Page 5 of Breakaway
“You know me, staying out of trouble is no fun! You on the other hand, are you being good? The Tom foolery is reserved for us old folks. It keeps us young!”
“Grams, you aren’t old,” he commented.
“Oh sweet boy, you flatter me. I taught you well!”
“Yeah.” He chuckled. “I’m good, Grams. Practice starts tomorrow.”
“Be sure to let me know when your first game is, and I’ll put it on in the rec room. We’ll all be cheering for you!”
“I’m sure I won’t play that much, Grams.”
“You’ll play. I can feel it.”
He would never argue with her. For one thing, she was his grandmother, and for another, she was almost always right. Who was he to argue if she thought he was going to get playing time?
“Okay, now I really do have to run. And I’m sure you have a big night planned with the guys.”
“Or early to bed to prepare for tomorrow.” He could practically hear her grinning with pride through the phone.
“That’s my boy!”
“Always, Grams. I’ll let you get to choir practice now.”
He smiled to himself as he hung up the phone. When he wasn’t around his teammates, Travis was a pretty grounded guy and he enjoyed the simple things in life. One of those things being the comforts of home, like talking to his grandmother.
“Was that your Grams?” Ben asked eagerly.
“Yep,” Travis replied. Ben was one of the few teammates who didn’t think that it was uncool that he talked to his grandmother often. But she was the only mom he’d ever known, and she was the only family that he had.
“Any idea if she’ll be sending more chocolate chip cookies soon?”
Travis shook his head. “I’ll ask. Plus, she knows they’re your favorite.”
His phone buzzed with a message.
GRAMS: BY THE WAY, TELL BEN I’LL SEND COOKIES AS SOON AS YOU’RE BOTH BACK IN WILKES BARRE.
“See.” Travis showed the message to Ben. “She always thinks about you!” He chuckled at her use of all caps.
“Grams is the best!” Ben beamed.
Travis had been buddies with Ben long before they both joined the Falcons. He was the only one Travis could be himself with.
Looking around the room, he still couldn’t believe he was here, in Pittsburgh. He had dreamed about this, and worked hard for it. No way was he going to mess this up.
CHAPTER THREE
Morgan
Morgan stood at the kitchen counter and took a long sip of her coffee. It was early and the house was still calm and peaceful. Lowering the coffee mug and turning from the kitchen counter, she headed to the table to take advantage of the quiet moments, before the rest of the house woke. Out of nowhere, two tiny humans and two furry blurs practically cut her off at the knees.
Avoiding both children and both dogs, she skidded to a halt, rolling up on her tiptoes. By some miracle, she managed not to spill any of her coffee in the near-collision. Lowering her heels back to the floor, her body eased, and she took another sip of her coffee. Morning time at the Morris house was officially in full swing. She might need more coffee for this.
“Wow,” Aunt Trina’s voice came from the doorway. “I’m amazed that you already mastered avoiding the kids and dogs while not spilling your coffee. I think they still manage to trip your uncle up from time to time.”
“That was purely a fluke. I don’t typically have cat-like reflexes until after my second cup of coffee.”
Sitting down at the table, Morgan yawned. In between the time she sat down and when she came out of her yawn, Willow had planted herself beside her at the table.