Drew let out the breath he’d been holding. He saw tears rising in Kendall’s eyes.
“What’s the good news, doctor?” she said.
“He’s in great condition. You’re going to have him around for a long time.”
“That’s what I want most,” she said.
“One more thing,” the doctor said. “If it works for you, I’d like to hold the baby for a few minutes.”
Drew got up from his chair and transferred Tessa to the doctor’s arms. She didn’t stir.
“My daughter is due next month. It’s our first grandchild. My wife has done a lot of shopping over the past few months,” he joked.
Drew and Kendall both nodded. Their parents had done a little shopping too. Actually, more than a little. Tessa’s wardrobe was complete until she was out of preschool at least. When Drew and Kendall said Tessa was outfitted for years, the two grandmothers met up in Seattle and sewed a “baby quilt” that could comfortably fit on a queen-sized bed.
The grandfathers bought Tessa her first tricycle.
Drew thought he had a lot to be thankful for before he met Kendall and they had Tessa. He had to admit he was the luckiest guy in the world now.
“Is there anything else we need to know?” Kendall said.
“It’s all fine. I suppose I have to give the baby back now.” The doctor cuddled their daughter and was rewarded with some cooing and another gummy smile.
“Not unless you’d like to move in with us, Dr. Kinkaid.”
Nine months later
SMOKE FROM DRY ice swirled around the Sharks as they packed the tunnel to run out onto the field for the first game of the season at their home stadium. It was a perfect, blue-skies day in Seattle: sunshine, sixty degrees, a soft breeze, with the underlying bite of fall in the air. Fifty-three men ran in place, jumped up and down, and swung their arms to burn off the adrenaline and nerves as they waited to be announced.
In the alcove beside the entrance to the tunnel, a young man and his mother waited for their cue. He wore a McCoy jersey, Sharks warm-up pants, prototype shoes, and a lanyard with an all-access pass around his neck. The sound of a siren split the air, and the stadium shook with applause and shouts of “Go Sharks!” as the announcer called out, “For the first time this championship season, your Seattle Sharks!”
Drew paused to wait while the bulk of his teammates ran out onto the field. Nolan needed his grand entrance. Even more, Drew wanted to make sure every eye in the stadium would be riveted on the young man who’d won.
He reached out to grab Nolan’s hand. Derrick had his other hand. Seth took Nolan’s mom’s hand.
“Are you ready?” Drew shouted. “Let’s go!”
Derrick grabbed Nolan’s mom’s other hand as they emerged from the tunnel. The ovation from the sold-out stadium was deafening. The ground shook beneath them. His teammates had formed a line on either side of the tunnel to shout encouragement and slap Nolan on the back as they went by.
“Congratulations!”
“Good job!”
“You kicked cancer’s ass!”
“That jersey is fresh. I wonder where I could get one,” Seth Taylor joked.
The Sharks’ QB, Tom Reed, reached out his hand to grab Nolan. “You ready?”
Nolan was beaming. The team clustered around him. They all put hands into the circle and Tom said to him, “It’s all yours.”
Nolan glanced up at the men surrounding him. “We’re going to win today, because that’s what we do. We win. We always win.” He pulled in a breath. His cancer was in remission. He was still getting his strength back, but he didn’t waver.
He shouted, “We always win,” and fifty-three men shouted back, “GO SHARKS! GO SHARKS! GO SHARKS!”
Drew glanced at Nolan’s mom, who still clung to Seth’s hand. She was crying. Derrick was crying. Seth was brushing tears off of his face. The stadium rang with cheers, shouts, and stomping feet.
They won.
Author’s Note
* * *
ONE OF THE subplots of Covering Kendall is how Kendall deals with a Miners player that attacks his girlfriend. Domestic violence is present in all segments of our society, and all women deserve a relationship without fear of violence against themselves and their children by a domestic partner or spouse.
If you are in a dangerous situation, please know there are people who want to help you. You are not alone. You are important and you matter.
Here are some resources:
Your local police department is always available at 911 in the United States.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline has both a phone number and a website. There are options to make a call, have an online chat, or look up information and resources at the following.
http://www.thehotline.org/
1-800-799-7233 | 1-800-787-3224 (TTY)
LifeWire is located on Seattle’s Eastside, but there is important information on their website and they can point you toward resources in your community as well.
http://www.edvp.org/
1-425-746-1940 or 1-800-827-8840
If readers would like to help financially, the above organizations would be thrilled to get even a small donation for their very important work.
Again, if you’re reading this and you need help, I know it is so hard to make that phone call or reach out to a friend. You deserve a life free of fear and full of love that doesn’t hurt.
MORE LOVE AND FOOTBALL!
Can’t get enough of Julie Brannagh’s Love and Football series?
Don’t miss
HOLDING HOLLY
HOLLY REYNOLDS HAS a secret. Make that two. The first involves upholding her grandmother’s hobby answering Dear Santa letters from dozens of local school children. The second . . . well, he just came strolling in the door.
For the last two years, Holly has not been able to stop thinking about gorgeous Seattle Shark Derrick Collins. His on-field exploits induce nightmares in quarterbacks across the NFL, but she knows he has a heart of gold.
Derrick has never met a woman he wants to bring home to meet his family, mostly because he keeps picking the wrong ones-until he runs into sweet, shy Holly Reynolds. Different than anyone he’s ever known, Derrick realizes she might just be everything he needs.
When he discovers her holiday letter writing, he is determined to play Santa too. And as the pair team up to bring joy to one little boy very much in need, they discover the most precious Christmas gift of all: love.
Coming Winter 2014
From Avon Impulse
Available Now from Avon Impulse!
BLITZING EMILY
Love and Football, Book One
EMILY HAMILTON DOESN’T trust men. She’s much more comfortable playing the romantic lead on stage in front of a packed house than in her own life. So, when NFL star and irresistible ladies’ man Brandon McKenna acts as her personal white knight, she has no illusions he’ll stick around. However, a misunderstanding with the press throws them together in a fake engagement that yields unexpected (and breathtaking) benefits.
Every time Brandon calls her “Sugar,” Emily almost believes Brandon’s playing for keeps, not just to score. Can she let down her defenses and get her own Happily Ever After?
RUSHING AMY
Love and Football, Book Two
FOR AMY HAMILTON, only three F’s matter: Family, Football, and Flowers.
It might be nice to find someone to share Forever with too, but right now she’s working double overtime while she gets her flower shop off the ground. The last thing she needs or wants is a distraction . . . or help, for that matter. Especially in the form of gorgeous and aggravatingly arrogant ex-NFL star Matt Stephens.
Matt lives by a playbook—his playbook. He never thought his toughest opponent would come in the form of a stunning florist with a stubborn streak to match his own. Since meeting her in the bar after her sister’s wedding, he’s known there’s something between them. When she refuses, again and again, to go out
with him, Matt will do anything to win her heart . . . But will Amy, who has everything to lose, let the clock run out on the one-yard line?
CATCHING CAMERON
Love and Football, Book Three
STAR SPORTS REPORTER Cameron Ondine has one firm rule: she does not date football players. Ever. She tangled with one years ago, and it did not end well. Been there, done that. But when Cameron comes face to face with the very man who shattered her heart—on camera, no less—her world is upended for a second time by recklessly handsome Seattle Shark Zach Anderson.
Zach has never been able to forget the gorgeous blonde who stole his breath away when he was still just a rookie. They’ve managed to give each other a wide berth for years, but when he and Cameron are suddenly forced to live in close quarters for a TV stunt, he knows he has to face his past once and for all. Because the more time they spend together, he’s less focused on the action on the field and more concerned with catching Cameron.
About the Author
* * *
Julie Brannagh has been writing since she was old enough to hold a pencil. She lives in a small town near Seattle, where she once served as a city council member and owned a yarn shop. She shares her home with a wonderful husband, two uncivilized Maine Coons, and a rambunctious chocolate lab.
Julie hasn’t quite achieved the goal of owning a pro football team, so she created a fictional one: the Seattle Sharks. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, or armchair-quarterbacking her beloved Seattle Seahawks from the comfort of the family room couch. Julie is a Golden Heart finalist and the author of four contemporary sports romances.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
Also by Julie Brannagh
Catching Cameron
Rushing Amy
Blitzing Emily
Give in to your impulses . . .
Read on for a sneak peek at six brand-new
e-book original tales of romance from Avon Impulse.
Available now wherever e-books are sold.
BEAUTY AND THE BRIT
By Lizbeth Selvig
THE GOVERNESS CLUB: SARA
By Ellie Macdonald
CAUGHT IN THE ACT
BOOK TWO: INDEPENDENCE FALLS
By Sara Jane Stone
SINFUL REWARDS 1
A BILLIONAIRES AND BIKERS NOVELLA
By Cynthia Sax
WHEN THE RANCHER CAME TO TOWN
A VALENTINE VALLEY NOVELLA
By Emma Cane
LEARNING THE ROPES
By T. J. Kline
An Excerpt from
BEAUTY AND THE BRIT
by Lizbeth Selvig
Tough and self-reliant Rio Montoya has looked after her two siblings for most of their lives. But when a gang leader makes threats against her sister Bonnie, even Rio isn’t prepared for the storm that could destroy her family. Rio seeks refuge for them all at a peaceful horse farm in the small town of Kennison Falls, Minnesota, but her budding romance with the stable’s owner, handsome British ex-pat David Pitts-Matherson, feels as dangerous as her past.
“Did I ever tell you how much I hate British arrogance?” Chase grinned and captured the ball, dribbled it to the free-throw line, turned, and sank the shot. “Nothin’ but net.”
“Did I ever tell you how much I hate Americans showing off?”
“Yup. You have.”
David laughed again and clapped Chase on the arm. Not quite a year before, Chase had married David’s good friend and colleague Jill Carpenter, and this was the second time David had overnighted with Chase at Crossroads Youth and Community Center in Minneapolis. He was grateful for the camaraderie, and for the free lodging on his supply runs to the city, but mostly for the distraction from life at the stable back home in Kennison Falls. Here there were no bills staring up at him from his desk, no finances to finagle, no colicky horses. Here he could forget he was one disaster away from . . . well, disaster.
It also boggled his mind that he and Chase had an entire converted middle school to themselves.
“All right, play to thirty,” Chase said, tossing him the ball. “Oughta take me no more’n three minutes to hang your limey ass out to dry.”
“Bring it on, Nancy-boy.”
A loud buzzer halted the game before it started.
“Isn’t that the front door?” David asked.
“Yeah.” Deep lines formed between Chase’s brows.
The center had officially closed an hour before at nine o’clock. Members with I.D. pass cards could enter until eleven—but only did so for emergencies. David followed Chase toward the gymnasium doors. Voices echoed down the hallway.
“Stop pulling, Rio, you’re worse than Hector. He’s not going to follow us in here.”
“It’s Bonnie and Rio Montoya.” Surprise colored Chase’s voice. “Rio’s one of the really good ones. Sane. Hardworking. I can’t imagine why she’s here.”
Rio? David searched his memory but could only recall ever hearing the name in the Duran Duran song.
“Don’t be an idiot.” A second voice, filled with firm, angry notes, rang out clearly as David neared the source. “Of course they’re following us. They may not come inside, but they’ll be waiting, and you cannot handle either of them no matter how much you think you can. Dr. Preston’s on duty tonight. He might be able to run interference.”
“They won’t listen to him. To them he’s just a pretty face. Let me talk to Heco. You never gave me the chance.”
“And I won’t, even if I have to lock you in juvie for a year.”
“God, Rio, you just don’t get it.”
“You’re right, Bonnie Marie. I don’t. What in God’s name possessed you to meet Hector Black after curfew? Do you know what almost went down in that parking lot? Do you know who that other dude was?”
Chase hustled through the doorway. “Rio? Bonnie? Something happen?”
David followed five feet behind him. The hallway outside the gym glowed with harsh fluorescent lighting. Chase had the attention of both girls, but when David moved into view, one of them turned. A force field slammed him out of nowhere—a force field made up of amber-red hair and blazing blue eyes.
Frozen to the spot, he stared and she stared back. Her hair shone the color of new pennies on fire, and her complexion, more olive and exotic than a typical pale redhead’s, captivated him. Her lips, parted and uncertain, were pinup-girl full. Her body, beneath a worn-to-softness plaid flannel shirt, was molded into the kind of feminine curves that got a shallow-thinking man in trouble. David normally prided himself on having left such loutishness behind in his university days, but he was rapidly reverting.
“Rio? You all right?” Chase called, and she broke the staring contest first.
David blinked.
“Fine,” she said. “I’m sorry to come in so late. I needed a safe place for this one.”
An Excerpt from
THE GOVERNESS CLUB: SARA
by Ellie Macdonald
Sweet Sara Collins is one of the founding members of the Governess Club. But she has a secret: She doesn’t love teaching. She’d much prefer to be a vicar’s wife and help the local community. Nathan Grant is the embodiment of everything that frightens her. When Sara decides it’s time to take a chance and experience all that life has to offer, Nathan is the first person she thinks of. Will Sara’s walk on the wild side ruin her chances at a simple, happy life? Or has she just opened the door to a once-in-a-lifetime chance at passion?
Mr. Pomeroy helped her down from the gig, and Sara took a long look at Windent Hall. Curtains covering the windows shielded the interior from a visitor’s view, lending the building a cold and unwelcoming front. Rotted trees and dead grass lined the driveway, and cracks were visible along the red brickwork. Piles of crumbled mortar littered the edge of the manor house, and even the front portico was listing to the side, on the verge of toppling over.
The place reeked of neglect, which was to be expected after thirty years of va
cancy. What Sara hadn’t expected was the blanket of loneliness that shrouded the house, adding to the chilly ambiance. She couldn’t help feeling that it had been calling out to be noticed, only to be ignored that much longer.
She couldn’t suppress the shiver that ran down her body.
Sara turned to Mr. Pomeroy as he offered his arm. “Are you certain we should be here? We are uninvited.”
He led her gingerly up the front steps. “Even so, I feel it is my duty to welcome him to the community. One can see that taking on this place is a task of great proportions. He needs to know that he is welcomed here and be informed of the local tradesmen and laborers available.”
His logic was sound. But she couldn’t keep from wincing when the door protested his banging with a loud crack down the middle. Mr. Pomeroy and Sara shared a glance. He grimaced apologetically.
The door creaked open, only to stop partway. A muffled curse was heard from the other side, and eight fingers appeared in the opening. Grunting started as whoever was on the far side started to pull. Mr. Pomeroy shrugged and added his efforts in pushing. With a loud squeal, the door inched open until Sara and the vicar were able to pass through.
They stepped into a dark foyer, dustcovers over everything, including a large chandelier and all the wall sconces. The man who had opened the door was walking away down a corridor on one side of the main staircase. “I don’t get paid enuff fer this,” they could hear him muttering. He pushed open a door and pointed into the room. “Youse wait in there.” He disappeared farther down the corridor.
Sara stared. Mr. Pomeroy stared. They looked at each other. With another shrug, Mr. Pomeroy started down the corridor, and she had little choice but to follow.
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