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trust you’ll make sure it’s all still there when I get back.”
    “Ms. A, that hurts my feelings…” His voice faded as she rounded the corner into the teacher’s lounge.
    Ten minutes later, Summer walked into her classroom and stopped short. Lone Star merchandise had found its way onto every single student—the explosion of red, white, and blue was a surreal, patriotic tableau. All they needed was a grill and a couple of Igloo coolers and they could pass for gang of tailgaters waiting to take their seats on the fifty yard line.
    “Shhh. She’s back.” It was La Shay, who’d shoehorned her plus-sized, pregnant body into an extra-small tee. “This here’s something just for you.”
    Summer looked down at the small, square box La Shay held gingerly in both hands.
    “What?” Summer took it.
    “It was at the bottom of that bigger box. There was a sticky note on top of it saying it was for you but”—La Shay shot her best friend, Kesha, a dirty look—“some people don’t respect other people’s privacy. The note got ripped off.”
    Kesha rolled her eyes so far back in her head Summer was sure she counted her own brain cells. “I wasn’t the one who tried to pry off the tape on the sides and peek under the top.”
    Summer stepped between the two girls. “Let’s end the anticipation.”
    She ripped the top off the box and pulled out a plain, white coffee mug. On the front, in kindergarten, block letters was written, I’m Teacher of the Year and I wish all I got was this stupid coffee mug .
    That was funny. How could she not smile? He might be an ass, but at least he knew it.
    Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of blue. Lying in the bottom of the box was an elaborate red, white, and blue business card. She picked it up. Clint Grayson’s address, various phone numbers, and email were printed right next to a picture of his smiling face. Flipping it over, she found a handwritten message.
     
    Ms. Ames,
    The mug is a peace offering. I hope you enjoy it.
    CAG
    P.S.—If I ever fall asleep in your class again, feel free to throw it at me.
     
    Grayson didn’t miss a trick. He might not have sent over items she needed, but he’d given her class—and her—a reason to smile. Plus, he’d helped Mario, and that was worth more than copy paper. Grayson had potential.
    Summer couldn’t help herself—she was a sucker for potential.
     
    ***
     
    At five o’clock that afternoon, Clint eased his tired, bruised body onto one of the teak lounge chairs scattered around his pool. The constant tumble of water over the pool’s zero edge drowned out most of the thundering boat noise from Town Lake. A clump of live oaks to his left cast a tall shadow, lending him some much-needed shade from the bright, March sun.
    He loved what passed for spring in central Texas—four weeks of crystal-clear seventy-degree days and forty-degree nights—right before the summer heat settled in with a vengeance.
    It took all the energy he had to cross his right ankle over his left. For the past two hours, he and the offensive linemen who were still in town had been scrimmaging in his backyard. Just because it was the off-season didn’t mean they could take it easy. Ten years ago, the fatigue of well-used muscles was comforting. Now they just ached. His body couldn’t take this abuse forever. Every day he healed a little more slowly and his joints screamed a little more loudly.
    World Wide was his ticket out of football. Not that he didn’t love it, but it was a young man’s game. Maybe not this year or next, but a good endorsement deal meant he’d have a life after football.
    The muscles in his back protested as he leaned forward and grabbed his laptop from the foot of the chair. He flipped it open and clicked on the email icon. Maybe Bunny had heard something from her contacts at World Wide? They weren’t supposed to announce their final decision until the end of next month, but Bunny would force their hand. She got