by Debra Elise
Kelsey seemed to sense her anxiety over the subject of Luke and gave a vague answer.
“Oh, I’m sure Blake and T.S. will find someone.”
Kelsey wouldn’t meet her gaze, and when the food arrived Lara became distracted by the sight and delicious smells of the lobster ravioli and sinful bread. They decided against opening a second bottle of wine and began talking about wedding details and who was in charge of what.
Lara drove home with an uneasy feeling. Was it because of the impending move and change of job, or was it because she couldn’t shake the feeling Kelsey definitely had something up her sleeve?
CHAPTER 10
“So old man, was this your attempt to get a vacation or what?” Maverick walked into Luke’s hospital room a day later and stood at the end of his bed and folded his arms, a look of concern on his face.
“Yeah, an all-expense paid trip to the Maldives is on my agenda. Shit, Mav. I only have two years left in my contract and I was hoping to go out on top, but now . . .”
Luke sat up in bed as tall as he could. He didn’t want to look pathetic in front of his best friend even if he felt like it. He shifted to find a comfortable position, having already tried numerous times before to little relief. A sharp twinge traveled up his right side. He took a deep breath and released it slow and easy.
Damn, he hated the antiseptic stench of hospitals. “Listen asshole, I could use a bit of sympathy right now. If you want to harass me, could you wait till I’m out of this damn bed?”
Mav stood with his hands on his hips and gave him a stare down worthy of the USBL top-tier pitcher he was. Luke let out a low groan and waved off Mav when he made a move toward the bed. “Keep your hands to yourself, I’m fine. I just need a minute.”
“You look green, Luke. I haven’t seen you laid this low in a while. Although that last road trip to Miami had you flat on your back for what, three days?” Maverick rubbed his jaw and pulled out his cell phone.
“You put that damn thing away, Maverick Jansen, if you know what’s good for you.” Luke tossed a pillow toward Mav’s head and regretted the move. He listed to the left, catching himself on the bed railing, and howled out in pain. “Shit, see what you made me do? You idiot.”
“Hush now, let me get you a nurse to come change your nappie. I’ll be right back.”
Luke pushed himself back to center and lay down flat, his pillow forsaken as ammunition. He now had to deal with a buttload of damaged pride and suck up the fact he wasn’t as strong as he thought. He knew Mav wouldn’t have really taken his picture laid up in bed. They’d been through too much for him to pull that crap on him. He hoped.
The unspoken elephant in the room was how Luke was injured. He was bound to be suspended, fined, and persecuted in the press. But he’d let his team down by thumbing his nose at the “no motorcycles” clause in his contract. And worst of all, he’d let down the man he considered more family than friend or teammate.
Maverick returned with the promised nurse. She double-checked the wrapping on Luke’s knee and explained again to him how the pain med drip worked. She also scolded them both on their volume, then whipped out a pen and paper for Maverick to autograph.
He smirked at Luke as he scrawled his autograph.
“She already asked for mine, asshole. You’re not as special as you like to think.”
“Thank you boys, my grandson is going to eat his vegetables for a year when I hand him this.”
She walked out of the room before Luke could get her attention. “Could I get something else to wear Miss . . . um, Nurse . . . damn I forgot her name already.”
“I’d worry less about the dress and more about our trainer,” Mav said.
“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s up with Manny?”
“He’s on paternity leave.”
“He’s what?!”
“Their twins came two months early, so T.S. had no choice but to start his paternity leave now. And before you ask, Nelson isn’t exactly jumping for joy about working with you. As a matter of fact, I don’t think he’s recovered from you cussing him out last year when we were still in Boston,” Mav chuckled.
“Oh please, he had it coming. He started working on my shoulder, the uninjured one, and complained there was nothing wrong with me after giving me a shot in the wrong damn arm. So I had an off day and yelled at him.”
“In front of half the team.”
“Yeah, well, I would have thought he’d have grown a pair and be over it by now.”
“Apparently not. Maybe you could apologize?”
Luke growled and looked away. “No way, the guy’s an idiot.”
“Look, you need a certified physical therapist, not just a sports trainer, and quick. From what I’ve overheard you may not need surgery, so swallow your pride, apologize, and in a few weeks you’ll be ready to go back out on the field.”
“A few weeks, huh? That’s not the feeling I get when the doctors are in here. You’re not keeping something from me are you? Man, if you tell me I’m out for the season I’m going to deck you. As soon as I get a pair of crutches and then learn how to use ’em, you’re a dead man.”
“Listen, lots of players come back from a torn meniscus. You will too. You’re in better shape than most of the rookies on the team.” Maverick moved the crutches the nurse had just delivered with a promise to show Luke how to use them when she returned.
Luke stared up at the ceiling before he closed his eyes. “What if I don’t? What if this is the end for me?”
Maverick remained silent.
Luke looked at his best friend and for the first time saw uncertainty in his eyes. Mav had always been the optimistic one of the duo until his brother, Connor, had been killed last year. After the championship loss, Luke had become used to seeing despair laced with pain whenever he looked too close, but never had Luke seen that look directed at him.
“Dammit, Luke, you need to put that “poor me” crap in a bag and bury it. You’re going to rehab that knee and be back in time for playoffs.”
“So you got a crystal ball? You predicting the Outlaws in the playoffs our first year as a club?”
“Damn straight. The only competition is the L.A. Knights.”
This time a nurse’s assistant appeared and shyly gave Maverick a smile. Fuck, even his nurse had the hots for Maverick. That did little to boost his ego while lying flat on his back, with bed head and two days out from his last shower.
“Mr. Garibaldi, the doctor wants to see how you do with the crutches. If you can maneuver yourself a few steps up and down the hallway, he’ll release you tomorrow without an order for a wheelchair.”
“Those don’t look like they’ll hold me up. Don’t you have something a little, um . . . sturdier?” Luke cringed as he shifted his body to the side of the hospital bed. The pain meds were beginning to wear off and he wasn’t about to ask for more in front of Mav.
“Wuss.” Mav coughed and covered his mouth.
Luke shot him a glare and pushed himself to the edge as the pretty little nurse’s assistant stood to his left and handed him the first crutch. Another nurse appeared to assist the first.
Hell, now he had a full room to see him at his weakest. Too bad this nurse was forty-something and built like a linebacker. No chance she’d be flirting with him or slipping him her phone number.
He used the first crutch to brace his weight. He stood up on his right leg and gritted his teeth. Nurse One praised him like he was a toddler taking his first steps and Nurse Two dug her fingertips into his biceps as she shoved the other crutch under his armpit. Damn if he would complain.
Who knew if either of these angels of mercy would run to their smart phones and rat him out on Twitter for being a difficult patient. He was determined to be the model patient. Even if on the inside he was whimpering like a baby.
Nurse One guided him away from the bed. The linebacker took up position behind him as he took his first full step toward the door of his room. He made it, but not without soaking hi
s hospital gown with sweat.
Proud of himself, he looked over at Maverick and winked. “Piece of cake.” He continued out into the hallway with his left leg bent underneath his body.
“Mr. Garibaldi, if you could turn around and head back into the room, that should be enough for today,” Nurse One said.
Luke executed an about-face. A whistle and a chuckle from Nurse Two greeted him. “What’s so funny?”
Maverick sat in the corner chair, cell phone pointed in his direction.
“Damn you, Mav. I would have thought of all people I could count on you not to take a picture of me.”
“Luke, sorry, dude. I couldn’t help myself. Your white ass is hanging out and the opportunity was just too good to pass up.”
“Give me that phone. You need to delete it. Now.”
“And if I don’t? What are you going to do?”
“I’ll sick Kelsey on you. I’ll get her to cut you off for a week.”
“Shit. She’d do it too.” Maverick made a show of deleting the photo he just took. “There, happy now?”
“Give me your phone so I can make sure it’s gone.”
“Just get back into bed, Luke. I deleted it. You need to rest up so we can get you out of here tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? The doc said I could leave today. Who told you tomorrow?”
“The nurse said it, not me. Look don’t get your panties in a twist. Oh wait, you’re not wearing any.”
Luke flipped him the bird with both hands. Not any easy thing to do with crutches, but he managed. He needed to get out this hospital and into rehab before he murdered his best friend. There had to be a light at the end of the tunnel he found himself lost in.
Self-pity was not going to get him back on the diamond and behind the plate. And he needed to make sure Chaz didn’t win his spot permanently. Sure, he liked the guy and wanted the team to win even if he couldn’t be there to help make it happen, but this was not the way he planned on ending his career.
“How about you bring me up to speed on what’s going on in the clubhouse. Any feedback on me being replaced indefinitely?” Luke swallowed past a huge lump as he said that last word. He’d prided himself on never missing a game due to an injury.
“The usual. Rookies are bitching about paying for dinners, and JR is getting fed up with his latest ball girl and looking for someone to take her off his hands. I told him you’d be glad to since you now have a lot of free time.”
“Fuck you, Mav. And JR too. I never liked that guy. And besides, you know what I’m after. What’s Blake saying about me? He looking to make Chaz the go-to catcher for the rest of the season?” Luke tried to sound nonchalant but Mav knew him well enough to know how unsure he felt about his position on the team.
“You wish.”
That’s what Luke was worried about. Everyone would look at it as a chance for some time off, but he wanted this and next season to be his best.
“Settle yourself man, nothing that drastic. Take the rest of the season to rehab, go on a long vacation, and come back stronger than ever. That’s what I’d do.”
“Really? Quit blowing smoke up my ass. Now tell me what’s really going on.”
CHAPTER 11
The doctor was releasing Luke tomorrow and he had no one to call. Not really. He could call his dad, but unless a tornado was headed for Idaho, his father wouldn’t dismount his quarter horse until the end of the day for anything or anyone, including his only son.
His thoughts flashed to his mom but he wouldn’t call her on a dare. She and her last fiancé screwed him royally in his rookie year after he thought they could finally reconcile, that she was sincere in her remorse about her past mistakes.
He was eight when she’d told him she was moving away and he had to stay with his dad. No hug, no tearful good-bye. It was months later that his father finally told Luke the real reason she’d left. There was another man and she’d chosen him over the vows she’d taken. She chose to create another family and left Luke behind with a bitter man who rarely gave praise, hired nannies to take care of him, and cared more about the quarter horses he bred and sold.
He rubbed his face and closed his weary eyes. Damn pain meds. He hated the out-of-control feeling they brought him. Who was going to help him around the house? He didn’t want to hire a nurse as a glorified babysitter. And with Manny on paternity leave who the hell was going to help get him back in playing form?
Determined not to go under the knife and further risk his career, he knew he needed to rest as much as possible and basically do nothing. Shit, “rest” was not in his vocabulary. Maybe Mav would lend him Kelsey for the next six weeks.
Yeah, not going to happen. His best friend was territorial and protective. Even with a zero chance that Luke would make a play for his fiancée, Mav wouldn’t like the gorgeous Kelsey giving him sponge baths. He smiled for the first time since the accident.
At a time like this a girlfriend, or god forbid, a wife, would have come in handy. At the thought of either, his mind brought up Lara’s face and he battled the memories of her sunny smile at the engagement dinner and her flushed look as he drove himself into her sweet body.
Just the thought of her made him hard. He looked down and realized he wouldn’t have to adjust himself as he was still wearing a damn dress. He grabbed his cell and the list of nursing services he’d received and started making calls.
An hour later he was tired and pissed beyond measure. It seemed there was a large senior population in the area and home health care nurses were in high demand. No one could begin tomorrow. Each agency he called was very apologetic, but the earliest he could have a nurse at his place was early next week.
Desperate times called for desperate measures, and fuck if he didn’t feel like he was back in high school. He’d call Mav to ask him to ask Kelsey to ask Lara if she’d help him out.
“Do all billionaires get their way, no matter the situation?” Lara was sitting across from T.S. in his office at the Outlaws Stadium. He’d just asked her if she would be interested in taking on Luke as a client. It seems Kelsey had suggested it, and T.S. and Blake were on board with her filling in for Manny.
Her palms were sweaty, but she was determined not to let him talk her into something she didn’t want to do.
“You’d be surprised, Lara. Money doesn’t fix or buy everything.”
“And in this situation?” she asked.
“In this situation I want my best catcher back on the dirt ASAP. Kelsey seems to think you’re the one to help him.”
Lara snorted. You have no idea what she’s up to.
“Lara, I would think you would jump at this chance to work with a premier athlete. Is there something going on between the two of you I should know about?”
Damn. Yeah, there was. “Was” being the key word. She felt her face warm and debated how to answer. I can’t work with him, T.S., you see, I became another one of his flings and it would just be . . . awkward. Or, did she swallow her pride and take the offer?
Before she could respond he added, “I prefer dealing with people I know and trust over unknowns, especially with our best catcher. And second, I consider us friends.”
“Stuffing snow down my jacket in fifth grade wasn’t very friend-like, T.S.”
“It is when you’re ten,” he chuckled.
She stuck her tongue out at him and sank further into her chair. Childish response, sure, but desperate times called for ten-year-old responses.
“Lara, listen, I just need you to work with him three weeks, a month tops. Manny will be back from paternity leave by then. Besides, I’ve already spoken to your boss and he assured me you could rearrange your client load to work with Luke.”
His grin dazzled her. From a shy, chubby, and friendless boy to a self-made billionaire at thirty-five who now could have any woman he wanted on looks alone, T.S. was indeed a friend and it made it all that harder to turn him down.
“Wow. You don’t waste time do you? If you’ve already tal
ked to my boss, why bring me in personally? I mean, this just seems like a waste of your time.”
“Like I said. I consider us friends, Lara. I wanted to give you the opportunity to tell me no.”
“And if I do?”
“Then I’ll just offer you more money.”
“So, if you can’t get your way, you just throw out money as the solution?” she asked. “Besides, my salary at the clinic is the same no matter the client.”
T.S. shrugged. “Lara, this is business. I’m used to paying top dollar when it’s warranted. And right now time is money. And I need an answer—today.”
“Remind me again how this isn’t like Kelsey and Mav’s earlier situation?”
“Well, for starters, you haven’t been caught in a romantic clinch for all the world to see. You won’t have to pretend to be in love with Luke to be his therapist. You just need to make sure his knee is rehabbed to the point that he can return this season without having surgery.”
It all sounded so simple. Just do the job she’d been trained to do.
“T.S. I’d really like to help you, but—”
“But?”
“But, I’m sorry . . . he and I, well, it just won’t work.”
T.S. didn’t respond right away to her refusal. He looked up at the ceiling and seemed to be counting to ten. When he did answer, his voice carried a hint of desperation.
“Tell me you two didn’t sleep together?”
Lara kept quiet. She looked at T.S. and kept her features neutral. And waited him out. She was not discussing her sex life with him. Besides, what she and Luke had was no one’s business. Seeing him again so soon and not knowing how he felt about her being his therapist would just be awkward.
“Dammit, Lara. Okay, look, whether you two already had a fling is beside the point. I know I can trust you to work with him, do the job, and not get caught up in the circus that is already forming around his accident.”
“Thank you. I think. But look, I— ”
“Please?”
“I’m surprised that he would be willing to have me as his therapist.”
T.S. remained silent, again. This was getting annoying. She decided to end the conversation and rose out of her chair.