Chapter 24

After putting his kids into daycare, Greg came over to help Cassidy start her day.

“What am I supposed to do with myself?” Cassidy asked.

Greg shook his head and said, “Nothing until you heal.”

They sat silently.

“This sucks,” Cassidy finally said.

Greg didn’t say anything.

“Before the accident, I had my life planned out. I would focus on rowing. School was so I could learn to run my own business and help David train. And when I graduated, I would join the Marines. Now, none of that’s happening. I just sit around, and at one, I watch David’s soap, hoping he’ll get naked. That’s it. That’s all I have to look forward to.”

“Maybe God has other plans for you,” Greg said.

Cassidy snorted.

“You sound like your brother when he doesn’t have an answer.”

“Recently, I’ve been going through something similar. Now that I’ve graduated, I’m supposed to know what I’ll be when I grow up. The problem is, I don’t know what that is.”

“You’re screwed. You have three kids to raise, so there’s no room for error,” Cassidy said.

“Don’t remind me. That makes it all the more obvious I’m a loser.”

“What does God say?” Cassidy asked.

“He’s not sharing right now. My uncle told me to talk to David.”

Cassidy’s mouth curled into an unconscious smile.

“Let me tell you a secret: David’s as clueless about what he wants to be when he grows up as we are. His problem is he has too many choices. I just wish I had one.”

The oven timer went off. Cassidy had figured out that breaded chicken patties and frozen biscuits cooked at the same temperature and for the same amount of time, making breakfast easy. She pulled the cookie sheet out of the oven and tossed enough for two sandwiches each on Greg’s and her plates.

“Grab the honey. It makes it better,” Cassidy said.

Greg found it and then helped her split her biscuits. Having only one working arm ... well ... sucked. ‘Sucked’ seemed to be the word of the day.

“This is good,” Greg said with his mouth full.

“So, what did John say David could do for you?” Cassidy asked.

“I told him I want to work with David like he and my dad do. He said I should talk to David, but I’m uneasy about it because he’s already done so much for me,” Greg worried.

“I’m absolutely certain that if David doesn’t want to do something, he’ll say ‘no.’ He once told me he liked that I didn’t make it weird when he did stuff for me. David knows he’s been blessed and wants to help. You just need to get over yourself and tell him how he can help you.”

“Won’t it look like I’m asking for another handout?” Greg asked as a shadow of annoyance touched his face.

“If you do it with that in mind, don’t bother. David has gotten pretty good at detecting bullshit. If it’s something you really want, he’ll recognize that, too. Just remember that if I learn you’ve taken advantage of him, I’ll end you,” Cassidy said.

“Now, you sound like my mom.”

“Except your mom is soft, and she would never do it. I, on the other hand, like your brother too much and would put a stop to you taking advantage of him,” Cassidy said with a hard edge in her voice.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Greg said.

“Yeah, I know.”

They’d finished eating, so Greg cleared the table and put the plates in the dishwasher.

“You ready for Joey?” Greg asked.

“I don’t know how much I can do with my arm still in a cast,” Cassidy said. “But if I know her, I won’t like it.”

“You won’t,” Greg predicted. He had no idea what Joey had in mind for her, but experience said it wouldn’t be pleasant.

Cassidy took a deep breath. It was time for rehab.

Over lunch, David had been summoned to the football offices. He found Rachel sitting out front, playing a game on her phone.

“I see you’re being productive,” David said, scaring the heck out of her.

“David!”

Her phone fell to the floor, and she clambered after it and recovered it from under her desk.

“Coach wanted me to come in,” David said.

“He was asked to join Drew Langford and Brent Allison for lunch. He must have forgotten to tell you about his change of plans.”

“Why would he be having lunch with the athletic director and head of the Pac-12?”

“Who knows?” she said, looking at her phone. “My replacement is late.”

A guy David hadn’t met before rushed in.

“Sorry,” he said, out of breath.

Rachel got up and grabbed David’s arm.

“You made us late for our lunch date,” Rachel said with a scowl.

She pulled David out into the hall before letting his arm go.

“He’s been hitting on me,” Rachel explained.

“Well, then, I should take you to lunch. You can take some pics and post them on your social media.”

Rachel’s eyes narrowed.

“Besides, it’ll give you an excuse to finally go out with me,” David said, straight-faced.

“If I weren’t hungry and broke, I’d tell you what to do with that,” Rachel said.

He smiled because he was finally wearing her down. What that really meant, he wasn’t sure. There was just something about Rachel that caused him to go into flirt mode whenever he was around her. It probably had a lot to do with her showing zero interest in him.

When David brought Rachel back from lunch, her replacement looked disappointed to see David.

“Coach Merritt said to send Dawson in when you returned.”

David winked at Rachel as he let her deal with the boy crushing on her and stepped into Coach Merritt’s office.

“David! Have a seat. We have to talk.”

’Oh, boy!’ David thought.

“I need to talk to you about two things,” Coach Merritt continued. “I had lunch with Brent and Drew, and your name came up. I guess they had some heartburn over the nudity in your show.”

“Had?” David asked. ‘Had’ implied they were no longer upset with him.

“USC and the Pac-12 weren’t sure that was the image they wanted to portray. Then their marketing arms did some research,” Coach Merritt said.

“NIL can’t get here soon enough, can it?” David quipped.

Coach Merritt didn’t miss a beat as he ignored David’s comment about him someday making money.

“Bottom line, the conference would like you to film a commercial. When they polled, they found you’re the most recognizable student-athlete in the Pac-12. The public must not know you very well because you come across as likable.”

’Score one for Coach Merritt.’

“I already said I would help them, but it has to fit my schedule,” David reiterated.

“I’ll get it arranged. Now for the second item. I’ve thought more about it and have decided I’m still going to redshirt you. My thought is that it would be a waste for you to use up a year’s eligibility when there’ll be a new coach and system next year. I’m sure you’ll be given a chance to be the starter then.”

“Why are you telling me now? I thought I could play four games and still redshirt, and Colorado will only be three.”

“Because I want you in reserve in case Matt goes down again. He can’t redshirt unless he has a medical reason since he redshirted last year. So, if anyone is using up their eligibility, it’ll be him this year,” Coach Merritt said.

David closed his eyes and waited for his anger to calm before answering.

“All right.”

“All right?”

“Yes, with one condition. Notre Dame is our last game, and it’ll be nationally televised. If I’m the best option to start that game, you let me play,” David said.

It was Coach Merritt’s turn to contemplate his answer.

“Notre Dame might be the hardest game we have left. The Fighting Irish are positioned to make a run to gain a spot in the national championship conversation. Are you sure you want to risk injury?” Coach Merritt asked.

He had a point, but David didn’t have to think about it.

“They may be good, but I plan on beating them,” David said confidently.

When David came to campus the previous spring, his friend Ridge Townsend had helped him review the Notre Dame game film. The two of them had spent hours figuring out how to beat the Fighting Irish. If the only athletic accomplishment David made the rest of this year was winning that game, he’d be happy.

It would also make their fan base happy. Notre Dame and UCLA were the two teams they hated the most. Beating Notre Dame would sway public opinion to support his bid to be next year’s starter.

“Then you have a deal.”

When practice began, Coach Thomas had the offense on the field against the scout team. The scout team mimicked the Colorado defense to prepare them for this week’s opponent.

“Get them lined up!” Coach Thomas barked.

Then something new happened. Over the speakers came a guitar riff, followed by the beat of a drum. The team managers must have been livening up practice.

“In six days, a group of young men will arrive with the intent of destroying you,” Coach Thomas said.

A bass guitar was added and began to pound out a beat.

“Is that not clear?” Coach Thomas asked. “Fade 39.”

David’s head began to bob to the music. It sounded familiar, but he couldn’t place it.

“Set! Hut!”

David dropped back and saw the corner all over Bill, but his favorite receiver had his defender on his hip. David threw the ball up. Bill gave the cornerback a hip check and slowed down. David had thrown the ball to his outside shoulder, so Bill did what Bill does and caught the ball.

“Nice job, Bill!” Coach Thomas called out. “These young men will not be so nice and let you just catch that ball. They’ll be in your face and trying to hurt you.”

The song came to him: Metallica’s Enter Sandman. Someone had put the intro on repeat. While they sometimes practiced with crowd noise to simulate game conditions, David couldn’t remember ever listening to rock music. It seemed to give everyone a little extra bounce in their step.

On the next play, John Johnson jumped before the snap, resulting in a false-start penalty.

“I’m tired of seeing that on this field! Get out of my sight! Bear! Get your butt in there with the starters,” Coach Thomas screamed. John trudged off the field, only to be greeted by Coach Bolton giving him a piece of his mind.

David did a mental fist pump because Bear had been starting since John had been benched for making too many mistakes. Coach Merritt had decided John should get another shot. It looked like Coach Thomas felt differently if John had been sent to the bench after only two plays. If nothing else, the IQ at left tackle just went up 50 points.

David could feel it: Colorado was going to wish they hadn’t played them. The energy in practice went up another notch. This wasn’t the typical practice where they just ran through plays. Coach Thomas was out for blood this week, and anyone who didn’t know their job would find himself sitting on the bench with John.

After practice, Coach Merritt told the team they could go, but David stood up.

“Hang on. Cassidy Hope returned to campus today...”

There were moans and comments of ‘No!’ and ‘Send her back.’