Secret Catch (24 page)

Eight months later

“Down!”

The sweat dribbles down the side of my face, stinging the scratch in my neck I got from Sam’s nail. A wound I wear with pride.

“Set!”

I inhale the summer breeze, blow it out as the grass slips through my fingers.

“Hike!”

I take off, veering right because Jacoby told me I always go left and he’ll jump on my ass if I do it again. Funny how even though he’s the guy who whipped my ass in gear on the Trojans, he’s still doing it for me as a Skyhawk. He’s starting position over there, too. Nolan spent some time in anger management, which has turned out really good for him. He’s starting punter for the Skyhawks. Not as much field time, but still enough.

My foot lands on the twenty yard line, and I look over my shoulder for the quarterback. He’s so short I can barely see him. But he’s gotten better, so as soon as I see the ball sailing over the field, straight for my arms, a smile hits my lips. Gotta remember to praise him for it later.

Just as the pigskin hits my hands, a side tackle plows into me, taking me to the ground and letting the ball slip through my clumsy fingers.

“And here I thought you were a starting player.”

I grin, reach into Sam’s red hair and pull her forehead to mine.

“Maybe I was a little distracted.”

My lips don’t even graze hers before I hear the slave driver shout, “Koontz! I’m going to kick you off if you let her tackle you again!”

Josh stands about five feet away, arms crossed, and eyes rolling when Sam kisses my cheek again. One of these days he’ll understand. Yeah, football’s important. But some things are just as important.

“Sorry, Coach.”

“
Captain
.”

Sam crawls off my lap, and when we get to our feet, Jacoby and Daniels wait till the kids under ten aren’t looking and start air humping at us. Nolan tackles them down for me, and Sam laughs and tugs on the end of my shirt. “I better play with Parker before I get you into any more trouble.”

“One more play?”

I know she won’t resist, and she wrinkles her nose, smacks my ass, and jogs to the line of scrimmage. Parker gives me a look like it’s her turn to have Sam and I give her a minute finger then cross my heart.

“Koontz! Seriously!
Line up
.” Josh screams.

I shake my head with a smile and jog to my starting position. Right between a yellow practice jersey and a red one. Across from me are an array of Trojans and Skyhawks together in neutral colors, school colors, whatever the hell they wanted to wear because we’re all just players.

This is what it’s about. The ball, the field, the
game
.

“Down!”

Sweat dribbles down my face. My pulse thunders through my brain, adrenaline pumping through my skin.

“Set!”

My gaze flicks down the line. Smooth legs stick out, strong arms, and one kickass smile when our eyes connect. I’m tempted to let her catch me.

“Hike!”

She’s on me again not five seconds later with a kiss.

Yeah… this is what it’s about.

Cassie’s Acknowledgements

Thank you, reader, for purchasing this book and reading through to this page. Unless you pirated it. That’s not cool.

Thank you, Jon-Jon, my football go-to while I attempted to write my first “jock” book. Let’s hope I sounded legit.

Thank you, my Awesome Nerds, for posting many pictures of Dylan O’Brien, for talking to me when I’m bored or when I’m avoiding work, for the emails, tweets, shares, statuses, IMs, and all of the above that makes this writing gig totally worth it. Love you so much!

Thank you, Winco, for being open 24/7 so I can get lots and lots of writing fuel. (AKA: Butterfinger cups.)

Thank you, Jessica, for writing these two with me, for waiting weeks for a new chapter, for waiting weeks for edits, for waiting and waiting and waiting because I can hardly keep my head on straight. But hey, we made it! On time, too. It’s a miracle!

Thank you, Allie B and Rachel Schieffelbein for one kick-butt cover. And to the hot, hot, hot cover models Kaitlyn Griffin and Harvey Friederichs. I see a future in modeling for the both of yas.

Thank you, Theresa, who is always
so smart
and had to endure my endless phone calls while I drafted this one. And edited it. And edited it some more. And more. And formatted it. And pushed publish. In fact, I’m on IM with you right now and you’re still telling me it’ll all be okay. So love you, babe. I can’t do this without you, and I’d like to get rich off at least one of my books, so please don’t ever go away.

Thank you Suzi Retzlaff, Kelley Lynn, and Rachel Schieffelbein for critiquing this bad boy and whipping it into shape. Kelley, I think you catch every overused word in every single one of my manuscripts. And yes, I just used “every” twice. ;) Suzi, your notes catch what no one else would’ve, and I’m forever grateful you offer to read my books because without you, I’d still be making my characters do things simultaneously with other things that they just can’t possibly do! And Rachel, you read everything of mine, and you volunteer with no hesitation, and you also told me I write the best dude voice! I’d be lost without you, woman.

Thank you, Lenore Kosinski (yeah, I probably spelled that wrong, and my internet just went out!), for being right there when I needed you most. For saying, “Yes!” when I needed this read in a day. And for being all around awesomesauce in everything you do. I love you to death! Unless that’s morbid… then I love you the appropriate amount!

Thank you, Romeo and Juliet, for loving each other at first sight.

Thank you, Tyler and Sam, for tackling each other at first sight.

Thank you, Mom, Becki, Jenny, and Shellie, for being my family fangirls.

Thank you, children, for telling everyone you know that Mom lets you play Nintendo for hours and hours and hours while she clacks away on her keyboard.

And lastly, thank you to my dorky hubby who could not help me at all with my football terms since you’re more of a “Dungeons and Dragons” type guy. I love you for trying. ;)

Jessica’s Acknowledgements

Writing a book is in no way a solitary experience, especially when you write it with someone. A whole bunch of people supported me and helped with this book and if I forget you...I'm sorry. I owe a huge thank you to everyone. 

I'd like to thank my husband for bring me to a Kenny Chesney concert and thank Kenny Chesney for playing Boys Of Fall, so Tyler and Sam could first pop into my head.

A ginormous thank you to Cassie Mae, because when I called her up and told her about this idea I had, she didn't laugh at me or say there's no way I'm writing a book with you, like I thought she would. Instead she ran with the idea, helped shape it into the amazing story it is, and loves Tyler and Sam just as much as I do. So thank you Cassie. Thank you for believing in me when I didn't believe in myself. Thank you for loving this story and these characters just as much as I do. Thank you for making this story so much better than I could have ever made it on my own. You are one of the most amazing, talented authors I have ever met/read and I am honored to have written this book with you. You have made me such a better writer and I will never forget the amazing experience of writing this book with you. I love you.

Thank you to my Beta Peep girls. I love you guys and seriously don't know what I'd do without you. Thank you to Kelley Lynn, Rachel Schieffelbein, Theresa Paolo, and Suzi Retzlaff all for editing this and doing it so very fast. And for your tough love. Lenore Kosinski, thank you for your comments and thoughts on SC also. Your comments about Sam meant a lot to me.

Rachel Schieffelbein, you did an amazing job taking the pictures for the cover. Thank you so much. I can't tell you how much I've stared at the photos. They are so beautiful. Allie Brennan, I love the cover. You did an amazing job on it. Thank you so much. Kaitlyn Griffin and Harvey Friederichs, thank you for being the models for our cover. You did great and you make an amazing Tyler and Sam. Kaitlyn thanks for dying your hair, the color was perfect! :)

Brian, thank you for your love and support. I know when I first told you I wanted to start writing you thought I was a little crazy, but the support you've given me is priceless to me. I love you so much. And I love the fact that you wear my Secret Catch bracelet all the time...I can't even tell you how much that means to me. Keanna, Gabi, and Zack I love you guys. I hope this shows you it’s never too late to go after your dreams. 

To all my friends and family thank you for all your continued support. Your belief in me that I can do this is a constant source of inspiration. 

Readers...you're irreplaceable. Thank you. I hope you love Sam and Tyler as much as we do. Thank you for taking you time to read it. 

Cassie Mae
(who dons the name Becca Ann on occasion) is the author of a few hundred… okay, maybe not
that
many… books. Some of which became popular for their quirky titles, characters, and stories. She likes writing about nerds, geeks, the awkward, the fluffy, the short, the shy, the loud, the fun.

Since publishing her bestselling debut, Reasons I Fell for the Funny Fat Friend, she has published and sold books to Random House, Swoon Romance, and Spencer Hill Press. She is represented by Rachel Stout at Dystel and Goderich Literary Management. She has a favorite of all her babies, but no, she won’t tell you what it is. (Mainly because it changes depending on the day.)

Along with writing, Cassie likes to binge watch Teen Wolf and The Big Bang Theory. She can quote Harry Potter lines quick as a whip. And she likes kissing her hubby, but only if his facial hair is trimmed. She also likes cheesecake to a very obsessive degree.

You can stalk, talk, or send pictures of Dylan O’Brien to her on her Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/cassiemaeauthor

Jessica Salyer
grew up a California girl but wound up in the Mid-West. Which is really unfortunate because although she loves the summers she can't stand the winter and hates being cold. She's a full time nurse, wife, and mother and writes when the kids go to bed. Being an avid reader her whole life, she always wanted to dictate how the stories went. The day a story got stuck in her head she started writing and hasn't stopped. You can visit her at
https://www.facebook.com/JessicaSalyerAuthor