Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Sean
“Did you get her number?” Chloe asks me.
“Aren’t you going to ask me about Dasher?”
“Dasher? You’ve already named the puppy? Where is he?” she says, holding onto her kitten.
“She’s a baby girl puppy. I stowed her in the back of my SUV.
I came in to say good-bye.” I lie my ass off.
I came back in to see if I could catch another glimpse of Ronnie.
We’re standing near the front door of the Shelter’s lobby and my eyes roam the place.
The crowd has thinned, but I don’t see her.
She must still be in back prepping the pets to go.
“Sure,” Tate says, infusing the one word with a fuck-load of skepticism like only he can.. He knows me. “Answer the question. Did you get her number?”
Flicking my gaze between them, Chloe looks more hopeful than mocking, so I admit the truth.
“Nah. It’s not like that. I don’t know what it is, but something tells me I need to warm up to her and Jimmy slowly.
She’s wary of strangers and super protective of her son.
” This much she managed to communicate in a surprisingly feisty way.
A smile curls my lips as I realize how warm that makes me.
She’s damn gorgeous and her coltish behavior on top of her sexiness does something to my insides beyond the usual hormonal spike.
“Really?” Tate scoffs. “You’re taking it slow?”
I shrug, prepared for the taunting, but Chloe nudges him into submission and I laugh.
“Really. I’ll see her again. She lives somewhere in the neighborhood. That’s where I’ll be walking Dasher.”
“How do you know she lives in the neighborhood?”
“I listen. Carefully. Jimmy mentioned that they walk home from the animal shelter.”
“You’re going to stalk her? Good move, man,” Tate says, snickering and enjoying my rare vulnerability.
Normally when I make bold moves to hit on a woman, they jump at the chance.
I’ve never had to go slow or put thought into pursuing a woman.
And I’ve never had the desire. Never met a woman who gripped me with this unrelenting tug.
It’s like we have some kind of elemental connection.
I never met someone I need to get to know because I’m so drawn from the first meeting.
“I’ve never met a woman who I’m attracted to for so much more than her looks,” I say out loud as we step outside and head back to the parking lot.
“Dude,” Tate gives me a look like I must be someone else and he’s not sure who. “You’re shitting me, right? You don’t know anything about her,” he says. “The only thing that could be attracting you is her looks.”
“You’d be wrong about that,” I say. “Like I told you, I listen. I observe. With her, I’m so attuned I can’t help myself.
I’ve noticed everything about her. The way she is with Jimmy, loving and protective.
The way she’s caring with the animals, her deference and respect for her boss and others, her quiet grace—”
Tate throws his hands up. “Enough. I get it. She’s an angel and she has you hooked. Somehow, in one afternoon, she has the player of players, Sean Patrick, wrapped around her pinky.” He grins and I don’t even care that he’s mocking me.
“And she doesn’t even know it,” I say. She’s gorgeous and doesn’t flaunt it. Unlike her friend Gwendolyn who looked ready to throw herself at me if I didn’t get the hell out of there. Damn.
We reach my SUV and Dasher is sleeping in her cage in the back. I want to scoop her up and put her in the seat next to me, but I know she should stay in her cage until she gets used to driving.
“She’s a cutie,” Chloe says and I’m not sure if she’s talking about Dasher or Ronnie. “So, your plan is to run into Ronnie some time and see how it goes?”
I shrug. “I may drop into the animal shelter,” I admit.
“Stalker,” Tate says, snickering.
I punch his arm. “I’ll be cool.”
“Since when?”
“Since I have a good reason to be,” I say.
“What if she’s not interested?” he says.
My mind goes blank. “Not going to happen,” I insist. There’s a connection between us and I’m certain it’s not one-sided. Whatever passed between us is mutual. I’m sure of it. “She’s interested.”
“I think you’re right,” Chloe says. Tate and I turn to her and I have to reign in my eagerness to pump her for details about what she saw that makes her think so. She pauses and grins. Chloe has more devil in her than Tate. Fuck.
“What makes you say that?” I ask in the coolest possible voice I can muster with my heart hammering like a kid about to unwrap a gift. I try to tamp it down because there’s a limit to how vulnerable I want to be, how much teasing I want to take.
She laughs, but relents. “The way she looked at you like you were a juicy steak and she was a starving woman.”
“Cliché, Chloe. You can do better than that,” Tate says. She elbows him and they get playful and I decide it’s time to leave.
“Time for me to go.” They ignore me and Tate has her in a hold while she struggles to escape, laughing. Their eyes are on each other and their faces lit with that tell-tale flush. I get in my car and lower the window. “Get a room you two.”
They finally look at me like caught teens. Chloe laughs and Tate flicks me the finger. I grin and take off, warmth suffusing me. But the edge of anticipation overrides the warmth by the time I get home as I contemplate seeing Ronnie again.
It’s a tough night until I let the puppy sleep in my bed.
The call to my darling sister didn’t go well.
She said she’s not about to drop everything and come up to frigid Boston from Texas to puppy sit for me.
She was excited to inform me that she has a new job and a new boyfriend.
Great. Fine time for my kid sister to get her act together.
But I’m happy for her. And I have another idea forming in my gut about how to take care of Dasher.
Practice is early and I barely get out the door on time after getting Dasher settled in her cage.
She stares at me like I’m betraying her as I leave and I can’t get her sad puppy eyes out of my head.
But even if her sad eyes and whimpering don’t get to me, it’s not a good idea to leave her locked up all day and realize I need help sooner than later. Time to execute my plan.
I want to call Ronnie, but not just for help with Dasher. I want to hear her voice, to talk to her, get to know her, but I don’t have her number. Fuck. On the way to the stadium, I call the shelter.
“East Boston Animal Shelter, Annamarie Garino speaking.”
“You’re the manager, right? I think we met yesterday. This is Sean Patrick.”
“Oh yes—Santa Claus, right?”
“That’s me. Look, I adopted a puppy yesterday, Dasher and she’s great, but I wonder if you know anyone in the area who can help me with puppy sitting or walking during the day?
” I don’t mention Ronnie’s name because I know I need to play it at least a little cool.
Can’t come off as the stalker-dude that Tate’s accusing me of being.
Calling my bluff, Annamarie suggests a couple of doggie day cares and I reject the idea, insisting I want one-on-one attention for Dasher.
“I don’t know of anyone off hand,” Annamarie says. I can’t tell if she’ being straight or toying with me, but I decide to go for it.
“What about Ronnie and Jimmy?” Trying not to sound like I have an agenda, I add, “They already like Dasher. Maybe they can help me out.”
“I don’t see how,” she says, “Ronnie works full time here and Jimmy’s only six years old.”
“Ronnie gets a lunch hour, right?”
An uncomfortable pause fills my ear, but she relents. “Yes.” I wait for more. She gives me nothing and I realize I’m dealing with a cagey lady here, not some do-gooder pushover. No matter, I need to plunge forward. I have pure generosity on my side to go with the not as pure motives.
“I bet Ronnie could use the extra money. I pay well.”
There’s another beat of silence where I grip the steering wheel tighter than I need to.
“You’re right, she could use the money. But she usually takes her lunch break later in the afternoon to spend time with Jimmy when he gets out of school. Do you live nearby?”
“Ten minutes. Tops,” I say. I can hear her mind working in the silence, up to no good.
“You’re interested in Ronnie for more than dog watching.” She’s not asking and her voice is not quite stern, but I get the warning note all the same.
“I like her and Jimmy. I…” I need to be honest. “I’d like a chance to get to know them better.” I pause to allow a response and Annamarie Garino gives me her silence yet again, so I go for broke. “Jimmy has his heart set on seeing Dasher again. I might have promised him—”
Garino sighs into the phone. “You got me with that one. He’s very attached to that pup. She—Ronnie can’t have pets where she lives and can’t afford the kind of place… well, let’s just say that she struggles. But she accepts no help. Gets no help from Jimmy’s father wherever the hell he is.”
“So he’s out of the picture?”
“He was never in the picture far as I can tell. Look, I shouldn’t be telling you about other people’s business. I don’t know what I’m thinking.” She laughs. “You have me charmed and I bet you weren’t even trying.”
Hope flares and my automatic smile pops out.
“Don’t sell yourself short. I’ve been trying hard,” I admit. “Listen, bottom line is I need help with Dasher and Ronnie and Jimmy can use some help too. It’s a win-win situation.” I hold my breath while the woman does her usual silent cogitation for a few beats.
“Okay. I’ll pitch it for you. But no guarantees. Ronnie’s got a mind of her own and has a thing about being independent.”
“Got it. A chance is all I expect.”
She laughs. “You know full well the girl was drooling over you, don’t you?”
Surprise and a shock of heat spikes my pulse rate. “I’m not sure about drooling, but I think we might have a mutual attraction.” I manage to keep my cool when I’m anything but.
“Oh, you’re a slick one. But let me warn you, Mr. Sean Patrick, my Ronnie is more than an employee to me. You better not take advantage of her. No games. I care a lot about that girl and her son.”
“That makes two of us.” I blurt the words without thinking, knowing they’re genuine, from my heart. But I also realize they sound ridiculous since we just met yesterday.
She laughs. “I know something about that kind of caring. Proceed with caution, Mister—”
“Call me Sean.”
“Sean. Or I’ll make sure there’s hell to pay. I’ll get the kind of retribution on Ronnie’s behalf that she’d never think of extracting.”
The woman’s voice has a dangerous edge and I get her meaning.
Hell to pay. That means money and reputation where I come from—the NFL.
I’ve seen plenty of players go down that way.
They didn’t lose their careers, but paying the price for affairs gone wrong can be steep.
I take a shuddering breath and steady myself.
I’m going for it.
After practice I pick up Dasher at the house and swing by the animal shelter.
It’s almost four p.m., already getting dark and I’m hoping to catch Ronnie there with Jimmy.
Garino is at the desk and Dasher announces our arrival as we walk through the glass doors with mad yelping.
I’m in luck. Jimmy flies into the lobby from out back and skids to a stop on his knees grabbing dasher in his arms.
“Hey Jimmy, it’s great to see you.” I laugh. The kid is too caught up with the pup licking his face to answer me. I turn to Garino.
“Did you talk to her?” I whisper. She suppresses a grin and I’m hopeful, but she doesn’t have a chance to tell me the verdict when Ronnie comes from out back, calling Jimmy’s name. I turn and she stops short. Our eyes lock.
It’s as if there’s an invisible line of electricity or magnetic field tethering us. The pull jumps my nerves.
“Hello.” Her smile doesn’t appear until she glances down at Jimmy where Dasher bathes his face in puppy saliva. With Dasher in good hands, I drop the leash and go to Ronnie who’s frozen in the doorway.
“In the neighborhood,” I say, not caring if I sound lame as my eyes feast on the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. By far. I should probably dial down the smile before I scare her away, but she widens hers so I let it take over my face, my soul.
“I hear you’re looking for help,” she says. “I’m not sure I can—”
“Don’t say no. Anything you can do—even once a week. And when I have away games.” Damn if she’s not going to crush me already.
“You sound desperate. Didn’t you have a plan before you got Dasher?” Skepticism drips. She may be gorgeous and skittish, but she’s not stupid and not above calling a fool—that’s me—on his game.
“You got me. I am desperate, but not only about needing help with Dasher.”
Her eyebrows rise on her forehead and her smile disappears. She doesn’t take a step back, thank God, but I need to tread carefully. Honesty is good, but without being scary.
“I mean, I wanted to see you and Jimmy again. I was serious about making sure he sees Dasher. It’s good for both of them.” Watching the pair scrabble around on the floor, I wave a hand and laugh. Then I go with my impulse and join them, crouching down.
“Dasher, who’s the boss?” The puppy yips when I tug her tail and she turns to me. I reward her with liberal scratching behind her ears and she wastes no time licking my face. Screwing up my mouth, I pull her in and catch up her leash.
Jimmy looks crestfallen. “Are you leaving? Can I come for a walk with you and Dasher?”
“Sure—”
“Jimmy—” His mom cuts me off and I turn back to her.
“How about if all three of us go for a walk?” I turn to Garino, thinking of her as a co-conspirator now, “What do you say Garino? It’s about time for Ronnie’s break, right?”
“Fine by me.” She’s suppressing a smile and I think she likes being called Garino like she’s on my team. “It’s about quitting time soon anyway.”
Ronnie says, “I don’t want to leave you with—”
“Nonsense,” Garino says. “I can handle being by myself for ten minutes before Gwen gets here.”
Ronnie nods then, her face changing as soon as she hears Gwen’s name, like maybe she doesn’t want to let the woman take another shot at grabbing my attention. I keep my smile on the inside.
“Then let’s go.” I take Jimmy’s hand and shove the glass door open with my shoulder. Ronnie scoots behind the counter and grabs a backpack and jackets then hurries to follow us outside.