Kenny (Shifter Football League Book 2) Read online

  With a slightly red face, Matt said, “Fine,” and slammed the door behind him.

  “He’s been a pain in the butt for hours,” Jessie said, flopping down on the bed. “What have you been up to?”

  “Oh, just the same old boring on-the-run stuff,” Audrey said. “You know. Hiding out in motels, not leaving the room for hours. It’s been a blast.”

  “Apparently, you found something fun to do.” Jessie wiggled her eyebrows and looked from her to Kenny. “I wish you could come back. I don’t think it’ll happen, though.”

  “What do you mean?” Audrey asked.

  Jessie glared at Scott. “It was decided already. If you are pregnant, we won’t kill you, but you’re out of the pack.”

  Audrey sat down on the edge of the bed. Obviously being kicked out was better than being killed, better than being hunted and on the run for years, but it was still hard to hear. Kenny stood by her and gripped her hand. Jessie talked to her like nothing had happened until Matt came back.

  “Go in with her,” Matt said to Jessie.

  She rolled her eyes and followed Audrey into the bathroom. Audrey peed on the new stick and handed it to Jessie. They took it back into the room and she set it on the counter.

  “Takes six minutes,” Jessie said. “Here are the directions. If it’s blue, she’s pregnant, if it’s pink, she’s not.” She thrust the paper at Matt and sat back on the bed with Audrey.

  They watched the clock in silence and when six minutes had passed, Matt picked up the stick. “Blue,” he said. He looked at the paper again.

  “Then she’s pregnant,” Jessie said. She threw her arms around Audrey. “I’m so happy for you!”

  “Let’s go,” Scott said. “Audrey, Jessie already told you what was decided. We’re not going to kill you. Either of you, but you’re out of the pack. It’d probably be best for everyone if you relocated, but it’s not required.”

  “I understand,” Audrey said. “Thanks.”

  Jessie hugged her again, then all three of them left. Kenny turned to face Audrey, beaming brightly.

  “This is amazing!” he said.

  Audrey burst into tears. After several minutes of heavy crying, she managed to say, “I don’t have a pack,” with enough clarity that he actually understood her.

  “I know.” He smoothed her hair down and kissed her. “But you have me. And we’ll have a baby and a new family. It’s not the same, but I’ll try my best to be enough for you.”

  Chapter 23

  One Year Later

  Audrey sat on the bleachers, watching with an anxious stare. She chewed a fingernail and hoped for the hundredth time that everything would go right. A small whimper turned her attention to the car seat beside her. She picked up the baby and cradled him against her chest, rocking him until he stopped crying.

  “Daddy’s up. Pray he does well,” she whispered to Carter.

  Kenny ran across the field, catching the ball and throwing it back as he went. There were so many little drills. She didn’t understand how this all added up, but this was how tryouts went, he assured her.

  It looked like he was done and sat on the bench for a few minutes, breathing hard. She rocked Carter and watched him for some sort of sign. A thumbs up maybe? A shake of his head?

  She stood up so he would see her, and after a time, he came running over, carrying his helmet. She went to the railing to talk to him.

  “So?” she asked.

  “Looks good so far. They won’t say until everyone is through tryouts, though.” Kenny tickled Carter and made silly faces at him.

  “But you felt like it went well?”

  He smiled up at her. “Yeah.”

  “Hey Boyer!” They looked over to see one of the coaches approaching.

  “Hey Coach.”

  The coach slapped Kenny on the shoulder. “Gotta say man, I don’t know if we should let you on this team or not.”

  Audrey’s stomach dropped and she saw the change in Kenny’s face.

  “Why’s that?” Kenny asked.

  “You’re clearly a pro player. We put you in with us and you’ll just leave us next season. You’ll make a hard spot to refill.”

  Kenny gave him a half smile. “I guess that’s a good problem to have. At least you’d raise your numbers for a season.”

  Coach laughed. “I’d say.” He leaned closer. “I can’t say officially yet, but you’re our top pick. So long as you don’t go getting yourself shot again, you’re in.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  Coach walked away and Kenny turned back to Audrey and Carter.

  “I knew you could do it,” she said.

  “Not without your help. You believed in me from the start.”

  “And with good reason. You’ll be back in the pros in no time, even Coach says so.”

  “Thanks, babe. I better get back over there.” He kissed her hand and tickled Carter again before running off and popping his helmet on.

  Two months later, Audrey was back in the stands, Carter by her side as always. He’d become her little football companion in his mini jersey and knit hat that looked like a helmet. It was Kenny’s first game. Even though it was the minor leagues, which was something of a step back for him, he was overjoyed to be playing again. His leg had done well, and the extra physical therapy over the last year had helped.

  Moving to a new area had ended up being good for them. Audrey was able to get a new nursing job, working fewer hours so she had more time to spend with Carter and Kenny. Kenny was in therapy and training and had worked hard to make the team. Then it was more training to prepare for the season to start. Now the time had finally come.

  At half time, Kenny promised something special was going to happen. They were up by a touchdown. A good start, and things were looking good for them. Kenny was playing well, and his coaches had seemed to favor him since tryouts. Kenny was loving feeling like the big guy on the team. The boost to his ego had been good for him, and it had surprisingly made him more humble over the months.

  Now she sat, watching the screens and the fields, bouncing Carter on her legs as they waited for the half time performance. Usually it was some high school band or other local performer. Someone came out onto the field, and it took her several minutes to realize that it was Kenny in a tux, not some singer walking with a mic in his hand. He stood in front of where she was, facing her among the bright lights of the stadium.

  “Audrey, my love,” he said.

  She stood up to see him better over the crowd.

  He held out his hand to her and continued. “Over the last year, you have been there for me every day. When I was at my worst, you believed in me. You made us a family and brought my son into the world. I want to make our family official and have even more little blessings with you. Will you marry me?”

  He got down on one knee and pulled out something that had to be a ring box, but she couldn’t tell from so far away.

  An usher came to her. “Please come down to the field, Miss Wagner.”

  She followed him down, trying to make sense of this moment. They hadn’t talked about marriage in a long time. She waited for him to bring it up. Thought for sure after Carter came, he would ask again, but he hadn’t. She hadn’t felt the need to rush it, but she had been slightly disappointed that so much time passed and he hadn’t asked again. She loved him and loved having a family with him, loved their new town and new life. She’d wanted to make it official, too. Now it seemed he was waiting to prove to her that he could still play and be who he was.

  She walked up to him and he stood to kiss her and hug Carter. Then he got back down on one knee and held the ring out.

  “So?” he asked.

  She grinned down at him and nodded. All around them, the crowd cheered loudly. He put the mic down and stood again to slip the ring on her finger with a shaking hand.

  “I was so nervous,” he said.

  “I’ve been waiting for you to ask.”

  “Really?”

&nbs
p; She nodded. “I was starting to think maybe you’d changed your mind.”

  “Not in a million years. You and Carter are my whole world. I was just waiting until I knew I could properly provide for a family. I didn’t want you to have to marry a nobody.”

  She put her hand on his cheek. “Playing football isn’t what makes you amazing. You were always somebody to me.”

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  Brock

  Big Easy Bears I

  by

  Becca Fanning

  Chapter 1

  “Okay Gia, today is the day. You are going to have this talk with him and you are going to make him understand. You are going to win this fight,” she said to the face in the mirror. It was a soft, delicate face, so much like her mother’s, but her hair—that dark almost-black-brown—was her father’s, if he’d ever worn it long. “You can do this.” She took a deep breath, smoothed her hair, twisted it back in a professional updo one last time, and stepped out of the bathroom. Down the hall, she could see the clock on the stove. She was running late for work. “Ah, shit.”

  She grabbed her shoes, purse, and phone, and ran for the door.

  Her condo was twenty minutes from work on a good day, twenty-five if all the lights were against her, and if she was lucky she could make it in eighteen. She needed more than luck today, and what she got was a nightmare.

  A road construction project had started, not on her route but just down a side street, and that meant traffic was being detoured onto her usual route, backing traffic up a full light. Another light was down—looked like a traffic accident overnight—and she had to wait to be waved through by a cop. A jerk in a huge black SUV cut her off and then proceeded to slam on his brakes and nearly reverse into her trying to get a parking spot in the curb lane. She slammed on her brakes in turn, and the car behind her almost rear-ended her.

  When she leaned on her horn, he gave her the finger and took up most of her lane as he tried to wiggle his giant vehicle into the moderate-sized spot. The lane beside her was packed, and everyone behind her was moving into what few openings popped up, so she was stuck there until he finally gave up and sped off again. Even with the AC running in the car, she felt hot and flustered by the time she arrived at the office.

  She made it up to her office without further mishap, but her heart was pounding and she was already tasting bitter defeat. Being late wasn’t the way to prove you were ready for bigger and better things. Not that she could tell her boss she considered moving on to another company ‘bigger and better’ than working for him.

  She had her whole argument planned out. She just hoped he would still listen to her.

  “You look rough,” said Carol. Carol’s desk was just across from hers and they often had lunch together.

  Gia rolled her eyes and her shoulders. “The drive in was hell.”

  “Well, he’s waiting for you. Good luck in there. I know how he can be.”

  “Thanks. I really hope this goes well. I don’t want to just quit—it would devastate him.”

  “He’s pretty strong on the whole company loyalty thing, yeah. But you’ve got this.” Carol offered her a reassuring smile and then hurried off, her arms full of papers for copying or shredding or whatever.

  Gia took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and walked up to the wooden door that separated the CEO’s corner office from the rest of the ‘executive floor.’

  “Come in,” said a smooth Cajun voice.

  Gia went in smiling. “Good morning. I hope your drive was better than mine.”

  “Given that you’re late, and that you are never late, I would say yes, undoubtedly. How was your weekend?” Mr. Carosa said. He was seated behind a giant wooden desk. Behind him, New Orleans shimmered in the early autumn heat.

  “Lazy. I needed some time to recharge. And to think. I need to talk to you.”

  “Of course, have a seat.” He gestured to the chair that faced the desk. “What’s troubling you?”

  “You know I’m thankful for this job. You put a lot of trust in me, putting me in an administrative assistant’s position straight out of school, giving me the chance to attend meetings with you, learn from you …”

  “Gia, you’re my daughter, I would support you no matter what path you chose for your life. I was honored you chose to follow me into business.”

  “Right.” She took another deep breath and pushed on. “So, I need you to support me now. There’s only so much I can learn staying in this one position in this one company. I need to leave the company for a while, gain some experience working for someone who doesn’t have the same last name as I do. It wouldn’t be permanent. Once I have enough experience, I could come back. I just don’t see how I can get enough experience to someday be a partner in your business, and eventually CEO in your stead, if I stay here as your personal assistant.”

  “You’re right,” Giancarlo said, smiling at his daughter over steepled fingers.

  “I don’t want you to be mad at me. I’m not abandoning the family enterprise. I’m …”

  “You’re right,” he said again. “Sweetheart, I’ve been thinking the same thing. A friend of mine mentioned that a temp position has opened up, and I thought of you right away. It is for an administrative assistant, but,” he held up a hand to silence her protest, “it’s in politics, not business. If you want to learn something of the cutthroat negotiations of the business world, learn it from politicians. No one knows double-speak, carefully worded promises, and forced diplomacy like a politician.”

  “And after that?” she said, wary.

  He shrugged. “After that, we’ll talk. We’ll see what sort of experience you are interested in gaining and we’ll find you a job that will provide that.”

  “So, this temp position is a proving of sorts?”

  “Not at all. Gia, you have already proven yourself to me. I saw this as an opportunity for you to further your horizons. I only want what is best for you. But there is one thing.”

  “What one thing?”

  “You start today. After lunch. I will manage on my own this morning. You get your desk packed up and your stuff taken home, have a nice lunch, and then you go meet your new boss. I left the information with Sandra at the front.”

  “Thank you.” Relief and excitement washed over her. “Thank you. I thought you’d be angry.”

  “Why should I be angry that my little girl wants to be the best businesswoman in the world? I’m concerned that you’re already planning for my retirement, though.”

  She laughed. “Not for many years, I promise.”

  “Go on then.”

  She grabbed an empty filing box and began filling it with personal items from her desk. Carol looked up from her computer.

  “Fired?” she asked. “Or quit?”

  “Extended leave of absence for professional development purposes,” Gia said with a huge smile on her face.