Merit (Treasure State Wildcats Book 4)
Merit: Chapter 23

The Treasure State University football stadium was electrified. We were surrounded by smiling, laughing faces. The game hadn’t started yet but people were already cheering, already clapping for their beloved Wildcats.

I’d only come to a handful of games when I’d been a student. The volleyball tournament schedule had usually been in conflict, either with an away game on the road or with an evening game at the fieldhouse.

Coach Quinn had certain expectations for game days, and screaming our lungs out at a football game before we had to play hadn’t been a part of her regimen.

There’d only been one time that I’d disobeyed her orders and come to watch the football team anyway. Last year, Liz, Jennsyn and I had come to a game before our own, hiding in a sea of royal blue and silver.

Now that I didn’t have volleyball, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my Saturdays than being here to cheer on Maverick for his last season.

And I wasn’t the only one excited to be at the stadium today.

Mom and Dad had the seats beside mine. Monty, Mabel and Bodhi were in the row in front of us. Meredith was sandwiched between them in a foam stadium seat, wearing a silver headscarf and one of Maverick’s old jerseys. It hung on her bony frame like a tent.

But her blue eyes had a sparkle I hadn’t seen in weeks. Her smile was as bright as the afternoon sun.

The heat from August had bled into the first weekend of September, but she had a blanket on her lap to keep warm. There was a long-sleeved shirt beneath that jersey.

I was already sweating in a pair of denim shorts and a Wildcats T-shirt.

Meredith had insisted on coming to today’s game. She’d waved off the mask that Monty had brought along, and though it broke my heart, this was her living her last days to the fullest. She was going to breathe the warm, fresh air. And watch her son like any other proud mother.

Maverick had scored us all tickets today, seating us in the first two rows at the forty-yard line.

I wasn’t sure what he’d done to get these tickets. They were about as good as you could replace in the stadium. If I’d asked, he wouldn’t have told me anyway.

He hadn’t talked to me much this past week, not since our fight after his away game. We weren’t fighting, but the strain between us meant I constantly had this sinking feeling in my stomach.

He’d only spent the night twice, and both, he hadn’t made a single move to do anything more than sleep.

Last night, on his coach’s orders, he’d stayed home to rest up before the game. Maybe it was true and they expected players to chill. Maybe Maverick worried that Toren would see his truck parked next door.

Or maybe it was another excuse to push me away.

I was losing him. I could feel him slipping through my fingers like sand.

He wouldn’t call it off, not while Meredith was still with us. But he was going to break my heart, wasn’t he?

Was it better or worse to know it was coming? To know that after Meredith passed, he would leave me?

And I was helpless to stop it. All I could do was watch as he fell apart. As he withdrew from everyone, especially me.

The announcer’s voice blasted through the sound system, drowning out the noise from the crowd. “All right, Wildcats fans, time to get to your feet!”

Cheers erupted around us, so loud I could feel the vibration against my skin. So loud I could barely hear my own voice.

We all stood, Monty helping Meredith up, and then thousands of fans began to clap in time with the blaring music, all eyes aimed at the doors where the team would leave the stadium’s locker room for the field.

Two lines of cheerleaders and dance team members were on the field, forming a row for the players. Their pom-poms were raised and shaking. Between them were barrels for fireworks.

Meredith glanced over her shoulder, giving me a smile as she reached for my hand.

I took it, holding tight to her knuckles, to the paper-thin skin and frail bones, as the doors to the locker room opened. A cannon blasted, my heart seeming to beat just as loudly, as the Wildcats stalked toward the field.

Normally, they’d run down that column of cheerleaders, but today, they marched, side by side, the fireworks beginning to pop and shoot around them.

Rush walked in the lead. Beside him was Maverick. Their faces were covered with their helmets, but I’d recognize Maverick’s long, confident strides anywhere.

Meredith’s grip tightened as she raised her other hand and waved.

Maverick was already looking our way. He held up his hand, waving at his mom the way he used to when we were kids. Wildly, with abandon, whenever he saw her in the office at the elementary school.

He’d never given a damn if the other kids teased him for being a mama’s boy. He’d tell them his mom was awesome and they were losers.

Monty looped an arm around Meredith’s waist as she let go of my hand and leaned into his side. She wasn’t able to stay on her feet until every player emerged, and as her energy waned, she sank into her seat, righting the blanket over her legs.

Dad put his arm around me, bending low to speak in my ear. “You haven’t said much today.”

I shrugged. “There’s not much to say.”

Mom took my hand, holding it in both of hers. When I looked to her, there was an unwavering strength in her gaze. A surety that we’d all get through this together.

She’d been a rock. The pillar we could lean on. She and Meredith were sisters of the heart. Best friends. She wouldn’t crumble, not until this was finished. She would tirelessly keep the rest of us moving, keep us breathing.

Before.

And after.

Someday, I wanted to be as strong as my mother.

She squeezed my hand, a silent reassurance that I could do this. And then we all faced the flag for the national anthem.

“There he goes,” Dad said after the coin toss and Maverick jogged to the field for kickoff. “Did he say if they were leaving him as punter and placekicker today?”

“No.” I shook my head. “I think they’re taking it game by game.”

I didn’t want to admit that Maverick hadn’t told me anything because all I’d gotten from him in the past two days were a couple of short texts.

Mabel cupped her hands to her mouth. “Let’s go, Maverick!”

Monty lifted both arms in the air. “Go Big Blue!”

I laughed, cheering with them as the crowd around us began to jump and clap, to scream for this team.

Maverick placed the ball on its tee, then waited as the other players got into their formation. He stood yards back from the others, gaze locked on the football. He pointed to the left side, then the right, getting two nods. Then he jogged forward, picking up speed until he kicked the ball.

It sailed through the air, past the receiver on the other team, landing on the turf at the ten, rolling toward the end zone. The Wildcats special teams chased it down and surrounded the ball, not letting anyone touch it until it stopped moving at the three.

“Can’t get much better than that.” Dad clapped Monty on the shoulders before we all settled onto the bleachers as the offense jogged onto the field.

The coaches and players on the sideline all clapped Maverick on the shoulder as he tore off his helmet, flashing us a blinding smile.

It was the first real smile I’d seen from him in weeks.

“I’m glad we’re here,” Mom said, leaning her shoulder against mine. “Together.”

“Me too.”

It didn’t take long for us to settle into the game. To cheer and clap and boo a bad call by the refs.

For the first time in months, it felt like us again. My family. The Houstons and the Adairs taking on an adventure.

The offense scored a touchdown, and when Maverick ran out to kick the extra point, we were all on our feet, even Meredith, screaming as the ball soared through the uprights.

We scored two more touchdowns before halftime while the other team had yet to score. As the clock ticked toward zero at the end of the second quarter, fans began streaming down the stadium stairs, making their way toward exits and the tailgates outside.

“Well, I think this calls for a cheeseburger,” Meredith said once the players had headed into the locker room. “And a Coke.”

It was the first time she’d asked for food in ages. There was a color to her cheeks that had been missing for months. Maybe the sunshine, the fresh air and Wildcats energy, was giving her a much-needed boost.

“I’ll get them for you, Mom,” Mabel said. “Bodhi’s hungry too.”

“I’ll come with you.” Meredith let Monty help her to her feet. “If you don’t mind that I’m slow.”

“Not at all.” Mabel nodded for Bodhi to head down the row, then they set off for the concession stands, Mom going with them to get us some snacks as Dad and I stayed with our stuff.

“How’s Maverick?” Dad asked.

“Not the best,” I admitted.

“Understandable. It’ll be good for him to focus on football, finish school. Then we’ll get him on at Adair.”

Dad hadn’t mentioned Maverick coming to work at Adair in weeks. I’d thought it was because Mav had told him, definitively, that he wasn’t taking the job. But maybe that conversation hadn’t happened. Maybe Dad had simply been too busy.

We’d been slammed with the last hard push of the season, all of us pulling ten- to twelve-hour days while the weather held strong. We had a month, possibly six weeks, until it would get too cold. Once the ground froze, we’d shift gears to snow removal. Most of the designers would take a few months off, though I’d work year-round, like Dad.

“I don’t think he’s coming to Adair,” I said.

“Really?” Dad pushed his sunglasses into his hair. He had a tan line in their exact shape, just like he did every year in September from a season spent in the sun. “He said he was interested.”

“When?”

“Oh, it’s been a while, I guess.”

But Dad was still stuck on it. Even after I’d worked my ass off this summer, showing him I was capable. Yet he still didn’t trust me enough to give me the chance.

“What if we break up?” I asked. “Would you still give him a job?”

Dad’s eyebrows lifted. “Are you going to break up?”

“What if we do?”

He shifted his gaze toward the field, fitting his sunglasses over his eyes again. “None of us will be surprised when it happens. We all know how this started. Just wait, if you can.”

Wait until Meredith was gone.

All this time together, they thought we were still doing this for her. Did anyone in our family believe it was real? Did Maverick?

Or was I the only person foolish enough to believe he wanted me?

That sinking feeling got worse, dread taking up permanent residence to twist my insides. I wouldn’t be able to eat a burger if they brought one back from concessions.

The marching band began their performance on the turf, forming the letters T, S and U with their members. By the time everyone returned with the food, halftime was over and the players had returned to the field, without the fanfare this time around.

Maverick waved at us again, waved at Meredith as she nibbled on her cheeseburger. Then he went to a net to practice a few kicks, warming up his legs.

The roped muscles on his arms were on display. His pants molded to his strong thighs and the perfect globes of his ass.

He truly was breathtaking. I loved him and hated him all at the same time.

That jerk had made me fall in love with him.

How could I have let this happen? How could we have gotten to this point?

We were only supposed to do this for a little while. We were only placating his mother. But now, if this fell apart, how was I supposed to recover from Maverick Houston?

“Stevie, want some popcorn?” Bodhi thrust a red-and-white-striped box into my lap.

“No, thanks.” I forced a smile, waving away the box to watch the third quarter.

The Wildcats scored another touchdown, swapping out the offense for defense. Rush and Maverick stood together with their helmets pushed up on their foreheads, watching and talking as the other team struggled to gain a yard.

That was the moment when Meredith slumped against Monty’s side, her head resting on his shoulder.

It took us all a few minutes to realize she hadn’t fallen asleep.