“No, just a tweet from that Alec Mooney guy. He posted a picture of the empty parking lot at the UT practice facility. It says ‘Micah Hill of Hill Sports Management announced that Jamar Dixon’s scheduled tryout event would no longer take place.’ His follow-up tweet says that Jamar will be making a statement instead.”
What could have caused him to call it off at the last minute like this?
After what seemed like endless scrolling, Taylor finally found ESPN. She involuntarily flinched at the sight of Jamar sitting at a white folding table; various pieces of football equipment were assembled behind him. He was reading from his phone.
“—wasn’t the easiest decision, but it was the right one to make. Going through with this workout would have put me at risk for an even more substantial injury. I decided it wasn’t worth it. I now know that I don’t have anything to prove to anyone. Including myself.”
A rueful smile crossed his lips. “To say my professional football career didn’t last as long as I wanted it to last is the ultimate understatement, but I will eventually learn to live with that. Millions of young men who strap on their shoulder pads on Friday nights would give anything to experience what I did for those few short months with the Chicago Bears. I will always be grateful and count myself as one of the lucky ones.
“But today is about more than my football career. This is about the future. As many of you know, I lost my best friend, Silas Cannon III, during our senior year at Katy High School. If he’d had the chance, I have no doubt that Silas would have made it all the way to Canton, Ohio, and the football Hall of Fame. Even though the game meant a lot to him, Silas’s family meant more. Helping people—especially those who just couldn’t seem to get a fair shake in life—meant more to him.”
Jamar folded his hands on the table.
“Today, as I announce my official retirement from professional football, I want to also announce my plans to launch the Silas Cannon III Foundation, which will focus on supporting kids with incarcerated parents. I know this is a cause that my best friend would approve of.
“As I bring this statement to a close, I want to take a minute to thank everyone who had a hand in bringing me to this point in my life. My parents, my agent, my coaches and former teammates, the physicians and specialists who took care of me, the Cannon family, and Taylor Powell of Taylor’d Conditioning Fitness Consulting.”
“Oh, shit,” London gasped.
“Shhh . . .” Samiah whispered.
Jamar looked up from his phone and stared directly at the camera.
“My biggest regret in not being able to work out for you all today is that I won’t be able to showcase the strides I’ve made in my recovery thanks to Taylor’d Conditioning. Its owner is one of the toughest, most talented, and most qualified fitness professionals I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. If Ihadmade it back into the League, any success I enjoyed would be thanks to her.
“Taylor’d Conditioning has my wholehearted endorsement.” He paused for a moment, then said, “And Taylor Powell has my whole heart.” He stood. “Thank you for your time today,” he finished, and then he walked out of the camera frame.
None of them said anything. They all just continued to stare at the television until London broke the silence with a low whistle.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to marry his ass,” London said.
“What do I do?” Taylor asked. “Do I call him? Do I wait for him to call me?”
Samiah hunched her shoulders. “I don’t know. Maybe wait?”
“But what if he doesn’t call?”
“Of course he’ll call,” London said. “The man just told the entire world that you have his whole heart. That’s the sweetest thing I’ve seen since this one’s boyfriend had us tacking sticky notes all around the botanical gardens. I hate both of you right now.”
“Save your hate,” Taylor said. “At least until Jamar calls.”
A niggling trace of uncertainty lingered, preventing her from fully giving in to the hope that had bloomed like wild-flowers within her chest.
“If he calls,” she amended.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
With her ankles resting on her thighs, Taylor interlaced her fingers and pressed her palms together.
“Breathe in,” she instructed in a soothing voice. She sucked in a cleansing breath and tried not to wince as the sharp gust of cold air cut through her.
Hot yoga seemed to be all the rage these days, but maybe she was in the midst of creating an entirely new trend: freeze your ass off yoga. She should embrace the goose bumps popping up along her forearms.
There were at least a dozen more suitable places she could have held this pop-up yoga class, but she needed to be here in Zilker Park and she refused to change the location. She hadn’t expected anyone to sign up after that cold front blew in yesterday, but to her surprise there were six brave souls willing to endure the elements of this chilly morning.
An even bigger shock, Samiah and London were counted in those six.
Their presence calmed her nearly as much as the asana yoga poses she’d guided the class through. Her mind and body needed this today.
