Chasing Football Dreams (Diner Girl #2)

Chapter Twenty-Three

T here was a time when I believed the world was out to get me. I firmly believe my past will keep me exactly where I used to be. I saw no way out from who I was or that I would forever have a Diner job.

I dreamed like any other but I never possessed the power or determination to chase down my dreams. I let weakness cloud my judgment and I let the opinions of others push me down.

If someone told me months ago that I would control the offense team and date Duncan Jones, I would have laughed and not taken them seriously.

Or I am the daughter of the NFL Hall of Fame Shane Martin.

I stood in my old dorm room taking every memory of me and how I used to live the life of someone who has already given up on their dreams. I walked up to the wall where the poster of Shane Martin looked back at me and I smiled at how I sat nights in front of this wall talking to him like he could give me advice. Not knowing I would be able to get advice from him in person.

I wouldn't do anything different. My life was the reflection of the harsh truth of what selfish human beings looked like. They always won but fate brought me back to my parents.

How can a Diner Girl, a nobody who always had bad luck on her side get so damn lucky?

I pulled the Shane Martin poster from my wall and folded it up before gently placing it into my bag. I packed everything up in my room when I pulled my father's playbook out from underneath my old bed.

I lowered my ass to the ground looking at the playbook as if I just struck gold. I flipped the book open glancing at the plays scribbled in my father's handwriting. This was my bible when I was a kid. I would stare at these plays and memorize them but I would still look at them wishing my father was alive.

I just never thought that the big man upstairs still handed out miracles even to the non-believers.

I pulled the photo of me from the flip and stared at the photo of me when I was four years old, wearing my green tutu and socks that looked like footballs.

I wish I could remember what it was like to be that young and have Shane take me to the stadium, teach me plays, and chase me around on the field.

I wiped away a tear falling onto my cheek, my shoulders jerking when I found Coach Shane standing in the doorway, his hand knocking against the door.

I didn't bother to shut the playbook or hide the photo of me. "What are you doing here?" I softly asked, wiping the tears from the corner of my eyes.

"I was told by your boss at the Diner where to find you,"

I smiled. "Brenda,"

He nodded. "She seems like a nice lady,"

"She is. She took care of me and Eliza. She's like a foster mother to us," I explained.

Shane frowned. "You never told me this,"

I shrugged. "We haven't really gotten a chance to talk,"

His eyes drifted to the book on my lap. "Is that my old playbook?" He asked, his voice hoarse.

I nodded. "I think so," I held up the playbook to which he entered my room to take it from me.

I watched him take a seat on my bed as he flipped through each page. "Kelly said that when I arrived at the orphanage, they couldn't get me to let it go, and ever since I had it in my possession,"

I bit my lip when he gasped as he took in the photo of me. Emotions swiveled around in his eyes. "You used to love that green tutu. I couldn't bear throwing it away,"

"All this time you had the proof that you are my daughter. We didn't need blood results for confirmation," He rested the book on the bed and presented me with an envelope.

"The results?" I asked.

He nodded.

"And?"

"I haven't opened it. I thought since you had a lot on your mind that you want to open this when you are ready,"

I push to my feet taking the envelope from him. "What's going to happen if I am your daughter?"

"It's been seventeen years, Zoey. Every birthday, I wish that you were alive. I prayed that they made a mistake and that you are still out there,"

"I will want to get to know you. Learn about your life. Help pay for your tuition fees,"

"You don't have to do that,"

He quirked his shoulders. "I would have done it either way, Zoey. As a father, it is my responsibility to give my daughter the life she deserves,"

"The first thing you will learn of me is that money doesn't mean much to me," I tore the envelope open, finding the proof that I already knew deep down.

"I didn't need the blood tests to confirm it,"

I shifted my gaze to his face seeing the truth reflecting in his eyes.

"The moment I saw you on the field during your first game, I subconsciously knew you were my daughter. You have your mother's natural beauty and my strong-willed mind,"

"This is great and all but what are we going to do,"

Shane raised an eyebrow at my question which has been bothering me since we learned of the suspicion.

"I have been without a family for seventeen years. I can barely remember anything before I was taken. I barely remember the man who took me. For so long, I have been forced to take care of myself. Eliza is my family,"

Did he expect that things would go back like I wasn't kidnapped? How can we move forward after the harsh truth resurfaced and we had to face the consequences? My so-called death was recorded not only by the coroner but every newspaper company that published my case.

"And let's not forget about the media feedback this case received. You are after Shane Martin. People are going to flood and want an answer. How do we tell a media station that the place that is supposed to keep children from the streets can be responsible for my kidnapping?"

"Zoey, breathe," Shane got to his feet and rested his hands on my shoulders. "I know this is hard for you, it's been hard on me too. Including your mother,"

"I don't have all the answers you seek. I don't want to force you into the limelight and have media reporters follow you around because of me,"

"I will never put you in that position. As a father and a coach, it's my duty to protect you,"

A tear escaped from my eye. "How can you be this calm?" I hiccupped, the vulnerability taking me like a tidal wave.

"I have cried and prayed for this moment. Showing up at practice with a straight face has been a big ordeal. Just watching your talent from the sideline was enough to stir emotions,"

"You hid it pretty well," I noted.

He smiled. "It was a heaven's gift to see my daughter live out her dream. A miracle to see her alive and well. A father can't ask for more,"

"Is that why you gave BJ all the compliments and shut me out when we first met?" I asked, remembering the day that almost had me get rid of my dreams.

"When they said your name and I looked at you, I saw my daughter. All grown up and the beautiful reflection of your mother when I met her. I couldn't look at you because I feared that I could be wrong but the more I got to know you, the more I put the pieces together until the evidence was there,"

"What do we do now?" I asked with tears in my eyes.

He curled a piece that had come loose from my bun behind my ear. "First, you are going to win the championship. And then we sit down and discuss paying your tuition fees,"

"That's really not necessary,"

He shook his head. "It is. I am your father, and you are my responsibility. You have proven to be a very independent person by working double shifts at the diner since you were fourteen but it's now my turn as a father to help you out,"

"You have always been my princess the moment mom brought you into this world and I promised to take care of you. I just got you back, Zoey after losing seventeen years of watching you grow up," He inhaled a breath and wiped away a tear from his eye.

"Let me catch up on the years I lost and spend this time with you because life is short kiddo,"

I watched him through teary eyes as he struggled to stay composed. My bond with my mother wasn't as strong as it was with him. I saw firsthand how badly he took it after learning of me and how I remember him in my dreams.

"There must have been a reason why I always looked up to you from the first moment I saw you on TV," I remember every recorded tape of him. How I would sit late at night rewatching the games to learn from him.

"You have always been one tough girl," He noted with a smile.

"Do you think you can help me work on my skills for this weekend's game?"

He frowned. "There is nothing wrong with your skills,"

I quirked my shoulders. "In my dreams, I always see you showing me the tricks of becoming a great quarterback and I just thought since you are real," I interlaced my fingers feeling awkward.

"I would love that,"

I raised my gaze. "Really?"

He nodded. "Ever since losing you, I couldn't stop going to the field wishing that I could get one more time to see you,"