by Eva Luxe
Maya cooked for us, throwing together a great meal in no time at all. We sat in the living room with trays, because I didn’t have enough space at the counter for four people. That would have to change, I decided. I had to find a bigger place, a place that had space for everyone in my life to sit down and eat dinner together, because the isolation wasn’t going to happen again, and the point of life and relationships was making space for someone.
And I intended on doing just that.
Epilogue – Maya
Three Months Later
I started my car after training and turned in the direction of home. Training had gone well with the team. The Sharks had a bye this weekend, but Jacob had invited us to watch the second-stringers play.
It meant that the four of us— Jacob, Kina, Kyle and I— would be able to watch the game together. It was usually only Kyle and Kina, because I had to be on the field cheering, and Jacob was out there pounding it out on the field.
Soon, we would be watching more games than only Jacob’s. Kyle and I had started searching for a football club in Miami, and we’d found out there were a couple of amateur clubs around. Kyle had only just started playing for them, but soon he would join the games they played each other. The Miami Magic City Bulls were happy to have him, and even though it was only a minor league, Kyle was happier now that he was playing again.
I had known he would be. Part of the problem had been that he had cut himself off from everything to do with football. But that was in the past now. It was as big of a part of our life as ever, and it was perfect. Jacob and Kina supported Kyle’s new hobby, making an effort to watch the games whenever they could.
The roads were quiet on a Saturday, and I was home in no time at all. The new place Kyle and I had gotten together was much closer to the training center. It had made sense to be closer. The squad trained there most of the time now, and Kyle often came to watch Jacob or me, or both of us.
Shortly after we had kissed and made up, Kyle had announced he wanted a bigger place.
“Because I need more space for all the people in my life,” he’d said. Immediately after, he had officially asked me to move in with him.
Sara now had her condo all to herself, and I knew she was happy. She could entertain her friends and boyfriends without having to consult with me, and now when we saw each other, we had more than enough gossip to catch up on to keep us talking for hours.
The place Kyle and I had together was a three-bedroom place. We had a guest room and an office that could later be transformed into something else— Kyle’s words, not mine. It was great that he was thinking ahead, that he saw me in his future, because I felt the same about him.
I glanced down at Sara’s diamond ring on my finger. I still wore it, even though the police had apprehended Tyler that night. I don’t know how he came up with his “sinister” plans with Kyle and me. Whatever it was, I was relieved he seemed to be in the past. Since I had run into Kyle, despite the hiccup we’d had shortly after, everything had been perfect. Life had been great.
When I arrived home, the place was quiet. Kyle and Jacob had headed out to the game earlier. Kyle had said Jacob wanted to talk sports to him, and it wasn’t something I cared to hear. I was serious about football, but those two could go on forever.
I showered and dried my hair, dressed in jeans, a T-shirt and sneakers before heading out to the game. It was at Hard Rock, and I walked to the box Jacob often used. When I let myself in, Jacob and Kyle stood at the window, looking out over the field. Kina approached me from the side.
“Thank God you’re here,” she said. “I’m losing my mind. They’re getting technical about the sport.”
I rolled my eyes, laughing. “How do you survive?” I joked.
Kina looped her arm through mine and dragged me to the seats.
“So, they weren’t only talking about football,” Kina said. “You might want to ask Kyle about that.”
I nodded. I would.
The game started, so we turned our attention the second-stringers. A few of the other Sharks joined us. Hanson and Brian joined Kyle and Jacob where they stood, and Lacey and Stacey, their wives, joined us.
I had met them through Kina a few weeks ago, and every time I saw them, we got along well. I understood now why Jacob was so happy, why Kina had started referring to the women as football wives. They had created a solid group of friends, friends that would be there for each other no matter what. And the football players had drawn Kyle and me in, too. They didn’t care that Kyle wasn’t a part of the team.
***
The second-stringers won, and everyone cheered and drank to the future of the Florida Sharks.
Kyle walked over and kissed me.
“I have news,” he said. “I was watching the second-stringers warm up, and Jacob pointed out that I have a good eye for talent.”
“I can imagine you do,” I said. “If anyone knows the game and what is needed, it’s you.”
He smiled. “Thanks, babe. But Jacob mentioned getting me involved in the scouting process for the team. He doesn’t know exactly who to talk to yet, but he wants to find out.”
“That sounds great, my love!” I said and hugged him.
He grinned. “It’s not written in stone yet, but it would be awesome if I could get involved that way.”
I nodded. It would be perfect for Kyle. He had talent, and football was his life. It would be perfect if he could get a job that was a fundamental part of the sport.
“It’s all going to work out; I know it,” I said.
Kyle nodded. The men and the women formed a large group, and we stood, drinking and talking, laughing and joking. I looked at the people we called our friends and realized how lucky I was to be a part of this, to belong.
“How is training going?” Hanson asked me. “Your team is looking good.”
I smiled, nodding. “Training is going well. I feel like we’ve stepped it up a level. We’re working on new routines for the next game as well, something fresh.”
“Can’t wait to see it,” Hanson said.
The others agreed. The Sharks Cheerleading Squad changed up their routine every now and then to keep things interesting. I had suggested the latest change to the team, and Samantha had backed me. It had been great to be able to contribute.
The conversation moved to other things, and we spent the afternoon together despite the team on the field having left ages ago. We were having our own fun. After a while, Kyle took my hand and kissed it.
“I would like to say something,” he said, and everyone fell quiet. “It’s been such a pleasure for me to be a part of this group of friends. You’ve all been so kind to me, and I appreciate it.”
We all lifted our glasses to Kyle.
“When everything went wrong for me, I felt like it was the end of the line, but everyone here has done something to remind me that it’s never over, that there are always second chances. I found that to be true in my life, my career,” he looked at me, “and my relationships. When you’re nearly thirty, you don’t think you could still grow up, but I found out I wasn’t even close to being an adult until I worked through the difficult times. I wouldn’t have made it this far without you.”
Kyle looked at Jacob and Kina, and they both nodded at him, smiling.
“And my beautiful girlfriend, Maya. You’ve been with me through thick and thin, having faith in me when I lost it in myself. I am so lucky that I got another chance with you, that we can do this again. You’ve always been my one and only love, the person I wanted to spend my life with. I was such an idiot when we went our separate ways.”
“Luckily, that’s all behind us,” I laughed.
“Yes, and to make sure that it stays in the past, I want to prove to you how much you mean to me.”
I frowned. Kyle dropped to one knee, and I clasped my hands over my mouth. The other women gasped.
“Maya, you’ve been my strength and my rock from the start. I was an idiot to lose you once, and I won’
t do it again. You’re an amazing woman, independent and strong, disciplined and supportive.” He took my left hand. “Even if I spent a million years searching, I would never find another woman like you. Will you be my wife and spend forever with me?”
My eyes had welled up with tears, and they spilled over my cheeks now. I had cried many tears over this man, but these were tears of pure happiness.
“Yes,” I answered. “I would love to be your wife.”
Kyle smiled and took off the fake engagement ring I had been wearing. He produced a small black leather box and opened it. The women next to me gasped again. It was a rose gold ring with diamonds set in an intricate pattern. Kyle removed the ring from the box and slid it onto my finger.
“It looks so much better than the other one,” he said.
“And it’s real,” I said and smiled. He stood up and pulled me against him, kissing me. Our friends applauded, and when Kyle broke the kiss, I noticed smiles on each and every face. Kyle and I wore the biggest smiles of all.
Our friends quickly gathered around, eager to congratulate us. I got hugs and kisses on the cheek from everyone. Kina was the last to come to me. She had tears in her eyes when she hugged me.
“Welcome to the family, sister,” she said after the hug. “And thank you.”
“For what?” I asked.
“For saving him,” she said. “I don’t know where we would have been if it weren’t for you. You brought him back to us. You made our family whole again, and now you’re a part of it.”
She hugged me again, and I held onto her tightly. I had always seen Kina as a sister, but now, finally, we really would be. I couldn’t be happier.
The future for us looked bright. I was sure Kyle would be able to find a job that involved football. He would be a scout and could still play for the love of the game. Plus, we’d have each other, always, for real.
Everything was perfect.
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Exclusive, New Bonus Book: Champions
Copyright © 2018 by Cameron Collins; All Rights Reserved
The Birth of Champions
Chapter 1 - Logan
Logan Lowery was Chuck Lowery’s daughter.
That’s how she’d always identified herself since she could remember. It’s what happened when you were the only child of the small town hero.
“How’s your daddy doin’?” the cashier at Hobby Lobby would ask her. “Does he think he can get you girls to State?”
Logan would shake her head and put on her best smile. “He aims to, ma’am. He sure does aim to.”
* * *
1996
“Do you have a minute, Denny?” Chuck Lowery was a bundle of nerves.
“Sure, coach, come on in.” Denny Jamieson, athletic director at Montgomery High School, welcomed Chuck Lowery, the school’s baseball coach, into his office.
“What can I do for you, Chuck?”
“I’ve been doing some thinking. What would you say to me switching from coaching baseball to softball?” There was a long pause after that sentence. Denny was waiting for the punchline.
“Are you serious?” he asked Chuck as he leaned back in the chair behind his desk.
“I am. You could promote Coach Jessup right into my spot. He’s great with pitchers and I think he’s ready to handle the program. Hell, we have six starters coming back and three of our best four pitchers. He could have a real shot at state,” Chuck explained. He’d been practicing this conversation on his own for two days.
“That’s exactly why I can’t figure you wanting to step down. I mean Mary works hard, but the softball team hasn’t had a winning record in years. You made it all the way to the regionals with almost all underclassmen. We’ll start the season ranked in the top ten in the state. What’s gotten into you?”
Chuck sighed. It was time for the pitch. “If I’m going to make the switch, I want to leave the next man up something to work with. That’s only right,” Chuck explained. “And I want to coach Logan. You remember how hard she was on her momma. We aren’t going to have any more kids. Logan’s it and I want to give her everything I’ve got.”
Denny recalled Chuck’s wife, Tracy. She’d had difficulties during the birth of their daughter, Logan. He knew how important family was to his old friend. He nodded in agreement as Coach Lowery spoke.
“But why now? Why not win a state title with these boys you’ve got, let Logan grow up a little bit, and see if she even wants to play softball? Or any sport for that matter?”
Chuck Lowery grinned. “She’s my daughter, Denny. With the genes she’s got, what do you think she’ll want to do?”
* * *
Montgomery High School’s athletic department was salivating for any and all children produced by the union of Chuck and Tracy Lowery. Chuck had won thirteen varsity letters as a Montgomery High School Tiger. He’d started three years in football and basketball and all four years as a power-hitting third baseman for the Tigers’ baseball team.
Meanwhile, his high school sweetheart, Tracy Thompkins, was earning a pile of varsity letters of her own, playing four years of varsity volleyball and basketball. A state championship eluded them both, but college scholarship offers did not. Tracy stayed local and played college basketball at Wright State, while Chuck accepted a baseball scholarship to Clemson University.
After three seasons at Clemson, the Detroit Tigers drafted Chuck Lowery, and his inevitable ascent to Major League baseball commenced. Following two seasons in the minors, he reached the big leagues the same year he asked Tracy to marry him.
Life, as it’s wont to do, turned the tables on the Lowerys when they least expected it.
Trying to score from first base on a hit into the gap in right field, Chuck rounded third base and immediately pulled up. Stepping on the bag at third, he’d felt a pop in his right knee, followed by an explosion of pain.
Reconstructive surgery and long, painful physical therapy, with Tracy at his side, followed. By the end of the season, he felt ready to play, but the Tigers thought it best he wait until spring training the following year. In the off-season, Chuck and Tracy had their dream wedding in Hawaii, and by the time he reported to Lakeland, Florida for spring training, she was expecting.
Chuck’s knee felt good, his young bride was glowing, and life couldn’t be better.
But just like that, things fell apart again.
On a road trip to Seattle, after a game in which Chuck went 2-4 with a single, a triple, and two runs scored, the manager summoned his young star to his room to inform him that he was being sent home to spend a few days with his wife, who’d miscarried that evening.
Losing the baby was hard on the young couple, and Chuck struggled at the plate once he returned to the lineup. After going 0-3 in the first game of a home doubleheader against the Twins, he came to the plate in the second inning of the nightcap. He drove a ball up the middle and took off for first base. His sprint beat the throw to first by an eyelash, but as he jogged back to the bag, pain shot through his surgically repaired knee. He was replaced by a pinch runner, and as he limped to the dugout, though he didn’t know it at the time, he was walking off a major league field as a player for the last time.
Another surgery followed, more physical therapy, then a third operation on the same knee, and finally a realization that it was never going to heal quite right. The Tigers reassigned him to the minors and he spent a season riding busses, staying in cheap motels, and struggling with a knee that never felt quite right.
Tracy graduated Wright State with a degree in secondary education, and with Chuck’s athletic career appearing to be finished, she encouraged
him to complete his degree and join her in the teaching profession. He’d have a foot in the door toward coaching, and he was certainly qualified to mold young athletes in a number of sports.
Teaching positions became available at their alma mater, Montgomery High School, first for Tracy, then Chuck, and when the ex-major leaguer applied for the open baseball coaching position, it was a no-brainer.
The Lowerys struggled to conceive a second time, but when news finally came that Tracy was pregnant again, Chuck couldn’t have been more thrilled. The idea of coaching his son, helping him achieve the big league dream that ended so painfully for his old man, gave Chuck’s life the equivalent of a second wind. His enthusiasm for coaching, teaching, and his marriage, exploded.
As Tracy began to show, Chuck prayed fervently each night – a prayer of thanksgiving and of hope. Thanks for giving that baby inside his wife another day. That tiny heartbeat getting stronger. And hope for another day. Just one more day. Make it through tomorrow and worry about the next day when his head hit the pillow that night. He thanked God for all he’d achieved, all with which he’d been blessed, and offered it all up if his baby would be allowed to live just one more day. Another miscarriage would be too much.
When the news came that the baby wasn’t going to be Charles Lowery Junior, it hit Chuck hard. He’d never stopped to consider that he might have a daughter, rather than a son. He was one of three brothers and Tracy’s three siblings were all boys.
What did he know about raising a little girl?
Any trepidation, disappointment, or concern vanished, however, the first time he held his daughter in his arms and stared into her bright blue eyes. She was a big baby, nearly ten pounds, not an ounce of which was hair. She was as bald as an egg. She was the most beautiful thing Chuck Lowery had ever seen. He wept as he held her, and both sets of grandparents had to wait a good, long while before they got a turn with the new arrival.