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Authors: Tim Green

the Big Time (2010)

BOOK: the Big Time (2010)
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The Big Time

A Football Genius Novel

Tim Green

For my brother, Kenny, because you're big time

Contents

Chapter One

ALL HIS LIFE, TROY dreamed of meeting the father he…

Chapter Two

“HE BELONGS TO ME,” Troy's mom said, “the one who…

Chapter Three

TROY'S MOM'S GLARE FADED. She hung her head and quietly…

Chapter Four

“MY GOD,” TROY'S MOM said under her breath.

Chapter Five

“WHAT, MOM?” TROY ASKED, his voice dull.

Chapter Six

FROM THE MIDDLE OF the woods, Troy thought of something…

Chapter Seven

“WHOA,” SHE SAID. “I know you took some shots in…

Chapter Eight

“MOM, WHAT ARE YOU doing!” Troy yelled, the blast of…

Chapter Nine

“HEY, MISTER,” HIS MOM said, raising her voice and banging…

Chapter Ten

“THERE ARE LAWS,” GRAMPS said, “that give your father some…

Chapter Eleven

“SO,” TROY SAID, EYEING her hand, “we don't do anything,…

Chapter Twelve

“WE LEFT SO FAST last night,” Troy's mom said. “I…

Chapter Thirteen

THE DOORS TO THE dome had been opened, and fans…

Chapter Fourteen

TROY APPROACHED THE YELLOW rope, his heart swelling with pride.

Chapter Fifteen

“I TOLD YOU,” TROY'S mom said to Drew, her face…

Chapter Sixteen

“IF YOU DON'T WORK with me here, I'm going to…

Chapter Seventeen

“WHAT SAME THING ARE you two thinking?” Tate asked.

Chapter Eighteen

BEFORE SETH'S FINGERTIPS EVEN touched the ball, Troy felt a…

Chapter Nineteen

SETH CALLED COACH MORA'S defenses from that point on, that…

Chapter Twenty

TROY FELT A MIXTURE of anxiety, frustration, and regret.

Chapter Twenty-One

GRIFFIN LENGYEL WAS BIGGER, faster, and stronger than Seth.

Chapter Twenty-Two

TROY LOOKED UP AT his mom. She inclined her head…

Chapter Twenty-Three

AS SETH PREDICTED, TROY'S mom did understand when Troy explained…

Chapter Twenty-Four

THE TREES ABOVE SHIFTED restlessly in a steady wind that…

Chapter Twenty-Five

“YOU LOST, KID?” THE security guard asked, scowling.

Chapter Twenty-Six

“BUT,” TROY SAID, HIS voice barely rising above the muted…

Chapter Twenty-Seven

TROY SHOWED HIS FATHER how he and Tate sat, with…

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“I DOUBT YOUR MOTHER will let me help,” Drew said.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

TROY LAY COMFORTABLY IN his dream on a sandy beach…

Chapter Thirty

TROY LEANED TOWARD THE screen, afraid that what he saw…

Chapter Thirty-One

IT WASN'T HIS FATHER'S orange Porsche but Seth's yellow H2…

Chapter Thirty-Two

“SURE,” JOHN SAID. “I lost my own dad when I…

Chapter Thirty-Three

“YOU ARE TESSA WHITE?” the man asked again, nodding to…

Chapter Thirty-Four

TROY CLUTCHED HIS ROLLED-UP bathing suit and pulled back the…

Chapter Thirty-Five

“I TOLD YOU G Money has the keys to this…

Chapter Thirty-Six

THE MASSIVE FISH VEERED off and swam away.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

THEY PULLED UP INTO the dirt patch in front of…

Chapter Thirty-Eight

TROY AND HIS FATHER sped down not the interstate that…

Chapter Thirty-Nine

FROM INSIDE THE TERMINAL, Troy eyed the flailing mob through…

Chapter Forty

SETH COLE SAT DOWN so that Troy was seated between…

Chapter Forty-One

“SETH,” TROY'S FATHER SAID. “Wait! You can't.”

Chapter Forty-Two

“I KNOW LETTERMAN ISN'T locked in, but you don't really…

Chapter Forty-Three

TROY'S MOM SLAMMED THE door and turned to him with…

Chapter Forty-Four

TROY'S MOUTH FELL OPEN in disbelief. His cheeks burned with…

Chapter Forty-Five

TROY SAW HIS MOM making a beeline from her seat…

Chapter Forty-Six

TROY HUNG HIS HEAD.

Chapter Forty-Seven

TROY DIDN'T SPEAK TO his mother the next morning, and…

Chapter Forty-Eight

BOB McDONOUGH STOOD TALL and slender, with close-cropped, graying hair…

Chapter Forty-Nine

“YOUR FATHER IS MILLIONS of dollars in debt, Troy,” Bob…

Chapter Fifty

TROY BOLTED UP OUT of the chair, tipping it over…

Chapter Fifty-One

TROY SAW HIS GRAMPS'S pickup in the dirt patch along…

Chapter Fifty-Two

“WHEN WE SAW YOU at G Money's the other night,”…

Chapter Fifty-Three

“HE'S YOUR LAWYER,” BOB McDonough said with a solemn face.

Chapter Fifty-Four

TROY'S MOM WHIPPED UP macaroni and cheese for him and…

Chapter Fifty-Five

TROY KICKED AND THRASHED, but the hand held tight.

Chapter Fifty-Six

THE SECURITY GUARDS AT the gate to G Money's driveway…

Chapter Fifty-Seven

TROY SLIPPED HIS FINGERS into the pocket.

Chapter Fifty-Eight

LUTHER'S PINK GRIN APPEARED in the midst of his beard,…

Chapter Fifty-Nine

TATE POINTED AT THE floor, and the men's eyes all…

Chapter Sixty

TATE'S EYES FLASHED IN the direction of the bar. She…

Chapter Sixty-One

THE SMILE FLASHED BACK onto his father's face instantly.

Chapter Sixty-Two

TROY TOOK A RIGHT at the next stop sign and…

Chapter Sixty-Three

TROY NEVER LOOKED BACK; he bolted up the ladder, spun,…

Chapter Sixty-Four

“TROY, HONEY,” HIS MOM said, rushing to him and hugging…

Chapter Sixty-Five

TROY COULDN'T SPEAK.

Chapter Sixty-Six

WHEN TROY REACHED THE edge of the bridge, he could…

Chapter Sixty-Seven

THEY RODE FOR TEN minutes in Seth's H2 before Troy…

Chapter Sixty-Eight

TROY AND THE GEORGIA team were down by six and…

 

ALL HIS LIFE, TROY
dreamed of meeting the father he never knew. Never once did he imagine it would turn into a nightmare. Still, the rage oozing from his mother's voice when she saw his father's face wasn't a complete surprise. But when her hateful glare scorched Troy, too? That was a shocker.

She acted as if Troy had invited the man to show up on Seth Halloway's front steps when, in fact, the appearance of his missing father shook Troy to the core.

“We don't want you here,” Troy's mom said.

Seth, the Falcons' star linebacker, appeared behind her and stepped onto the front porch of his stone mansion as if to protect Troy and his friends, Tate and Nathan, from the intruder. Noise from the party by
the pool out back filtered up over the slate roof and into the night sky. The entire Duluth Tigers football team—which Seth had coached as a favor to Troy—and the players' parents were celebrating the team's victory in the Georgia Junior League Football State Championship.

“Can I help you?” Seth asked, the cords in his muscular neck now dancing in the porch light.

Troy's father stood an inch or two over six feet—as tall as Seth—with a handsome face worn from weather and worry. He laughed a soft, friendly laugh, and he stuck out a big hand with a slim gold watch on his wrist.

“I'm Drew Edinger; I'm staying with a client who lives a few streets away,” Troy's dad said, extending his hand even farther until Seth had no choice but to shake it. “I know who you are. I admire the way you play.”

“I said we don't want you here,” Troy's mom said, crossing her arms and jutting out her jaw.

“I'm the boy's father.”

“You're not his father,” Troy's mom said.

Drew looked at Troy, gave him a sly wink, and said, “You're saying he belongs to someone else?”


HE BELONGS TO
ME
,”
Troy's mom said, “the one who changed his diapers and bathed him and cooked for him and helped him with his homework and took care of him when he was sick. Just because he's got half your genes doesn't make you a father.”

Drew turned his attention back to her, shook his head, and said, “You haven't changed a bit, have you, Tessa? Still beautiful. Still full of vinegar.”

Troy's mom pointed a finger toward the street. “Go.”

“You think this boy doesn't deserve to know his father?” Drew asked, his heavy eyebrows settling in on his brow. “At least a little bit? What do you think, Troy?”

Troy felt his mouth sag open, but no words spilled
out. He looked at Tate. She had good sense, better than he and Nathan. Her big brown eyes widened, but she only shrugged her shoulders in confusion.

“You're twelve years too late, Drew,” Troy's mom said. “Don't make us call the police.”

“Police?” Drew said, raising his eyebrows.

“Tessa,” Seth said, speaking quietly. “Let's not go crazy here.”

“I didn't even know Troy existed until I saw you and him on TV with Larry King,” Drew said, his hands splayed open, his voice nearly begging. “I knew then. He looks just like me.”

“I
told
you,” Troy's mom said.

“You never told me
anything
,” Drew said. “We fought about getting married and having kids, something you wanted and I didn't. Back then, with my injury and hoping I could make a comeback, my whole life was a mess. I never knew we had a
son
. You think I wouldn't have seen him all this time? You think I wouldn't have helped pay for things? I've done well, Tessa, even without football.”

“I'm not going back in time to do this all over again,” Troy's mom said. “I've moved on. We're fine.”

“But you never told me,” Drew said. “He deserves to know the truth, Tessa. I can't imagine what he must think.”

“He thinks what he thinks,” Troy's mom said.

“You need to tell him,” Drew said.

Troy felt dizzy. “Mom?”

“He knew,” she said, raising her voice and stabbing her finger at Drew. “Maybe I didn't throw myself at his feet and beg him to stay, but he
knew
.”

“In law school they teach you to ask if innocence is
possible
,” Drew said.

“I'm not a lawyer,” she said.

“I am,” he said, winking quickly at Troy again. “It's called presumption of innocence. It's what separates us from Attila the Hun. Think about it. Isn't it possible—given what I was going through at the time—that I didn't put two and two together?”

“You were a math major,” she said. “Adding two and two was something you shouldn't have missed.”

“Maybe I shouldn't have,” Drew said, nodding. “Okay, I agree; but I'm asking you if it's
possible
that I did. Isn't it? Couldn't me not being around for Troy all this time be a big mistake?”

Troy looked at his mom. Her lower lip disappeared beneath her top teeth as she studied Drew Edinger.

“Tessa, if you tell me no,” Drew said, pointing down the stone path toward the driveway and the Porsche convertible in which he'd pulled up, “then I'll walk away, go back to Chicago, and neither of you will ever see me again.”

Troy held his breath.

BOOK: the Big Time (2010)
7.59Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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