Ty thoroughly enjoyed the church service—songs from the choir and congregation, and a brief message on loving as the Savior would love this Christmas season. He especially liked singing with Kazlyn. Her voice was as sweet as the rest of her. After the service she introduced him to Pastor John, a tall, middle-aged man.
“Pastor John was there for me after my dad died,” Kazlyn explained without preamble.
The pastor patted her arm. “This angel is an easy one to be there for.”
“She is definitely an angel,” Ty agreed.
The pastor sized him up. “I see the light in your eyes, Son. Promise me you’ll treat Kazlyn the way the Lord would want you to.”
Ty reached out and solemnly shook the older man’s hand. “I promise.”
Pastor John smiled. “I see good things for you two.”
Ty hoped the preacher was right, but he knew how driven Kazlyn was. Even if they did become a couple, he was leaving for Europe and she would want to finish her schooling here. Would she want a long-distance relationship? As much as he craved being with her, could he handle years apart?
It was too early to even be wondering, but he couldn’t help himself.
They said their goodbyes, headed toward the huge wooden doors, and exited into the brisk mountain air.
“Hey, April,” Kazlyn said to a pretty blonde hurrying toward the church. “How are you?”
The girl’s eyes were red-rimmed. “Okay. You?”
“Wonderful.” Kazlyn smiled up at Ty and his heart thumped faster.
“Are you home for a bit?” April asked.
“Two weeks.”
“Me, too. Can we chat later? I need to talk to Pastor John quick.”
“Sure.” Kazlyn gave the girl a quick hug and they walked away without her introducing Ty. “I hope everything’s okay.” Kazlyn stared after her friend. She finally glanced up at Ty. “At least she’s meeting with Pastor John. He always helped all of us when we were upset.”
Ty smiled, grateful she’d had a spiritual leader like that in her life.
Throughout the drive home and a dinner of delicious roast beef, potatoes, corn, and homemade rolls, Ty continued to get drilled with questions from Porter and Rebecca. Luke kept pretty quiet, seeming to appraise every response and inflection of Ty’s voice.
“How old were you when your dad died?” Porter asked quietly after Ty had shared a bit about his family.
“Eight.” Ty set his napkin on his plate.
Rebecca inhaled sharply. “Young.”
“Yeah.” He nodded.
Luke’s utensils clanked against his plate as he set them down and stared at Ty.
“Is that why you said you grew up quick?” Kazlyn asked.
Ty turned in his seat toward her. “Yeah.”
“Did you have to provide for your family?”
He shook his head. The gravy and rolls that had smelled so enticing now turned his stomach. He needed to explain to Kazlyn. “My dad had a good job and my mom is a school teacher, but we couldn’t get on top of the medical bills after dad died and my mom would never accept governmental help or family handouts. We had to move to a small apartment in downtown Huntsville. My uncle owned a grocery store. He had me stock shelves and run errands for him. Between that and basketball practice, things were busy, but we were able to pay off the medical bills the year before I started college.”
Everyone stared at him.
Kazlyn reached over and took his hand. “You’re an impressive man, you know that?”
He smiled.
Rebecca nodded. “Have you always had to work?”
“Until I got the scholarship to USU and couldn’t fit it in. I saved most of my money the last year of high school, so at least I’m able to eat now.”
Luke appraised him. “USU doesn’t cover everything?”
“They do. I just like to have extra money to help my sisters. When they need a prom dress or want to go to a volleyball camp or something like that…” He shifted, embarrassed to be telling all of them about his financial situation.
“That’s really sweet of you,” Kazlyn gazed up at him with such admiration in her eyes. He wished he could kiss her.
“Will your mom approve of you dating a white girl?” Luke interrupted and changed the subject.
Ty’s eyes widened. He wasn’t sure it was a good change.
“Luke,” Rebecca and Kazlyn exclaimed together.
“No, it’s okay.” Ty leaned back and stared at Luke. “My mom is an amazing lady and she told me years ago that she would approve of anyone I brought home, as long as they were a believer and treated me well.”
Luke grunted.
Kazlyn swallowed and smiled. “So, I guess I’ll need to stop calling you names?”
Ty chuckled. “At least around my mom.”
“I hope I get to meet her someday.”
“Me, too.”
They sat there smiling at each other until Luke jumped to his feet. “Clean up time.”
Ty didn’t love the interruption of their moment, but he had fun teasing with Porter and Kazlyn as everyone pitched in to do dishes.
“Before dessert do you want to shoot some hoops?” Luke asked.
Ty glanced down at his white dress shirt and dark grey slacks.
“Don’t worry,” Luke said with a smirk. “I won’t mess you up.”
Ty grinned. “I’ll get over it if you do.” He took his tie off, rolled up his sleeves, and unbuttoned his top button. Kazlyn and Rebecca wrapped in quilts, and watched the action in the driveway from the porch swing.
They started shooting and rebounding, nothing too serious or competitive until Luke sprang in front of Ty to grab a rebound then elbowed him in the gut. “How about some one on one?”
Porter stood off to the side of the cleared concrete. “I might have to be ref.”
Luke laughed. “Yeah, keep the professional in line.”
Ty tried to go easy on him. Besides Luke pushing and fouling him, the game stayed pretty light and fun. Ty won 20-14. Luke didn’t seem to like it, but he acted all right.
They went back inside, enjoyed pumpkin pie, and watched A Christmas Story. Ty was just about to say he should go, though he had no desire to leave Kazlyn’s side, when she asked, “Do you want to watch the fireworks with me or is Jamison expecting you?”
“Jamison won’t care. I didn’t know they did fireworks, but I’d love to watch them with you.”
Rebecca helped them put together a picnic dinner of roast beef sandwiches, sliced apples, cookies, and a thermos of hot cocoa. They piled blankets in the back of Ty’s truck and drove to a good spot by the hospital to watch the fireworks.
Settled into the back of his truck, with Kazlyn cuddled against his side, Ty thought this was as close to heaven as he’d ever been. “It’s been a great day.”
“It has.” She smiled up at him. It was dark enough he could barely make out the sparkle in her emerald eyes. “Thanks for putting up with Luke.”
He chuckled. “He’s fine. I actually can’t wait to give my little sisters’ boyfriends a hard time.”
She pushed against him. “I can’t believe you would do that.”
“Hey, you go after someone’s little sister and you’re fair game.”
She arched her eyebrows. “Are you ‘going after me’?”
“You’d better believe I am.” He wrapped one arm around her waist and entangled the other in her soft hair.
The fireworks started exploding above them, but neither of them even turned to look. Ty bent his head and showed her exactly how he was going after her.
Chapter Twelve
KAZLYN WOKE EARLY THE NEXT MORNING, even though she’d stayed up late with Ty. She sighed dreamily, remembering the feel of his lips on hers, his arms surrounding her. He was so big, but she didn’t feel like a child with him. She felt like a woman desired by an unreal and captivating man.
She donned a leotard and descended the stairs to the main level and then to the basement.
She was ten when her dad, Luke, and Porter had built this house. She’d been certain she would perform on Broadway someday. Her dad had built a dance studio in the basement for her. He’d always done anything to make her happy. She couldn’t believe she’d been so stressed the past year and a half that she’d let dancing go.
She turned on the lights and the music, just being in the room made her feel like a carefree child. She had to dust-mop the floor, but then she was ready. She danced until sweat ran down her back and the stress of the past three months poured out of her. She was about ready to collapse from exhaustion when she heard clapping behind her.
She whirled around and grinned. “Porter. What are you doing down here?”
“Watching the most amazing dancer.”
She blushed and turned off the music. “I’ve missed it.”
“Why don’t you dance at school?”
“No time.”
He looked at her knowingly. “Maybe you should make time. Mom says to shower and come for breakfast. Our first game is at nine. Are you going to come watch?”
“Watch Ty thump you? Sure.”
“Ha. We’ll see how tough your pretty boy is.”
***
The high school parking lot was crowded. “Is there something other than the tournament today?” Kazlyn asked.
“No.” Luke grunted. “Word spread that Jamison brought some hot shot from USU, so people are actually turning out to watch the tournament this year. Ty and Jamison had a game at eight.”
Kazlyn remembered him saying something about that last night. She should’ve been here earlier. She vowed to herself she would support him better; she wasn’t going to miss another of his games.
One of her church friends, Molly, was working at the concession stand. Kazlyn waved, but didn’t want to stop if there was a chance she could see the end of Ty’s game. She’d come back later to chat.
They entered the gym in time to see Ty pass the ball to Jamison’s little brother, Jacob. Jacob scored and the buzzer went off. The score was 68-20.
“Ouch,” Porter muttered. “Glad we don’t play them first.”
Porter and Luke found Shawn and went to warmup. Shawn and Luke had been the superstars while they were in high school, but Kazlyn didn’t think they stood a chance against Ty.
“Kazzy,” Ty called out to her. The entire crowd seemed to watch as he made his way across the floor.
“I’ll go find us some seats,” her mom said and slipped away.
Ty jogged up to her, grinning. “You look beautiful this morning.”
She glanced down at her sweatshirt and jeans. “I’m going to look better tonight when the champ of the tournament takes me to dinner.”
His grin broadened. “You just gave me even more incentive to thump on the locals.”
“Be nice.”
“I’ll try.” He winked and the buzzer sounded.
“I’d better go sit with my mom.”
He grabbed her hand. “Will you cheer for me?”
“Obnoxiously.”
He gave her a quick peck, and even though he was sweaty and hundreds of people were watching, she wanted to melt. “I’ll see you later,” he whispered against her lips.
“Plan on it.” She walked away on unsteady legs.
There were eight teams in the single elimination tournament. Luke, Porter, and Shawn easily won their first game and their second. Ty won two more games. Kazlyn and her mom busted out a cooler full of sandwiches, fruit, and Gatorades to feed Luke’s team. She wished Ty would’ve come over to eat with them, but she’d noticed Jamison’s mom feeding him earlier. He’d stopped by their spot between his games to chat with her and her mom several times.
It quickly became apparent that her brothers would be battling Ty, Jamison, and Jacob for the championship game. It had been a long day of basketball, but nobody was leaving, the gym just seemed to get fuller as the day wore on. Kazlyn hoped Ty really would be nice to her brothers, but it wouldn’t hurt Luke’s pride any to get beaten.
***
Ty dunked it a few times in their brief warmup. Showing off for Kazlyn. It was so fun to play these easy games and know she was watching. He still didn’t have a plan for a date tonight, but hopefully Jamison could give him some ideas. Billings wasn’t that far away and there had to be some nice restaurants and something fun to do there.
The buzzer sounded and although he was exhausted from playing all day, the adrenaline kicked in. They’d finally be facing Luke, Porter, and Shawn. Shawn was a thick dude who could play, but was a little out of shape.
The game started and Shawn stuck to Jamison, Porter went after Jacob, and Ty knew he’d have Luke all to himself. He didn’t hold back, but drove to the hoop, slamming it for the first two points.
He stole the ball from Luke on defense and headed back for an easy layup. The crowd was screaming, “Tyyyy-reese,” just like his Aggie fans did and he felt like he was on fire.
Porter sunk a three-pointer on the next play. Jamison slung shot it down the court to Ty. Luke was on him quickly.
“Guess you were just toying with me yesterday,” Luke said.
Ty dribbled from his right hand to his left and dunked it over Luke left-handed. “A little bit,” he admitted, tossing the ball to the ref.
Luke’s jaw clenched. He started fighting as hard as any college athlete Ty had played against. Pushing and getting really rough.
The ref told him several times to calm down, but as the score got farther and farther apart, Luke just put on more pressure. He didn’t play dirty, but he didn’t quit either.
The game was almost over, with Ty’s team up thirty points, when Jamison shot from the foul line. The ball bounced off the rim. Ty leapt into the air for the rebound. Luke jumped next to him and slammed into his right side. Ty was thrown off balance. He landed on the side of his left foot. It twisted awkwardly with an awful snap that he both heard and felt. Pain shot through the middle of his foot. He crumpled to the ground, gritting his teeth so he wouldn’t cry out.
Luke extended a hand and yanked him up. “You all right, man?”
“Yeah.” Ty grunted and tried to stand. His foot wouldn’t support him and he fell again. The court spun and he was afraid he was going to throw up. The entire gym erupted in sound, but he couldn’t focus on anything besides the throbbing in his foot. He’d been injured before, but never like this.
Jamison and Luke each took a side and helped him up. He tried to support himself on his right leg.
“Coach is going to kill me, coach is going to kill me,” Jamison kept repeating over and over.
“Kazlyn,” Luke hollered, supporting Ty with an arm around his waist. “Get my truck!”
Ty wished he could see Kazlyn. He started to pray for the pain to go away and for some miracle that his foot would be okay. Maybe it was just a sprain or something. If Ty had just ended his basketball career… No, he couldn’t think like that, he’d be fine.
They hobbled out of the gym, Porter and Jacob making a pathway through all the concerned bystanders. Kazlyn had the truck waiting at the front entry. She rushed around to meet him, tears streaming down her face. “Oh, Ty. Are you okay?’
He tried to smile through the pain. “I’m good,” he managed through clenched teeth. Luke and Jamison manhandled him into the truck. Jamison and Kazlyn jumped in the back and Luke rushed around to the driver’s side after yelling, “Jacob, would you bring my mom and Porter?”
Ty didn’t hear the reply. He leaned his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes against the pain. A tear streamed under his lids and he brushed it away, embarrassed. Kazlyn wrapped her arms around his shoulders from behind. He reached up and grabbed onto her hands with one of his, grateful she was there.
The drive to the hospital was quick. They helped him into the emergency entrance and were in a sparse room before long. The hospital was clean with no frills. A big step up from the inner city hospital he’d gone to when he was twelve and had dislocated hi
s collar bone.
His foot was already swelling when the doctor entered the room. Jamison had finally quit muttering and just sat in the corner looking miserable. Kazlyn kept a hold of Ty’s hand and Luke paced. They all greeted the older doctor like they knew and respected him.
Doctor Taggart shooed everyone out, had the nurse give him a dose of morphine in his IV, then probed and twisted his ankle and foot before the medicine kicked in. Ty clenched his teeth, clinging to the bed. The doctor asked some questions, then ordered a bunch of x-rays. The medicine made the x-rays bearable.
They wheeled Ty back into the room and the doctor returned with the results within minutes. It must’ve been a slow day at the little hospital. “Son, do you want anyone with you?”
“Kazlyn,” he murmured, exhausted from the stress and the effects of the morphine.
Kazlyn rushed into the room half a minute later. She hurried to his side to take his hand. He smiled up at her. Thankfully he wasn’t hurting anymore, just terrified of what this doctor had to tell him.
“You’ve suffered what’s called a Lisfranc fracture. The ligaments in the midfoot are torn, the first and second metatarsals are separated, and the second metatarsal is fractured.”
Ty sucked in a breath and forced himself to clarify, “Torn and separated as in stretched and they’ll heal or…”
“Torn as in completely shredded, ripped apart.”
“Surgery?”
“Yes.” The doctor held his gaze.
No! Ty wanted to scream. He couldn’t go through surgery. His foot couldn’t be messed up. What about all his plans?
Kazlyn clung tighter to his hand. Her breath was coming hard and fast and Ty was afraid she was crying.
“I’ve called a friend who’s an orthopedist in Billings. He’ll see you in the morning.”
“Will he be able to play basketball?” Kazlyn asked quietly.
The doctor shifted his gaze to her. “I’m no expert, but I doubt it. The Lisfranc fracture isn’t something that heals easily. After surgery you could be on crutches for months.”
Ty swallowed hard. All of his dreams of winning the Mountain West Conference and making it to the NCAA tournament this year were gone. His plans to play in Europe might be gone, as well. Despair overwhelmed him. The doctor gave Kazlyn a card for the doctor in Billings and explained the pain meds he was prescribing. Ty could hardly listen. His future, as he’d planned it, was gone.
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