Winning the Right Brother Read Online Free PDF Page B

much integrity. Coach is so tough and smart and funny and—
    It was Sunday afternoon, and Holly and Will were eating pizza in front of the TV and watching—big surprise—a football game. During the commercial breaks Will treated her to more rave reviews of Alex the Great.
    “Mom, are you listening? Isn’t that amazing? Don’t you think Coach is—”
    “Amazing?”
    “Well, isn’t he?”
    Holly popped a mushroom into her mouth and licked tomato sauce off her fingers. “You bet. He’s a paragon.”
    Will folded his arms and frowned at her. “Why do you always do that when I talk about Coach?”
    “Do what?”
    “The sarcasm. The eye rolling. Did you guys really hate each other that much when you were in high school?”
    Holly sighed and leaned back against the sofa cushions. “Yes, we really did. Sorry. It’s just hard for me to see Alex the way you do. When I remember the way he used to be.”
    Will looked interested. “So, what was he like back then? When you were teenagers.”
    Holly pulled the purple-and-yellow crocheted throw off the back of the couch and tucked it around her knees. Her grandmother had made it, and it always gave her a feeling of security.
    “He was…irritating. So are you going to watch this game or what? ’Cause if not, I’m going to put on the financial news.”
    “Geez, Mom. If you don’t want to talk about Coach just say so. You don’t have to threaten me with unholy torture.”
     
    That Friday night, Will got to play for most of the second half. He completed seven passes, and Holly was pretty sure she’d never seen him so happy in his entire life.
    Of course she also saw Alex, but she was getting used to that. Seeing him down there on the sidelines, fired up and intense, was becoming part of her Friday night routine—just like avoiding him was. But it was worth it to see Will so happy, so confident.
    She wasn’t ready to admit it yet, but she was actually starting to enjoy going to the games. She understood them better, for one thing, thanks to constant tutoring from her son. Then there was the crisp autumn air, the excitement of the crowd…and the fact that the Weston Wildcats were kicking butt.
    Of course there was still a little too much pummeling for her taste, especially when her only child was on the receiving end of it. But still, all in all, Holly was starting to enjoy Friday nights.
    So when a friend started off a sentence one day with, “I know you hate football, but—” she was surprised to hear herself say, “Oh, football’s not so bad.”
    Gina looked at her skeptically over her turkey club sandwich. “Since when is football not so bad?”
    Holly shrugged as she poured vinaigrette over her salad. “My son’s on his high school team and he’s sort of getting me into it. What were you going to say?”
    “Well.” Gina’s eyes sparkled as she leaned over the table. “You know my fiancé?”
    Holly raised her eyebrows. “Pretty well, yes. Considering the fact that I’ve worked with Henry for six years and actually introduced the two of you.”
    Gina grinned. “Okay, you get all the credit for my future marital bliss. And now I’m going to return the favor.”
    Holly took a bite of salad. “Uh-huh. And you’ll be doing this how?”
    “By fixing you up with your future husband, of course.”
    Holly sighed. “Gina, I love you, but we’ve been through this before. Do you remember the last time you fixed me up with my future husband?”
    Gina waved it away. “Mark looked good on paper,didn’t he? Nice guy, stable job, easy on the eyes. I thought he was perfect for you. And you liked him in the beginning.”
    “Sure I did. And he liked me, too—until I cancelled a date one night when Will was sick. That’s when he told me that Will would always come first in my life and I’d probably never get married. He also mentioned something about dying alone.”
    “Okay, so he turned out to be a jerk. He couldn’t handle the fact that you’re a