Liz Talley - Under the Autumn Sky

The rules of the game are changing

College football coach Abram Dufrene won’t risk destroying his career for anything. He’s sacrificed too much to see his hard work and integrity go down in flames. So when an innocent but passionate encounter with a sexy stranger forces him to choose between business and pleasure, the decision should be simple.

Too bad nothing about Louise “Lou” Boyd is simple. She’s had him hooked since the second he met her. But she’s the guardian of the athlete he’s recruiting, which puts her off-limits. With all eyes on them, it’s only right to keep his distance from Lou. Yet, for the first time, doing the “right” thing feels too wrong….

“I didn’t know you were Waylon’s guardian.”

Abram stared at her. “If you think about it, you’ll see I was merely in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Don’t tell me what to think,” Lou said, somewhat peevishly. This was the worst possible situation. She’d finally met someone she could really like and he was completely off-limits.

“It’s policy at the college not to sweep anything under the rug.” He propped his hands on his hips. “I’ll give full disclosure, though it’s likely they will be in touch with you. Just tell them the truth.”

No way would she reveal how well they got to know each other. She didn’t think Abram would be willing to do so either. They met, they danced once and they shared a drink. Period. End of story.

Both she and the too-delicious-to-have-even-contemplated-in-the-first-place coach had screwed up…and the innocent might end up suffering because she wanted to play Cinderella.

Why had she even entertained a different ending for herself last night?

Hadn’t she learned nothing in life was easy?

Dear Reader,

As a Southern girl I learned early that if you can’t ignore ’em, you join them. The them referred to here are college football fans, and all across the nation on Saturdays you will find them throwing up tents, wearing their jerseys and firing up generators. In my neck of the woods, college football is a religion. You must worship at the purple-and-gold altar, make a burnt offering and drink the proverbial, ahem, beer. If you’re not with us…you’re tiger bait. Plain and simple. I cannot describe Saturday night in Tiger Stadium—the sheer intensity of over 90,000 fans under the influence of gumbo, bourbon and dreams of grandeur. It’s definitely something to see.

So when the idea of writing about a recruiting scandal struck me, I knew the best place to set the book. Of course, the college in this book is not Louisiana State University and there are no Bonnet Creek Owls. But if you dig deep enough, you’ll see the foundation for the story.

Want to see several thousand grown men gathered around the TV as if it’s the finale of The Bachelor? Tune in to ESPN on the first Tuesday of February—you may even see tears. College football is big business, and National Signing Day is the sorority rush of the sport and the perfect place to launch a story about want, desire and love under the lights.

Hope you enjoy Lou and Abram’s journey to love. And Geaux, Tigers!

Happy reading,

Liz Talley

PS—I love to hear from readers. You can reach me through my website, www.LizTalleyBooks.com.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

From devouring the Harlequin Superromance novels on the shelf of her aunt’s used bookstore to swiping her grandmother’s medical romances, Liz Talley has always loved a good romance. So it was no surprise to anyone when she started writing a book one day while her infant napped. She soon found writing more exciting than scrubbing hardened cereal off the love seat. Underneath Liz’s baby-food-stained clothes, a dream stirred. She followed that dream, and after a foray into historical romance and a Golden Heart final, she started her first contemporary romance on the same day she met her editor. Coincidence? She prefers to call it fate.

Currently Liz lives in north Louisiana with her high-school sweetheart, two beautiful children and a passel of animals. Liz loves watching her boys play baseball, shopping for bargains and going out for lunch. When not writing contemporary romances for the Harlequin Superromance line, she can be found doing laundry, feeding kids or playing on Facebook.

This book is dedicated to the fans of college football everywhere for wearing the colors and loving the sport.

Special thanks go to Louisiana State University coach Sam Nader and his son Breaux for teaching me about the fascinating process of recruiting; to Coach Jerry Byrd for suffering my questions; and to my boys, Jake and Gabe, who make me proud every day.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Excerpt

CHAPTER ONE

April, 2011

ABRAM DUFRENE HADN’T wanted to cover Daryll Moreland’s recruiting area any more than he wanted to lick a donkey’s butt, but there was no choice in the matter. Louisiana University’s head football coach Leonard Holt’s word was law, so Abram sucked it up, grabbed a coffee and hit the road in his quest for the next best wide-out or bone-cruncher for the Panthers.

Pulling Abram from his old recruiting area covering Mississippi through Florida didn’t bother Coach Holt. He didn’t have a mother living west of Baton Rouge in the new recruiting area, did he? No, his mother was far, far away in his native state of Ohio. Didn’t Holt know Abram couldn’t pass his birthplace of Beau Soleil and not stop in? His mother had eyes and ears all over the state of Louisiana. Somehow she’d know and the guilt trip would start. Abram had never been able to get away with anything. His mother always found out.

Not that he was a momma’s boy or anything.

No, quite the opposite, but Picou Dufrene was like the hurricanes that often ravage the Louisiana coastline—she hit with a fury leaving a person standing among rubble blinking up at the sparkling sun wondering what the hell had happened. She killed with a smile…and an assload of guilt.

So he’d stopped by the home place, a near-to-crumbling Greek revival plantation several miles from I-10 between Lafayette and Baton Rouge, gulped down chicory coffee and some of the housekeeper Lucille’s buttermilk pie, and listened to his mother prattle about his brothers—and his sister, who’d recently been reconciled to the family after having spent years presumed dead. Sally was always part of the conversation.

“You are coming to my birthday dinner on Friday?” his mother had asked when they stepped out onto the veranda. It wasn’t a question. It was a reminder.

“Of course. I should be there.”

Picou’s blue eyes narrowed even as she smiled. Which was hard to do, but the woman mastered challenges. “Should?”

“Will,” he said, shuffling his travel schedule in his mind. He’d totally forgotten her 60th-ish birthday. His future sister-in-law, Annie, had sent him an email reminder last week, but he’d skimmed over it. Lots more in his inbox that needed attention.

“That’s my sweet Abram,” his mother said, giving him a kiss on the cheek goodbye, making him feel like he was a seven-year-old child. How did mothers always do that?

The side trip to Beau Soleil had put him off schedule by a good two hours, but as he neared the small town harboring the state’s best prospect at tight end, Abram’s focus shifted to his job. He was confident he could land this kid.