Game On (Fair Catch Series, Book Six)

by Christine Kersey

  “You’re right,” Tyler said. “I see three.”

  “Me too!”

  Not able to suppress his smile at her excitement, he pulled the binocs away and watched Brielle watching the elk. He’d seen many elk every time he’d come. Brielle, on the other hand, was new and very, very interesting.

  “Beautiful,” he murmured.

  “Yes,” she said. “They’re amazing.”

  “Absolutely,” he said, his eyes never leaving her.

  Brielle was already having a blast and they’d just arrived. The all-day drive had been fun—getting to know each other and joking around. But now that they were there, she was more excited than she would have thought possible.

  Mentally apologizing to Kate and her family, she thought about the camping trips she’d been on with them. They’d never been this much fun. Of course she and Tyler had yet to get to the camping part of this trip, but she suspected they would have flush toilets where they were staying. At a minimum, she wouldn’t have to dig her own.

  And the best part was that she would be spending the week with Tyler. They’d just started to get to know each other, but already she liked him. A lot. And seeing him with his family—even getting to know his family—would help her to get to know him that much more.

  And then you’ll go home and break up. Maybe even break up on the way home.

  Forcing away that reminder, she focused on the elk in the meadow.

  Chapter Thirteen

  After watching the elk for a while, they went on, eventually passing the Madison campground where they turned left. Still on the lookout for wildlife, Brielle was completely transfixed by the beauty they passed. A few minutes later Tyler pulled into a parking lot and then into a parking space before shutting off the engine.

  She saw a magnificent waterfall. Turning to him, she asked, “What is this place?”

  Loosely hanging his left hand over the steering wheel while his body was turned toward her, he said, “Gibbon Falls.” Then he smiled, which sent a pulse of heat to Brielle’s insides. He was so good-looking.

  Needing a moment to gather herself, she turned away and looked at the falls.

  “Let’s get a closer look,” he said.

  Happy to stretch her legs, she agreed.

  “Did you know that Yellowstone sits right on a volcano?” he said as they stood at the overlook.

  She turned to face him. “Yeah, I’d heard that, but I guess I hadn’t thought too much about it.”

  “It’s actually a super volcano.” Then he pointed to the waterfall where water tumbled over black rock. “This is one of two places in the park where the caldera is visible.”

  Feeling kind of dumb, she said, “What’s a caldera?”

  He didn’t seem to mind that she didn’t know the answer. “When the volcano erupted, the area collapsed in on itself, which created a giant crater. The caldera is the edge of the crater.”

  Amazed, Brielle stared at the waterfall. “Wow. How big is the caldera?”

  “I don’t know. Let’s look it up.” He pulled out his phone. Moments later he said, “Fifteen hundred square miles.”

  Brielle’s eyes widened. “Whoa.”

  Tyler chuckled. “Not to alarm you, but our campground is within the caldera.”

  “Wait. So you’re saying if there’s an eruption while we’re here, we’re toast?”

  A wide smile curved his mouth. “Uh-huh. Then again, if there’s an eruption, a good portion of the United States would be toast.”

  Not sure if that made her feel better or not, she half-smiled and half-grimaced. “Interesting that you never mentioned any of this in your job offer.”

  Tyler threw his head back and laughed, then he smiled at her. “Do you regret taking the job?”

  Smiling in return she thought, Not for one second. “That’s yet to be determined.” She paused a beat. “How big is Yellowstone?”

  He tapped on his phone again, and after a moment he smiled and said, “Three thousand four hundred and seventy two square miles.”

  Kind of staggered, Brielle said, “I can see why you would need to spend a week here to see everything.”

  He laughed. “Actually, there’s no way to see everything in only a week, which is why we keep coming back. But we’ll definitely hit the highlights this week.”

  More excited than ever, Brielle smiled. “I can hardly wait.”

  They got back in the Range Rover and continued on and forty minutes later they passed Canyon Village. Several minutes after that Tyler said, “This is Hayden Valley.”

  Brielle saw a wide-open space filled with yellow grass on both sides of the road. On her left, a river flowed right through the middle of the valley, and on the far side of the river the ground sloped upward to meet a green forest.

  “Hayden Valley is where we usually see bison,” Tyler said. “And it’s also where we sometimes see bears.”

  Gaze sweeping the area, Brielle watched for more wildlife. She was proud that she’d spotted the elk earlier and was confident she’d see other animals.

  “One year,” Tyler said, “we saw river otters in the Yellowstone River. We watched them for a while.”

  Brielle’s gaze shifted to the water where she saw three large white creatures floating on top. “Are those swans?”

  “Yep.”

  She watched them until they were out of sight, then she pulled out the sheet listing the animals and marked off swan. “That’s two,” she said proudly.

  Tyler suppressed his smile. Bringing Brielle on this trip had a completely unexpected benefit—seeing everything through her eyes made it all seem new to him again. Mentally listing all the places he wanted to show her, his excitement at being there grew.

  “Bison!” Brielle called out, her finger jabbing to the right.

  His gaze shifted in that direction where he saw a lone bison grazing near the road. Several cars had pulled over to take pictures.

  Though he knew they’d see lots of bison that week, he remembered how excited he’d been to see his first. “Do you want me to stop?” he asked, noticing she’d taken her phone out to take pictures.

  “Yes.”

  He pulled onto the side of the road, glad his Range Rover wouldn’t have any trouble getting out of the slight ditch. Brielle stayed in her seat and he was uncertain if he was supposed to open the door for her. “Do you, uh, want me to help you out?”

  She turned to him with a grin, like she knew what he’d been thinking. “No. I’ll just take a few snaps from here.”

  Deciding this would be a good time to make sure they were on the same page, he said, “We’ll be stopping a lot this week and jumping out to see things. Am I supposed to, you know, help you out each time?”

  She settled back in her seat, evidently done taking pictures, and threw him a smirk. “No. I think that would be a bit much, don’t you?”

  Relieved, he nodded. “Yeah.” Then he gave her a smirk of his own. “Besides, I’d hate for you to miss something because you’re waiting on me.”

  She laughed. “True.”

  “Ready to go on? We’ll get to the campground in about fifteen minutes.”

  Suddenly, Brielle was in no hurry, because in fifteen minutes she’d have to meet Tyler’s family. “Uh…”

  “Don’t worry,” he said. “Just be yourself and they’ll love you.”

  “It’s not that.”

  His eyebrows slid upward. “You already know they’ll love you?”

  Smiling, she shook her head. “It’s this whole act that worries me. I don’t want to, I don’t know, mess things up, I guess.”

  “Just stick to my side like you can’t stand to be away from me.”

  Heat raced up her cheeks. She didn’t think it would be too hard to fake that. She’d spent the last twelve hours with him and already she hated the idea of being separated.

  “I’ll run interference,” he added. “If they ask something that might throw things off, I’ll jump in.”

  Slightly comf
orted, she nodded.

  Moments later, they were back on the road, and when they arrived at a campground called Bridge Bay, Brielle’s heart began to pound.

  They drove past several campsites, some with tents, some with campers, and then Tyler said, “There they are.”

  Brielle followed the direction his finger pointed and saw a truck parked at a campsite, along with a fifth-wheel camper. A middle-aged man was doing something with a grill. “I thought we were using tents.”

  Tyler chuckled. “We are. My parents have an RV.”

  “Oh.” She paused. “What about your brother and sister?”

  Tyler glanced at her. “Their names are?”

  Brielle thought for half a second. “Rob and Mia.”

  “That’s right.”

  Smiling, she nodded. “And your parents are Jeff and Ann.”

  “Right again. You get a gold star.”

  Forcing a laugh, Brielle felt her nervousness go up a notch. She was about to meet these people face to face.

  Tyler pulled into the campsite adjacent to his parents’.

  “Are you allowed to park here? I mean, won’t you be in someone’s way?”

  “This is where we’re staying.”

  “Oh.” When he said it out loud like that, it made it much more real. She would be camping with Tyler for the entire week. A vacation she never would have chosen, but one she was looking forward to. “You didn’t say where your brother and sister are sleeping.”

  “I hope you don’t mind, but they’re staying in the tent with us.”

  She didn’t mind at all. In fact, she was relieved. Except… “Is it big enough?”

  His lips tugged upward. “Guess we’ll see.”

  That could mean it was huge, or it would be extremely tight. Why couldn’t he just answer her question? She was nervous enough as it was.

  “Are they here yet? Your brother and sister?”

  “They were supposed to drive here with my parents, so yeah, they should be.”

  Heart hammering, she looked toward his parents’ campsite, but only saw his dad.

  “Ready?” Tyler asked as he opened his door.

  No. “Yeah. Sure.”

  With a nod, he hopped out of the Range Rover, then he came around to her side and opened the door.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Tyler hoped Brielle would chill out. He didn’t want her to blow his cover. Tempted to take her hand to lend authenticity to their charade, he held back, worried it was too soon. What if she yanked her hand from his? What message would that send to his family?

  “Dad,” he called out as he and Brielle walked toward his father, who was scrubbing the Camp Chef grill rack with a wire brush.

  “Hey, Tyler.” Smiling, his dad set the brush down and walked to them. “Glad you made it.” His dad gave him a hug, then immediately turned to Brielle. “Brielle, right?”

  Tyler looked at her face and was glad to see that she didn’t look too stressed.

  “Yes,” she said.

  His dad held out his hand. “It’s great to meet you. I’m Jeff.”

  Proud that she was hiding her nerves, Brielle shook Jeff’s hand. The welcoming smile on his face helped to calm her. “It’s nice to meet you.” She could definitely see the resemblance between Tyler and his father. Jeff was nearly as tall as Tyler and had the same hazel eyes. He basically looked like an older version of Tyler.

  Jeff’s gaze slid to Tyler before going back to Brielle. “To be honest, we weren’t sure you existed.”

  Startled by the admission, Brielle looked at Tyler.

  “Come on, Dad. Just because I don’t tell you everything…” His words trailed off and Brielle hoped Jeff was buying their act.

  Jeff slapped Tyler on the shoulder. “I know. And I’m sure there’s a lot I don’t want to know.”

  Tyler chuckled, and Brielle caught him glancing at her. What did Jeff mean?

  “Hello there!” a woman who had to be Ann said as she approached them, her gaze glued to Brielle. Right behind her were a man and woman in their twenties who had to be Rob and Mia.

  “Hi,” Brielle said, her heart fluttering with fresh nerves.

  Ann walked right up to Brielle, completely ignoring Tyler, and threw her arms around her. “Welcome,” she said as she stepped back.

  “Thank you.”

  Then Ann turned to Tyler and gave him a hug as well before saying, “We’ll get dinner started in a few minutes, so I hope you’re hungry.”

  “Starved,” Tyler said with a grin.

  “We know we can always count on you to eat,” Rob said with a laugh, then he stepped forward and held out his hand to Brielle. “I’m Rob. The good-looking brother.”

  Brielle agreed that he was strikingly handsome, but she wasn’t so sure he was better looking than Tyler. “Hello,” she said as she shook his hand.

  “And I’m Mia,” Tyler’s sister said. Before Brielle could respond, she pulled her into a hug. “I’m so happy to meet you.”

  “It’s good to meet all of you too.” Guilt washed over her for the charade she was part of. No. I am Tyler’s girlfriend. He said so. There’s no charade here.

  Shoving away her thoughts, Brielle focused on the people in front of her. Ann was petite—at least compared to the men in her family. And her dark hair was cut short. Slightly overweight, she had a smile that was warm and welcoming. Mia, on the other hand, was tall and slender. Not as tall as Tyler and Rob, but taller than Brielle. With dark hair that was long and gorgeous and a face that could grace the covers of magazines, her smile was just as sweet as her mother’s, and Brielle felt completely accepted by both women.

  If she could forget that her relationship with Tyler was pretend, she knew she would have a great time this week.

  “We should get the tent set up,” Rob said to Tyler.

  “Yeah,” Tyler said with a glance at Brielle. “Okay.”

  “I can help in a minute,” Jeff said.

  Was Tyler about to leave her alone with his mother and sister? Was that a good idea so soon? Needing an excuse to stay with him, Brielle said, “I’d like to see what this tent looks like.”

  Tyler chuckled. “The more the merrier.”

  Glad Brielle had come up with a reason to stick with him, Tyler was still trying to think of a way to tell his family not to talk about football.

  He led the way to his Range Rover, and as he and Rob began pulling out supplies, he heard his mother talking to Brielle.

  “I understand this is your first time camping,” she said.

  “Actually,” Brielle said, “I went with a friend a few times when I was younger, but it’s been a while.”

  She was already going off-script. Trying not to turn around and give her a look that told her to be careful what she said, when Rob handed him a bag with tent stakes, Tyler nearly dropped it.

  Rob laughed. “Just because it’s the off-season, bro, doesn’t mean you should let your skills slide.”

  Tyler’s gaze shot to Brielle to see if she’d overheard, but she seemed to be focused on something his mother was saying about preferring glamping in the RV over camping in a tent.

  Leaning close to Rob, Tyler said, “I, uh, I don’t want to talk about football this week.”

  Rob’s eyebrows shot up. “Why not? Is something wrong?” Then his eyebrows lowered. “Did you get cut?”

  This was not going the way he planned. Not at all. Rob was getting deeper into football, not moving away from it.

  “No,” he said with a forced smile. “Nothing like that. It’s just, I want to focus on the here and now. That’s all.”

  Giving him a look that said this was not like him, Rob nodded. “If you say so.”

  “Thanks.”

  Moments later, his father joined them.

  “No football talk this week,” Rob said, his voice loud enough for everyone to hear.

  All eyes swiveled to Tyler. Including Brielle’s.

  Holding back a groan, Tyler forced a smile. “I just
want to focus on Yellowstone and all of you. Is that so crazy?”

  His mother stepped forward and gave him a hug. “No. I think that’s wonderful.”

  With a glance Brielle’s way, Tyler hoped she didn’t think the exchange was too odd. She did look a little perplexed that the conversation was happening at all, but what could he do? It was better than taking a chance on her learning who he really was before he was ready to tell her—if he ever did.

  What if they completed this week and never saw each other again and she never knew he was the fabulous Tyler Brandrick, running back for the Vipers? Would that be a good thing or a bad thing?

  What if he didn’t want to tell her good-bye at the end of the week? But it wasn’t completely up to him. Once she got her final payment, that would be the end of it. He was sure of it.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Brielle watched Tyler and his family as he told them he didn’t want to talk about football that week—the confused looks on Jeff and Rob’s faces, the smile on Ann’s, the indifference on Mia’s, and the relief on Tyler’s. What was that all about? Did Tyler typically talk about work the entire time he was on vacation? Why was it going to be different this time? Was it because of her? Why? Curious, she watched Tyler as he carried the tent to an open space in their campsite.

  “I need to do a few things in the RV,” Ann said.

  “Do you need any help?” Brielle asked, although she dearly hoped Ann would say no. She wasn’t quite ready to be grilled by Tyler’s mother.

  “No. I’ve got it.”

  Relieved, Brielle nodded, then watched Ann walk away.

  “So,” Mia said the moment they were alone, “how did you and Tyler meet?”

  Glad she and Tyler had decided to keep this simple, Brielle smiled, then described what had happened at the park, ending with, “Has he always been good with dogs?”

  Tilting her head like she’d never thought about it, she said, “Yeah. I guess he has.”

  “It was both amazing and annoying,” Brielle said with a smile.