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“Ahhh… you did your research. Well, we can be friends, right? And friends can spend the day together, talking about their lives? That’s what you want, isn’t it?”
I rolled my eyes. “I would like to interview you and tell your story.”
I needed a damn job, and I wasn’t even sure this story would get me in the door. But I was fairly certain that I could sell it to one of the NHL magazines, and at least that would garner me some income while I worked on building my portfolio.
“Okay. I’ll send you the dates. See you soon, Brinkley Reynolds.”
I ended the call and got to work researching him more than I already had. His story was a decent one. His father and his grandfather had both played for the NHL, and he’d put on his first pair of skates as soon as he started walking. People would eat it up.
They loved a good legacy story.
So, all I had to do was get him to open up and share things that no one knew about him. Dig deeper. Find out the motivation. Did he truly love the sport, or had it become a job?
Lastly, I’d find out what had changed in his life since he’d hit this new level of success.
After I’d read everything that I could find about him, I made an early dinner and sat down to scan the internet.
The first thing to come up was a photo of Lincoln Hendrix, which of course, was trending at the moment. Everyone was biting at the bit to know where he was going to play. Several well-known commentators were making guesses about where he’d go, and no one thought he’d be staying in San Francisco. It was rumored that he and his coach did not see eye to eye on things.
I didn’t blame him for being unhappy with Coach Anders because the guy hadn’t done anything to protect Lincoln. He’d taken a real beating this past season. And even though they’d won the Super Bowl, it was known that he’d been the reason they’d pulled it off.
I’d always wondered about his background. He was one of the rare athletes that had managed to keep his personal life pretty private. Aside from a few chatty ex-girlfriends, there wasn’t a lot out there about him. His mother attended most of his games, and as far as I knew, he didn’t have any siblings. I’d never heard anything about his father, either.
I hated that I wanted to know more. Hated that I’d been thinking about him these last few days since I’d seen him on my run. Hated that every time I’d gone on a run since, I’d looked for him.
I read a few articles about all the predictions that people were making and wondered who would be the lucky one to break the news. Knowing Lincoln, he’d just go out and announce it without any warning.
Everyone in town was talking about how he was here and training hard for the new season. It was funny, here in Cottonwood Cove, no one would ever sell a photo or call a news station to say what he was up to. It was that quintessential small-town mentality. A respect thing. Everyone was a bit protective of the people here. Even if they were here for a short time.
But it didn’t stop them from being excited to see him around town.
I closed my laptop and finished dinner before changing my clothes and getting ready to head to my parents’ house.
Finn had gotten an early copy of the pilot episode, and we were going to watch it together tonight.
Aside from all the excitement about the famous quarterback being here, Finn’s new series,Big Sky Ranch,was the talk of the town. I was thrilled for him. He’d always had small roles in things, but this was the first time that he was the lead in a series. He’d been working hard for years, and I was excited for him because this felt like it was going to be his big break.
I walked the few blocks to my parents’ house, the home I’d grown up in. The water sat off in the distance, and it was a perfect spring evening. Not too hot just yet, but not cold either.
Large, overgrown trees curved over the street leading to my parents’ house, and I made my way up the cobblestone path to the front door.
When I stepped inside, Gracie rushed over and jumped into my arms. I carried her through the house to the large family room. Everyone was there, and Finn was messing around with the remote, but he looked nervous, which was rare for him.
We made our rounds hugging everyone and settled onto the oversized sectional couch. I sat between Georgia and Lila, and my mom had platters of food out on the coffee table. Chicken fingers and tater tots and pizza rolls.
Also known as Reynolds’ party food.
It was like the Super Bowl but even better because it was my brother we were going to be cheering on.
“Finn seems nervous,” I whispered in Georgia’s ear, and Lila leaned forward and nodded.
“I think he is. I hope we love it because he’s going to be watching us closely,” my baby sister said.
“What if it’s awful?” Cage asked, and everyone turned in his direction.
Hugh barked out a laugh as Gracie sat on his lap. “Smooth, dude.”
“What? I’m just asking. I’m not good at faking it. So, what do we say?”
