by L. P. Dover
“I see,” she murmured sadly. “Yeah, the woman seriously needs some help. All right, it looks like the journalist’s name is Kevin Layton. He had to have gotten a serious amount of money to be able to write this story.”
“Do you know who he is?” I asked.
She groaned. “Yeah, and he’s a real piece of work. Don’t worry, though … the guy loves me. I’m sure I can get some information from him. What exactly are you looking for?”
“Shelby, some of the things in this story are only things that certain people in my life know. I need to know how this Kevin Layton got it. There’s no way Scott’s mother could have gotten that information on her own. I spent a lot of money to keep that shit quiet.”
“All right, I think I have enough to go on. I’m sorry you and Kate have to go through this. Trust me, I had my own version of this going on a few months ago. It wasn’t fun, and it nearly destroyed me. If this woman is coming after you two because her son is dead then what makes you think she’s going to stop now? What’s her goal? If she wants you two apart and this didn’t work, don’t you think she’s going to come back?”
“Fuck,” I hissed. “You’re right. She’s not going to give up when she sees us together.”
“The question is … what are you going to do about it? Is this girl worth your career?”
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and hung my head. “She’s worth way more than that, Shelby. I honestly don’t know what I would do without her. I can’t let this psycho bitch tear us apart.”
“Then you have your answer, Cooper. No matter what you do, you always need to fight for those you love. I learned that lesson the hard way. Anyway, I’ll call Kevin tomorrow and get the information you need. Just be careful, okay. I know from personal experience what desperate people are capable of.”
“Thank you,” I said to her before saying my good-bye and hanging up the phone.
Desperate people might be capable of anything, but I wasn’t afraid of Marianne Easton. She could go to the press with her nonsense and I wouldn’t give a shit. I refused to see Kate hurt anymore, and if Marianne Easton thought she got rid of me she had another thing coming.
If Kate still wanted to fight I would give up everything to stand by her side. The only problem now was facing her and finding out her answer.
My brother had called about thirty minutes ago, saying he wanted me and Cooper to meet him, Brianna, and Derek in the lobby so we could leave for the airport. When neither Cooper nor I showed up, my brother came to our suite looking for us just like I knew he would.
“What’s going on?” he snapped, glaring at me as he walked in. “We have a flight to catch and I’m beyond ready to get the hell out of here.”
“Cooper’s not back yet. I don’t want to leave without him.”
Evan’s eyes went wide. “Where did he go?”
The magazine was on the table so I grabbed it and shoved it into his hands. “Take a look.”
I watched as he read it, waiting on him to say something. When he didn’t, I threw my hands up in the air, exasperated. “Well, aren’t you going to say something?”
Throwing the paper on the table, he shrugged his shoulders. “What do you want me to say? It’s a stupid tabloid magazine. The stuff about you is a joke, and anyone at home who knows you will know that it’s bullshit. I know it sucks to see it, but when you decide to date someone as high profile as Cooper you had to know it was a possibility to be in the crossfire. Do you think Scott’s mother is the one who’s responsible?”
I rolled my eyes. “Who else wants to make my life miserable? If she’s trying to break me and Cooper up, she might’ve succeeded. Once he saw the article he left and hasn’t been back. I don’t know where he is and he’s not answering his phone.”
Evan pursed his lips. “I’m sure he’ll be fine, Kate.” He paused for a second, furrowing his brows and opened his mouth to speak, but then shut it before doing it again. “Is he really the coach’s nephew?” he asked curiously.
Glaring down at the paper, I put my hands on my hips and blew out a frustrated breath. “Yeah, he is. He didn’t want that information to get out, but somehow Marianne found out and told the people at TSR. I have no clue how.”
Evan squeezed my shoulder again before letting go. “Whatever the reason was for him not wanting people to know isn’t going to matter. A lot of people aren’t going to believe it, and most people aren’t going to even care. No one’s going to believe that shit.”
“I think you’re missing the point, Evan. It doesn’t matter if people believe it or not, Marianne is going to keep trying to mess with me any chance she gets. I don’t know if I’ll ever escape from her.”
“You don’t think she’ll ever get tired?” he asked.
“I don’t know, but it’s too exhausting to even think about it.”
Turning my gaze toward the glass door that led to the private deck, I watched as the hammock Cooper and I slept on swayed back and forth in the wind. I wished with all of my heart that I could go back in time to last night when everything was perfect and I thought things were finally going to be different. I guess it was all wishful thinking.
From behind, I could hear Evan carrying my bags to the door and setting them down. When I peered over my shoulder, he stood in the doorway with his arms crossed.
“It’s time to go, Kate,” he commanded.
I’d hoped Cooper would come back in time before we had to leave for the airport, but he still hadn’t. I wasn’t even sure if he knew what time our flight departed.
“What about Cooper?” I asked frantically. “I don’t want to leave him. He’s not back yet, and I don’t want to take his suitcase if he needs it.” It was actually my excuse so that I could stay and wait on him.
“Kate, I’m sorry but I’m not leaving you here. You’re coming with me, and if Cooper is smart enough he’ll meet us there. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve grown to like the guy, but he’s a big boy. He doesn’t need you taking care of him. Now come on before we miss our flight.”
“Fine,” I snapped, grabbing my phone from my back pocket. “If he doesn’t answer this time then I’ll leave with you, okay?”
Evan nodded and waited on me to call, but it went straight to voicemail. You have got to be kidding me! I wanted to scream. Clenching my teeth tight, I slid it back into my pocket and walked silently out the door along with Evan. I was going home … alone.
Before we took off, Evan and Brianna traded seats so that I could have her to talk to. She and Derek seemed awfully cozy when I met them in the lobby this morning; it might’ve been because she had on one of his jersey T-shirts and snuggled up to him on the leather couch. At least they were happy.
We had only been on the plane for two hours, and I grew angrier with each second that passed. How could Cooper just leave me like that after everything we’ve been through? I had no clue if he was okay, or if he really just wanted to get away from me since I was the cause of his problems. All I wanted was for him to talk to me, even if it was just to end things with me.
“Where do you think he is?” Brianna asked softly.
Sighing, I uncrossed my arms and shrugged my shoulders. When I looked down at my skin, I had crescent shaped indentions from where I’d dug my nails into my forearms. “I’m not sure. I guess back in Arizona. I don’t understand why he wouldn’t answer my calls.”
“Maybe he was on the phone,” she suggested. “I’m sure he had some people he needed to call. I wouldn’t worry about it, Kate. You’re probably getting all angry for nothing. This is what Scott’s mother wants … you angry and miserable. Just forget about what that stupid article said and move on. It’s not worth it.”
It was hard not letting it get to me. When you’re a celebrity, you have to grow a tough layer of skin because you’re always in the spotlight and in the eye of the critics. There’s always something negative said about you somewhere. I wasn’t used to that.
“I’m going to ruin him, Brianna,” I choked,
a tear sliding down my cheek. “He’s come a long way and it hasn’t been easy. His family sucks ass, especially his mother, and I know he doesn’t really have someone to fall back on other than Joel. I just don’t want to make his life harder than what it already is.”
“Yeah, we heard about all of that at breakfast this morning. Derek and the guys were talking about how Coach and Cooper were related. Why was it such a secret anyway?” Brianna asked, turning her body to face me.
“It wasn’t really meant to be a secret, but I know Cooper was embarrassed that no other team wanted him. He knew that if the world found out they would see it as a pity trade. He didn’t want to have to deal with the snubs and the remarks that he’d get from that. I’m sure he’ll have plenty of that to deal with soon.”
Brianna took my hand in hers and squeezed. “But you want to know something, Kate? The team doesn’t care about any of that. Now, if he wasn’t winning them the games I’m sure they’d have a different story, but Cooper is building their confidence and bringing them the wins. They have nothing but support for him. That’s all that matters, right?”
Nodding quickly, I looked over at her and smiled even though I wasn’t happy in the least bit. “You know, you’re right. As long as he has the support of the team I think he’ll be fine. I just worry about him.”
“I know you do, Kate. It’s because you love him and you don’t want to lose him.”
Closing my eyes, I leaned my head against the seat and took a deep breath, hoping I could keep my lips from trembling. “I do love him, Brianna, and if I lost him I honestly don’t know how I could face him every day. I’m miserable just thinking about it, and I haven’t even talked to him.”
After a while, I slowly drifted off to sleep. Unfortunately, I could still feel the ache in my heart and the chills of feeling alone. Brianna must’ve put a blanket on me, because eventually nothing hurt anymore and I was warm. Cooper’s blue eyes and kind smile was all I could see as I finally entered into the dream world where nothing and no one could hurt me. I was happy there, but that happiness disappeared the moment I was jolted awake by the plane’s not so gentle landing and a set of firm arms keeping me in place.
“What the hell?” I groaned, rubbing my tired eyes.
A deep chuckle sounded in my ear, along with his husky whisper, “Oh, it wasn’t that bad, love. I couldn’t let you fly out of your seat now could I?”
Eyes wide, I gasped and pulled out of the strong set of arms that were reluctant to let me go. “Cooper,” I hissed low. “Where the hell have you been?”
He sighed and held my face in my hands. “Look, Kate, I’m so sorry for taking off the way I did, but I had some people I really needed to talk to. I’ll explain everything later. Right now, all I need to know is that you forgive me.”
I huffed, “I can’t right now. I’ve spent the last six hours pissed off as hell, worried about you, and not knowing if we were okay or not. Excuse me if I can’t just forget about all of that.”
Cooper’s lips turned up into mischievous smile, and I couldn’t help but betray my own feelings as I leaned into his touch when he tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. “I know that, love, but I’m going to spend however long it takes to make it up to you … to make you forget about everything that’s happened. None of it’s important. You are all that’s important to me, and I don’t care what Scott’s bitch of a mother does to us, I’m not going to let her tear us apart. The question is … are you?”
Leaning forward, he brushed his lips against mine and lingered there until I opened my lips further, basically answering his question with my kiss. At least the plane ride didn’t end as horrible as I thought it would.
When Cooper and I turned down my street, the first thing I saw up ahead was Scott’s car sitting in my driveway. I didn’t know if I’d ever get used to seeing it there, or if I’d ever get the nerve to drive it after all this time, but it brought a smile to my face. My memories of Scott would always be exactly that … mine. His mother couldn’t take those away either.
On the way home, Cooper told me that he’d called Paige Monroe, who was one of his friends and wrote that amazing article on him in one of my issues of Physique Magazine. It was the only redeeming article I had ever read on him, but it also happened to be before he hurt his shoulder and went downhill. Anyway, she was going to find out who spilled Cooper’s private information and mine to The Star Report people. Hopefully, she’d find some answers soon.
Grabbing one of my bags from the backseat, Cooper fetched the rest and we got out of my car. I couldn’t believe that the whole time we were on the plane he was up in first class with Joel. He came aboard late and Joel made him sit up there with him so they could talk. I wish I would’ve known he was up there.
We walked up to the door, but before I unlocked it, I gazed up at Cooper’s blue eyes and sighed. “Once we find out who leaked the information to the TSR people, how are we going to go after them? How can they get in trouble if they have freedom of speech?”
“To those I paid off they don’t have the luxury of freedom of speech in this matter. They had to sign a disclosure form in order to receive the money I gave them to keep quiet. They talk, they don’t get the money. If they took the money and then talked, they would have to pay the money I gave them back times three. So if I find out that it was one of them, they’ll be paying me a shit ton of money.”
“How much are we talking?” I asked curiously.
Cooper shook his head and smiled. “It’s a lot, love. Trust me.”
Wow, I can only imagine. I had no idea how much money Cooper has made, but I did know one thing … I was sure he made more in three months than I did in two years of working. Opening the door, I walked in and carried my bags to my bedroom while Cooper went to the kitchen to fix something to drink. I knew that once I went into my bedroom there would be two boxes filled with things from Scott. I was nervous as hell to open them because I could just imagine there being a sick surprise from his psychotic mother.
While Cooper was downstairs, I figured it was the best time to open them up. Sliding my finger under the tape, the first box I came to was basically things I needed for the car. The title was in there with my name clearly printed in bold letters, but there was also something else attached to it … a note.
“There is nothing wrong with doing the speed limit, Scott,” I half laughed and half cried. With a smile on my face, I folded up the letter and put it back into the box, setting it beside Scott’s favorite baseball bat, which I had propped up against my nightstand.
Sitting on my bed, I grabbed the other box and placed it on my lap. Once I had it opened, I looked in to see another box, only smaller in size sitting inside of it. Okay, I thought to myself, this is strange.
Pulling the smaller box out, I opened it up to find another box, and another, and another, until finally the last one I pulled out couldn’t possibly fit a box inside of it.
I was wrong.
My heart fell when inside there was another box … it was a small blue one tied with a white ribbon. Hands shaking, I reached in and grabbed it, tears flowing like hot rivers down my cheeks.
“Oh my God,” I cried softly, placing a hand over my mouth. “Scott, what did you do?”
Gently, I untied the ribbon and opened the blue box where a black velvet one sat along with another tiny note. Fingers trembling, I opened up the letter.
Closing my eyes, I held the box in my hands and cried until I felt Cooper’s arms wrap around my body. I didn’t even hear him walk into my room. For the rest of the night, Cooper didn’t ask any questions, he just held me tight until I fell asleep.
When I woke up the next morning, I was alone in my bed with Scott’s ring glistening in the bright morning sun, except it wasn’t in the box … it was on my finger.
“Dude, I can totally see the resemblance between you two,” Derek joked, glancing back and forth between me and my uncle, who was down the field talking to Evan. “I don’t see how those of
us on the team didn’t notice it before.”
I scoffed, “I can see why. You aren’t exactly what I’d call perceptive, Derek.”
“Hey, you better watch it, Davis. I’m one of the ones who protect you out on that field. I can easily let someone bypass me and sack your ass.”
Chuckling, we both grabbed our bags and started on our way to the end zone where Joel and Evan stood talking. Practice was finally over for the day, but after this weekend’s game in Arizona there were a couple of players who were injured and needed Kate’s help. I hadn’t seen her since this morning before we left to come to practice. I thought she would’ve kept Scott’s ring on, but when she came downstairs to eat breakfast I noticed that it was gone. I didn’t ask questions … I just wanted her to know it was all right with me if she wanted to wear it.
Before I could get all of the way down the field, my phone started to ring, so I reached into my bag and grabbed it. It was Shelby.
“Shelby,” I answered, “how did everything go?”
She groaned into the phone. “Let’s just say you owe me, Cooper. It was the longest lunch date of my life, but thankfully, having an MMA fighter as a husband comes in handy. It tends to strike fear into some.”
She laughed for a second, but then cleared her throat and continued, “Okay, so Kevin told me that one of the women he spoke to was Marianne Easton, Scott’s mother. I know you already know that. Now here’s the part you’re not going to like.”
Joel furrowed his brows, knowing very well that my body language was coiled tighter than a snake. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears as I waited for the answer to all of my problems.
“Tell me, Shelby,” I growled firmly. “I have to know.”
My uncle came up to me and put his hand on my shoulder while I waited on Shelby to give me the news. When the name finally crossed her lips, I knew exactly what I needed to do. “Thank you, Shelby. I appreciate you doing this for me.”