After The Rain (One Pass Away #1)

by Mary J. Williams

  Not that it mattered. The slight tug he felt was just that. Slight. His libido wasn’t coming out to play. She could strip down naked and have the body of a goddess. These days his erections were brief and quickly taken care of. Women, even one with lips like that held little interest.

  “Logan, this is Claire Thornton.”

  “I would shake your hand, but that would mean removing one from this mug. Sorry. Not happening.”

  “It isn’t that cold.” Logan frowned. “Are you ill?”

  “Healthy as a horse.” Claire sipped the steaming liquid, sighing with pleasure. “Good coffee.”

  “I always brew a fresh pot around closing time.”

  “To sober up your customers?”

  Logan couldn’t help it. His eyes followed as Claire’s lips circled the rim of the cup. A-one lips.

  “What do you give the drunks?”

  “If I can’t find anyone else, a ride home. With their heads out the window. You let one guy spew his guts all over your upholstery, you don’t make that mistake again.”

  “I imagine.”

  Nice voice, too. Kind of husky.

  “The coffee thing is a myth.”

  “Oh?” Claire’s eyes lit up with interest.

  “The only thing that sobers up a drunk is time. Throwing up helps a bit. Once the alcohol is in your blood, no amount of caffeine is going to help.”

  “Are you two finished?”

  Well, hell. For a moment, Logan forgot Gaige was there. He was so caught up talking to Claire that… He suddenly had a horrible thought. Were Gaige and Claire a couple? Stupid question. Why else would they be traveling together? He felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. He might not be interested, but for some reason, the idea of Gaige and Claire made him slightly ill.

  “How long have you two been seeing each other?”

  “See?” Claire looked at Gaige in confusion. Then it hit her. “Oh. Seeing.”

  Claire burst out laughing. To keep from spilling her coffee, she set it down on the table. When Gaige sighed, she almost doubled over.

  “It isn’t that funny.”

  “You’re right.” Claire wiped the moisture from her eyes. “We hit the friend zone the moment we met. Thinking of you any other way struck me as ridiculous.”

  “There you have it.” Gaige gave a self-deprecating laugh. “The story of my life. All the good women want to be friends.”

  “Boo hoo.” Claire picked up her cup. “One supermodel after another. It’s a tough life, buddy.”

  Gaige simply shrugged. His love life was well documented. Fourteen years as a top-tier NFL quarterback came with many perks. It also meant a certain loss of privacy. You would never hear him complain about either. Gaige had loved every second.

  “I’ve been waiting for you to ask me why we’ve come to see you.”

  “You mean you weren’t just in the neighborhood?” Logan asked with mock surprise. “I’ve lost track of how many ex-teammates have dropped by in the middle of the season.”

  “Gotta love the sarcasm.” Gaige chuckled.

  “I don’t want to know, Gaige.” Logan slid back his chair. He reached behind the bar, grabbing the half-full pot of coffee. “Refill?”

  “Thanks.” Claire held out her cup.

  “Not for me.” Gaige waited until Logan took his seat. “This is our bye week. It’s early December and for the second straight year, the Knights are making the playoffs.”

  “I know,” Logan nodded. “Five and eight with three to play. It’s rough.”

  “Brutal.” Gaige looked Logan in the eye. “Next year is going to be my last. I’m retiring.”

  “What?” Logan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Why? You’re still at the top of your game. Healthy. Young.”

  “Now you’re stretching it.”

  “Okay,” Logan conceded. “Youngish. You haven’t lost a step. Why walk away?

  “I’ll be thirty-eight years old next year.” Jesus, Gaige thought. Where had the years gone? “You say I haven’t lost a step. I know different. I don’t bounce back like I used to. My knees feel more like I’m pushing fifty, instead of forty.”

  Logan nodded. Knees were tricky. No one knew that better than he did.

  “What does all that have to do with me?”

  “I have one more chance to grab the brass ring.” Gaige leaned closer. “I plan on going out a winner, kid. And you’re going to help me.”

  “How am I supposed to do that?”

  “I need you with me next year.”

  Logan scoffed. “As what? Ball boy.”

  “Running back.”

  “You need your head examined.” Logan shot out of his chair.

  “Nice speed.”

  “Fuck you.” He started pacing. “There’s no way I’m going to humiliate myself again. The last time I tried to come back I was politely asked to leave after the first week. They’d laugh in my face if I even suggested giving me another chance.”

  “They,” Gaige smiled. “Are already onboard.”

  Logan stopped in his tracks.

  “Everyone?”

  “Yes.”

  “Management?”

  Gaige nodded.

  “Coach Coleman?”

  “We can go through the list,” Gaige said. “You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t want to give you another shot.”

  “Why?” Logan had a hard time wrapping his head around the entire idea.

  “You seem to forget, kid. Teams always invite wild cards to training camp. Early days are for looking at all the possibilities.”

  “Those possibilities rarely work out.”

  “I get that you’re scared.” Gaige patted the chair. When Logan was seated, he made his big pitch. “Here’s the reason the Knights are giving you another look. In the last two years, our running game has been nonexistent. I don’t have to tell you that. You’ve been following the team.”

  “What makes you say that?” Logan asked casually.

  He wasn’t ready to admit how he had kept up with the team. On his many sleepless nights, if he wasn’t out running, he scoured the internet for every scrap of information. He knew where the Knights needed help. He didn’t believe it would come from him.

  “You knew our record,” Gaige challenged.

  “I work in a bar.” Logan shrugged. “If a game isn’t on the TV, someone is talking about one.

  “So everything you know about the Knights you absorbed. Football by osmosis.”

  Claire gave a short laugh into her cup. Logan’s focus shifted to her.

  “If you aren’t with Gaige as his girlfriend, why are you here?”

  “I’m—”

  “We’ll get to that,” Gaige interrupted. He gave Claire a look Logan didn’t understand. Apparently Claire did. She simply shrugged and went back to sipping her coffee.

  “I have one question.” Gaige gave Logan one of his patented unwavering stares. During a game, that look said to the team trust me; I have your back – no matter what. It had never failed to send a jolt of confidence through Logan. Now was no exception.

  “Shoot.”

  “Are you happy with all this?” Gaige jerked his head toward the bar. “No shame if you are.”

  Logan hesitated. He wanted to jump at the chance Gaige dangled in front of him. It wasn’t simply about believing in his QB. It was about believing in himself. At one time, that was a no-brainer. Now? His faith was more than a little shaky.

  “It’s obvious you aren’t sleeping. The late-night runs.”

  “How do you know about that?” Logan demanded. The second he asked the question, the answer came to him.

  “Son of a bitch, Gaige. You’ve been talking to my father.”

  “He called me, Logan.” Gaige put a hand on Logan’s shoulder. “Don’t be angry. He’s worried about you.”

  “Then all of this?” Logan felt his frustration growing. “Pity, Gaige? My father guilted you into it?”

  “Hell, no.” Gaige a
lmost shouted the words. “There’s no room for sentimentality in pro football. I had already approached Coach Coleman before I spoke with your dad. He simply reinforced what I already suspected. You aren’t through with the game, Logan. It’s time to find out if the game is really through with you.”

  Logan scrubbed his hands over his face. For the first time in months, the beard bothered him. Itchy. Pulling on one section, he stretched it out to its full length. Rhonda was right. He was starting to resemble a mountain man.

  “Goddamn it, Gaige. I don’t know whether to hate you or…”

  “Finish that after you make the team.”

  Gaige slapped Logan on the back, his dark brown eyes brimming over with good humor. It was easy to be happy when you knew you’d won. It was a feeling he was used to. Gaige Benson was a winner. First in high school. Then college. As a pro, he had it all – except that elusive championship ring. He planned on going out on top. Pulling Logan up with him would make the win that much sweeter.

  “I appreciate your belief in me, Gaige.” Logan wished he still possessed half of the QB’s confidence. Hell, right now he’d settle for a few drops. “I still don’t understand why you think anything has changed. The leg isn’t as strong as it used to be. Case closed.”

  “That’s where Claire comes in.”

  Claire looked at Gaige, her eyebrows raised.

  “Oh,” she said, her blue eyes wide. “Is it my turn to speak?”

  “Keep the sass to a minimum,” Gaige warned.

  “Sass.” Claire slowly rolled the word off her tongue, weighing the meaning. “My daddy called it something else.”

  Using words not fit for mixed company. Certainly not fit for a thirteen-year-old girl. Then again, her father’s vocabulary hadn’t exactly been varied. He liked to stick to the four-letter adjectives whenever possible.

  “Claire?”

  “Right.” She nodded at Gaige before turning her attention to Logan. “I’m going to get that leg back to game shape.” Claire mentally crossed her fingers. “The rest will be up to you.”

  “Are you a witch or a miracle worker?” Logan scoffed. “I’ve been to the best orthopedic specialists money can buy. They told me it is what it is. Time to learn to live with it.”

  The fact that he even listened to Gaige’s idea spoke volumes about how well he was living with it.

  “There’s the difference.”

  “What’s the difference?”

  “Money can’t buy me.”

  “Yet,” Gaige added.

  “Exactly,” Claire grinned. She winked at Logan. “Take advantage of me now while my price is rock-bottom cheap.”

  “You’re going to help me out of the goodness of your heart?”

  “I love a healthy dose of cynicism.” Claire set her cup down. “Call it quid pro quo.” She winked at Gaige. “Latin. Bet there was a time you never thought to hear that come out of my mouth.”

  “True, but I had hope.” Gaige beamed. “Look at you now. Little Claire is all grown up.”

  “I’m sure there’s a fascinating story there.” Logan sighed with frustration. “For now, can we get back to how you plan to get me back to the NFL?”

  “It won’t be easy.” Claire was suddenly all business. “I’ve looked at your medical records.”

  “Aren’t those confidential?”

  Gaige shrugged. “I know a few people.”

  “What does it matter? No need to blush.” Claire asked. “Yours aren’t the first x-rays I’ve encountered. Trust me, I’ve seen it all.” She leaned closer. “No guarantees, Logan, but I think I can help.”

  “She’s…?” Logan looked at Gaige.

  “Arrogant. Cocky.”

  “Gee, thanks.” Claire batted her eyelashes.

  “If you’re asking for her qualifications?”

  “That would be nice,” Logan said.

  “She has a shiny new Master’s degree in sports science.”

  “With an emphasis on neurobiology and bioenergetics,” Claire added conversationally.

  Seeing the look of bewilderment on Logan’s face, Gaige laughed.

  “I have no idea what all that means either. Except,” he continued when Logan would have spoken. “Claire knows her way around an athlete.”

  “Taken out of context, I might find that insulting.”

  “Might?”

  Claire turned her head, giving Logan the once over.

  “I do like a man in uniform.”

  “Forget her fresh mouth, Logan.” Gaige sent Claire another warning look. “The point is, Claire knows her stuff.”

  “Who have you worked with?”

  “You’ll be it,” Claire said. “Hey, you should be honored. They say a girl never forgets her first.”

  “Really?” Logan focused on Gaige. He couldn’t decide if Claire was the most interesting woman he had ever met or the most exasperating.

  “You’ll never be bored,” Gaige assured him with a shrug.

  Boredom was increasingly his enemy. It ranked right up there with depression, mixed with a big dose of self-pity. He was sick of it all. Mostly, he was sick of himself. Gaige threw him a lifeline in Claire. She looked at him with her killer blue eyes waiting for his decision. She was smart with a quick wit and a smart mouth. Damn. That mouth might get them both in trouble.

  “You really know what you’re doing?”

  Claire put down her cup. Standing, she held out her hand. When Logan took it in his, she gave it a shake, her grip surprisingly strong.

  “I believe in myself, Logan. I’ve had to. If you put your faith in me, I won’t let you down.”

  Logan didn’t know how he felt about all of this. It was too new – too unexpected. Gaige believed in Claire. Logan believed in Gaige. For now, it was enough.

  “Tell me how this is going to work.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  LOGAN SHOULD HAVE known Gaige would have a plan in place. The man was a field general of the highest caliber. You didn’t last for so many years in the pressure cooker that was the NFL without coming to the game fully prepared and ready for battle.

  “You have two choices,” Gaige told him. “Announce to the world you’re trying for a comeback.”

  “Hell, no.”

  Gaige held up a hand. “Hear me out. If you make it public, you’ll garner a lot of sympathy. We might even get ESPN down here to do an hour-long profile.”

  “And when I fall flat on my face, the ending will be a few lines written over the screen about failed dreams or some kind of crap like that.”

  “If you fail. But I get what you’re saying.” Gaige sat back in his chair. “Choice number two. No press. No announcements. Fly under the radar until the last possible moment.”

  “I’ll move here for the next six months,” Claire jumped in. “As far as anyone will know, I’m an old girlfriend. We reconnected online. I decided to move in with you so we could pick up where we left off.”

  “Just like that.”

  “Are you implying that I couldn’t talk you into such an arrangement?”

  “I’m stating flat out that you’d be an idiot to want anything to do with me.” Logan shook his head in amazement. “Who is going to buy that a woman like you would drop everything to live here? With me?”

  “Is he saying I’m too good for him?” Claire asked Gaige.

  “That’s how it sounded.”

  “Well, then.” She grinned. “I won’t argue the point. We make it look good; why should anyone care?”

  “What constitutes good?” Logan was fascinated in spite of himself.

  “Hand holding. Brief kisses. Little touches.” Claire shrugged. “We don’t have to rip each other’s clothes off.”

  “You just have to look like you want to.” Gaige finished for her.

  “Exactly.”

  Logan let the idea sink in. He’d meant what he said. There was nothing in Denville for a woman like Claire. Not on a personal level. She was beautiful. Educated. Everything was in front of her. />
  Logan had one thin chance at the future he’d always dreamed of having.

  Looking at Claire’s vibrant face, he felt that stirring of attraction again. Now wasn’t the time for his libido to come out of hibernation. He would be better off if it stayed where it was for the next six months. Fail or succeed, he could worry about his sex life when all of this was settled.

  “Well? What will it be?” Claire placed her hand over his. “Am I your faux-girlfriend or not.”

  Claire’s touch sent a jolt through his body. Down, boy, Logan admonished his dick. Don’t blow it for us now.

  “We need a new place to live, sweetheart. My place would send you screaming all the way back to Seattle.”

  AS IT TURNED out, Claire didn’t scream. Compared to her childhood home, Logan’s one room over his father’s garage resembled a four-star hotel.

  It was clean. There were no odd smells that you were better off not identifying – not if she wanted to sleep nightmare-free. A bed with a new mattress? Hot running water?

  Logan didn’t know how good he had it. He should try sharing a bedroom the size of his average closet with his older sisters. Rather than cram herself into the middle, she slept on the floor more often than not.

  The year before Claire left home, her oldest sister ran away with the first guy who asked. It cleared half the bed. However, eleven months of relative comfort didn’t keep Claire from hopping on that Greyhound.

  “It’s not that bad.” She bounced a couple of times on the mattress. “Any particular reason you’re staying out here instead of in that big old house with your dad?”

  “Privacy?”

  “For all those women you aren’t bringing home at night?”

  “How did you —”

  “I didn’t,” Claire laughed. “It was a guess which you just confirmed.”

  Frowning, Logan watched as Claire circled the small room. She stopped to run a finger over the counter in the kitchenette. Seeming satisfied, she opened the two-burner oven.

  “Is this place clean because you never use it, or are you a Felix?”