Chapter 4
Chapter Four
L andon
It’s been three days since I sent her flowers. Three days of checking my phone obsessively. She’s not going to call, I know that, but I had hoped.
I should wash my hands of the situation and just move on, but something tells me not to give up.
Something deep in my gut, and I always trust my gut.
Sure, it’s probably just the nagging feeling that she’s the first to turn me down, but it feels like something…
more. Whatever it is, it’s driving me crazy.
“Barker.”
I turn to see Jeremy Baldwin standing next to me. “Hey, Coach. Bourgeois is looking good.” I nod to the field where Thomas is kicking field goals.
“He is.” He nods. “He’s got talent.”
“Big praise from the soccer star.”
He laughs. “We all have room to grow. Trust me. I know that all too well. Anyway, I thought you should know you’ve been a hot topic at my house this week.”
Interesting. “Really?”
“Like you didn’t already know.” He shakes his head, an amused smile tilting his lips.
“She’s a tough nut to crack,” I say. I don’t bother telling him I’m talking about Tessa. He already knows.
“Not so much.”
“Are we talking about the same person? Tessa Deaton?” I counter.
“That’s her.” His grin grows wider. “You’ve somehow managed to get my wife on your side.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means the flowers were a good move, and now Autumn wants to know everything about you.”
“Autumn, right.” Is that disappointment I feel?
“Yep. I’ve been instructed to gather all the dirty details and report back.”
“And what would your wife think about you telling me that?”
He throws his head back and laughs. “My wife, Autumn, is an attorney. She’s not currently practicing, but she still has the… shall we say, ‘special talent.’ You’re lucky it’s me asking and not her.”
“Maybe she can work on Tessa,” I mutter under my breath.
“I need to bring some nugget of information home to my wife. So, tell me this, Barker. Why Tessa? From what I know of you, this isn’t your MO.”
I can appreciate his forwardness. “It’s not. I’ve dated mostly for charity events or team events, things like that. Nothing… like this,” I confess.
“Again, why Tessa?”
I shrug. “She turned me down.”
He tilts his head to the side and studies me. “That’s it? She turned you down, so you’re sending flowers and obsessing over your phone, moping around here like you’ve lost your best friend because she turned you down?”
“Who’s moping?” I ask, because the other two are facts.
“You are. You’ve been distracted all week, and your game shows it.”
“Wait just a minute. My game is fine. Kaden and I are connecting, making the plays,” I say, referring to me and our starting running back, Kaden Hahn.
“You’re making plays, but your head’s not in it.
You’re on autopilot. Your arm is lax, and your throw’s timid compared to what you're capable of.” He pauses, letting this new revelation sink in.
“Look, for some reason, my wife is rooting for you. She thinks you’d be good for Tess.
But she’s family to us. She’s not a game. ” With that, he turns and walks away.
I should yell out to him. Stop him from walking away, but I’m frozen, my feet unable to lift from the turf as if I’m standing in quicksand.
The last three days float through my mind, and although I hate to admit it, he’s right.
I’ve been going through the motions. I’ve got to get this girl out of my head, but I’m too far in to turn back now.
I need to at least take her to dinner or for drinks.
Fuck me, something to get her out of my head.
I’d like to think dinner and some time in my bed would be the perfect ending to this little…
whatever this is, but if I can’t get her to call me after sending her flowers, I know damn sure my dick isn’t getting anywhere near her.
No matter how bad we both want it. And she does want it.
I can see it in her eyes every time she looks at me.
I see it as her breathing changes anytime I’m near her.
She’s fighting this pull between us, and I don’t know why.
Pushing Tessa out of my mind, I get back on the field. I finish practice, being more present than I have been all week. In the locker room, I’m quiet as I rush through a shower and head out with nothing but a couple of waves and nods to the guys.
Twenty minutes later, I remove the keys from the ignition and stare at the shelter in front of me.
I didn’t plan to come here, but this is where I ended up.
I don’t rush to get out as I try to form what I’m going to say.
More than that, I try to work out what the hell I’m doing and why this woman is getting to me.
Ten minutes later, I still have no answers and realize that I’m a creeper who’s sitting in the parking lot of an animal shelter.
Reaching for the handle, I start to climb out of my SUV, but I freeze when I see her.
Her long dark hair is braided and thrown over her shoulder.
She’s wearing a tank top with the shelter’s logo and a pair of tight pants, leggings—a man’s best friend.
I can’t take my eyes off her. She’s leading a horse my way.
She turns her head to talk to him, and I see her stumble.
My hand jerks open the door, and my legs rush to carry me to her, but it’s too late.
She stumbles and falls to the ground. The horse gets spooked and rushes past me.
I don’t try and stop it as I rush to her, falling on my knees beside her.
“Tessa,” I say with a pant.
“Ow.” Her voice is soft and constricted with pain.
“Hey, let me look at you.”
She lifts her head, and the pain in her eyes twists my gut. “L-Landon?” she asks, confused.
“Yeah.” I swipe her bangs out of her eyes. “You okay?”
“What are you doing here?” She moves to sit up and winces.
“Let me help you.” She doesn’t fight me as I stand and place my hands under her arms and lift her.
She tries to step out of my hold and ends up falling into my arms as she cries out in pain.
I don’t think, I just swing her into my arms bridal-style and carry her to the front door.
“Can you turn the knob?” I ask. She’s able to turn the knob, and I kick the door open with my foot.
I bypass the receptionist desk and move down the hall. “This your office?” I ask her.
“Yeah.” She nods, her face still scrunched up in pain.
I don’t ask which desk is hers; the bouquet of lilies and roses tells me. I hide my smile, but something inside me lifts knowing that she kept them. Carefully, I set her in the chair. “Let me take a look.” I run my hands down her leg, all toned muscle, and stop when I reach her ankle.
“It’s fine, or it will be. I just landed on it wrong.” She tries to pull her leg out of my hands, but I’m not having it. “You never told me what you’re doing here.”
“I came to see you.”
“Me?” she asks, confused.
“Yeah, it’s been too long since I’ve seen those green eyes.” I’m staring at her, our faces close as I kneel before her. I have the sudden urge to pull her into a kiss.
“Come on, Landon. Why are you here?”
I didn’t know it was the truth until the words left my lips the first time, so I repeat, “To see you.” Gently, my fingers trace over her ankle, which is already starting to swell. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to you in time. I saw you stumble. I tried.”
“Not your fault or your responsibility.”
“Maybe not, but I’m still sorry all the same. Looks like a sprain.”
“Great,” she mutters.
“Are you the only one here?”
She nods, her eyes glassy. “Yes. We had a volunteer scheduled, but they were a no-show. JJ’s daycare called, and he’s got pink eye, or so they think. Autumn left to pick him up and take him to the doctor.”
“Okay. Well, I think if you ice it and keep it elevated, it should be okay. Where can I get some ice?”
“I can manage. You should go.”
Unable to resist, I reach up and cradle her cheek in the palm of my hand.
“I’m here, and I’m going to help you.” Her green eyes regard me.
They truly are a unique color, so much so, my breath hitches as she stares at me.
Blinking hard, I scan her face, and that’s when I see a soft dusting of freckles on either cheek.
I didn’t notice them before, but I like them.
They suit her. Makes her more… human, I guess.
She’s not like the women I’m used to. Dressed to the nines, more makeup coated on their faces than the department store can carry, and always with a mission: bed a player.
Tessa is a breath of fresh air, one that I didn’t realize I needed until this very moment.
“Thank you,” she whispers.
“Where can I get some ice?”
“We have a storage cabinet in the bathroom across the hall. There’s a first aid kit. There should be some ice packs in it.”
“Okay. I’ll be right back.” I fight the urge to press my lips to hers or even to taste her freckles. Instead, I stand, give her arm a gentle squeeze, and leave to find the ice packs.
“Here.” A few moments later, I hand her a bottle of water that I found in the breakroom.
She takes it, and I tear open a small packet of Ibuprofen.
“Take these. It will help with the pain and inflammation.” She doesn’t argue as she holds out her hand to accept the pills before tossing them back, drinking half the bottle of water.
“Thank you.”
I nod. Grabbing what I assume is Autumn’s chair, I roll it over to prop her leg up on and then squeeze the ice pack to activate it. I squish it around in my hands for a couple of minutes, getting it mixed up before placing it on her ankle. She winces but otherwise doesn’t say anything.
“You good here?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
“Good. Now, tell me what I need to do to get the horse back in the pasture.”
“Shit, I forgot about Buckwheat.”
“Buckwheat? Do all the animals have names?”
“Most of them. I can call Autumn or Jeremy when he gets home.”
“No need. I’m here. Just tell me what to do.”