Tangled Vows (Willow Brook Falls #3)

7. Shayla

7

SHAYLA

E aston Walker was a pain in my ass. A thorn in my side. The bane of my existence. He made my blood boil and my heart race in equal measure. Every time he flirted with me, I almost forgot about how he’d rejected me, how seeing what was beneath my clothes sent him running for the hills. I had to remind myself that he didn’t want me. He’d made that perfectly clear when he refused to even spare my bare torso a second glance. The flirtatious little comments and playful smirks were just a taunt.

It brought back memories of junior high when Kenny Myers asked me to the sweetheart dance on a dare, knowing I had the biggest crush on him, only to humiliate me by showing up with another girl.

Easton made me feel the exact same way. I was back to being that thirteen-year-old girl with a crush on the popular boy at school whose only goal was to make me the butt of his joke. Taunting me about private cooking lessons when I knew damn well the last thing he wanted was to be alone with me; that was a low blow. I’d accepted that he didn’t want me, but I hadn’t expected him to be cruel. I’d thrown myself at him only to have him reject me, and now he was rubbing my unrequited attraction in my face.

All that did was strengthen my resolve. I’d stick to my original plan of avoiding men for a while. Now that the workshop was over, it would be easier to keep my distance from Easton since I’d mostly only see him in passing.

Forcing thoughts of Easton from my mind, I pulled my phone from my pocket to check for any missed calls or messages. My mom had an appointment with her oncologist today to go over the results of some scans she had done last week, and I was eagerly awaiting her call. I was hoping for good news, but there’d been a knot coiling in my stomach since the moment I sat down in that cold, sterile waiting room while they took my mom back to complete her tests.

All thoughts of Easton forgotten, I dialed her number. It went straight to voicemail and that knot grew tighter, a pang spearing through my chest. Maybe she was still there and hadn’t seen the doctor yet. Sometimes those office visits took forever if they were running behind.

That was what I told myself as I trudged back to my office so I could type up some notes on the players I’d met with. I had my work cut out for me with these guys, that much was true, but after talking with them, I realized some of their needs weren’t being met. While they were usually provided breakfast or lunch depending on their schedule, they typically finished up practices and workouts between mealtimes, and nothing was being provided to help them recover from the grueling training they were subjected to every day. They were all on their own. I needed to come up with a game plan, some way for them to get those vital nutrients in during that critical period following their workouts.

Luckily, I’d interned with a dietician for a college football team and had a couple tricks up my sleeve. I had a feeling most of the guys wouldn’t like what I’d come up with, but it was what was best for them. I just needed to touch base with Dr. Claire Norton, the team’s physician, to get her stamp of approval before implementing the new regimen.

She didn’t hesitate to give me her blessing, so I shot off an email to Coach Bradford requesting that he have the players meet in the dining hall following practice tomorrow.

I walked out of there with a spring in my step and excited energy buzzing in my veins. But my excitement was short-lived. Because when I got home, my world came crashing down around me.