Full Coverage: Boys of Fall (16 page)

Randi straightened. “You have something for me?”

Teresa nodded and pulled a wrapped rectangle out of her big purse. She handed it to Randi, but when Randi tried to take it, Teresa kept hold of it.

“Do you love my son?” Teresa asked.

Randi didn’t answer right away. She took a deep breath, wet her lips. Breathed again. But then she couldn’t help it. She missed him, she was angry with him, she was hurt. But she couldn’t deny how she felt.

“Yes.”

“Good.” Teresa let go of the package.

Randi knew what it was immediately. It was a book. “Um, is this from Nolan?”

Teresa nodded.

Randi swallowed.
The
book. The reason he’d pushed her away. “I don’t—”

“Just look at it.”

Randi lifted her eyes to Teresa’s. “I love him. But I don’t know if things will work out.”

“I know. And going back to San Antonio was a crappy thing to do. If it’s any consolation, it might be the first crappy thing he’s ever done.”

Randi actually laughed at that. Of course Teresa thought that. But Randi had to admit she might have a point. “I’m not sure that I’m consoled knowing that I’m the reason he was crappy for the first time.”

Teresa smiled. “I know how that sounds.”

Randi just nodded, her gaze dropping to the wrapped book. Even without looking at it, the book was making her heart pound and her stomach twist.

“I really think you want to see this,” Teresa said, her voice gentler now.

She was going to unwrap it. If nothing else, because Teresa Winters had started opening up in the past month—she smiled at people when she passed them on the street, she’d actually skipped the last Chamber of Commerce meeting, and rumor had it that she’d started a book club, inviting a few other women her age over for coffee and book talk, and even baking for them. Their first selection had been Nolan’s first book, of course, but they had since read
Eat, Pray, Love
and a couple of romances.

So Randi would look at the book because Teresa had brought it to her.

But damn, she didn’t want to.

She’d seen the cover for the book on Amazon and had teared up. The photo was of the Titans field at night, taken through the uprights, with the tall lights shining brightly.
Upright
was already selling well in the pre-order period, and when she’d read the first few pages that they showed online, she’d had a hard time breathing. The dedication read
To Coach. Because no one writes books about guys who play it safe
.

Finally she took a deep breath and ripped the wrapping paper off.

But it wasn’t the book Nolan had written about Coach Carr in her hands.

This book was also by Nolan. It also featured a photo of the Titans field, but this one had the players huddled up in the center of the field, the stands full of their fans behind them.

It was called
The Boys of Fall
.

Randi looked up at Teresa. “What is this?”

“His other book.”

“
Other
book?”

“He wrote it at the same time he was finishing
Upright
. He’s self-publishing this one. And that is the first copy. It goes on sale tomorrow.”

Randi didn’t know what to say. She turned the book over.

The Boys of Fall. A collection of essays about small-town football—the victories, the defeats, and the fans that make it all matter.

Randi swallowed hard.

“These are the stories we’ve told him,” Teresa said. “All the people he interviewed, behind the scenes stuff, but…”

Randi looked up.

“But mostly the stuff you told him,” Teresa said. “The stories that made him love football. And you.”

Randi shook her head. “He doesn’t love football.”

“He loves Quinn football. Now. Because you helped him see that very little of it is actually about the game. And you helped him know all of us better. You helped
me
know everyone better.”

“Really?”

“I got to beta read the book. He figured I’d be the harshest critic of anything about Quinn.” She shrugged. “I liked it.”

Randi breathed deep, her eyes stinging.

“Read the dedication,” Teresa said, opening the front cover.

“Oh my God, read it out loud,” Annabelle said.

The words blurred and Randi had to blink. She finally shook her head. “You read it.” She handed the book to Annabelle.

“Out loud,” Lela added, leaning onto the table eagerly.

Annabelle cleared her throat. “The fifty is where anything can happen, things can go either way, and it’s all about who wants it more. It’s all about possibilities and desire at the fifty. Miranda Doyle.”

Randi felt her heart thump and a tingling start at her scalp and travel to her toes.

Annabelle and Lela looked at her, their eyes huge.

“You said that?” Lela asked.

Randi nodded.

“Wow, that’s really good,” Annabelle said.

Randi chuckled in spite of the swirl of emotions going through her. “Thanks.” She looked at the book. “I can’t believe he used that.”

“And I’m not done reading,” Annabelle said.

Randi sat up straighter. “Okay, go on.”

“He signed it,” Annabelle said. “And it’s amazing.”

“Read it,” Lela said, almost bouncing in her seat.

“It says, To Miranda, M—”

Randi grabbed the book.

“Noooo!” Lela protested.

But Randi could barely hear her because she was reading Nolan’s words.

To Miranda, Marry Me.

“Come
on
,” Lela said.

Randi handed it to her.

“Oh my God!” Lela looked up at her.

“I know,” Randi answered.

“But…oh my God!”

“I know.”

“So how do you say yes?” Annabelle asked, looking around. She focused on Teresa. “Is he coming? Is he hiding somewhere?”

Teresa looked at Randi. “You know what to do.”

She did. “Okay.”

“What?” Lela asked, looking back and forth between them. “What’s happening?”

“I have to go,” Randi said, sliding off the stool.

“
What
?” Annabelle asked. “Where?”

“Can we come?” Lela asked.

Randi laughed, the truth of the situation finally fully sinking in and the joy bubbling up. Coach had known about this. He had to. He’d come to be sure she was in the right place emotionally to accept it. Either that, or he was magically able to just
know
when someone needed to talk to him.

That was entirely possible too. Randi had always thought he had a magic touch.

“This is kind of a private thing,” she told her friends.

“I want to see him get on his knee!” Lela said.

“I want to see you say yes!” Annabelle added.

Randi laughed and grabbed her purse. “I’ll tell you all about it later.”

They both slumped in their seats.

“Well, at least come back for celebratory tequila,” Lela said. “
That
should make you like it again.”

“Okay, but Tucker might not like you sucking tequila out of my belly button. That’s how Nolan and I do it,” Randi said, feeling lighter than she had in a month.

Lela grinned, then laughed. “Oh, I think Tucker might like that a lot.”

“Come to think of it, I could use some tequila and belly button practice,” Annabelle said, waving Sadie over to the table. “I’m going to need a bottle of tequila to go.”

“Make that two,” Lela said.

Sadie already had one in hand. And a lime. She grabbed the salt shaker off the table and passed it all over to Randi. “I’m sick of you not liking my tequila anymore.”

Randi lifted an eyebrow. “How did you know that this—”

“It’s a small town,” she said with a shrug.

“A small town that knows what goes on in my living room when I’m there alone with my boyfriend?”

Sadie nodded. “Yeah, when your boyfriend is good friends with
our
boyfriends.”

Randi didn’t care one bit that everyone in town knew about the tequila shots. Or about anything else at this moment other than getting to Nolan.

“Go get him, girl,” Sadie said.

Randi took a deep breath, gave her friends a smile and turned toward the door.

Teresa stopped her. “Thank you for loving my son.”

Randi felt her throat tighten. “I can’t help it.”

Teresa smiled and stepped out of the way.

Ten minutes later, Randi walked through the tunnel that led from the parking lot into Nicholas Carr Stadium.

Nolan was sitting on the fifty yard line, legs outstretched, leaning back on his hands.

She didn’t miss a step.

When she got to midfield, she stopped. “You thought you could get me back with just some pretty words?”

He looked up. “Um, yeah. I’m good with words.”

“Yeah. You are. It would have been nice to have a few of those over the past month.”

He nodded. “Yeah. I know.” He swallowed. “I’m really sorry. I just… I honestly kept thinking that I’d find a stopping place and I’d call you, and then I wasn’t sure what to say until I could tell you I was done and coming home. And then when I was done and coming home, I just wanted to get here. And tell you in person.” He looked miserable. And sorry. “But you are in every word of that book, Randi. Writing it made me fall in love with you all over again.”

“It’s been a month,” she said.

“I know.”

“So you’re going to have to do better than words.” She was lying. His words were exactly what she needed. Like how much he loved her. How amazing he thought she was. And that he wanted to marry her.

But she handed him the tequila and the lime, then stripped off her shirt and stepped forward, her feet on either side of his knees. She sank down onto his lap.

He gave her a smile that was filled with joy, love and amusement. “Tell you what, I’ll show you with
actions
, but I’m going to need some words from
you
.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Oh yeah? Words? As in plural?”

His big hands went to her back and he brought her in until their lips almost touched. “You’re right. I really only need one.”

“Ye—”

“But let me say a few first,” he cut her off.

She leaned back, unable to hide her smile. But she nodded. “Okay.”

“I’m sorry. I was wrong about the book and the stories you told me. Those might not have been what New York wanted, but they are what
I
wanted to write about. They
made
the book that I wanted to write. And that’s the kind of book I want to keep writing. About people and relationships and connections. I have more ideas and I’m going to keep going with them. From right here in Quinn. And I love you. You’re amazing and I want to spend every day of my life making sure you know that. I want to be with you forever. Here, in Quinn. Forever.”

Her heart was thundering, and she wanted nothing more than to wrap herself around him and just
be
with him. But she nodded. “Good.”

“And, I just…” He trailed off.

He just sat looking at her for several long moments.

Finally she tipped her head. “What?”

“I can’t believe it, but I’m out of words,” he told her with a small laugh. “I guess that’s all I needed to say.”

Her heart expanded in her chest, and she realized that she had never loved anyone, and never would love anyone, the way she loved him. “So it’s my turn?” she asked.

“I guess so.”

“Okay.” She took a big breath. “Yes.”

A smile spread slowly, but it was huge and bright by the time he pulled her in and kissed the hell out of her.

When they finally came up for air, he said, “I have one more word for you after all.”

“Okay.”

He tipped her over onto the grass on the fifty yard line on the Titans football field and followed her down. “Tequila.”

E
rin Nicholas is
the author of sexy contemporary romances. Her stories have been described as toe-curling, enchanting, steamy and fun. She loves to write about reluctant heroes, imperfect heroines and happily ever afters. She lives in the Midwest with her husband who only wants to read the sex scenes in her books, her kids who will never read the sex scenes in her books, and family and friends who say they’re shocked by the sex scenes in her books (yeah, right!).

Y
ou can find
Erin at
www.ErinNicholas.com
,

on Twitter (
http://twitter.com/ErinNicholas
)

and on Facebook (
https://www.facebook.com/ErinNicholasBooks
)

W
ant to read more
about the men and women of Quinn, Texas? Check out these Boys of Fall books. Available now!

F
ree Agent by Mari Carr

T
ucker had only
one aspiration in high school - to get the hell out of town the second that diploma was in his hands. The only way out was his talent as quarterback on the gridiron. And his plan worked. He turned pro his sophomore year of college and never looked back. Never had any regrets.

Except her. Lela and Tucker's romance had been like a force of nature - steamy, unstoppable and tempestuous. He had always turned to her to forget about how bad things were at home, but when things took a turn for the worse, he broke it off and ran. For twelve years he's stayed far away, unwilling to deal with his drunken father, his mother’s death, and unable to face the girl he never stopped thinking about.

When Tucker gets a call that his high school coach has suffered a heart attack and needs help, he has to make a decision. Does he return with his teammates to help his beloved coach? Does he take the risk of running into his father? What does he say to Lela about the way he disappeared so completely?

And what if the spark that flared so hot between them still exists?

R
ed Zone by Mari Carr

U
nlike so many
of his teammates, Joel never left small-town Quinn after high school. Coach Carr offered him a full-time job on his ranch, and Joel was more than happy to stay near family. In his downtime, Joel good-naturedly competes with his best bud Oakley for the sexy local bartender’s attention, but Sadie repeatedly turns down their frequent requests for dates. She doesn’t want to come between the two friends…until a little too much champagne at a wedding reception leads to a sizzling encounter. In that moment, Joel and Oakley know they’ll never make Sadie choose—she can have them both.

A no-strings affair between the trio turns complicated when it becomes clear there’s nothing casual about their feelings. Add in a sensual, accidental touch between  Joel and Oakley, and those feelings become intense times a thousand. It’s an emotional game of chance, one they may ultimately lose…but if they can reach the Red Zone, Joel, Oakley and Sadie have a chance at the biggest score of their lives.

Warning: This is a full-contact story with scenes of m/m/f sex.

T
o read more
about Free Agent, Red Zone and Mari Carr’s other work, visit her website at
www.maricarr.com
.