The Lost Quarterback Returns novel · Chapter 4 of 24

Chapter 4: Pell Street

Dylan slid the chain off and came out onto the porch, still holding the ball.

He didn't invite me in, and I didn't ask.

"She's at the pharmacy," he said. "She'll be back in ten minutes. You should go."

"I know."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because I don't think I'm crazy," I said.

He looked at me for a while with his head tilted.

My father used to tilt his head exactly that way, and I almost couldn't breathe.

"Okay," Dylan said at last, and he sat down on the top step.

I sat two steps below him.

The football in his lap was old and cracked, with the leather worn gray.

A name ran across the side in faded black marker.

"Where did you get that?" I asked.

"Griffin Hartsell signed it." He turned it so I could read it. "To Shanna, number twelve forever. Mom says he gave it to her at a party when I was a baby. I've thrown it every day since I was four."

"Do you like him?"

"I like how he throws."

"Do you know him?"

"Mom says he's a rich guy who sent a thank-you card and never a dime." His jaw moved. "She saved his kid, and he forgot her. She works at the dentist all week and cleans offices on Sundays."

I looked at his cleats.

The tape on the left toe had been wrapped and rewrapped until it was a gray lump.

"That isn't true," I said carefully. "He sends her money every month. It's been twelve years."

"No, he doesn't."

"Four thousand dollars a month."

"We don't have that," Dylan said.

He said it without heat.

Something cold slid down the center of my chest, and I put it away for later.

"Do you have any baby pictures?" I asked.

"No. Mom lost everything in the hotel fire."

"You know about the fire."

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