Full Court Devotion (9 page)

She
burrowed into his right side to avoid bumping his foot that was propped up on
the stool.

“How
are you doing?” she asked.

The
only lights were from the beautifully decorated Christmas tree and the gas fireplace.
His dark eyes glowed in the firelight.

“Good
as long as I’m next to you.”

“You
schmoozer.”

“You
know it.”

“What
did your mom and your coach have to say?” They hadn’t had a moment alone to
talk and she didn’t want to ask with everyone around.

“Mom
wanted to make sure you know how wonderful I am.” He smirked as if it was a
joke.

“Oh,
I do.” Kazlyn wasn’t even teasing. She appreciated every inch of this man.

“And
Coach was upset about the news, but he…” Ty paused, his eyes shining with
excitement, “He said if I don’t go play in Europe, he’ll give me a job as one
of his assistant coaches.”

Kazlyn
jumped and squealed. “Oh, Ty, really?”

“Really.”

“Can
he do that? You have no experience.”

“Thanks
for the vote of confidence.” He laughed at her mortified expression.

“I
didn’t mean—“

“I
know you didn’t. He can choose anyone he wants for his coaching staff. It’s in
his contract.”

“Wow.
That is wonderful.”

“It
is.” He studied her. “Kazlyn, yesterday I felt like my world had collapsed.”

She
nodded her understanding.

“I
can’t tell you what it meant that you were there for me. I kept praying that
I’d have a Christmas miracle and be healed somehow.” He grimaced as he looked
at his foot. “That probably isn’t going to happen, but I realized all of this
is for a reason. I thought I wouldn’t have anything to offer you, but with
Coach’s offer and the possibility that I could play in Europe—”

“Wait
a minute,” Kazlyn interjected, sitting taller. “What do you mean that you
didn’t have anything to offer me?”

Ty
studied the firelight. “Sorry, you still need to give me those humility
lessons.” He tried to smile but failed. “Maybe you don’t want me to have
anything to offer. Maybe you don’t want me.”

“Tyrese
Hamilton!” Kazlyn slapped her hand against his chest. “Of course I want you,
and I’d want you if all you had was that piece of crap truck and the grin on
your face! Do you understand me?”

Ty
stared at her for a second and then he chuckled. “Oh, Kazzy.” Suddenly, his
eyes grew serious and his voice dropped to a husky whisper, “I love you.”

She
bit her lip and smiled at him. “I love you, too.”

Ty
cradled her head with his hand, slowly bringing her lips to his. “Merry
Christmas, love.”

The
kiss started tenderly, but the passion and love Kazlyn felt for him were
stronger and brighter than any fire. It was the best Christmas she’d ever had.

Every
time Kazlyn
watched the Aggies play, she felt a little pang that she’d never see Ty play
again, but watching him coach was almost as much fun. He was so into the game,
but also so great with the players. Even though he was only a year older than a
few of them, they all showed him a lot of respect.

The
team ran up the tunnel for halftime and Ty reached up to grab Kazlyn’s hand and
give her a grin before he went into the locker room. This seat next to the
tunnel was now her permanent spot and Ty made sure she had four seats there so
she could bring friends or family. Amazingly, school was actually easier now
that she was accepted into the master’s program and focusing on what she wanted
to be doing the rest of her life. She never missed a game and she even found
time to dance with a local group.

Tonight
her mom, Luke, and Porter were there to support Ty. It was so much fun to be
with everyone.

The
Aggiettes danced and then the announcer requested, “Would Kazlyn Wilson please
come down to the Aggie’s bench?”

Kazlyn
turned to her family. “What?”

Luke
helped her stand and gently pushed her. “Go. You must’ve won something.”

Kazlyn
ran down the steps and onto the floor. The entire crowd stared at her, but the
announcer didn’t say anything else. She stood there feeling incredibly stupid
for half a minute before a deep voice she’d recognize anywhere came over the
loud speaker. “Kazzy, will you marry me?”

Kazlyn
whirled and stared at Ty sauntering out of the tunnel with a mic in one hand
and an open ring box in the other. She didn’t even look at the ring. She
launched herself into his arms and screamed, “Yes!”

Unfortunately
the mic was right by her mouth and the entire stadium was blasted with her
answer. Everyone laughed and applauded and somebody grabbed the mic. Ty lifted
her off her feet for a kiss. He set her down and slipped a gorgeous round
diamond set in a thick gold band on her finger.

“Luke
thought I’d won something,” she told him breathlessly.

Ty
grinned. “What do you think?”

“I
think I’ve won the best thing I can imagine.”

Ty
pulled her in for another kiss. The crowd bellowed their approval and as one
shouted, “Tyyyy-reeese!”

This book is also available, along with 5 other Christmas romances, in the Christmas in Snow Valley anthology.

Christmas in Snow Valley
Check out the first chapter of the next book in the anthology on the next page.

By Taylor Hart

Denver,
Colorado

If
I hadn’t been a cynic, I might have found the mistletoe hanging above the
apartment door romantic or hopeful or happy. But, I’d quit believing in
Christmas miracles and love and fairytales a long time ago. Too bad my
roommate, Christina, was still naïve enough to hope a plant, and a poisonous
one at that, would lead to a handsome prince.

The
tape anchoring the mistletoe ripped easily as I pulled it down. I put my key into
the lock and shoved the door back. “I’m not amused, Christina,” I said waving
the offending plant in front of me as I entered the apartment.

Laughter
sounded from the kitchen and light Christmas music lingered in the background.
I followed the sound down the hall. Gold and red lights lit up a Christmas tree
and quirky homemade decorations set off strands of popcorn. I told Christina not
to take the time to decorate, but she hadn’t listened to me. She never did.

Christina
held a piece of tomatillo out to me. “Try this, Molly, and tell me if it’s too
salty.” Her green cat-looking eyes sparkled with mischief as she flipped her
long, black hair off her shoulder. “And what do you have against mistletoe?”

Her
homemade tomatillos were enough to ease my irritation. The tomato flavor
exploded into my mouth, both sweet and salty. I remembered why I put up with Christina’s
eccentric ways—good cooking.

“Yum.”
I breathed out and closed my eyes for a second.

Christina
laughed. “You look tired, why do you choose to work insane hours during the best
time of year? You need to relax, kiss more men. Kiss any man. Quit selling
rings and get a ring on your finger.”

I
did work insane hours, but that was the jewelry business at Christmas time. “Can
I just tell you how glad I’ll be when the most wonderful time of the year is
over? Six days.”

Christina
batted her eyes at me. She made a kissing motion. “It’s because of that heart
breaker, Kevin, isn’t it? The one from Snow Valley? That’s why you don’t like
mistletoe?”

I
vaguely remembered letting his name slip one too late night over too much hot
chocolate. “Please don’t say that name.”

She
shrugged, lifting a speculative eyebrow. “Well, it doesn’t matter; Luis and
Sean are coming in ten minutes.”

Luis
was Christina’s three-month serious boyfriend. Which was really serious for Christina.
Sean was his roommate that Christina perpetually tried to fix me up with. It
wouldn’t happen. Not that he was a bad guy. Not really, discounting the fact that
he sold bonds and constantly wanted to tell me how much money he made and what
I should buy in the market that day. Plus, it didn’t help that he wanted to
count my protein intake for me, either.

“Christina.”
I leaned down to take off my shoes, already tired from just thinking about an
evening with Sean.

The
gas stove clicked on and then simmered as Christina put a pan of mild sauce on
top. “I think you need to simmer it.”

“What?”

“The
key to a good sauce is to simmer it. Mama always let the sauce simmer all day,
but if you just give it all a good fifteen minutes, it works. Okay, chica?”

I
paused. This was another one of her things—always giving me tips on
cooking this or that. But the cooking tips were really a cover for ‘the love tips.’

I
fluttered my eyes back. “Right, simmer it.”

She
let out a trigger of giggles. “Come on, chica, you need to loosen up, you and Sean
could use some simmering. It would rev you up.”

Christina
was a beautician and took her calling to mean that she gave out lots of advice
on hair, love, and cooking—in that order.

“Luis
seems nice for
you
.” I motioned to the spatula. “But I’m not simmering
anything with Sean.” I snatched up a torn piece of tomatillo from the counter.

She
scrutinized my reaction. “More salt?”

“No,
it’s perfect.”

Christina
grinned. “You can’t keep eating the main dish.” She moved the plate of
tomatillos. “We have company coming over.”

I
leveled her with a super glare. The fact I was anti-Christmas was a known fact.
“I told you I didn’t want any parties this year. I have to get up at
five-thirty tomorrow to get the store in shape.”

After
throwing her hip to the side and giving an exaggerated eye roll, Christina put
her hand out in front of me. “Why do you hate Christmas?”

I
shrugged. “I don’t hate it. I just … don’t prefer it.”

“I’ve
known you for two years and haven’t seen a spark of Christmas spirit, it’s
weird.”

I
sighed. “Let’s just say that I grew up in a town that went way overboard with
Christmas and … I’ve just had enough.”

She
stirred the sauce. “Of the town or of Christmas?”

I
paused, not expecting the directness of the question. “I guess both.”

She
sprinkled a touch of salt into the sauce. “Hmm, so that’s why you work so
much?”

I
sighed. “What can I say? I’m living the American dream.”

“Until
you take over the world?”

I
grinned. “You know I want my own store…then another store, and another.”

The
way Christina’s eyebrows furrowed, I knew she didn’t buy it. “Right, the path
to success…”

I
played along, she was quoting me. “…is paved with hard work. Exactly.”

Her
very red lips sealed into a noncommittal line. “You will never be happy selling
jewelry.”

“Why?”
I challenged back.

“You
are not making a difference.”

“I’m
helping with the most important events in life—marriage, anniversaries,
birthdays.”

“And
you care about those events?”

I
lifted a shoulder. “Okay, fine. I like selling things. I’ve always liked
marketing and selling. It’s what I do.” She had me on the defensive. “How do
hairdressers make a difference?”

She
narrowed her eyes. “We
counsel
others. We make people beautiful. They
feel
better because of us.” She gave a soft smile. “We don’t just sell, sell, sell.
You have to believe in something.”

I
rolled my eyes. “I believe in
not
having to struggle your whole life.
But don’t worry, I’ll share with you.”

She
cocked her head to the side and rolled her eyes. “So, I had this dream,” she
said, changing the subject.

“Oh,
dear.” I moved away from the stove, not ready to indulge Christina in another
round of ‘guess what the dream means.’ Her grandmother had taught her about the
power of dreams and she would spend hours interpreting them.

Her
bracelets jiggled as she cut me off. “Madre Mia—it’s serious.”

I
stopped. The normal look of superiority on Christina’s face was gone, replaced
by wide eyes and distress in the corner of her eyes.

Annoyance
stirred through me. “This better not have anything to do with Sean.”

Instantly
Christina jerked her head back and forth. “This is serious,” she said again.

“Christina!”
I had to hand it to her, her blatant fear made me unwillingly shiver. “Don’t do
this to me.”

“I
didn’t want to tell you.”

“Christina,
what did you see?” I didn’t care, but I couldn’t shake this insane feeling.

“Muerto.”

“What?”

Tears
appeared in her eyeliner coated eyes. “I am sorry. I—I felt death.
I—”

All
my patience fled. You didn’t mess with that word. “What do you mean? Am I dying?”

She
gulped back a swallow. “It’s not like that—it’s all symbols.” She put her
shaky hand on my shoulder. “I—I’m sorry, I wish I didn’t have this gift,
but as you know with your natural gift to sell things, we get what the Lord
gives us.”

A
nervous pulse went through me. “Tell me exactly what you saw.” It wasn’t that I
put a lot of stock in her dreams, but I couldn’t discount the time I’d lost the
key to the store and she’d dreamed that it was at the bottom of a swimming
pool. The next day I’d found it in the filled kitchen sink, left overnight.

She
pressed her fingers into the side of her head and rubbed. “I don’t know.” It
came out fast. “But I also saw love. I saw death and love. True love’s kiss on
Christmas Eve. ” She exhaled like she’d run a marathon.

Okay,
now it had turned stupid. And typical of her. “Have you been watching Disney
Princess movies, again?” I whirled away. “You almost had me.” This was also her
thing—shocking me to keep me lively and vivid.

She
laughed nervously. “I’m not being a drama queen, I really saw something that
freaked me out.”

“Whatever,”
I called over my shoulder and dropped my things onto my desk, promptly
forgetting Christina’s dramatics.

“Molly!”
Christina called out. “Luis said Sean really likes you. He bought you a Christmas
present. You will have dinner with us, won’t you?”

I
frowned. “Can I just eat in my room?”

“No!”

I
traded my work clothes, black skirt and fancy top, for dark jeans and a snug,
green sweater. Comfort clothes. I called out. “Fine, I’ll eat, but I should be
running.”

“You
run too much.”

I
almost tripped on the cord that connected the lights from the tree to the
outlet in the hall. I turned back. “I hate Christmas, by the way.”

“Feliz
Navidad.” Christina sang out to me.

I
roughly brushed out my red hair. It had an autumn color to it. Natural, but no
one ever thought it was. I’d had it in soft curls earlier, but the curls easily
fell out, going back to my usual straight. It took a lot of product and an hour
of curling to get the curls just right. I did reapply my make-up, wishing I
wasn’t a slave to my stomach and could make a stand about this holiday fun we
were about to have. I didn’t like to have my boycotting sabotaged.

I
worried. Christina and her ‘dream interpreting’ didn’t sit well with me.

***

Two
hours later, Luis and Christina sat on one side of me. They made out as ‘White
Christmas’ played on the television.

Sean
lightly traced my shoulder and slid his hand down my arm. He paused.

I
pulled away from him. “Umm, I think I need to get to bed.” I stood and tried to
avoid the hurt look in his eyes. It wasn’t his fault he was Luis’s sidekick and
I didn’t like him as more than a friend. Honestly, he was a pretty nice guy, even
if he
had
talked about the bonds and protein again all night.

Christina
murmured, “Night, Molly.” But didn’t break from her make out session.

Sean
stood too, flattening his tight t-shirt over his abs. “Yeah, I get that you
have to get up early. Can I give you something?”

I
really didn’t have any desire to be mean to him. But, I didn’t want anything
from him. Not to mention the fact I didn’t have a return present. Awkward.
“S-sure.”

He
moved to the coat rack next to the door.

I
followed, ready to face the impending hurt when he realized I had nothing to
give him in return.

He
unfolded a brown bag from his coat pocket and extracted a small box.

I
took a quick step back.
No. No. No.
This couldn’t be a ring.
Nooo.
There had been no kisses. Not even real hand holding. Nothing that would
warrant a ring.

He
chug laughed. “It’s not
that
kind of ring.”

I
exhaled and reluctantly took the box.

It
wasn’t wrapped. I hesitated.

Sean
licked his lips. “I know we’re not...” His eyes averted to Luis and Christina,
then back to me. “I just thought that you might need a reminder.”

My
heart sped up. “What?”

Gingerly,
he pulled the top off the box to reveal a small silver ring. “I figured since
you work in a ring shop, you must like jewelry. It reminded me of the star that
guided the wise men.”

My
hand hovered over it. “It’s…”

He
picked it up and held it out. “It’s a Christmas star.” He rolled his eyes and
blushed. “Christina told me you hate Christmas and I noticed you seem...” He
trailed. “I just thought you might need something to help you find your way.”
He slipped it onto my left pinky finger.

I
was speechless, my throat tightened and I thought about the star that my father
used to help me put right on top of the tree. I pushed the thought away and
tried not to think about that.

A
nervous breath huffed out of Sean. “Whenever I see the star, it makes me feel
like I know where I’m going. I hope it can guide you to whatever you need right
now in your life. Even if that’s
not
me.” The side of his lip went up. “Merry
Christmas, Molly.”

Sincerity.
I would give him that, but I wouldn’t say those words …
Merry Christmas.
Even though it felt awkward not to say them back. “Thanks.”