Chapter Fifteen
The next couple of days pass by in a blur. Jasper and Adam come over both nights, and all four of us have been together, discussing what to do first with all the renovations.
“Look. I think the smart thing would be to renovate the house first,” Jasper says as we all gather in my living room tonight.
“There’s a rule I read about that says as long as one wall remains standing, the whole rest of the house could come down, and it would still be considered a remodel.
” Adam’s concentration is on his phone as he speaks, until it dings, and a smile crosses his face as he looks up at me.
“And my brother knows the best architect in NorCal.”
“And I already took the liberty of talking to Lloyd about his buddy’s construction company’s availability,” Ezra chimes in, looking a little bashful. “He said they’d be happy to come by when we’re ready for a quote. They’ll do right by us.”
Jasper looks at Ezra, then Adam, then at me.
“So, Adley, Adam, and I will split the cost three ways, while Ezra provides free construction labor to save us money there.” He shifts on the couch, expression bemused.
“I can’t exactly handle construction work with my knee, and, let’s face it, Adam is a pretty boy and not into manual labor. ”
Adam shoots Jasper a death-worthy glare, and I purse my lips to stifle a laugh.
“I don’t have any money, Adley. And I can’t get a loan with my background and no steady job.”
I look at Ezra, see the embarrassment all over his face, and frown before I get up and go to him, plopping myself in his lap on the old armchair he’s sitting in. “Never apologize for that. You’re going to be taking on a huge responsibility on the construction front.”
A bit of guilt wars with the warmth in my chest at how enthusiastic everyone is about getting this done, building our pack and living together, running the sanctuary, and eventually expanding it. But that guilt is actually because I don’t feel guilty about ripping down most of this old house.
It was Uncle Jim’s. This was where he spent most of his life, and where I spent all my summers growing up. There are so many memories here. But the space is mine now—ours. We need to be able to create our own memories here for a long, long time.
“I want this house to be what we all want. So, we all need to work together with the architect. Make sure we all have the space we dream of in a forever home.”
“My brother and his family have a great house they expanded when they had kids.” Adam types on his phone again, and it only takes a second for it to ding. “Ben says we can come by this weekend to look at their setup, see if it sparks any ideas.”
“How does that sound?” I ask Jasper and Ezra, who both nod in agreement. “Great! We’ll all go together then. Meet your brother’s family.” I grin at Adam, who looks like he’s second-guessing his decision now.
Later that night, Adam returns to his apartment, Ezra to his trailer—despite me trying to get him to stay at the house now that we’re mated—and Jasper comes with me out back to let the fuzzballs out.
We keep the back porch light off, which is my favorite way to be out here in the moonlight.
We position two of the outdoor lounge chairs side-by-side to recline in.
Danko comes over to Jasper with a tennis ball, which Jasper throws, and Danko runs after. And Nikki, well, I’ve got her number by now.
Two toys “in play” at all times with this little dog.
She comes to me with a ball, drops it on the ground, and uses her nose to roll it toward me.
When I pick it up, she runs off and gets another ball, which she holds in her mouth, waiting for me to throw the first. When I do, she barks wildly, the ball muffling the sound, and half runs, half bounces after the ball I threw.
She’ll rinse and repeat, swapping balls for the rest of the night.
And I love it. My little sheriff.
“I used to do this all the time when I was little,” I tell Jasper.
“With your Uncle Jim?”
“Yeah. Right here in this yard.” My chest gets heavy with the memory.
“This was back when Springer was still alive. You saw photos of her. She was a chocolate Lab and Greyhound mix. That dog had my whole heart. She still has part of it today, hence the sanctuary’s name.
” My vision blurs, eyes grow hot. “When I’d stay here over the summer, we’d always go outside and lounge, alternating who threw the ball by who Springer brought it back to.
” I huff a laugh. “She was partial to me, though that may have been because I was the visitor.”
Jasper is quiet for a little while before he says, “I had this fluffy black cat when I was growing up. His name was Hades, and he was a mush. Loved to bump you with his head or wrap his puffy tail around your leg. He was a great companion. Got me through some tough times in high school.”
I peer over at him. “What happened in high school?”
He laughs, but it’s not entirely happy. “I wasn’t the best student.
Not a dummy or anything, I just got lazy.
All I wanted to do was party, play football, and impress college scouts—maybe a few girls here and there—so I’d brush off my school work until it got to be Mission Critical.
” He throws the ball again, this time for Crooze, who takes off like a rocket after it.
“When Coach Jacobs called me into his office, I left feeling like a bucket of ice water was dumped on my head.” Another humorless laugh, his head shaking.
“I didn’t know how bad my grades got; I’d paid so little attention.
And it made me feel like a loser. Coach didn’t even yell at me, just sat me down and told me calmly, man-to-man.
I actually think that was worse than shouting.
” This time, his laughter contains humor.
“So, I straightened up, and fast. Stopped partying, started studying. And honestly, it improved my game, too. I started looking at football differently. I used to always follow my gut on the field, but once I took classes seriously, I started to do research before games. Watched local TV channels to catch opponent gameplay and study it.”
My brows hike with surprise. “Even in high school?”
“Yep. I swear, doing that is what earned me my scholarship. Changed my entire world.” He grins at me and tosses two balls this time, one in each hand, sending Danko and Remy flying across the yard after them.
“Then I got drafted at twenty-one, and retired at twenty-eight.” He rubs his knee with a sigh, head shaking. “Never saw that coming.”
My smile is sympathetic. I can’t help but ask, “How did you get hurt? I never saw the game, and it kind of felt like snooping to look it up after we met.”
He laughs, a hearty sound straight from the gut.
“Aw, you can look me up any time. I don’t mind.
But to answer your question…” he sighs and repositions himself on the lounger to turn his body to face me, raising his arm to rest the side of his face on it and look at me.
“Picture this. Championship game, about four years ago. Me, looking sexy as fuck in Number 16 on the field. Game is tied, thirty-two seconds on the clock in the fourth quarter. Sanchez just ran forty-one yards to score, and Preston and Coach Lang decide we’re going for the two. ”
Jasper is beyond excited as he tells his story, his free hand gesturing animatedly despite the foreshadowed ending.
“The ball is hiked, I get clear in the back corner, Preston passes the ball to me, I catch that motherfucker, hug it like my favorite teddy bear, and everything goes dark.” He frowns and his head shakes.
“I was so rocked, I had no idea what happened until my brain started working again in the hospital. Before anyone let me see the replay, they told me straight up I’d never play again.
My knee was totally fucked.” He winces. “When I saw the uncut video, I couldn’t believe it was me on that screen.
I caught the ball, held it tight, and three guys tackled me in a dog pile, knocking me from standing to crunching me beneath over six hundred pounds of muscle and pads. ”
I sit up and swing my legs over the side of the lounger to lean closer, my heart constricting and the sadness radiating off of Jasper now.
“When they cleared off, I wasn’t moving.
My knee…” his sigh is sharp and forceful.
“Let’s just say that legs aren’t supposed to bend that way.
Everything was torn. It’s a miracle that I’m in as good of shape as I am right now.
” His hand comes down to rub his knee absently, then suddenly he’s perked up.
“But I kept my hold on the ball. I caught the game-winning pass. We went on to win the Super Bowl that season, but it sucked to have to be there on the sidelines in a wheelchair.”
I reach out to him and take his hand. I know he doesn’t want any kind of pity. No professional would, but especially not Jasper. “You’re a winner, then and now. You were strong enough to make it there for your team to support them. I know that had to mean a lot to them.”
His smile is a little shy, then he gets a faraway look in his eyes.
“Yeah. My team was my brothers. We’d spend most of our time together, even off the field.
Some of us during the off-season.” He laughs again, another real one.
“Preston and I still text every month. I like to bust his balls after his games.”
I join in his laughter then. “Oh, I’m sure he loves that.”
“Absolutely,” he says with a great deal of sarcasm. “But he’s going to be a Hall of Famer, there’s no doubt. He knows it, too. That’s why he needs a little ego-check now and then.”
Jasper swings his legs over the side of his lounger to mirror my position, and I notice that Dini is curled up at the foot, like Nikki at the foot of mine. Most of the others have gone inside to their soft beds, or even my bed upstairs, I’m sure.
“Adley?” His voice is tentative.
“Yeah?”
“I want to take you out. On a date.”
His words rush through me, joyously. I grin like crazy. “I’d like that a lot.”
He rises to his feet, holds his hand out to me, which I take, standing in front of him.
“That’s great. I know just where to take you right here in town.
” His hand caresses the side of my face.
“I don’t normally like big crowds anymore, but let’s go this weekend.
I want to show you off.” He steps closer, his face dipping down, inches from my lips.
“Wear something sexy for me? Something… easy to take off.”
And his lips capture mine, easy and light, no tongue, just heightened passion in our connection that makes my toes curl.
If Jasper wants “sexy,” I know just what to wear.