You should have seen the look on his face. He was pretty excited not to have to coach this year.”

  “Is he the one who does the hiring?” Troy’s mom asked.

  “Biondi said he wants the principal involved, too, so he has some support from her. Then it goes to the school board. If they approve it, I’m in. Should be easy.”

  “And . . . what about a place?” Troy’s mom asked.

  Seth looked at his spaghetti. “I got a hotel room in town, and if I get the job, I planned on finding an apartment. This isn’t about me invading your life.”

  “I feel like you should be staying with us,” Troy’s mom said. “Until you’re settled in. We’ve got an extra bedroom.”

  “I appreciate that,” Seth said, “but I snore and it’ll look better if I’m on my own. It’s not gonna go down well with some people if Troy ends up as our starting quarterback—which I’m sure will be the case. If I’m staying here, it’ll only make it harder.” Seth’s face lit up. His voice bubbled with excitement. “Honestly, I know it sounds crazy, but I think it’s my best opportunity to make a name in coaching. With Troy as my quarterback?”

  Seth chuckled. “Heh, we’ll turn mud into money. If I turn a program around overnight, I’ll have all kinds of offers. People respect a guy who starts on the ground floor.”

  “What about the basement?” Troy couldn’t help the sharp comment, and he wondered if Seth knew how terrible the team really was. “They haven’t won a game in two years.”

  “Oh, it can’t be that bad.” Seth snorted and shoveled more spaghetti into his mouth.

  “I’m serious.” Troy wanted Seth to coach the team, but he also wanted him to know how hard it would be. “Right, Ty?”

  “They’re supposed to be pretty bad,” Ty said. “But I haven’t seen them play.”

  Seth wiped his mouth on a napkin. “At the high school level, trust me, it’s about coaching. I played in a town with a horrible coach. He got fired my sophomore year and they brought in George O’Leary.”

  “The coach at UCF?” Thane asked.

  Seth nodded. “We won the league championship my junior year and the state title the year after that. That’s what good coaching does.”

  “They had you,” Ty said.

  “Right, and we’ll have you two guys.” Seth smiled at them all.

  Thane cleared his throat. “Uh . . .”

  “‘Uh,’ what?” Seth asked.

  Troy dipped his face into one hand and shook his head.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “TY IS ALL SET up to go to St. Stephen’s.” Thane’s face grew long. “It’s a private school. It’s a powerhouse.”

  “Really?” Seth looked at Troy.

  “I . . . I guess I thought maybe he might change his mind?” It was the best Troy could come up with. He never said Ty was going to Summit, but he didn’t tell Seth he wasn’t, either. They both knew Troy would need a fast receiver, and they both knew there were few people faster than Ty.

  “Yeah, I mean, if I’m coaching the team, we could end up as a powerhouse, too,” Seth said. “With Troy at QB, you know Ty is going to get a ton of balls thrown to him.”

  “Will you guys run a spread offense?” Ty asked.

  Seth nodded. “For sure. Hey, it might take us a season or two to turn it around completely, but can you imagine five years of you guys playing together?”

  Troy pumped his voice full of excitement. “And if we turn it around, you know other players from Summit are gonna think twice before they go to St. Stephen’s.”

  “That’s what happens now,” Ty said. “All the best players leave. St. Stephen’s recruits them right out of Pop Warner.”

  “Wait,” Troy’s mom said. “I thought you can’t recruit in high school.”

  “St. Stephen’s is a private school,” Thane explained. “They can pretty much do what they want. They say they’re recruiting students.”

  “Students who just happen to be the best football players in the state,” Ty said.

  “When they find out Seth’s coaching,” Troy said, “I bet not only will kids in Summit stay in Summit, kids will move into Summit to play. He’ll get coaches just as good as St. Stephen’s has, and it’s free.”

  “Maybe,” Seth said. “It happened in my town growing up. Kids want to play for a good coach. Parents want their kids to play for a good coach.”

  “Wait a minute.” Troy’s mom held up both hands and they all turned to her. “That’s recruiting, right? You can’t recruit high school kids unless you’re a private school, can you?”

  “It’s not recruiting if you don’t ask them to come,” Seth said. “Anyone can move anywhere. Kids move into school districts for all sorts of reasons—a good band, a science program, special needs. You just can’t try to lure them in by giving them something.”

  “Well,” Thane said, “it would be good if someone could compete with St. Stephen’s. Right now, they slaughter everyone. The only time it’s even a contest is when they go play some powerhouse from Florida or Ohio or something. That’s how good they are.”

  “They’re that good?” Seth asked.

  Thane nodded. “Their second string could probably beat the rest of the teams in New Jersey.”

  “Well, let’s see if we can give them some competition. Man, I’m having fun already. So, what about Ty?” Seth gave Thane a serious look. “Are you gonna let him play for me?”

  Thane tightened his lips, then spoke. “Honestly? I don’t know. Maybe. I want to see how this whole thing shakes out. Come on, don’t look at me like that, Seth. You know as much as I do that if a kid isn’t in the right situation, it can end his football career before it even starts. Our parents are gone, so I have to fill in. I don’t want to mess any
thing up, so no promises, but I’ll think about it.”

  Troy nudged Ty under the table and gave him a questioning look, hoping for reassurance. All Ty did was force a smile and shrug. Troy looked to his mom for some support, but she wore a frown.

  Seth turned to Troy’s mom. He saw her look, too, and gave her a puzzled look in return. “What’s the matter?”

  “Nothing,” she said. “I just think Thane’s got a point. Education comes first.”

  They all sat quiet for a moment, then Troy’s mom’s cell phone rang.

  She answered it.

  “Hello, Mrs. McGreer.” She smiled.

  Troy grinned at the mention of Tate’s mom and he caught Ty’s eye. Ty faked a look of confusion, as if he didn’t know why Troy was looking at him, but Troy winked at his cousin and when Ty looked down at his plate his cheeks reddened. Troy loved Tate like a sister, but his certainty that Ty cared for her a little more than that went up a bit at the sight of his blushing.

  “Oh, no.” Troy’s mom’s voice sank, dragging her face, and Troy’s stomach, with it.

  “I’m so sorry.” Tears filled Troy’s mom’s eyes. Her hand trembled and she sniffed. “Yes, yes, of course. You do that, please. We’re here for you. I am so sorry. You will all be in our prayers, Mrs. McGreer.”

  She hung up.

  “Mom?” Troy choked on his words. “What happened?”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  TROY’S MOM WIPED HER eyes and sniffed again. “It’s Tate’s father. He was in San Diego on business and he got into a bad accident. They don’t know if he’s going to make it.”

  Troy’s mom looked down at her hands. She folded them together and said a silent prayer before she looked up.

  “Tate’s mom is going out there tonight. She asked if we can take Tate until things work themselves out. They’re heading for the airport and there’s a flight to Newark leaving soon. Of course, I told her we could.”

  Troy felt a wave of relief, then a backwash of guilt. The fear that something had happened to Tate made him sick, and that was gone now. He felt bad about her dad, but Troy didn’t really know her father. He was just a big guy who liked the Chicago Bears. It was the kind of thought, he knew, that came directly from his father’s side of the family tree—selfish.

  They finished their meal in relative silence. Everyone helped clean up, and Seth decided to stay so he could drive Troy and his mom to the airport to pick up Tate. Troy could tell by the look on Ty’s face that he wanted to join them, but Thane insisted they get home.

  Thane ended all discussion when he said, “I’ve got an early morning workout.”

  Later, on the way out to the airport, Troy’s mom played the radio low and no one said anything until his mom shut it off completely. “Puts things into perspective, doesn’t it? Here we are all worried about a football program.”

  “Actually,” Seth said, “I was thinking that life’s short, and you gotta make the most of it.”

  Troy’s heart soared at the words. Football ran through Seth’s veins, and Troy knew from many of their private discussions that attitude was what got Seth into the NFL in the first place. Troy nodded, even though no one could see him in the backseat.

  Seth waited in the truck while Troy and his mom went inside. After an airline representative escorted Tate through the security checkpoint, Troy’s mom hugged her tight. Tate sniffed, and fought back tears without much success. Troy’s mom waved him over and they did a group hug right there in the middle of the terminal with people streaming by.

  “I’m okay.” Tate nodded and set her jaw. “He’s gonna be all right. My mom said God won’t want him any sooner than He has to take him.”

  Tate laughed, and so they all did. Troy’s mom called Mrs. McGreer on her cell phone and left a message so she’d know Tate was safe and sound as soon as she landed in San Diego. She and Troy then put their arms around Tate and they all walked down to the baggage claim to get a big suitcase that Troy rolled out to Seth’s truck.

  “How’s the toughest girl I ever met?” Seth leaned into the backseat and kissed Tate’s cheek.

  Tate blushed. “My mom is trying to get me to become a young lady.”

  “Doesn’t mean you’re not tough—look at Tessa.” Seth held up a hand and Troy’s mom growled and pretended to bite it.

  Tate bit her lower lip and her eyes got moist. “I missed you guys.”

  Troy put his hand on her neck and gave it a squeeze. They kept Tate’s mind off her father by telling her everything that had happened and why Seth had joined them in Summit that same night.

  When they got home, Seth carried Tate’s suitcase upstairs to the extra bedroom across the hall from Troy’s room and said his good-byes once she was settled.

  Later, when Seth was gone and the house was dark and quiet, Troy lay awake, staring at a beam of moonlight that streaked across the wall. After a soft knock, the door swung open. Tate came in and sat on the edge of his bed.

  “Can’t sleep?” Troy patted her shoulder.

  Tate shook her head. “Bad things aren’t supposed to happen to good people.”

  “He’s gonna be okay, Tate. I know it.”

  She turned her big brown eyes on him and they glittered in the moonlight. “Is it like when you know what plays a team is going to run?”

  Troy’s chest tightened. He wanted to say it was like that, but it wasn’t true. He didn’t know her father would be all right, and for once his ability to lie quick and smooth failed him. “No, I just think so.”

  She let out a two-ton sigh. “That stinks about what your dad did.”

  “He should have been in the car accident.”

  “You don’t mean that, Troy.”

  It got so quiet, Troy could hear the hiss of leaves outside the window.

  “No. You’re right. That’s bad, but he’s crazy, Tate.”

  Troy told her about his father’s secret visit and made her swear she wouldn’t mention it around his mom. Then he recounted his father’s final words about being there when he needed him.

  “Well, that’s something,” Tate said.

  “Yeah.” Troy stared out the window where a sea of dark leaves flickered and waved. “Something.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  THE NEXT DAY, TROY’S mom took Tate with her so the two of them could get their nails done.

  “Nails?” Troy twisted his face. His mom, he understood. She was starting a new job, but he had a hard time believing that Tate had slipped so far toward girly things in just one summer. He was glad when they dropped him off at the front door of the Jets facility, where Ty was waiting for him. Ty dashed out to the car. When his head appeared in the window, Troy sat for a minute to see what he would do.

  “Umm.” Ty stared hard at Troy’s mom, but Troy could see his cousin’s neck, straining to keep from looking back at Tate. “Hello, Ms. White.”

  “Ty, you can call me Tessa,” Troy’s mom said. “Troy calls your brother Thane.”

  “Okay.” Ty clapped his mouth shut, though.

  “Ty, aren’t you gonna say hi to Tate?” Troy tried not to grin.

  “Oh! Hi, Tate.” Ty’s face went beet red. “What are you up to?”

  Tate stuck her face up between the seats, frowned, and tilted her head. “Ty, I just texted you. You know that we’re going to get our nails done.”

  Troy choked back a laugh and had to open the door and spill outside to keep from embarrassing Ty. They all said good-bye and Troy’s mom drove off.

  Troy stood with Ty on the curb. “I think she likes you.”

  When he looked to see what Ty’s reaction would be, he had to hustle to catch up. Ty was marching toward the complex, eyes on the ground, face even redder than before.

  Troy stopped torturing his cousin and changed the subject as they went through the building together.

  “Where’s Thane?”

  Ty looked at him suspiciously and spoke with caution. “They’re doing patterns inside. We got the field to ourselves.”
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  “Great.” Troy clapped him on the back and swung open the outer door. As they reached the edge of the field, Troy was surprised to see Chuku Moore right there out on the grass where they’d been the day before. There was no sign of his dad.

  Chuku saw them and made a beeline. “Hey, what’s up, Pokey? Genius?”

  The Pokey comment made Troy flush with anger, but Ty bumped knuckles with Chuku and didn’t seem to mind one bit. Troy looked at Chuku’s outstretched hand without doing anything.

  “Why are you here?” Troy asked.

  “What? You don’t like dudes calling you Genius?” Chuku flashed his brilliant smile before buttoning it up. “That some kind of insult to people from Atlanta? In Baltimore, that’s hot. People like being smart in Baltimore.”

  “Whatever.” Troy shrugged and started to walk past Chuku.

  “I’m here because the Jets got themselves a new linebacker,” Chuku said. “Thought maybe you dudes might want to hang out. I don’t know where we’re gonna live, get some apartment or something close by, but now I know . . . you don’t like my kind.”

  Troy froze, then turned around. He scrunched up his face. “Your kind?”

  “Yeah. The dark kind.” Chuku held up his arm and pointed to his skin.

  Troy felt embarrassed, even though he didn’t think his reaction to Chuku had anything to do with his skin color. He felt trapped and confused and didn’t know what to say.

  Then he got an idea.

  An idea so good, he thought it was genius.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  “YOU ARE SO WRONG.” Troy shook his head. “I don’t care if you’re black, blue, white, red, or green. I don’t even think like that. But you’re right. I am mad, mad because you’re faster than Ty and I didn’t think that was possible.”

  “And I got your Helena tickets,” Chuku said.

  “That, too, but I got an idea that’ll prove I don’t care what color your skin is,” Troy said.

  “Yeah? What do you got?” Chuku raised an eyebrow and Ty moved closer to hear.