Payoff Pitch (Philadelphia Patriots)

by V. K. Sykes

  Not on a dog walker’s income, sunshine. A lawyer’s, though? Maybe.

  By the time Teddy stepped through the back door onto a large, flagstone patio, Noah had already let Toby loose and the big dog had taken off like a shot toward the rear of the yard. When Noah nodded, Teddy unclipped the leash from Sadie’s collar, leaving her free to bolt after her brother.

  “The installers just finished the fence yesterday,” Noah said, keeping his eyes on the back lot line where Toby raced the length of the fence.

  Though the patio floodlights penetrated deep into the yard, Teddy could barely make out more than shadows as the dogs raced around. Something—probably a squirrel—skipped along the top of the fence, clearly driving Toby insane. When they reached the corner almost simultaneously, the dog lunged at the squirrel but came up short and slammed into the fence with a loud thump.

  Noah chuckled. “Okay, now we know he hates squirrels.”

  When Toby righted himself, Sadie started to run in the opposite direction, daring Toby to chase her. The big dog complied and the two of them raced along the perimeter at full speed, only slowing a little when they had to dodge an evergreen or a maple that was inconveniently in their path.

  “The fence must have cost you a small fortune,” Teddy said. Unlike the Bennetts, he’d enclosed the whole back yard instead of just a tiny area. “Are you going to put in a dog door, too?”

  He moved closer, turning to face her directly. “The fence was expensive, but necessary. I need Cristina to be able to just let them out when I’m not here, because I doubt she’d ever agree to walk them for exercise. You saw how she reacted in there.”

  Teddy nodded. She couldn’t even imagine Cristina trying to rein in Toby enough to walk him.

  “And no, I’m not going to put in a dog door. I don’t think it’s smart to leave dogs unsupervised in the yard for any length of time. Maybe some dogs, but not these two. Not yet, anyway.”

  “I’m with you on that,” Teddy agreed. “I told the Bennetts the same thing, but it was a waste of breath.”

  Sadie made an incredibly sharp turn at full speed, almost pivoting, and Toby flipped over and rolled as he tried to match it. Noah laughed as the bigger dog bounced to his feet and shook himself off with a look that seemed to say: what the hell just happened?

  Teddy had to admit it was pretty funny, though for a second her heart had been in her throat, worried the big dog might have hurt himself.

  Noah’s expression went from amused to serious in a heartbeat as he locked his gaze on her again. “I need to ask you something, Teddy, and I guess I should have said something before this.”

  Putting a hand at the small of her back to get her to go with him, he started to stroll down a brick walkway that looped around the swimming pool and meandered through the professional looking landscaping. Teddy followed his lead, completely at a loss as to what he was about to say to her. Whatever was on his mind, it looked serious.

  “I had some hopes that Cristina would come around to the idea of doing some minimal work with the dogs when I’m away.” Noah blew out a frustrated breath. “But you saw for yourself how uptight she is around them. So, I’m not sure I could fully trust her even if she agreed to look after them when I’m on the road this weekend.”

  Ah, so that’s what’s weighing on him. Talk about an easily fixable problem.

  “What do you need from me, Noah?” Whatever it was, she’d be there for him. Not just because she wanted to cater to a wealthy client, but because he obviously needed her. “Just let me know what’s required and I’ll deal with it.”

  They’d moved farther from the patio lights, but Teddy had no trouble making out the grateful smile on Noah’s face. “I know it’s a lot to ask, and you’ve probably got other commitments, but if you could find a way to stay here at the house for the three days I’ll be gone, it would mean a lot to me.”

  Teddy frowned. She’d been thinking he was going to ask her to make a couple of more visits a day instead of her normal one or two, so camping out at this house and dealing with the frigid Cristina had never crossed her mind. “Noah, are you sure you need twenty-four hour service? If I drop in several times each day to feed and walk the dogs and pick up after them, Cristina shouldn’t have to do anything with them. Nothing at all unless there was an emergency, and she’d have my cell number in that case—and the emergency vet’s, too.”

  Noah’s jaw took on a slightly stubborn set. “You’re right in theory, but I’d be a hell of a lot more comfortable if you were staying here.” He stood close, looking down as he towered over her, blocking most of the light. “First, I don’t think Cristina can deal with them on any level, much less in an emergency, and she sure as hell doesn’t want to. Second, I don’t want the only attention Toby and Sadie get to be the few times you drop in during the day. Not when they’re trying to adjust to a new home and to missing Aunt Roz.”

  That made sense. “Okay, I get that,” she said softly as the dogs, apparently getting tired from their exertions, wandered over to them, tongues hanging out.

  “Now for the selfish part,” he said. “This is going to be a big road trip for me, Teddy. On Sunday, I’ll be taking the mound in a major league game for the first time in almost a year.”

  “You must be feeling a lot of pressure,” Teddy said sympathetically. Duh.

  “You’d think I’d be used to it by now, wouldn’t you?” Noah gave her a wry smile. “But I feel almost like I’m back at my first spring training camp, a rookie with everything to prove. I can’t afford to screw up or God knows what it might do to my head. Confidence is absolutely everything in this game.”

  She understood. “So, you need to be able to focus one hundred percent on the game.”

  Noah gently laid his hand on her shoulder. “You got it. Obviously, I’m still going to be thinking about what’s going on back here, but I don’t want to have to worry about it. Not for one second. And if you were here with Toby and Sadie, I know I could rest easy.”

  “That’s not being selfish,” Teddy said, “that’s being smart.”

  “So, you’ll do it?” He couldn’t have looked more pleased.

  “Of course. I’ll be happy to, but it’s going to cost you some serious money,” she said with a soft laugh. She would have to rearrange her schedule and have Emma pick up the slack, but it would be worth it.

  Noah exhaled a relieved breath. “You can write your own check. And when I get back from Atlanta, I’ll take you out to dinner at whatever restaurant you pick.”

  Uh, oh.

  Whether it was the sensation of Noah’s hand on her shoulder, or simply the thought of spending three days in his house and then dealing with something that sounded precariously close to a date, the intensity of the situation suddenly felt overwhelming. Teddy pivoted away from him, kneeling to give the dogs some attention. “Did you guys wear yourself out?” she said in her doggy voice. “Why don’t we get you a nice drink of water?” She rose to her feet and started toward the house.

  Noah gently grasped her arm at the elbow—her uninjured elbow—halting her. “Teddy, there’s one more thing,” he said in that low, deep voice that made her want to crawl all over him.

  Girl, you are in so much trouble.

  Teddy forced herself to look up into his eyes with what she hoped was a polite, professional smile.

  “I need to apologize,” he said.

  That was about the last thing she’d expected to hear. “Apologize? What for?”

  “For what I said to you at the airport, and for some of the other things I said before that, too. I’ve been out of line, and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be saying stuff like that to someone I’m hiring to work for me.” Noah shrugged, looking a little awkward for the first time since she met him. “You obviously have an effect on me, Teddy, but I’m not going to let it get in the way of our working relationship.”

  Holy crap, you’re not?

  Her heart thudding against the walls of her chest, Teddy was momentarily
lost for words. She appreciated that he recognized that something happening between them would be problematic, and a big part of her felt relieved. But at the same time she couldn’t ignore the sharp sting of disappointment that lanced through her.

  Busted, Teddy. Better say something fast.

  She wasn’t about to pretend that she hadn’t noticed or been affected by those things he’d said. Coyness wasn’t in her nature, and Noah deserved some indication of how she felt about the situation. The trouble was, how she felt was in direct conflict with what she should be feeling.

  “Well, that’s the smart move, right?” she managed to force out through tight vocal chords.

  Noah’s dark brows narrowed into a slight frown. “Yeah,” he said, but his tone made it sound as if she’d disappointed him somehow.

  Before she could come up with a response, he called the dogs and headed back to the house.

  - 7 -

  His arms folded behind his head and his back pressed firm to the hotel room’s carpeted floor, Noah grimly worked his way through a series of lower body stretches. Once he’d completed his full set and felt warm and loose, he’d head out onto the Atlanta streets—nearly deserted on Sunday morning—for a short run before grabbing some brunch. He was making sure to warm up even more carefully than usual because every joint and tendon in his body felt drum-tight. He carried enough tension in his neck and shoulders to suspend a railroad bridge.

  Pre-game jitters went with the territory for ballplayers, especially starting pitchers, but the state of his nerves went way beyond jitters. Tonight he’d pitch in a game televised nationally by TBS, and he hadn’t been this wired since he could remember.

  At least everything seemed to be going well back home in Philly. Teddy had told him the dogs were behaving perfectly, which he expected was an exaggeration if not an outright lie. Still, all that mattered to him at the moment was that he didn’t have to worry. He’d expected Teddy to have the situation under full control, and from the tone of their phone conversations, it was clear she did.

  It was funny how he looked forward to calling her every day. He briefly talked to Cristina, too, but he couldn’t deny that he got a lift whenever he heard Teddy’s voice come on—a voice that always seemed to hold a hint of both laughter and warmth and pulled at him deep in his gut. Noah wasn’t in the habit of missing people, but damn, he was missing her. And how weird was that, especially since he barely knew the woman?

  Stop focusing on your cute dog walker chick and keep your damn mind on what you’ll be facing tonight.

  Noah knew that if he didn’t bring his “A” game against the Braves and had anything less than perfect concentration, he and the Patriots were going to be in for a world of hurt against the powerhouse Atlanta lineup.

  When his cell phone rang, he hoisted himself up and grabbed his phone, checking the call display. Levi.

  His brother had always been the type of guy to ignore the clock. If the spirit moved him to dial Noah’s number at three in the morning, he didn’t hesitate. Ten o’clock on a Sunday seemed early for Levi though.

  “So, are you up early this morning or up late from last night?” Noah said sarcastically, settling back down on the carpet.

  Drunken all-nighters weren’t strangers to Levi Cade. Or to their father, at least not in Adam Cade’s younger, oil field days.

  “Very funny, bro,” Levi said in his slightly sharp-sounding voice. “Is that the way to greet your favorite brother?”

  “My only brother,” Noah shot back. Half-brother, actually, but he and Levi had never thought of each other as anything less than full sibs.

  “Dad says hello, too.”

  But can’t bother to pick up the phone. “Sure.”

  “I have to tell you he wasn’t real happy that you didn’t stop by when you went to Midland,” his brother said. “Hell, I still can’t believe you agreed to take those two crazy fucker dogs from Aunt Roz.”

  Noah ignored the shot about Toby and Sadie. Levi had never liked dogs, and neither he nor their father made much effort to stay in touch with Roz. Though she wasn’t a blood relation to Levi, she’d always invited both Noah and him to visit her in Midland during their school breaks.

  “I didn’t have a lot of time, man. It’s the middle of the season, you know.”

  Levi sighed. “Yeah, but still.”

  “Still, my ass,” Noah ground out. “He just wanted yet another chance to rag on me about how it’s time to retire and join the company. As if I need reminding that my career’s gone south.”

  “Give the guy a break. He’s just worried about you. You were looking at a year of rough rehab, with absolutely zero certainty that you could still pitch at the top level. Am I right?”

  “Yeah, but so what?”

  “So, why wouldn’t Dad want you to think hard about taking your place in the company? You know he’s always wanted you to succeed him as CEO. We’ve both known that forever.”

  There was no trace of envy or anger in Levi’s voice. Noah’s brother had accepted his rightful place—at least rightful according to the man who pulled all the strings, Adam Cade—in the succession plan of Baron Energy. Levi had never particularly cared who held the biggest job title, not as long as money, and lots of it, kept flowing into his personal bank account. Unlike his father, Levi did not live to work.

  Frustrated, Noah sighed. “Levi, you didn’t call to talk about the company.”

  His brother chuckled. “No, actually, I was calling to tell you that Dad and I are going to head to Philly after he gets back from Canada at the end of next week. We’re definitely going to try to catch a game while we’re there, so we’ll need to know which night you’re scheduled to pitch.”

  Noah scowled at the thought spending much time with his dad. Maybe he could manage to just get the two of them tickets but avoid any actual contact. Though he always liked seeing his little brother, he had zero desire to hear another plea—or worse yet, a lecture—from his uber-controlling, hard-ass father.

  He counted out the five-game blocks and told his brother the day he’d be on tap to pitch that week. “If there’s any change, I’ll let you know, but I’ll go ahead and arrange the usual tickets for you guys.”

  “Thanks. Maybe we can have breakfast the next morning. We’ll probably fly in Thursday night and spend the day up in northern Pennsylvania. We’ve had some issues with one of the wells in Bradford County, and Dad wants to be on the ground to see it for himself.”

  Mr. Hands-On, as usual, Noah reflected. Adam Cade trusted very few people in the world. Maybe nobody, in fact.

  “Man, I’m wiped the morning after I pitch. You know that.” And even if I wasn’t, I doubt I could stomach breakfast with Dad.

  “Lunch, then. A late lunch. We can fly back any time.” Levi chuckled. “God, it’s nice to have a Gulfstream. Sure beats those shit cans you guys fly around in, man.”

  Noah repressed a spurt of irritation at his brother’s snobby remark. “Maybe a quick lunch. Call me closer to the day, okay?”

  “You got it.” Levi sounded pleased. “And you go out there tonight and kick some Brave ass, bro. I mean I want to see some scalps.”

  Noah loved his brother, but Levi could be such a clueless dork. “Gotta get moving, man. Talk to you soon.” He hung up.

  Lacing up his running shoes, Noah thought for the hundredth time about how he dreaded that his baseball career would someday—maybe even someday soon—come to an end. There were a lot worse things to do with your life than to work in the family business, especially one that pulled in as much money as theirs. But no matter how hard he’d tried over the years, Noah still could not see himself stepping into his father’s very large and unique shoes to run a successful oil and gas company.

  In fact, every time he pictured himself back in Texas, wearing a suit and parked behind some desk in a big office with his dad just down the hall, Noah’s heart plummeted toward the floor.

  * * *

  Her backpack dangling from one shoulde
r, Teddy hurried out of Temple University’s library on her way to the parking garage one block over. She hadn’t been thrilled to leave Noah’s house even for an hour, because Cristina had made it plain that she wouldn’t lift a manicured finger to take care of the dogs—especially not since Noah was paying Teddy what the housekeeper snidely called a fortune to be on duty all weekend. But she really needed a couple of library books to get working on a paper for her summer course. So, having fed, watered and exercised Toby and Sadie right before she left, she’d ventured out of her very profitable prison. She’d left the dogs snoozing butt-to-butt on the sofa in the great room, recharging their batteries after a pair of two-mile walks earlier in the day.

  About to cross 12th Street, a voice called out from behind her. “Teddy?”

  Teddy stopped and turned around. Rachel Stern, her summer classmate and fellow member of the campus Local Environment Action Project, lounged against the bus shelter. She was smoking a cigarette down to the filter.

  “Hey, Rachel. Were you studying in the library?”

  Rachel was about Teddy’s age and, like her, a part-time student at Temple. Also like Teddy, she had to work full-time while grabbing classes here and there—in her case at her uncle’s delicatessen on 5th Street, not that far from Temple. While Teddy didn’t really know the dark-haired, intense young woman all that well yet, they seemed to have quite a lot in common.

  Rachel threw down the glowing cigarette, stepped on it, then picked the dead butt off the sidewalk and put it in the pocket of her red, half-zip hoodie. Littering clearly wasn’t on the ardent Ms. Stern’s radar—another thing Teddy liked about her, despite her lousy smoking habit.

  “Yeah, I thought maybe I’d get hit on for coffee by some smart guy with a future,” Rachel said sarcastically. Then she gave a little snort. “That’s kind of pathetic, huh?” Layered onto a piercing wit, Rachel’s intense demeanor made her anything but a guy magnet despite her rather attractive looks.

  “Well, I know I’m the wrong sex, but how about coffee with a dog walker instead?” Teddy said.