The Journey Collection (13 page)

Chapter Five

The End of an Era

Travis added the last box from his room to the pile next to the front door and sighed. After almost two weeks, he and Russ had managed to pack the last of his belongings, and now they were waiting for the movers to show up. The day before, the Salvation Army had come in and taken all of his furniture, leaving Russ and Travis with nothing but the floor to sleep on. It hadn’t been easy, but it meant they were one day closer to being able to go home.

The rental company had let Travis out of his lease since they had a waiting list full of people who wanted to move into the building. With the promise that he’d be out by the next morning, they’d waived the next six months’ rent. His mail was already being forwarded to Penelope’s, and he’d closed out all of his accounts, transferring everything to the local banks in Texas. He was ready to leave Miami for good.

“Boy, you’d better get going,” Russ said, coming out of the kitchen with another box, this one labeled as fragile.

Travis sighed; he needed to go over to the stadium and say goodbye to the team. They’d been a part of his life for six years and had become like family to him. Through heartbreaking losses and celebratory wins, he and the members of the Sharks had been through a lot together, but now he was leaving them behind.

“I’m heading that way now,” Travis replied. “Are you sure you can handle everything here on your own?”

“Of course I can,” Russ scoffed. “I ain’t gonna be doing any of the lifting. That’s why you’re paying them the big bucks, isn’t it?”

Travis was even more thankful that Russ had decided to come back with him. There was no way he would have been able to get everything done on his own; there’d been too much.

Travis laughed. “True; very true. Okay, I’ll be back in an hour or two. If you need me, call.”

“Yes, sir,” Russ snickered, giving him a mock salute. “Just be safe.”

“I will,” Travis promised before he left.

~*~*~*~

By the time Travis pulled his car up to the stadium, his stomach was in knots. He’d been dreading this moment since he’d made the choice to come back to Miami. Deciding to leave was one thing — trying to get the people who’d seen you at your lowest to understand was something else altogether. Travis feared that they’d agree with the press and think he was leaving just because things had gotten hard.

Trying to pull himself together, he climbed out and headed for the locker rooms. The Sharks were scheduled to play Dallas tonight, and he wanted a chance to talk to them before fans started flooding the stadium. He paused outside of the locker room and took a deep breath.
Here I go
, he thought and pulled the door open. When he walked in, his soon-to-be-ex teammates turned and looked at him.

Travis could feel the apprehension rolling off them, but he tried to keep his voice calm when he said, “Hey.”

“Hey? That’s all you can say?” Gary Clark, his right tackle, stood up and walked over to him, offering a handshake. About the same height as Travis, Gary was twice as wide. He weighed in at three hundred and twenty-five pounds, but ninety percent of that was muscle. “You here for the game?”

“No, I — um, I can’t stay,” Travis said. Looking past Gary to the rest of their team, he sighed. “I leave Miami for good in the morning, and I wanted a chance to say goodbye.”

“Wow,” Gary muttered, shaking his head. “Never thought I’d see the day when you’d be gone for good, man.”

“Yeah, well; it’s time.” Travis shrugged his shoulders. “But I don’t want to hear that you guys are slacking off. You’re too damn good for that.”

“Yeah, we are.” Stepping through the group, Malcolm Rollins crossed his arms in front of himself and smirked. Young and cocky, Malcolm was the typical fresh-out-of-college rookie; he thought he was the best of the best. In his case, though, it happened to be true. Travis knew that Malcolm would lead the team well in his absence.

“You’re happy, right? With whatever is taking you from the game?” Malcolm asked.

Travis smiled when he thought about Penelope and Max. “Yeah, I am. Not to sound all emotional or whatever, but I’m gonna miss you guys. You were all here for me when I needed you. We’ve been through a lot together, but now it’s time for me to move on.”

“Are you sure you’re not going to regret leaving?” Nate Birch asked, one of the best receivers in the business. “When you’re sitting at home after work, with a beer in one hand and a bag of chips in the other, are you sure you’re not gonna watch us win the championship and regret your decision to quit?”

Travis took a deep breath. “Honestly?”

“No, lie to me,” Nate scoffed. “Of course I want you to be honest.”

Laughing, Travis placed his hands on his hips. “No, I won’t regret leaving.”

“Liar,” Nate muttered.

“I have a son,” Travis said, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. He’d always been so careful not to let his personal life become a matter of locker-room gossip, but these guys had been there when he hadn’t had anyone else. “His name is Max. Until I went back to Texas last month, I didn’t even know he existed. His mother is the love of my life. She didn’t tell me about him because she knew that being a football player was my dream and she didn’t want Max to be the reason why I failed to achieve it. At first, I wanted to hate her for not giving me the choice to be his father for the first ten years of his life, but she was right. I would have tried to be there, but I would have let the game stop me from being the father that Max deserved. Now, I’m making the choice to put my family first, to be the kind of man that my son can be proud to call ‘Dad.’ Maybe none of you can understand how good that feels, but I won’t put the game before them — not again.”

“Damn it, you sound like a grown up,” Nate groused, dragging his hand through his shaggy blond hair.

“It was bound to happen sooner or later, right?” Travis laughed.

“I suppose, but it’s not gonna be the same without you.” Nate shot his eyes over to Malcolm. “No offense, dude.”

“Oh, offense was taken,” Malcolm snickered, before looking over at Travis. “But he’s right; it won’t be the same.”

“Look, you don’t need me out on that field.” Travis walked over to Malcolm, placed a hand on his shoulder, and addressed the rest of the team. “He’s going to lead the way for you now. Put your trust in him, have faith that he’s not just a young, dumb kid anymore.”

“Pretty sure I should take offense at that, too,” Malcolm muttered.

Travis smirked. “Yeah, maybe you should.”

“Alright, everyone, get your butts out on the field. I want you stretched and ready for warm-ups when I get out there.”

Looking over this shoulder, Travis saw James Jorkins leaning against the doorframe of his office.

“Now!”

The Sharks scrambled to their feet and hustled out of the locker room, leaving Travis alone with their head coach. James Jorkins, known as JJ to the team, had been the one to draft Travis. He had thinning, sandy-brown hair and gray-blue eyes, and when he glared at the players, they’d swear he had the ability to turn them to stone. Travis and JJ had always gotten along, but that was before Travis had decided to leave the game. Now, he couldn’t tell what JJ was thinking, and that scared him a little.

“Well, I suppose I always knew this day was coming,” JJ muttered, shaking his head. A Louisiana native, he had deep, southern drawl. “You must be stupid or something for turning down my job offer.”

“I’m sorry, Coach, but —”

“Sorry doesn’t help me find someone to replace Jerry, does it?” JJ grumbled. “He recommended you for the position. Did Stewart bother telling you that little tidbit?”

“No,” Travis said.

JJ nodded. “Didn’t think so. But it wouldn’t have made any difference, would it?”

Travis smiled. “No.”

“Figured as much.” JJ sighed. “So this kid of yours, does he have your talent?”

“He’s better than I was at his age,” Travis replied. “Throws one hell of a spiral.”

“Does he love the game like you did?” JJ asked.

“I think so,” Travis murmured. “And I still love the game, JJ; I just can’t play anymore. And if you’d asked me to coach before I went back home, maybe I’d have taken the offer, but I can’t do it now. My priority has to be my family.”

JJ chuckled. “I know, McCoy, but it’s rare to find someone like you in the game anymore. Most of these guys are just concerned with how much money they’re making or how many magazine covers they’re on. You — you never lost sight of how it felt to play the game.” JJ paused and shook his head. “Do me a favor and teach your kid how that feels, okay? Show him that football isn’t about a paycheck, or, hell, even about winning a championship — though I have to admit, I want this year’s title bad.”

“You’ll get it. Those guys, they want it, too.” Travis walked over to JJ and stuck out his hand. “Thank you, JJ, for giving me a chance when I was just a dumb kid right out of college. You gave me a home when I needed one.”

JJ wrapped his fingers around Travis’s and sighed. “It’s been an honor to be your coach, McCoy. Take care of that family of yours. If I hear that you’re messing shit up in Texas, I will not hesitate to come out there and make you run for it. I’m sure that kid of yours would get a hoot out of you running from post to post.”

“Yes, sir,” Travis laughed. “I promise.”

“Good. Now, I’d better get out there before they think I’ve forgotten them.” JJ gave Travis’s hand another squeeze before releasing his grip and leaving Travis alone.

Taking a deep breath, Travis brought his hand up to his mouth and looked around the locker room. Like several other times since he’d come back to Miami, he found himself having a bittersweet moment. There’d been so many nights when he’d found himself alone in here, nursing an aching shoulder or a sore elbow. This room had borne witness to both his highest and lowest moments. He’d miss the Sharks, the stadium, and his team, but knowing that Penelope and Max were waiting for him made it easier to turn around and walk away with his head held high.

When he arrived back at his apartment, he found Russ sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, and propping a book up on his legs. All of Travis’s boxes were gone, and just two sleeping bags, a couple of pillows, and their luggage remained in the living room.

Kicking off his shoes, Travis sat down next to Russ. “How’d it go?”

“Well, they broke everything when they started throwing the boxes into the back of the truck, but not much I could do to stop them once they started. I figured you didn’t need any of that stuff anyway,” Russ said, shifting his eyes up to Travis.

“What?” Travis roared. “Dad, you told me that you could handle it!”

Russ burst out laughing. “You should see the look on your face. Oh, that’s priceless.”

“How can you laugh right now?” Travis fumed, trying to stand up.

Russ grabbed his arm and pulled him back to the floor.

“I trusted you, Dad!”

“Calm down, Travis,” Russ teased. “I was kidding. They were very careful with your stuff and told me that they’d have it at Penelope’s house bright and early Tuesday morning, just like you arranged.”

“That wasn’t funny,” Travis muttered.

“Oh, it was plenty funny. You’ve just lost your sense of humor.” Russ chuckled again before sighing. “How’d it go with the team?”

“It was . . ,” Travis paused to try to find the right word, “. . . harder than I thought it would be. I used to spend every day with those guys. We spent months on the road together. I’ve been to their weddings, celebrated the birth of their kids, and witnessed more than a few bitter break-ups. They’re my brothers, and I had to tell them goodbye.”

“You can always stay,” Russ suggested. “Penelope would probably move Heaven and Hell to get her and Max here with you if you asked.”

Travis nodded. “Yeah, she would, but I won’t let her. Clarendon is her home — their home. I refuse to take that from them.”

“Good. Now, why don’t you go call that pretty little thing and let me get back to my book?”

Smiling, Travis stood up, walked into the kitchen, picked up the phone, and called Penelope. After three rings, he heard her beautiful voice. “Hello.”

“Hey, baby,” Travis murmured.

“Travis!” she almost screamed. “God, I needed to hear your voice right now.”

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“Yeah. I let Max spend the night with Matthew. Figured maybe getting away from the house would distract him.”

“Is he still misbehaving?”

“No,” Penelope said, “but he’s not speaking to me much, either.”

Travis sighed, knowing that it was his fault.

“He misses you,” Penelope added. “So do I.”

“I know the feeling,” Travis mumbled. “I’m coming home. Everything is set, and Dad and I should be landing in Amarillo tomorrow night, just after eight.”

“Thank God,” she whimpered. “We’ll be waiting, baby. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” The level of intensity in the three simple words surprised even him, but Travis knew that he meant each one of them.

***

Chapter Six

A Kink in the Link

Travis was up and dressed before the sun had begun to peek through the windows. He hadn’t slept much, often finding himself staring at the clock and wishing the minutes would pass by faster. Of course they didn’t; it was like that old saying: “A watched pot never boils.” By the time Russ had roused himself, Travis was feeling antsy and anxious.

“Calm down, boy, we’ve got plenty of time,” Russ groused when Travis huffed at him.

“I know; I’m just ready to go,” Travis mumbled, sure that he sounded like a three–year-old.

Russ laughed and stretched. “Okay, okay; give me a few minutes to work out the aches, and then we can go.”

“Just hurry,” Travis snarked.

Twenty minutes later, the two men gathered up their belongings and walked out of the apartment, closing and locking the door behind them. Mrs. Johnson was watering the plants in the lobby and looked up when they stepped off the elevator. She had lived in apartment 1A for forty years and had always greeted Travis with warmth. Reaching out, she wrapped her small, thin fingers around his wrist and sighed.

“Young one, what is this I hear about you leaving? Are you on crack?” she demanded.

He heard Russ laugh behind him. “No, ma’am, I’m not. I’m moving to Texas to be with my family.” Travis gestured to Russ. “Like my father here. He’s a little touched in the head, if you get my meaning. Can’t be trusted on his own anymore.”

Mrs. Johnson leaned over and looked at Russ, a tittering sound slipping out from between her lips. “That’s a shame. He’s a stud.”

“Mrs. Johnson!” Travis exclaimed, gaping at the frail, seventy-year-old woman in shock.

“Don’t look at me like that, young one. I may be old but I’m still a woman and I have needs,” she teased.

Travis cringed.

“I’m gonna miss you around here, young one. You were a good boy and didn’t cause any trouble. I don’t want to hear that you’re messing that up back in Texas, you hear me?”

“Yes, ma’am. I give you my word.” Travis smiled and leaned down to kiss her cheek. “Take care of yourself.”

“Oh, I will.” Bringing her hand up to Travis’s cheek, she grinned. “Be happy, wherever your life takes you.”

“I will.”

Travis and Russ bid her goodbye and walked outside, finding their cab waiting for them. Cal had come by the night before and picked up Travis’s car. He’d agreed to keep it at his house until Travis could find a buyer. Travis had received a few offers, but they were low; seeing as he’d paid a pretty penny for it, he hadn’t wanted to take just any deal.

They placed their luggage in the trunk, climbed into the backseat, and directed the driver to take them to the airport. Half an hour later, the driver pulled up in front of Miami International Airport. They grabbed their luggage, and Travis paid the driver, pushing Russ’s arm out of the way when he attempted to shove a couple of twenties past him. Then the two men walked inside and got in line to check in for their flight.

It took them almost fifteen minutes to reach the front of the line. Once they’d checked their luggage and picked up their tickets, they made their way through security and down to their gate. Their flight was scheduled to leave at ten, and it was now just before nine. Travis leaned his head against the wall behind him and closed his eyes, trying to stifle the anxiety inside him.

Half an hour before their flight was due to board, an announcement came over the intercom. “Flight 2343 to Dallas has been delayed until eleven-thirty.”

“Damn, that’s us,” Travis muttered.

“Yep,” Russ chirped.

Sighing, Travis stood up. “I’m gonna grab some water. Want anything?”

“Nah, I’m good, but thanks.”

Travis walked through the terminal, finding a small bookstore. A picture of himself on the front page of the daily paper caught his eye when he approached the center display. He groaned and picked it up, unsurprised when he saw Tamara Roberts’ name on the byline. The woman was ruthless when it came to getting a story. A quick glance at the article, however, proved that she’d given out the same old information that every other paper and news channel had been reporting.

Tucking the paper under his arm, Travis grabbed a bottle of water, paid the cashier for both, and headed back to his gate. He dropped the paper in Russ’s lap and sat down.

“It would seem that they are determined to make more of my leaving than there is,” Travis said.

“Sharks’ ex-quarterback Travis McCoy has denied rumors that organizations from Seattle to Denver have offered him a place in their leagues, though inside sources report that they’re sweetening the deals by offering a five-figure signing bonus. Only time will tell if Travis decides to make his move,” Russ read. Shaking his head, he looked over at Travis. “When you get your five-figure signing bonus, can you spot me a figure or two? I thought I might buy some ocean front propriety in Arizona that I’ve had my eye on.”

“Sure thing, Dad,” Travis laughed.

“It’ll blow over soon enough.”

“I know, I just . . .” Travis sighed. “I don’t want Max to have to deal with any of this. He’s already struggling enough with the fact that I’m not there. He shouldn’t have to see this crap all over the place, too.”

“No, he shouldn’t,” Russ agreed, “but he’s gonna have to. It’s a hard life for a kid, but he’s going to have to understand that you’re a celebrity. People know you; boys want to be just like you. Dealing with articles like this is a part of the lifestyle. At least for now. Sooner or later, you’ll fade away, and people won’t care as much.”

“Um, thanks, I think,” Travis said.

Russ laughed. “Sorry. I just meant that once you’re not in the spotlight all the time, they’ll back off.”

“I always hated that part of the game,” Travis explained. “People in my face all the time, demanding more than I could give them. I had to be cordial, because, well, Mom would have kicked my ass if she’d been alive and heard about me being a jerk. But it’s hard to take because they don’t understand that I’m just a man who’s playing a game.”

“You’re more than that,” Russ scoffed. “You’re a hero.”

“No. The football player —
he
was the hero. I’m just Travis, a man who was lost until he went back home.”

“They aren’t the same person?” Russ asked.

Travis shook his head. “No, the football player was confident, brave, and unafraid to make a last-minute decision to run with the ball rather than throw. Travis, the man — he’s terrified that he’s gonna mess everything up and lose Penelope and Max in the process.”

Russ leaned forward and braced his elbows on his knees. “Everything you’re feeling right now: that’s normal. It’s called being a dad.”

“Yeah?”

“When you were born, I was scared to death. What if I couldn’t get you to stop crying? Or put your diaper on wrong? Hell, what if I dropped you again?”

“
Again?
”

Russ ignored him. “But I figured out how to get you to stop fussing, and I put your diapers on the right way. Sure, I made my mistakes — some of them worse than others — but in the end, you turned out to be a good man. You do the best you can, Travis, and love that boy like there is no tomorrow, and I promise that he’ll be okay. Max is a good boy; you and Penelope will do right by him.”

Travis nodded. “I’m a lucky man to have such a great kid, aren’t I?”

“Yeah, you are,” Russ agreed.

“So, um, you
dropped
me?” Travis asked.

Russ chuckled. “Just once, and you didn’t even cry much.”

“Still, you dropped me,” Travis stated. “I don’t know how I can live, knowing that you did that to me.”

“Stop being a baby. It’s not like I hurt you.” Russ scoffed.

“Flight 2343 to Dallas has been delayed. The new departure time is now twelve-fifteen. Please watch the monitors for additional changes.”

At the sound of the latest announcement, Travis sighed. “They push our flight back any longer, and we’ll miss our connection in Dallas.”

Russ nodded. “Yep. Let’s just hope that doesn’t happen.”

“No kidding,” Travis muttered, checking his watch: just past ten. It was going to be a long day.

~*~*~*~

By the time noon came, Travis and Russ’s flight had been delayed twice more, making it impossible for them to make their connection in Dallas at six. Sighing, Travis told Russ to stay put while he went to find out what was going on. Of course, he wasn’t the only one. A small and rather hostile group of passengers had gravitated up to the counter and were demanding answers.

“Please, everyone, just calm down,” the woman behind the desk demanded. Barely old enough to be out of high school, she looked frazzled and overwhelmed. Brushing her dark hair out of her face and adjusting her nametag, Lilia said, “If you will line up, I will try answering any questions that you have, but I can’t do anything if you don’t cooperate.”

“Just tell us when the flight is leaving,” a rotund gentleman to Travis’s right snarled. “It’s almost one already.”

“Sir, the plane that was scheduled to take you to Dallas experienced mechanical trouble and was forced to land in New Orleans. We’re now waiting for a flight from D.C. to come in. Once it is here, we will refuel and pull it to the gate and get you on your way,” Lilia explained.

“What about our connections?” Travis asked, pulling everyone’s attention to him. The whispers and muffled gasps didn’t go unnoticed, but he kept his focus on the task at hand. “Even if we leave now, I won’t be able to catch my connecting flight.”

“Sir, if you’ll wait for me to get everyone else settled, I would be more than happy to assist you,” Lilia offered.

Travis agreed and stood to the side while she attempted to settle the masses. Some were patient and kind, while others were rude and angry. He could understand their frustrations, but taking them out on the girl wasn’t going to help get them on a flight out of Miami any quicker.

“Why are you just standing there?” the chubby man from before bellowed, slamming his hand on top of the counter. Lilia jumped backward. “Are you just stupid? Get your head out of your ass and do your job!”

“Sir, I’m trying, but —”

Before she could finish speaking, he reached across the desk and picked up the phone, throwing it at her. “Call the tower!”

“Hey,” Travis snapped, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him away from Lilia. The man spun around and attempted to punch him, but he was quicker and was able to duck out of the way. With a sweep of his leg, Travis brought the man down to the ground and pinned him against the floor. “Calm the hell down!”

“Get off of me, you jackass!” the man screeched. “Let me go!”

“Not until you calm down,” Travis retorted. Looking over his shoulder at Lilia, he said, “Call security.”

“I — I already did,” she stammered.

Travis nodded and turned back to the guy under him. “I know you’re frustrated, but treating her like crap and throwing a fit isn’t going to get you out of here.”

“What the fuck do you know?” the man snarled, and from Travis’s left, he heard a small girl gasp. “You’re just an asshole who couldn’t hack it in the pros when things got hard.”

“And you’re just a jerk,” Travis answered from between gritted teeth. When two security guards came rushing over to them, he stood up, dragging the man up with him. “He assaulted this nice woman and has been using foul language, even though there are children in the area. I’m sure I speak for everyone here when I say that we’d prefer not to be stuck on a flight with him.”

A chorus of murmured agreement echoed around him. The guards pulled the man out of Travis’s grip and thanked him for his help. As they proceeded to cart the disgruntled passenger away from the gate, a round of applause broke out. Travis shook his head at everyone before he turned back to Lilia.

“Are you okay?” Travis asked.

“Um, yes, thank you,” she whispered, taking a shaky breath. “This is just my third week on the job.”

“You’re doing fine,” Travis insisted. “Now, I’m going to go over there,” he pointed to Russ, “and when you’re ready for me, you just call out for Travis, okay?”

“Thank you, Travis,” she said, calmer now that the excitement was over.

Nodding, he turned and walked back to his father, settling down on one of the hard plastic seats. Russ didn’t speak, but the smile he wore told Travis that his father was proud of how he’d protected that girl.

Twenty minutes later, Lilia called out Travis’s name, so he went back up to talk to her.

“I’m afraid I have some bad news. The flight coming in from D.C. will be delayed for another hour,” she explained.

Travis sighed.

“But,” she was quick to add, “I was able to get you and your friend on a flight to Chicago that leaves in ten minutes down at gate thirteen. From there, you’d be on standby for a connecting flight to Dallas, but at this point it might be the only way you’re able to get there tonight. I’m sorry; it’s the best I can do.”

“Thank you, we’ll get the flight to Chicago and take our chances,” Travis told her.

A few minutes later, Lilia had their new boarding passes printed out, and he and Russ had made their way down to their new gate just in time to board the flight. Russ’s seat was in the front, while Travis was all the way in the back. Once they were settled and had their seatbelts on, the plane rolled away from the gate, and they were off to Chicago. Travis said a little prayer that they’d have better luck at their next destination.