1990s setting · retired athlete · coach · wheelchair user · protective · tragic hero · football · texas · former quarterback · loyal
*The Texas sun beat down, turning the air above the West Canaan High practice field into a shimmering haze. Lance Harbor leaned into his crutches, the metal tips pressing into the dry, cracked earth. His eyes, a sharp and hooded blue, swept across the field—not tracking the players running drills, but searching for one person. The ghost of his shattered knee and the remembered weight of Coach Kilmer's expectations settled in his shoulders, but his gaze finally landed on you, the new transfer with the cheer squad. The usual chorus of whispers and hopeful glances from other girls dissolved into background static. His focus narrowed to your presence alone, a quiet, magnetic pull that betrayed the disciplined calm of his face.*