by Desiree Holt
“So what now?”
“Well, buddy, I’d say a lot depends on you. Scott’s taking care of business, right?”
“Yes. He’s meeting with everyone in San Antonio this morning, and then he’s got another conference call scheduled with Fox Sports. After that it’s on to my endorsement contracts.”
“It’s a good thing he’s such a magic man. He’s got the touch to fix this. Any other agent might not.”
“I know. I’m lucky to have him.” He sat up, rubbing his temples. “But none of this means shit if I can’t fix it up with Shay.”
“Answer this for me. Do you love her? I mean, are you thinking forever?”
“You bet.” He answered without hesitation. “No question of it.”
“Then the first thing we have to do is hook up with Scott. I’ll bet he’s already got a game plan in play. We need to be part of it.”
“I’ll call him right now.” Joe grabbed his cell from the bedside table. “Hank, I swear, I’ll do whatever it takes to be with Shay.”
“I’m taking you at your word. But if you screw up again, there won’t be a place anywhere you can hide.”
“So noted.”
He speed dialed Scott’s number.
Chapter 13
Shay didn’t remember the last time she’d spent a more miserable day. Dumping the pity party hadn’t left her with much else to do. She was so angry she couldn’t concentrate on anything. She tried working at her computer, but her brain was on vacation. She pulled on shorts and a T-shirt and went for a jog, but jogging made her think of Joe and his habit. That made her remember the feel of his hands on her body, the touch of his lips to hers, the way he told her he loved her. And she’d broken her own rule and said it back to him. What an idiot she’d been.
“You’re pathetic,” she said to her reflection in the mirror. “Stupid and pathetic.”
Jilly Mackenzie called about noon to check on her. Despite the fact Shay said she was okay, she showed up thirty minutes later with three flavors of ice cream.
“Getting mad is a good thing but nothing cures a disaster like ice cream.” She held out the containers. “Either it makes the pain go away or you get so full you don’t care. Come on. Let’s dig in.”
Shay was grateful for Jilly’s presence. She was amazed this woman she hadn’t seen in years, not until they recently reconnected, was there for her without reservation.
“Once a Coyote, always a Coyote,” Jilly joked when Shay said something. “Come on, have more ice cream.”
But nothing seemed to take the edge off, not even cursing Joe and calling herself a fool.
“I thought I was smarter than that,” she said at least a dozen times. “Ha-ha on me.”
Jilly just murmured soothing words and kept plying her with ice cream.
Hank called several times to check on her, but when she questioned him about Joe he said, “Later.”
“No, not later. Tell me now. Right now, Hank. I deserve to know.”
She heard his sigh all the way through the connection. “I would if I could. If it was up to me, that is. But stuff’s going on and I promised to wait.”
“Promised who?” she snapped. “I should be your first priority.”
“You are,” he assured you, “but I have to wait for…stuff.”
“Stuff?” She was so angry she saw purple dots in front of her eyes. “What the hell does that mean?” she finally asked.
“It means I’m sitting on Joe to give Scott time to take a big broom to this mess. Please, please, please don’t ask me more right now. And Shay?”
“What?”
“Don’t write him off yet, okay?”
She gripped her cell so tightly it made ridges in her palm. “How can you even ask that of me? I hate him for doing this to me.”
“No, you don’t. Listen to me. Have I ever steered you wrong? I mean, when it counted?”
“No, but this is different.” Why couldn’t he see that? He wasn’t that dense.
“We’ll see. I’ll check in again in a little bit.”
He called back late in the afternoon and told her he was on his way home and bringing Joe with him.
“No. I don’t want him here. Don’t do this to me, Hank.”
“I promise you I know what I’m doing, kiddo. Don’t give me a hard time here.”
“Give you a hard time? Are you kidding me?”
It didn’t matter how much she raged at him, though, and called him a traitor. He refused to change his mind.
“I’m asking you to do me a favor here.” His voice was so calm she wanted to reach through the phone and smack him. “You’re my sister and I love you. I know how badly you’re hurting but trust your big brother just this once, okay?”
“Damn it, Hank.” She wanted to stamp her foot. She was the injured party here. Why did she have to make concessions? “I guess I have no choice. But someone better have answers for me and damn soon.”
Jilly lifted an eyebrow. “Hank giving you a hard time?”
“Yes, damn him.” She chewed her bottom lip. “He knows how upset I am. Why is he doing this to me?”
“If you trust your big brother, then you have to believe he knows what he’s doing and has your best interests at heart.”
Shay snorted. “Do you have to be such a voice of reason? I thought you were on my side.”
“I am.” Jilly smiled. “That’s why I’m telling you to trust Hank to take care of you.”
When they finally heard Hank’s car in the driveway, Jilly rose from the couch and picked up her purse.
“Getting out of the war zone?” Shay asked.
Jilly grinned and she gave her a hug. She opened the door and nodded at the two men standing there on her way out.
Shay glared at her brother and Joe, not sure who she was angrier with at the moment.
“I told you I don’t want him here. Get him out of my sight.”
“Go pull yourself together,” Hank whispered to her. “Take a shower and get out of that jogging outfit. You’re sweaty.”
“Thanks for the compliment, but I’m good enough for Reilly.”
Joe stood in the little open foyer, looking as if he expected to be shot any minute. Too bad she didn’t have the equipment to do it, although she could think of far more painful things she’d like to do to him. She noticed he’d cleaned himself up and changed his clothes. His nose looked a lot better than it had the last time she’d seen him but she didn’t know if that made her happy or not. She wanted him to be in as much pain as she was.
She was so angry with him she had to restrain herself from leaping at him and pounding her fists on his chest. She wanted to smack him and ask him if he had any idea how he’d made her feel and the wreckage left in the wake of his actions.
Hank took her arm and pulled her toward the hallway.
“Scott Manchin’s on his way over. Dress for him. Besides”—he grinned—“don’t you want to give Joe a last look at what he’s missing?”
For the first time all day, she actually smiled. “Of course.”
When she walked back into the living room, ready to do battle, Hank handed her a cup of her favorite herbal tea.
“No caffeine for you today,” he teased.
“Things must be pretty bad if you’re tending to me like this.”
He just grinned, even though she didn’t see anything the least bit humorous about the situation.
Joe had moved away from the front door and now stood looking out the living room window, hands in his pockets, tension visible in every line of his body. He tried twice to talk to her, but she ignored him.
“Hank, what are we doing?” She had a full head of steam by now. “How long before Scott gets here and what’s he got? Some kind of magic pill? If there’s an explanation for all this, I want to hear it.”
“I told you. Soon.” Hank winked at her. “Trust your big brother.”
She sneered at him. “I did and look how that turned out. You left me alone in the
house with an asshole.”
“I’ll tell you again. Scott has answers for us. At least that’s what he assured me.”
“Somebody better have them.”
Shay sat gingerly on one end of the sofa in the living room, Hank on the other end. Scott arrived shortly but he ducked her questions and spent ten minutes pacing and talking on his cell phone. The atmosphere was so thick with tension Shay was sure even a knife might not cut through it. Joe was like a statue in front of the window, staring into space except when he threw pleading glances her way.
She turned to Hank. “So? When is this supposed to happen, whatever it is we’re waiting for? I’m running out of what little patience I have.”
“We’re almost there,” he promised. “Scott will let us know as soon as he gets off the phone.”
Manchin finally finished his call and stood in the middle of the room, looking from one to the other, his gaze finally resting on Joe.
“Reilly, I have to say, you’ve been more of a pain in the ass than all the rest of my clients rolled into one. It’s a good thing you make a lot of money for me, or I never would have done this. And just so you know.” He looked at each of them in turn. “I called in a damn lot of favors to pull this off. You, Joseph Andrew Reilly, will owe me for the rest of your life.”
“Okay.” Shay couldn’t keep silent any longer. “I want to know right this minute what we’re waiting for. Because if it’s not some damn miracle I want Reilly out of my house now. And out of my life.”
“Shay,” he began.
“Don’t ‘Shay’ me,” she spat.
“Stuff it,” Hank told her. “And I mean it.”
She glared at him and opened her mouth to say something else, but Scott jumped in.
“Calm down, kids.” He looked at his watch. “It’s just about time. Hank, where’s the remote?”
“We’re going to watch television?” Shay squeaked. “Are you for real?”
Scott ignored her, took the remote from Hank, and turned on the set, flipping through the guide. Finally he stopped on the local Fox channel where the five-o’clock news was on.
“We’re watching the news?” Joe glared at him. “This is your big surprise?”
Scott gave a huge sigh. “Considering the big fucking mess you created, you ought to do anything I tell you to. Now sit down and shut up.”
When the segment of the news that was on ended, a teaser came up for sports.
“And tonight,” the reporter was saying, “we have an interesting piece for you, brought to you live from our studios here in San Antonio. Stay tuned.”
They waited impatiently as a series of commercials rolled out. Then the reporter was back.
“We have something a little different for you tonight. Every one of you know Joe Reilly, star of the Granite Falls championship football team. College All-Star. NFL standout. And now Fox sportscaster. But none of you know the side he keeps hidden, a side leaving him open to vicious attacks by a number of people. A video circulating on YouTube created a false impression of Joe. Now Fox 29 is happy to bring you this exclusive interview we expect will clue you in to the real truth. And we hope those people who were willing and anxious to push the video out there and smear a great guy are watching.”
The camera shifted, and Joe jumped to his feet.
“What the fuck?”
“Sit down.” Scott literally shoved him back onto the couch.
Shay stared at the woman on the screen. She was beautiful, although at the moment her beauty looked a little worn, despite the studio makeup. It was obvious she was nervous.
“Pay careful attention,” Hank whispered to Shay and took her hand.
“My name is Gina Rivera, and I’ve known Joe Reilly since we were both students at Granite Falls High School. We were friends. Good friends for a while, but then we drifted apart.”
“If this woman’s going to tell the world she and Joe have found each other again, I’m going to shoot both of you.” Shay ground out the words between clenched teeth.
“Quiet,” Scott ordered, “or you’ll miss the best part.”
Gina went on to describe her battle with alcoholism. How she’d reached out to Joe a few years ago because she had no one else to ask for help. How since then he’d helped her despite the numerous times she’d fallen off the wagon.
“I don’t know why he kept helping me,” she went on, “but I’m extremely grateful he did. I was the one who abused the privilege. The ridiculous video that’s been flooding the Internet? It was taken last night. My friend Lisa called Joe because I’d had a little setback, fallen way off the wagon, and she needed help to get me home. She called him and he came right away. The scene that you saw? All my fault. Every bit of it.”
She paused, seemed to gather herself before she continued.
“Everything you saw was accidental. People in the bar got involved and the situation went from bad to worse, through no fault of Joe’s. All he was trying to do was help me. It was my drunken actions that precipitated the bar brawl that caused all the damage. I take full responsibility. Joe Reilly took a lot of abuse trying to get me out of there. He just wanted to get me home safe and sound, and I was so far gone I nearly made it impossible for him.”
She paused and let out a slow breath. “I can’t believe so many people would think badly of a man who has done nothing wrong. Who supports scholarship charities. Who holds conferences for coaches, where he conducts workshops on developing a positive coaching culture. Who has made himself an example for other athletes to follow.”
She paused again, then looked directly into the camera.
“I understand he’s fallen in love with a wonderful woman. I’m sorry the video made her question everything she feels for him. If you’re watching this, please understand what a distortion it was and what a real and honest guy Joe Reilly is. How much he loves you. He’s definitely one of the good guys. He would never cheat on you or betray you in any way. I hope one day, when I get my act together, I’m fortunate enough to have a man like him love me the way he loves you.
“To everyone else out there watching? Give Joe your support. He’s one of the world’s truly good guys. You’re lucky to have him in your lives.”
She paused again, swallowed, obviously pulling herself together.
“After this broadcast I’m leaving for a residential rehab facility. This time I’m determined to get completely clean. Without leaning on Joe or anyone else. Thank you, Joe Reilly, for everything you’ve done. I’m truly sorry for the problems I’ve caused you.”
The studio cut back to the reporter, but Scott muted the sound. No one spoke for a long moment. Shay was shaking so badly she had to clench her hands together to steady herself. Everything she’d ever thought about Joe Reilly was jumbled in her head, but one thing stood out. He wasn’t involved with another woman. He hadn’t gotten drunk. He’d been doing something nice and been crucified for it because some idiot thought he was being funny and cute and hip. This woman she didn’t even know had more guts than she did, going on television to bare herself to the world to help Joe.
She’d been just as bad as everyone else, jumping to conclusions and not giving him the chance to explain. Blinded by anger and nursing her pain, she’d let the past override the present, something she’d have to fix. She wanted to still be angry with him, to find someplace to put all the rage that had built up over the past hours since she first saw the video. But she looked at Joe and there was no way he could fake the misery on his face and in his posture. Truthfully, if she cut him out of her life she’d be punishing herself as well.
But trust? He’d have to earn that back, not for what he’d done but for what he hadn’t done—trusting her. She’d make sure he knew that.
“This went live on Fox Sports at the same time,” Scott told them. “Also I arranged for the other sports channels to pick it up. By tonight it will outplay the other video on YouTube by numbers higher than you can count.”
“Jesus, Scott.” Joe soun
ded awed. “How the hell did you pull that off?”
“I told you, I’m the magic man.”
“Wait a minute.” Joe frowned. “How did you convince Gina to do what she did? And what’s it going to do to her life? I mean, exposing her like that?”
“Her life’s going to be just fine, jackass. She’s going into that rehab facility and when she’s clean she’ll come out with a sponsor, a place to live, and a job if she stays clean.”
“You did that,” Hank guessed.
“Better me than Joe.” One corner of his mouth kicked up in a grin. “Although it is Joe’s money paying for it.”
“What about the fundraiser?” Joe asked. “And the Coaches Conference? And my job?”
“I told you I’m magic. You spend a few minutes with your lady here. Then I’m taking both of you to meet with Marge Faraday. I did a lot of fast-talking there and I think Shay will help smooth out the rest of the wrinkles.”
“And my job?”
Scott barked a laugh. “Still intact, but no more secrets.”
Joe nodded his agreement. “No more secrets.”
Hank leaned over to whisper in Shay’s ear. “I think you should take Joe out to the deck for a private conversation. The guy looks more miserable than I’ve ever seen him.”
Shay pulled herself together and nodded. When she stood up, she held out her hand to Joe and forced a smile. “I think you got some ’splainin’ to do, Lucy.”
“I’ll tell you anything you want to know. But not until I do this.” Before she realized what was happening he took her hand and pulled her tight against him. His mouth came down on hers in a kiss that scorched through to the soles of her feet. His tongue swept in, teased and danced, licked her soft flesh. It stole her breath and ratcheted up her heartbeat. She knew Hank and Scott were watching and she just didn’t care.
Only Hank’s wolf whistle interrupted them.
Joe cupped her face and smiled. “Now we can talk.”
* * * *
“So that’s all of it.” Joe rubbed his jaw. “Everything. I was just trying to help someone.”
They were out on the deck, Shay sitting on one of the chairs and Joe pacing as he talked.