The Lakeside Conspiracy Read Online Free PDF Page B

his face mask and seemed to hang in the air just long enough to allow one of the Fayetteville players to catch it in mid-air at the eight yard line and run it in untouched for a touchdown.
     
    Exactly three seconds had ticked off the clock and the score was 6-0. What had been a deafening roar from the home stands just seconds earlier was now stunned silence. Across the field, the Fayetteville players and fans were going nuts. Max encouraged his guys as they came off the field. He reminded them it was early in the game and they could get that one back.
     
    Fayetteville lined up for the extra point and then ran a fake. The holder flipped the ball to the kicker, who started to run right, then stopped and threw it into the end zone to a wide-open receiver. 8-0. Just like that.
     
    And that was as close as Lakeside would get. By half-time, Fayetteville led 29-0.
     
    Max and his staff made some adjustments for the second half. Joe Taylor settled down by the third quarter and ended up with seven catches for over a hundred yards and two touchdowns. It wasn’t nearly enough. Lakeside lost the game, 50-21.
     
    The post-game talk was tough. Max tried his best to focus on the positives and point them ahead to the Siloam Springs game, but even he had trouble believing what he was saying. They’d gotten whipped. Fayetteville was clearly a better team, but Lakeside made them look even better than they were. They’d been out-played and out-coached. And Max put the blame on himself.
     
    After shaking the hand of every player as they left the field house, Max told his assistant coaches goodnight and walked to his truck. He couldn’t stand the thought of being the last one in the building again. Someone else could lock up.
     
    Of course, leaving now meant having to face the fans who hung around outside the field house after games, most of whom were family and friends of players. Max walked fast and kept his head down to avoid getting into a conversation with anyone. A few people saw him and offered words of encouragement. Max thanked them and kept walking.
     
    As he got into his truck, he heard someone call out, “You suck, coach!”
     
     

CHAPTER 11
     
    Max turned onto his street and saw Michelle’s car wasn’t in their driveway. It was almost 11:00 p.m. She hadn’t come to the game, but he’d expected her to be at home. He really wanted to see her. More than he had in a long time. Michelle always knew what to say to encourage him.
     
    The house was dark and quiet. Max flipped some on several lights and called for Michelle just in case. There was no reply.
     
    He tried calling Michelle’s phone, but she didn’t answer. It just wasn’t like her to not show up at the game and to not answer her phone. Especially when he didn’t know where she was. He tried calling again, but it went right to voice mail.
     
    He went to the refrigerator to get a beer and saw the note…
     
    Max, I’m taking next week off from school. I’m going to New Jersey to see my parents. I would have talked to you about it, but we really don’t talk any more, do we? I hope your game went well. —Michelle
     
    Max tried calling again with the same result. He didn’t leave a message. She was ignoring him or had her phone in her purse. Or both. He really didn’t like the idea of her driving 1200 miles by herself, especially at night. He had no idea what time she’d left, if she was driving straight through or stopping somewhere.
     
    He could feel his chest getting tight again. He started to sweat. And it was difficult to take a deep breath. He sat down on the kitchen floor and tried to calm down.
     
    A few minutes passed and he felt a little better, but wasn’t ready to stand up yet. So he sat on the floor and waited. And thought about Michelle. And Sarah. And how much he missed them. And how he’d give anything to have back the life they had before Sarah got sick. The disappointment of losing so badly to Fayetteville was nothing compared