Running Home to You (The Running Series) by Suzanne Sweeney Read Free Book Online Page B

cart.  They are holding hands and look so happy and content.  I glance down at our hands with fingers laced together and wonder if we could make it to our golden years together, still feeling the same way we do today.
    "Wanna go for a ride, running girl?  I might have to pay the guy a little extra for his effort, but it would be completely worth it.  What do you say, baby?"  Evan is waiting for my reply.
    "That's sweet, but I'd really rather walk," I explain.  "Maybe next time."
    As we walk along the boardwalk, I ask Evan about how preseason is going.  He hasn't been very talkative the past few weeks, and I intend to take full advantage of the opportunity to find out what's got him so preoccupied lately.
    Evan explains to me how he's not the only back-up quarterback.  He's the second-string, but there are two others after him.  I had no idea there were as many as four quarterbacks on some teams.
    "But Evan, I'm pretty sure the starting quarterback plays most of the games.  The back-up only plays from time to time, right?"  He nods.  "When do the third and fourth string quarterbacks get to play?" I question.
    "Hardly ever.  They can go years without seeing any real game time at all.  A lot of teams don't even have a fourth string quarterback.  I think the only reason we do is because of Matt Ortiz' age.  He's almost forty now, and a serious injury could end his career."  He stops talking for a moment, and I can tell he's upset about something.  His hand moves up into his hair in a gesture that tells me he's either unhappy or nervous.
    "Juliette, the other two back-up quarterbacks are getting a lot of playing time with the team right now.  They're running the plays and putting the new guys through the paces.  Neither one of them are newly signed.  They've been with the team for a couple of years each, so they know the players, the coaches, and most of the plays.  I'm at such a disadvantage here."  He's clearly worried about his position and ranking on the team.
    He takes a deep breath, looks away from me, and continues.  "It's all I ever wanted, you know – to play here in Jersey.  Having my family with me at my home games.  Sometimes lately I've been wondering if my luck has finally run out."
    "Evan Thomas McGuire, stop right there and look at me."  He stops walking and looks directly at me, shocked by the tone of my voice.  "Now, you listen, and listen good.  It's not luck that got you here.  It was skill, determination, and grit.  You earned a spot on that team.  They're not idiots.  They know you're the real deal.  Now that you're cleared to work out and lift weights, you're going to blow them away.  You'll see."
    He doesn't respond, he simply shrugs his shoulders and continues moving forward.  "There's more, isn't there?  There's something you haven't told me.  I can read you like a book, bossy man.  Spill."
    "Yeah, you're right, there's something I haven't told anyone.  I haven't been able to say it out loud.”  He stops and talks to me in hushed tones so no one but me can hear.  “But the truth is, I'm afraid I won't be able to throw like I did before I got hurt.  I haven't touched a football in nearly two months.  Suppose I'm just average ... or worse?"  He looks completely despondent.  He starts walking again, and I hurry to catch up with him. 
    "You've been doing everything the trainers tell you to do, right?"
    "Yes."
    "You trust them to do their job?  They're good at what they do?"
    "They're the best."
    "Then you have to have faith.  You'll see.  I can feel it.  You're going to be on that field tearing it up.  Can I say that?  Tearing it up?"
    "You can say that," he chuckles.  "Even better would be to say that I'm going to 'put up big numbers'," he tells me.  "That means that I'm going to have a lot of passing yards and a high scoring game," he explains.
    "Okay, then.  You're going to put up some really big numbers when you get out there on the gridiron and