CHAPTER 37 Cassie Fields
Banks Ten
Things are relatively quiet over the next week, and I have the kids over the weekend again. Out of respect for Alex’s wishes—and to avoid further complications—I have my parents watch them on Saturday and Sunday, though I’m debating telling Tanner I can’t work the weekends when I have the kids.
Not because I don’t want to.
But because I’ve been working every day nonstop, and even though it doesn’t feel like work because I get to spend time with Tanner, it is. And I can’t give up every weekend with my kids and also not bring them along with me. It just isn’t sustainable for the next eight months or so.
Each day that carries us closer to his surgery, he falls a little quieter. He’s starting to turn inward, though I do my very best to pull him out of it.
His surgery is on a Monday, and the weekend before it, Alex has the kids. I’m glad I’ll get to spend the time ahead of the surgery with Tanner both for the final moments of prehabilitation and the moments where I can be there for his mental state .
And, you know…the sex.
He throws me for a loop on Saturday evening, though.
Miller is at the team hotel since it’s a home game, and we’re lying together in bed after another incredible climax when he says, “I think I want to go to the game tomorrow.”
My brows shoot up. “You do?”
He nods. “It’s the last game before the surgery, and I want to be on the sidelines. I have no idea what state I’ll be in after the surgery or how long it’ll take me to feel ready to be out there, and I don’t want to miss out.”
I nod. “Then you should do it. I’m sure the team would love to have you there.”
“Yeah,” he murmurs. “Coach invited me to wear a headset and help with play calling, and I think it’s important for me to engage with the team when I can.”
“Why haven’t you?” I ask.
He lifts a shoulder. “The thought of stepping back onto the field was a little intimidating, but I think I’m ready.”
I lean over and kiss his shoulder. “I think you are, too.”
He presses his lips into a tight smile, and he angles his head down to kiss me.
He holds me in his arms as we sleep, and I wish we had more than just every other weekend to do this—to fall asleep beside one another and wake up in the same bed, to share breakfast together, and to steal sweet kisses.
In the morning, I start packing my bag to head home for the day when he stops me. “What are you doing?”
“I figured I’d head home for the day while you go to the game.”
His brows dip together. “Oh, no.” He shakes his head. “Sorry. Did I not make this clear? I’m going to need you on the sidelines with me. I need you to ensure I’m not moving around too much or doing anything overly strenuous. ”
I hold a hand to my chest. “Me? You want me on the sidelines with you?”
He nods as if it’s a silly question.
“What about Nick? What about…am I even allowed on the field?” I stutter.
“If I say I need my personal medical staff, the team will have to deal with it.” He pulls me against his body. “Stop packing and change into a Storm shirt.”
“Tanner, this is crazy!” I protest.
“What is?”
“Well, for one, I don’t have a Storm shirt.”
He chuckles. “Good thing I’ve got you covered then.” He heads to his closet and returns with a soft T-shirt that features his last name and his number.
“Banks Ten?” I read from the back of the shirt.
“Banks Ten,” he confirms. He leans in a little closer. “Better be the only Storm number I ever see you wear.”
I laugh. “That’s pretty much a given.”
He drives since he doesn’t need his left knee for that activity, and he has all the correct credentials to get us onto the field on game day. I find myself walking down the sideline where the coaches are already gathered together, the natural grass on the field crunching beneath my feet as I look around from this vantage point.
It’s incredible.
It feels like I’m a part of the team as I trail behind Tanner and look up into the grandstands. People are trickling in already to watch warm-ups before the game, and I feel like over the last few weeks, I’ve learned a lot about the game.
Surely I’ll learn even more at this up-close-and-personal lesson, and still more once Tanner is back on the field because I will not miss an opportunity to watch him play now that I have intimate knowledge of him…and now that I know who he is .
He walks up to the coaches, who all embrace him. They ask him questions about his knee, and he introduces me. They ask me questions about his knee, too, and he tells them he’s ready for his surgery tomorrow.
The stands continue to fill, and the team heads back into the locker room to prepare for the game. Tanner goes with them, but I stay here on the sidelines as I check in with the medical staff. Nick, the trainer who was with Tanner at his first appointment at the office, remembers me, and we chat for a bit about Tanner’s progress.
Tanner comes back out with the coaching staff, and I’m still standing toward the back of the group as he slips an earpiece in on one side. He glances at me as if to make sure I’m okay, and when he sees I’m fine, he turns his attention to the offensive coordinator.
I observe the other players and the game, and I glance over at Tanner every few moments to ensure he’s not doing anything that could possibly jeopardize tomorrow’s surgery.
I take a moment to really study him when the third quarter starts.
He’s in his element there on the sidelines. Black training pants, a gray Storm sweatshirt, a hat with the Storm logo on it…damn. That man is fine as hell.
And there’s this connection between us that’s absolutely insane.
Sometimes a little thought nags at the back of my mind. Is he only into me because I’m helping him get better? Will he drop me the moment he’s cleared to return to the game?
I remind myself that he slept with me long before he was injured—long before he knew I was a physical therapist. He had an interest in me way back then, and I believe in us. I believe what we have has legs, that we can make it the distance .
There’s just something special about our chemistry and our connection. So special, in fact, that I get a call about it after the game.
We’re just finishing dinner when my phone starts to ring, and when I see it’s Alex, I answer it as fear pulses in my chest that something is wrong with one of my children.
“Hey, everything okay?” I answer.
“You went to the game today?” he demands.
“Excuse me?” It’s all I can think to say.
“What were you doing on the sidelines of the San Diego Storm game?”
“How is that any of your business?” I ask.
“Well, when the kids start asking, I guess it sort of becomes my business,” he says.
“They know I’m working with Tanner.” I refuse to feed more into it, and at the same time, I really don’t want to lie because there is more going on than I’m admitting to.
“The way you two were looking at each other, it looked like a hell of a lot more than that. The announcers saw it, too.”
“The announcers?” I echo. Silence pulses between us. “What did the announcers say?”
“They wanted to know who the woman on the sidelines wearing number ten was. They talked about how they saw you walk out with Tanner.”
I blow out a breath. “That sounds innocent enough.”
“It was the way they said it, Cassandra,” he says, and I hear the accusation very clearly in his tone.
“Well, they’re announcers. Did you need something?” I ask. “I’m eating dinner.”
“Where? With him ?”
“I’m not dignifying that with a response. Tell the kids to call me before bed.” It’s a mistake since they’ll call me with video chat and see I’m at Tanner’s house, but I want to see the kids. I feel like I have a pretty damn good excuse for being here considering Tanner’s surgery is in the morning, and I’m allowed to be with my patient before he goes in.
I hang up and blow out a breath of frustration.
“You okay?” Tanner asks carefully.
“Yeah. My ex said he saw me on the sidelines, and the announcers made some comment about you and me walking out together.”
“Oh. I hadn’t really considered that,” he says.
Truthfully, I hadn’t, either. It’s only a silly rumor that has no weight to it anyway.
But it’s one more spark to add fuel to Rick’s fire. One more reason for Alex to look deeper. One more justification for Dr. Hayward to remove me from working with this particular patient.
And it’s the last thing we need to be worrying about the night before Tanner goes in for his surgery.