Game On by Tracy Solheim Read Free Book Online Page A

fuzzy sweater jacket in a soft shade of lavender hugged the rest of her body. Her hair was loosely pulled back and tied with a ribbon. The kitchen, boisterous only moments before, was now silent as the girls stared at Carly.
    “It’s my fault, Matt,” she said softly, dropping her keys on the countertop. “I overstepped where I shouldn’t have.”
    “I don’t care
where
you stepped,” Coach bellowed, making his way toward the stairs. “He has no right to speak to you that way.”
    Clearly sensing an impending explosion, the girls at the kitchen table silently packed up their things.
    “Devlin, make yourself at home while I take care of this,” Coach called out as he stormed after his son.
    Carly tensed at the sound of Shane’s name. Slowly, she turned to face him. He was prepared to see anything in her eyes except the sadness that emanated from them.
Man, he had totally misread the situation.
Forcing her chin up, she grabbed her purse and keys off the counter.
    “I’m out of here,” she said to no one in particular.
    “Aunt Carly! You can’t go,” Emma cried, throwing herself in her aunt’s path. “You promised to help me pick out what I’m wearing to the Spring Fling, remember?”
    “Look, I’ll go,” Shane said. “You should stay and be with your . . . family.” He stepped past her and headed toward the door. The sooner he got out of there, the better. The fact that he was still standing told him Carly hadn’t mentioned his earlier accusations to Coach. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t rat him out now. He needed to get far away from her.
    Besides, the woman was making him crazy with her multiple personalities. One minute, she was a sexy siren in a Mexican bar. The next, she was a chilly, uptight professional. And right now, she looked as if someone had just killed her dog. The vulnerable look in Carly’s eyes was something he couldn’t deal with. He didn’t
want
to deal with the feelings it was stirring up in him. If he stayed, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop himself from gathering her up in his arms and holding her until the look of sadness left her beautiful face.
    And he’d never done that before.
    “No one is going anywhere,” a female voice called from the top of the stairs.
    Despite being pale and thin from months of chemotherapy, Lisa Richardson was beautiful. Dressed in black yoga pants, a light pink cashmere V-neck sweater, and a pink batik scarf covering her head, she slowly descended the stairs. Shane was struck by the drastic difference between how the coach’s wife handled her disease compared to how his own mother had.
    Ovarian cancer had overwhelmed Marie Devlin at twenty-nine. She’d been an eighteen-year-old townie when she got pregnant by the local college’s star quarterback. Bruce Devlin was only twenty. They were children with a child of their own when they married. The first few years of their marriage had been a whirlwind. Bruce won the Heisman trophy and signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. Shane had fleeting memories of those early, happy years. As Bruce became a superstar—leading his team to a Super Bowl championship—his eye and heart began to roam. Marie became despondent as the relationship unraveled. Her diagnosis with cancer kept Bruce in the marriage, but not at home. Not that it mattered. His injury and subsequent drug addiction rendered him useless in encouraging her to fight the disease. In the end, not even her ten-year-old son could coax her to fight.
To live
.
    Lisa was different, Shane realized right away as she stood in front of him. Her lips were brushed with a shiny pink gloss, and a crisp, clean perfume permeated her skin. It was obvious that she’d chosen to fight her disease. For her husband. For her children. And for herself. Shane wanted to hate her for it. But one look into her big brown eyes and he knew he couldn’t.
    She smiled the same soft smile Emma offered him earlier.
    “Welcome to Baltimore, Mr. Devlin.”
    Shane