Nolan Lennox had things figured out. Named after a baseball legend, she enjoyed being the Tomboy, her closet filled with her brother’s hand-me-downs, cut-off jeans and soccer shorts. But when her first trip to high school results in a broken heart from the first boy to ever make her heart flutter and cruel words from an older girl she once thought a family friend, Nolan starts to question the very person she thought she was and wonders if her humble upbringing can compete with the afforded luxuries of her privileged peers.
Throughout the next four years, Nolan struggles to maintain herself throughout her path of discovery, learning just how cruel teenagers can be through the pressures of underage drinking, sexuality and class. And despite how life seems to continue to work against her, she still manages to listen to her heart, falling deeper and deeper for the guy the entire town adores, even if he only sees her as a friend. Can Nolan strike a compromise between her own integrity and the boy she loves? And can she make him notice her before it’s too late?
Reed Johnson came to Coolidge High School with a lot of fanfare. The son of a hometown football legend and the brother of a local football hero, Reed wore all the pressures of carrying a town without hope into the spotlight. Thankfully, he had the talent to back it up. But when he meets a girl who makes him think twice about exactly what being a hero means, he starts to wonder if following in his brother’s footsteps might be all wrong.
Nolan Lennox was everything that was opposite of expected. She didn’t flirt, she didn’t drink and she didn’t sleep around. Nothing about her was easy, but something about her made Reed want to try harder. Though she didn’t look the part, she seemed to be spending a lot of time in Reed’s thoughts, and he wondered if she could be the one who made it all worthwhile. But could Reed handle letting her down? And would breaking her heart break him beyond repair?
Waiting on the Sidelines explores young love to its fullest, exposing how real young heartbreak and passion is and how important it is to discover yourself and hold onto your own identity. The story follows two young characters as they deal with mature situations, including the prevalence of bullying and promiscuity in today’s high school setting. Ultimately, Waiting on the Sidelines is a story of hope, honesty and those powerful, first true loves—the ones worth holding onto at any cost.
They fell in love in high school and found their way back to one another despite the odds. But can first loves really be forever?
For Reed Johnson, the dream was always football. But then Nolan Lennox took over his heart. She was the good girl who made him want to be better—made him whole. Whatever man he was becoming, he owed to her. The life he dreamed of was right there to take—bowl games, national championships, and maybe…going pro. But a hundred of miles of desert between them and four long years of college ahead might prove to be the toughest challenger of all.
Hearts can’t help but want to play defense when they’re wounded, and some wounds seem impossible to heal. But Reed Johnson isn’t the kind of man who backs down from the challenge. He digs in, and he fights—just like the woman he loves taught him to do.
But is he willing to give up his first love just to keep his true love? Or will he be too late?
The Hail Mary
Waiting Series Book 3
Adult Contemporary Romance, Coming of Age TrilogySixteen years is a long time. In a marriage, it’s a milestone. On the gridiron, it’s a miracle. Reed Johnson wants more time for everything, but time is funny that way.
It can be cruel.
With a body that can’t quite take the hits it used to and a heart tired of being torn in two different directions, Reed is faced with a reality he’s not quite ready for—life without the game. He became a man under Friday night game lights and in college stadium tunnels, and without the grit and the glory that’s earned ten yards at a time, he’s afraid of what kind of man he’ll be.
But there’s more than a game at stake now.
Reed’s wife, Nolan, is afraid too. She’s seen what can happen when the love of her life pushes himself too hard, and she can’t escape the nightmares she relives after almost losing her entire world to one single play on the field.
There is no compromise when it comes to football. Same goes for the heart. You’re either all in, or you get crushed. For Reed and Nolan, the clock is ticking down. Time…it does that. One way or another, they’re going to have to make a choice.
This is their hail Mary.
This is win or lose.
(The Hail Mary is book 3 in The Waiting Series, which follows high school sweethearts Reed Johnson and Nolan Lennox through football, life, love and everything messy that goes along with it. The series begins with Waiting on the Sidelines and Going Long.)
Reed has written some amazing Love Notes in the past to Nolan – check out the post from last year and 2018!
Reed has some wise words for his daughter…
Keep reading to see the full Love Note!
Oh, Peyt.
A funny thing happens to a man when he’s a father in his forties of a girl near sixteen—he starts to think about all of mistakes he made and words he said when he was that age, and he gets a little…protective.
Here I am, the unanimously anointed worst teen role model in charge of a teenager. (I know, Mom’s the one who’s really in charge. That’s for the best.) But I do have a say…or rather, I have things to say. I wanted to share a little wisdom with you. And while you will probably roll your eyes while reading this the first time, some of it will sink in and a lot of it will stick with you for the long haul. You’ll save this letter. I know…your mom has saved all of hers. And one day, you’ll read it again and nod and think that maybe your old man wasn’t such a pain in the ass after all. Turns out, he just loved you more than life itself.
On this day of love, I wanted to give you these five bits of advice:
1. Wait. Wait for the one who deserves you. Believe me, there will be many who aren’t even close to worthy. There may be one, someday, a day a long time away from now, who will prove his worth. He may not start out that way, but it’s in the effort. And the effort better be massive amounts of sweat equity because you, Peyt, are worth nothing short of gold.
2. Listen to your mom. She knows things, and when she offers advice it comes from a very genuine place. She’s not the hotheaded man beast that your father is. And she isn’t sporting a head that’s been knocked around in NFL games by 300-pound linemen. Her head is firmly on her shoulders, and it’s full of smart stuff.
3. Always love your mom. Even when she wants to do some “dumb family thing that you think is totally lame,” that dumb thing is everything to her. Be the kind of kid who shows up for mom’s lame shit. You’ll be glad you did—always.
4. Use your thumbs. I’m not going to get into detail here, but just remember what we talked about when I dropped you off at the winter dance a few weeks back. You put those thumbs in eyeballs when you need to, okay miss?
5. Lastly, you will always be my girl. I know you’re a big sister now, and having a toddler around has made things feel…weird. I know that attention gets stretched thin. And sometimes our patience. But remember that you are and will always be my QB1. You showed up in our lives and the road map just made sense, Peyt. Without you, the playbook is just all garbage. You will forever be the moon and the sun for your mom and me.
I’ll quit while I’m ahead, and before your eyes roll out of your head. Now, get ready for this shithead boyfriend who is supposed to pick you up and drive you to the movies. I’ll say hi again when I show up a few rows behind you two.
😉
Love,
Dad
Ginger Scott is an Amazon-bestselling and Goodreads Choice Award-nominated author of several young and new adult romances, including Waiting on the Sidelines, Going Long, Blindness, How We Deal With Gravity, This Is Falling, You and Everything After, The Girl I Was Before, Wild Reckless, Wicked Restless, In Your Dreams, The Hard Count, and Hold My Breath.
A sucker for a good romance, Ginger’s other passion is sports, and she often blends the two in her stories. (She’s also a sucker for a hot quarterback, catcher, pitcher, point guard…the list goes on.) Ginger has been writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and blogs for more than 15 years. She has told the stories of Olympians, politicians, actors, scientists, cowboys, criminals and towns. For more on her and her work, visit her website.
When she’s not writing, the odds are high that she’s somewhere near a baseball diamond, either watching her son field pop flies like Bryce Harper or cheering on her favorite baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ginger lives in Arizona and is married to her college sweetheart whom she met at ASU (fork ’em, Devils).
Comments
Grab Our Button!
Affiliates
Yup. Def making my husband write our girls letters. So sweet. Love this ❤️
SWEET AND FUNNY ❤️❤️❤️
I love that she went in this direction and did something a little bit different!