Running Loose

He’s got a starting spot on the football team, good friends, and a smart, beautiful girlfriend who loves him as much as he loves her. In the logging town of Trout, Idaho, he spends his senior year running pass patterns for an undefeated eight-man squad and falling hard for Becky Sanders.

On the field, he works through grueling drills to earn his place. When Coach Lednecky demands an intentional hit on Salmon River’s star quarterback, Louie refuses to play dirty.

By walking away from the team, he takes a principled stand; by defying his coach and principal Jasper, he becomes an outcast in a town obsessed with winning.

Early in the fall, he sees all his ideas of fair play go up in smoke; by spring, what he cares about most has been destroyed. How can Louie keep going when he’s lost everything?

• Coming of Age: Cut off from his peers, Louie leans on the plainspoken guidance of his father Norm and Dakota, the straight-shooting bartender who runs the local tavern.
• School Drama: Barred from interscholastic athletics by Principal Jasper, Louie finds a second chance when rookie coach Madison challenges him to run the grueling two-mile race alone.
• Unlikely Ally: Salmon River star Washington recognizes Louie’s courage on the field, forging a fierce mutual respect that defies small-town hostility.
• Small Town Setting: Set in the rugged timber country of rural Idaho, where dissent carries a heavy price.
• Also by This Author: Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, Deadline and Whale Talk.