Football Hero (2008) (21 page)

“WAIT,” THANE SAID, RAISING
his voice loud enough so that Mike spun his big, hairy head around and stopped tugging Ty. “Why does he have to go?”

“Your brother?” Agent Kline asked.

“Yeah,” Thane said.

The agent shrugged. “This is his family, right?”

“So am I,” Thane said.

Ty saw movement in the open car window, Charlotte nodding her head, before he stared up at his brother.

“They’re his guardians, right?” Mike said, raising his hands, palms up.

Uncle Gus leaned across his wife and daughter to address them through the open window. “Let’s not miss this flight.”

“Let me take Ty,” Thane said, blurting out the words.

Uncle Gus’s mouth popped open beneath his thick
gray mustache. His mouth turned down at the corners; then he worked a finger into his ear and said, “I guess. Why not?”

“We can take care of the paperwork later,” Thane said to the agents.

Ty’s head swam. Morty’s words from draft day echoed through the back of his mind like a war drum.

“I can tell by the way he looks at you that if you asked, there’s nothing he wouldn’t give you, but don’t. You gotta live your own life.”

“What about
your
life?” Ty asked.

Thane gave him a funny look and his smile went crooked. “Yeah. So? You’re in it. I got room.”

Ty moved closer to his brother and whispered up into his ear. “What about Charlotte?”

“She can come,” Thane said. “I doubt they’ll let her, but she’s okay with me. Go ahead. Ask.”

Ty motioned to Charlotte, and she leaned outside the window. Into her ear he asked, “Do you want to come, too? He said it’s okay with him, and I’d like it, too.”

Charlotte beamed up at him but shook her head. She pulled him close, clutching the back of his neck and hugging him tight until his face felt hot.

“Thank you,” she said, kissing his cheek. “I gotta go with them. You gotta stick with your family, right?”

She let Ty go and he smiled and winked at her, then said good-bye to his aunt and uncle, shaking
their hands and thanking them for taking care of him. Mike shook Ty’s hand, too. As the big agent climbed in, the car’s frame dipped toward the ground. He closed the door and they drove off. As the car disappeared into the deep weeds, Thane put an arm around Ty and pulled him close.

Thane sighed, then looked down at him for a moment before he said in a serious tone, “I’m glad you said yes.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Thane shrugged. “You know, a mom and a dad, kind of. A sister. It was more of a family than just you and me. I’m not gonna make you brush your teeth or do your homework or give you chores or any of that. I just can’t do that parental stuff.”

“You don’t have to,” Ty said. “I got great teeth.”

Thane smiled and said, “Yeah. Runs in the family.”

“You think I can still go to Halpern somehow?” Ty asked, looking back down the empty drive after the sound of the Crown Vic accelerating out on the road.

“Sure,” Thane said. “We’ll work it out. I’ll hire a limo or something.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Ty said, looking up.

“Why? You need to start getting used to that stuff anyway,” Thane said. “After what I saw today? Won’t be long, you’re a first-round pick yourself.”

“You think?” Ty asked.

“I don’t think it,” Thane said, leading him toward the Escalade. “I know it. Football hero, that’s you.”