Mr. Fiancé(138)

"We've still got a bowl game to worry about," I reply when the curtain pulls back and the doctor comes in. "Well, Doc?"

"I wouldn't be looking for a bowl game, if I were you," Doctor Lefort says. Guess I'm lucky he was on duty tonight. "I can't confirm it until we get an MRI tomorrow, but you aren't using that elbow for a while. You're going to need surgery."

"What's the deal? Rough guess, Doc?"

He looks at me, curious, then continues. "Nothing's broken, bone-wise. But you've at least partially torn the anterior band of your elbow joint, and it's my guess, the biceps tendon too. That crunch you told me about was your elbow bending the direction it's not supposed to bend."

Coach Bainridge comes in, his face grave. "How's it going, Duncan?"

I force a smile to my face and sit up. "Not bad, Coach. Just need to rub some dirt in it, and I'll be good."

Coach Thibedeau is looking at me like I'm out of my mind, and even Dr. Lefort is shaking his head. "Duncan, did you hear what the doctor said? You need surgery."

I look at Coach Thibs and shake my head. "No. What I heard is that I have partial tears of a ligament and a tendon. Partial tears. Not total. So it's something that can wait until January. We've got a bowl game to win, and I intend to help the team do it."

Coach Bainridge looks at Thibs and gives him a thumb. He gets the message and gathers up Dr. Lefort to leave the exam room. Once we have privacy, Coach B sits on the edge of the bed. "What's going on?"

I take a few seconds to think about how I want to say what I want to say. Finally, the words come to me. "For four years, I've been an arrogant, greedy, selfish asshole. I've hurt this team as much as I've helped it, and I can't make up for that. For these last few games, since my suspension, I've tried, and I've found something out.”

"What's that?"

I look at him and smile. "I love football. Not the fame—I mean, that's cool too—and not the money that might come in the next few years. I love the game. I've loved being part of this team. And I won't let this team down again. So if that MRI says I can move my elbow at all, that I can even bend my arm, then I'm going to be out there. We can worry about the surgery afterward."

Bainridge shakes his head. "Duncan, if you go out there in a bowl game, you're putting your entire future at risk. One wrong hit to that elbow, and your biceps tendon gets fully torn off the bone. You lose at least a year to rehab, and nobody's going to draft a tight end with a bad bicep in the first round. You'll be lucky to get a third-round pick—if you can even play at all."

"It's my career, Coach. Besides, there are things—" my voice catches, and emotion chokes at my throat. "There are things more important than football. That's why I have to do it."

"Tell me. Tell me why, or else I put you down as unable to play in the report to the AD."

In my mind, I see Carrie, and the words come easy. "Because I love her. Because I need to be a good man for her. A good man . . . he'd go out and fight with his team."

Coach studies me for a minute, then nods his head. "Okay, fine, but you could be making a huge mistake. I guess I get to tell you now that the team got the invite right before I came to see you. We're going to be playing in the Sunshine Bowl."

I nod, somewhat pleased. "Sunshine, huh? That's in Florida, right?"

"Yep. Not a New Year's Bowl, though, but right after Christmas. It doesn't give you a lot of time to heal up."





Chapter 18





Carrie





"Are you insane?"

Duncan shifts the sling strap around his neck to get a better seating for the padding and chuckles before reaching out and taking my hand with his good one. "You're about the third or fourth person to ask me that exact question this morning. Can we at least get back home before I have to answer it again?"

I roll my eyes and nod, carrying his bag over my shoulder. We get on the bus from the hospital to his apartment, and as we ride, I can't help but feel better. Seeing him down on the turf, holding his elbow and trying not to scream, I'd been so scared. What made it even worse was that, as Duncan's girlfriend, I couldn't get past the nurses at the front desk. I wasn't family, and I wasn't one of the coaches. I was just some girl. Thank God Tyler saw me and snuck me in a side door.

"I owe a date to a very star-struck nurse for this one, so make it good," he whispers as I go by. "I have a feeling I'm going to regret the date."

It was helpful to see Duncan in the hospital, and now, riding the bus next to him, I'm even happier, even if his plan is crazy. "So are you gonna tell me why you're thinking of sacrificing yourself and your future for this?"