Chapter 25 #2
“Too late for that, Coach. I’m in love with your daughter.” Hunter’s voice was calm, the opposite of Dad’s.
Then Dad surprised me when he lunged forward and grabbed Hunter, pushing him away from me, and then punched him in the face.
Hunter reacted fast, ducking away and putting an arm up, but I heard the sickening smack of my Dad’s fist connecting, saw the blood at the corner of Hunter’s mouth as he held my dad back, hugging him in a boxer’s clinch to prevent any more punching.
I screamed and leapt at my dad, trying to pull him away from Hunter. Penny kept her head and put two fingers in her mouth to whistle, loud and effective. Hunter pushed Dad back off him and I took my father’s arm on one side and Penny took his other arm, pulling him back to his desk.
Hunter leaned against the wall, wiping blood from his mouth with the back of his hand, his face a blank mask, staring at Dad, his coach, who I knew he’d admired, respected.
Dad stilled then and spoke in a low growl, “I’ll see you in hell, Quintanna. I’ll see that you never play football again starting today, that you can’t get a job anywhere.”
“If you do anything like that, Dad, I’ll never speak to you again, I swear,” I said, tears threatening, but I held onto my anger, my fight, knowing I meant what I said.
“If you did that, Sal, I’d never speak to you again either,” Penny said.
Coach turned to Penny. He focused on her, looking troubled. It was obvious that Penny was serious as death.
“What do you mean? You’re my right hand, you’re loyal to me, you’re—”
“If you don’t accept that your daughter is a grown woman and respect who she wants to be with, and if you want to destroy a perfectly decent young man over it, then I’m afraid my loyalty to you would be misplaced.” She paused. “And you aren’t the man I’d always thought you were.”
He looked heartbroken.
“Dad,” I said, but he only looked at Penny.
That’s when I knew it finally happened. My dad was feeling his real feelings for Penny, realizing how much she meant to him.
My insides squeezed and I wanted to scream with all the pent-up hope exploding from me.
But that would be the absolute wrong move.
Coach and Penny stood looking at each other, mute, emotions clogging them.
Then I realized it was me and Hunter stopping them from their next words, their next move.
I grabbed Hunter’s hand and dragged him from the room. He’d seen it too. He pulled the door closed behind him and gave me a twinkle-eye smile, one that melted my insides and everything else in me.
“Do you think?” he said.
As we rushed down the hall and to the stairs, I nodded, feeling silly and buoyant like someone had pumped me with helium.
Grabbing onto him, to feel him, his solidness, to feel grounded and cherished, I didn’t realize I was crying until he wiped a tear from my cheek with his rough hand.
We ended up in the stairwell on the landing where we stopped and held onto each other.
“I think Dad finally realized he’s in love with Penny.”
“What about you? You finally realized you were in love with me, but I’m still not convinced of it.” He stared into my eyes. The twinkle was there, along with that penetrating intensity, the tight seriousness that made my nerves jump around and my heart thud too fast.
“Me? In love with you?” There was a twitch in his jaw.
He waited, didn’t prompt again, didn’t make any confessions of his undying love, not even of his affection.
I felt the affection though, all too plainly, knew his love, would never tire of hearing him confess is love.
He pressed his hips close to mine, driving me into the wall until I was breathless.
“What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?”
“You’ve been waiting to say that for months, haven’t you?”
He didn’t laugh, but the corner of his mouth twitched.
“Tell me.”
“I’m hopelessly in love with you, Hunter. I want to tell you every day. Hear you tell me every day. You’ve probably known all along, since we met, based on my wildly irrational behavior.”
Now he smiled. And he brought his mouth down on mine, nibbled at my lips by way of a kiss and spoke, softly, clearly, tenderly, making my heart zing and my legs quiver.
“I thought you were crazy. Like me, crazy in love with you, Sugar Cat.” He gave me a thorough kiss and I let him take me away to that blissful state where everything in me sizzled and crackled with pleasure and joy.
“I want you all to myself, Hunter. For the foreseeable future. Do you think that’s possible?” I murmured the words as he kissed my neck, breathed near my ear, made me shudder.
“Try and get rid of me.”
He dragged me from the stairwell and into my office, closing the door behind us.
“But what about football? What about the money?” I had to ask. I wasn’t sure either of us were still on the team, even with Penny’s influence in our favor. There was that damn nonfrat rule.
He shook his head with a sigh. Leaning against my desk, he held me against him.
I said, “I quit. I’m no longer your handler.”
He pushed me away as his brows rose and disappeared under his wavy hair in surprise.
“I’m going to send an e-mail resigning right now. I’ll send it directly to Mr. Gable and cc everyone else.” I went around my desk and sat in front of my computer as he watched me.
“You don’t need to do that, Cat. I’m off the team. You heard Coach. I don’t even think I can return to the locker room. I’ll call my agent. See what he thinks.”
“Don’t worry, Hunter, Dad won’t blackball you. I’m not even convinced you’re off the team. But I know I am. I did what I set out to do here. I found out what it was like to be on my father’s team and I found out that I was better off being his daughter all along.”
“Sugar Cat.” He reached a hand out and stroked my cheek. “You know how much your Dad loves you? He threw one of his best players off the team to protect you.”
I bit my lip, staring into his intense heart-melting eyes. He was serious. He was defending my dad. Then I remembered his father and what he’d had to deal with.
“But he punched you, Hunter. I’m so angry and upset with him for that.”
“You know I don’t blame him for punching me. I owe Coach for giving me a chance, Cat.”
“You’re better than me. It’s going to take me a while to forgive him. In the meantime, I’m done here. I have other options after all. Rainey offered me a job, you know.”
“I didn’t know, but I’m not surprised. She’s a smart woman.”
“I might even want to go to law school.”
He smiled. “I won’t hold that against you.”
I sent my e-mail and stood up.
He picked up the phone on my desk and dialed.
“Who are you calling?”
“My agent. I have no idea what my standing is on this team anymore, but I need to be prepared for the worst. Thanks to you, now that my coach-punching has been justified, I have a shot at another team.”
I watched him as he held the receiver to his ear, listened while he spoke to his agent, told him he was in deep shit and might be thrown off the team.
“Nothing illegal. I fell in love with his daughter. He takes exception to that.”
I heard his agent whistle long and loud, but then he spoke fast and serious while Hunter nodded. I went into his arms then, put my arms around him while he spoke, planning his future, calm and confident.
I knew no matter what, that all the trouble, even the trouble between me and my father, was worth having Hunter, being able to love him and stand by him. And having him love me with all his big powerful heart. His loyalty was mine.