Page 21 of The Linebacker

As soon as she spotted him, she waved. “Go over there with the other guys. You’re going to be called out one by one. I’ll introduce each of you—probably spend a little more time on you, since you’re new to the team—and you’ll come out and be introduced to one of the dogs. Once the dog is comfortable, we’ll let fans come over and meet him or her. They’re going to be interested in you, but we’re hoping this will help a few of these guys find their forever home.” She waved at a row of glass front stalls behind her, where dog after dog stood, wagging tails and doing the hopeful dance.

“No cats?” he asked, for no reason other than to talk with her for a few more seconds.

“Yes, there will be cats, too, but we’re starting with dogs. Now, go.” She was all business. Which he understood. This place was barely controlled chaos at the moment.

He headed toward his teammates, girding his loins for a potential confrontation with Jalen. Or worse, for the rest of the guys to shun him because Jalen was there first and therefore they were choosing him over Amil.

“You have one picked out yet?” Broderick asked as soon as Amil stepped into the roped off area.

“What picked out?” Amil asked.

“One of the dogs, man. This is the third time I’ve done this event, and I refused to let my wife come this time. We ended up adopting dogs at the first two. My house is so fucking loud as it is, I cannot take on one more animal.” And yet, the man was grinning.

“Oh, ah, I’m more of a cat person, actually.” He’d honestly never considered a pet before, but Diana’s cat was pretty cool. He could see himself with a pet like Lazlo.

Jalen glared at him, probably connecting his preference for cats to Diana.

“Plenty of those here, too, bro,” Broderick said enthusiastically.

“Yeah, I should probably find a place to live first.”

“You should talk to Diana,” Broderick said. Was the guy oblivious to the tension around Jalen that was so palpable, the air was actually shimmering?

“When I joined the team, she helped me find my house,” Broderick continued. “She helped a bunch of us.” He looked around, like he was looking for confirmation.

“Yeah, she helped me find my condo,” Callahan said. “She has good taste.”

“She helped me and Jillian find our house,” Pedro said.

Dante raised both hands. “I am not one of the lucky few. I had to go through that process without her guidance.”

“What about you, Jalen?” Broderick asked. Yep, seriously clueless about the animosity between them.

Jalen shoved his thumb in Callahan’s direction. “I moved into his building after he pointed out that one of the units had just come up for sale. So I guess you could say she helped me secondhand.”

Amil refused to read into the guy’s tone. Or the word secondhand.

Diana called Dante’s name, and he was paired with a Siberian husky shepherd mix with big ears and eyes that begged for pets. Dante lowered himself to one knee and scratched the dog’s neck, and the dog leaned into him until she was practically sitting on his lap.

The crowd laughed. Dante stood and led the dog along the row of onlookers who were waiting patiently for a turn with each of the players—and animals. A toddler squealed, and the dog wagged her tail, so Dante walked over to introduce them.

“We gotta get Royce out here next year,” Broderick commented. “He says he’s lousy at these things, but I think that was BM.”

“BM?” What the hell did Royce’s bowel movements have to do with volunteering at the humane society?

“Before Morgan,” Broderick said.

“Jesus, dude, did you really call her BM?” Callahan asked.

“Not her,” Broderick clarified. “Their relationship. Before he was serious with Morgan, he was kind of a dick. What? We all thought it. I’m just voicing our collective opinions.”

“Don’t listen to him,” Callahan advised. “Royce is a good guy. And he was even before he and Morgan got engaged,” he added with a glare for Broderick.

Broderick shrugged. Guess nothing bothered that guy.

Proven true when Diana called his name and paired him with a dog that slobbered all over him while simultaneously pissing on his shoe. Broderick laughed it off and told the dog he was a good boy.

Pedro was next, and Amil belatedly realized that left him and Jalen temporarily alone. Not really, considering the crowd was only twenty feet away—and Diana was closer than that.