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“That’s true. The playbook gives you a place to start. It teaches you the fundamentals and gives you something to fall back on when things get messy. But eventually, you have to trust yourself enough to stop looking at it and start playing the game, whatever that entails.”

“Damn, that’s good, kid,” Walter murmured. “Well, I won’t take up more of your time. You go out and enjoy tonight. You’ve earned it.”

“Thank you, Sir,” I replied and shook his hand again.

“We’ll stay in touch.”

“I’d like that.”

“And one of these days, I’ll get you down to Tampa,” he told me. “Show you how it’s done in the Sunshine State.”

“I’d like that,” I repeated, mostly because I didn’t know what else to say. I wasn’t sure I could make a trip like that happen, but I’d try.

“Good.” Walter grinned. “Keep stacking days, Theo.”

“Thank you, Sir,” I said once more.

“Good to put a face to the name, Kennedy,” he continued and shook Rhodes’ hand once. “I’m sure we’ll talk soon.”

“Any time,” Rhodes replied.

With one final nod in my direction, Walter walked away. I stared after him, a little dumbstruck at the interaction. The man was an actual NFL scout. I’d talked to an NFL scout. The whole thing felt surreal. Yeah, Rhodes had told me that scouts were looking at me, but to know it? To talk to one? To find out I had a nickname among them?

“Holy shit,” I let out as the reality of the situation caught up to me.

“You good?” Rhodes asked quietly.

“I just talked to an NFL scout,” I whispered, making him laugh.

“Yes, you did,” he affirmed. “Get used to it, Theo. This is just the beginning.”

I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to this.

CHAPTER 39

Rhodes

MOM: You looked so happy tonight.

I was.

MOM: Good. You deserve to be happy, baby boy.

Happy.

The word had become impossible to escape. It slipped into my thoughts at the most inconvenient time and consumed me. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Was I happy?

Happy wasn’t something I usually thought about. At least not in a way that had me questioning every aspect of my life.

Winning against Amarillo had made me happy. Watching Theo break free down the sideline for the longest run of his career had made me damn near euphoric. Seeing the look on his face after speaking with Walter had been enough to make me smile most of the night.

Those moments were spontaneous and easy. They required no thought, and they were temporary.

The harder question was what happened when it was all over. What happened when football season ended? What happened when Mom…

I couldn’t finish that thought, and so I paused my pacing to grab a beer from my fridge. I needed something to take the edge off as I chased the thoughts taking over.