Your Time

Chapter 55

{April 2033}

Harrison had to be in Houston earlier than expected for the NFL draft. The Cowboys who had been working to trade up from the 7th pick to the 1st pick. The front office had finally given Harrison the authority to trade up and draft his son.

Adam had a hell of a junior year at Clemson. His performance had been noted by all 32 NFL teams. Now that he was entering the draft early, most of the teams were eager for their opportunity to draft him.

The night before the draft, Harrison got a call from the owner in the middle of the night, asking him to come down to Houston much earlier than expected. The Cowboys now had the 2nd pick and were trying to settle a trade with the Browns to move up to the 1st spot. That wasn't so easy. The Browns who had a pick in the top 3 the last 3 seasons, weren't too anxious to trade with the Cowboys. The Browns were also in the market for a wide receiver just as the Cowboys were. So they might not be willing to give up the first pick.

After getting that phone call, Harrison, Carrie, Billie and Ben packed their things and took off for Houston at 4 in the morning. The kids and Carrie all fell back asleep in the car, forcing Harrison to drive the three hours to Houston.

Driving all three hours when it was dark was the hardest part. They'd see one car in a half hour. Not having any vehicles to look out for made the road mesmerizing. Every so often Harrison had to shake his head to refocus on the road, detouring his trace from the white lines illuminated by the black asphalt and headlights. One time had to wake up Carrie to get her to talk to him.

But as the sun came up, they were almost to Houston and there were a lot more cars on the road now. It wasn't much longer until they reached their destination and were unloading the car. Well everyone but Carrie was unloading the car.

Harrison walked around the other side of the car and opened her door. "Carrie we're here."

She didn't move. Meanwhile Billie and Ben were carrying their bags into the hotel they would be staying at. "Carrie. Sweetheart, were here."

Carrie moved her hand just a bit. "Five more minutes."

Harrison sighed. She sort of needed to get up right now because someone that wasn't him had to watch the kids while he was at a meeting with the Browns coach and general manager. He leaned across her and grabbed the water bottle he didn't finish from the center console. Then he splashed her with the rest of the water.

"HARRISON FORD!"

"Good morning sweetheart. We're here."

Carrie looked around. "You could've woken me like a normal person."

She took his sweatshirt sleeve and wiped the water off her face as he explained, "I tried to do that."

She simply glared at him. "Come on, let's go. I have a meeting to get to."

Very reluctantly, Carrie allowed him to take her hand, and lead her and the kids to their hotel room. Not five minutes after they'd gotten their room, Harrison was changed into a suit and was on his way out.

While he was gone, Billie and Ben watched a movie while their mother slept again. She didn't wake up until Harrison came back from his meeting 3 hours later.

By the size of the smile on his face, she knew the meeting must've been successful. "We got it!"

"The first pick?"

Harrison nodded. "Yes."

"What did you have to give up?"

"We traded our backup quarterback, one of our receivers, and a cornerback, with $100,000 for the first pick."

"That doesn't sound that bad of a loss."

He began to rub her back. "It wasn't bad at all. We didn't have to trade any of our starters."

"You're going to draft Adam right?"

"Yeah. The front office gave me the go ahead to do so. He's going to be a great fit."

"How many years will you sign him for?"

"I don't know yet Carrie," he said, kissing her forehead gently. "But I intend to sign him for a long time."

•••

That evening, Carrie, Ben, Billie, and Emma sat in the audience with Adam and Joanne. The draft was due to start soon, and it certainly wouldn't be too long after the Cowboys were on the clock for Harrison to bring out their pick.

When the draft finally did start, plenty of people looked around at each other when it was announced that the Cowboys were on the clock for the first pick of the 2033 NFL draft.

Adam turned to his mother. "Dad has the first pick?"

Carrie nodded. "Your dad did some trading up this morning."

Not a minute into the Cowboys' time to select a pick, Harrison emerged onstage, carrying a white envelope which he handed over to the NFL commissioner.

Just as the commissioner was about to announce their pick, Harrison snatched the envelope back and reread it. Shaking his head, he took the envelope and piece of paper backstage. Two minutes later, he came back out.

"With the first round pick of the 2033 NFL draft, the Dallas Cowboys select Adam Ford!"

Adam immediately hugged his siblings and Joanne before making his way onstage to meet his father and the NFL commissioner. He was handed a white Cowboys jersey with his name and number 1 on the back. Harrison and the commissioner stood beside him for a picture.

"Congratulations Adam!"

He hugged Harrison. "Thanks dad."

Adam was given a hat before they moved offstage for the draft to continue. "Did you have this all planned out dad?"

Harrison nodded before taking Adam to sign his contract with the owners. When he came back out, he announced to his family he'd signed an 11-year contract worth $187 million with a few bonuses.

After hugging her son, Carrie asked Harrison, "what happened up there?"

Harrison smiled. "When I saw him open the envelope, Adam's name wasn't on the paper. It was the other player we were going to choose if we didn't get Adam right away."

"Somebody almost screwed up."

He laughed. "Definitely."

Double update today because I finished the book!