Fourth Down (Portland Pioneers 1)

Peyton slaps her sister. “You’re a brat. Where’s Ben?”

“He had to work. He’s got a big project.”

“A project that couldn’t wait until Monday?” Peyton’s face pinches as she stares at her sister.

Elle shrugs, signaling the end of that conversation. Peyton hands Oliver back to her sister and then tells us she will see us later. She talks to her mom quickly before heading back to the field, but not before taking Mack with her. It’s then that everything shifts.

It’s time for football.

We stand for the anthem, which Liam sings beautifully. After, he hugs Noah, which brings tears to my eyes. When Julius goes out for the coin toss, Reggie and I cross our fingers. I close my eyes and listen for the call. When I hear that the Pioneers have won the toss, I feel relieved.

Reggie tugs on my shirt, and I bend toward him. “We’re going to win,” he says. “I can feel it in my bones.”

“Me too, bud.”

The kick-off happens, and the Pioneers return it for a touchdown. Within seconds, it’s seven to nothing. Four downs later, Noah and the team he’s led to the Super Bowl take the field. My man lines up on Noah’s left—a position I’ve been told is very significant to Liam, and Peyton’s father, Mason. I made the mistake of asking Julius, in front of Peyton and Noah, why he’s never on the right side of his quarterback. Once Noah shared Liam and Mason’s story, I understood.

Noah’s first attempt goes to the running back, Brandon Garrison. He picks up six yards, according to the announcer. Not that we can hear much of what they’re saying because this stadium is loud. People are yelling, chanting, and stomping their feet. I’ve never been in the middle of something like this. It’s both exhilarating and terrifying.

In the next play, Noah takes the ball and steps back. He looks left and then right and fires a pass downfield. I lean forward and see Julius running toward the end zone. A guy is trailing him. I have no choice but to watch everything unfold on the massive screen hanging in the center of the stadium. There are too many people, and they’re standing, blocking my vantage point. The guy in pursuit of Julius is waving his arms in the air, but none of this affects Julius. He holds his hands out, and the ball lands perfectly in his arms. Another player comes at Julius and tackles him, but not before the ball breaks the plane. Every Pioneer on the sideline puts their arms up.

Touchdown!

“Mom, did you see that?” Reggie says as he pulls on my arm. I glance at him and smile. “I mean, Autumn. Did you see that?”

It doesn’t hurt that he changed what he called me. Reggie has to move at his own pace. If he wants to call me mom, he can. If not, Autumn is perfect too. “Your dad scored a touchdown in the Super Bowl!” Reggie and I high-five each other, plus everyone around us, and then we cheer for Julius as he reaches the sideline.

Julius comes over to the railing and holds the ball up. He points at Reggie, who scrambles to get down to his dad. When Reggie comes back, he shows me the ball. “Dad says it’s mine to keep!”

“We’ll get a stand for it, and you can put it in your bedroom.”

“Awesome,” he says. He shows his grandfather and my dad before showing everyone else in our group. Roxy comes to me and tells me she’s sad and then screams to her dad that she wants a ball.

The other team scores a field goal next, and then Noah runs for a touchdown after taking the team from the thirty-yard line to the end zone. I fully expect him to give the football to Peyton, but he comes over to the stands and points at his dad. They hug, and when I look over at Josie, she has tears in her eyes.

“That’s another true love story,” Nola says to me. “Ask Noah or even Josie about it sometime.”

“I will, thank you.”

After halftime, the following two scores put the other guys up. Reggie is stressing but keeps telling me that he knows we are going to win. The Pioneers call a time-out, which my dad says is smart because they need to regroup. All around me, everyone talks about football, and I realize I need to learn a lot before next season starts. I’ve got the basics down, but that’s about it.

When Noah is at the line of scrimmage, he calls an audible. Everyone shifts, even Julius. Noah steps back and hands the ball to Chase Montgomery, who rears back and throws a bomb toward Julius.

“Catch it,” I mutter. He does and runs the last ten yards into the endzone without being touched. Before I can alert Roxy, she’s made her way to the railing and holds her hands out. She brings the ball back to me and asks me to hold it while she goes back to sitting with Noah’s sister.