Free In Love with Ezra (Love Unaccounted Book 2) by Love Belvin Page B

couple years. He began attending RSfALC with another pro player when I’d returned home from overseas. My father was relieved at the timing, understanding that I could engage and therefore keep this influx of young, wealthy, and celebrity parishioners. We hit it off right away. Trent was young and promising back then, a kid en route to the league. He won college football’s most prestigious award during his junior year, prompting the Giants attempt to trade up and make him the number one pick in the draft, but the Kings couldn’t fathom relinquishing the pick no matter the offer. The Kings drafted him number one overall, making him the highest paid rookie in league history. Trent’s contract was the last of its kind before the current collective bargaining agreement. The impecunious kid from Camden, NJ had come a long way indeed.
    One night after Bible study, he approached me for sound advice about the career and clear lifestyle change he was preparing to embark on. I had no knowledge of the sports industry. I had no schooling in business. I did, however, have a fellow Pepperdine alum I’d loosely kept in touch with. Edward Chesney had one of the fastest growing law firms in the country. He practiced law in California as well as New York City. I made the call and the two men hit it off. It was a good thing. The first thing Chesney and his team had Trent do was set up a rigid budget, forcing him to live on a middle class salary for most of his career. The one cut short. That budget was meager considering he had the assets of a millionaire. This arrangement was the only reason Trent was still able to live in his Alpine mansion—ironically across the road from Stenton Rogers—after his dismissal from the league. 
    Times had been rough, but Trent had been faithful in his walk with Christ. He attended service and volunteered where he could. His monthly stipends maintained him, but barely. But he paid his tithes and stayed out of trouble. He’d been pretty much a loner. His jokes about his light features were just that. No matter his unemployment status, the women fell at the feet of Trent Bailey. He just didn’t pay them much mind after falling into the bowels of depression. The silver lining in Trent’s story was that he’d already had a relationship with Christ before his life spun out of control. It was just a matter of him plugging back in. And he did. I’d begun counseling him during his trial. Even during his conviction, I remained, providing the service for free. His soul was far more important than money. I’d discharged him last winter.
    I didn’t realize this abstract dream would hit him so hard. I checked the time to be sure I was still on track to meet Thaddeus at the church so we could travel to my next appointment together.
    “Trent—”  
    “My old agent called me,” he spoke through his hands as he cupped his face. “First thing this morning. He was blowing up my phone, trying to catch me before I headed out for my morning workout. I thought it was strange, E, because even though we’ve kept in touch, he doesn’t call that early.” His hand dropped from his face. “He got an email saying the league wants to consider re-instating me. They’re thinking about bringing me back and want me to come in and sign paperwork to use their facilities to train. Pete, my old agent, said it would be their way of looking at me on the low to see if I still got it, but...”
    “My God…” I muttered, stunned by the news.
    Trent is about to resume his life!
    “Ez, man, you know—” His voice cracked and he took a breath, fortifying himself. “Last spring you preached about miracles and how in this age we’re not being taught to call on God for the impossible. You said He’s the same God that performed miracles for Moses in parting the Red Sea, permitting Peter to walk on water, and raising Lazarus from the dead. That’s the same God I’ve been petitioning for life after the shi —the storm,” he