The Last Honest Man: A Sports Romance (One Pass Away: A New Season Book 3) by Mary J. Williams

Author:Mary J. Williams [Williams, Mary J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-10-06T16:00:00+00:00

▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲

CHAPTER NINE

▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲

IN FOOTBALL, EMOTION could carry a team to victory. In life, without passion, day to day living could turn into an endless grind.

As an athlete, Dylan knew the importance of loving what he did. If the only reason he stepped on the field was to earn a paycheck, he would have checked out of the NFL after he played out his first multi-million-dollar contract.

The wear and tear, both mentally and physically, was too much for a person to take long-term simply for the money.

Sitting in the park across from Eve’s apartment building, Dylan wondered how he could explain the concept of all work and no play to a woman who seemed geared toward one and allergic toward the other.

“You don’t have the right to judge,” Mr. Dowd said, handing Dylan half a sandwich. “Eve has lived with the fear of having nothing for so long, she needs to work, or she’ll go crazy.”

“Crazy?” The word seemed like an extreme example. “I think you are exaggerating the situation.”

“Can’t say I know what goes on in her head,” the older man said around a mouthful of pastrami on rye. “One thing’s for certain, I’ve known her longer than you have. When Ellie died, Eve stepped up for Daisy without a second thought. Don’t know how she manages, but somehow, she stretches every hour to the limit without faltering. Not once.”

“I know you and your wife have helped,” Dylan said, not wanting Mr. Dowd to think he wasn’t aware of his contributions.

“What’s hard about babysitting a little girl for a few hours now and then,” Mr. Dowd asked with a wave of his hand. “I’d like to do more. Fact is, when something goes wrong, like a stopped-up sink or a flat tire, Eve never thinks to ask for help. She fixes the problem herself.”

“I know.” Dylan sighed. Wanting to ask Mr. Dowd a question he didn’t feel comfortable discussing with Eve, he hesitated. “About the money my brother sent.”

“Money?” A deep line appeared between Mr. Dowd’s eyebrows as he stopped to think. “Can’t recall Eve mentioning anything. Not that she would, mind you.”

“No,” Dylan agreed.

“Come to think of it, I do remember Ellie received a few checks in the mail. You’d have to ask Eve if the payments continued.” Mr. Dowd made a tsking noise between his teeth. “Didn’t take you for the type who would begrudge a young woman a few dollars.”

“I don’t,” Dylan rushed to assure him.

But ten thousand dollars wasn’t a few dollars. The way Eve lived, taking part-time jobs and living paycheck to paycheck, he couldn’t understand that if she received the money, why hadn’t she used it to make life a little easier.

“Hope not.” Mr. Dowd offered Dylan a potato chip.

“Thank you, no,” he said, respectfully declining.

“Worried about your figure?” Mr. Dowd cackled as he patted his potbelly. “One of the benefits of growing old is I stopped worrying about my waistline. Of course, my wife worries plenty for me.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.