Treasure State Wildcats

Football star. Single dad. And once, a long time ago, mine. I’ve spent the better part of a decade forgetting Ford Ellis. If he had just stayed away from Montana, I might have erased the memory of his striking blue eyes and rugged smile forever. Avoiding him was easy when the only place I saw his face was on ESPN—and a remote control could fix that problem.

The night I met Toren Greely was the night I learned how to lie. He was a Treasure State football coach. I was the star of the volleyball team. Coaches and students were forbidden. My future was on the line, so I told myself it was only one night. That was the first lie. They got easier to tell after that. The lines blurred. The boundaries shifted. Our relationship became a game of its own.

Pregnant. Homeless. Broke. Not what I’d expected for my senior year in college. Neither was Rush Ramsey. We met the day I went camping and got stranded on the side of a gravel road. I didn’t believe in white knights who freed damsels in distress. Life had taught me that if something bad could happen, it probably would. The only person who would save me was me. But Rush Ramsey rescued me that day. He was sweet and kind and charming. He made a dark, starry night a little less lonely.

The world loves Maverick Houston. Me? I’ve hated him since we were ten. It’s not exactly easy to escape your childhood nemesis when your parents are best friends who live on the same block. Through countless vacations, parties and holidays, Maverick and I have spent the past decade trading insults. Until that family dinner when his mother tells us she’s dying. When she asks us to forget the past and start fresh. That’s how I found myself on a date with the Treasure State Wildcats football star. The campus playboy.