by Lucy Gilmore
The wariness in her expression traveled over the rest of her body, transforming her from warm, postcoital pliability to a woman leery of being asked for yet another favor.
So he didn’t ask one.
“Thank you.”
* * *
“Um, this is your house.”
Regina pulled her car—a luxury hybrid as expensive and decadent as Cole’s—into the driveway of her Queen Anne home. “Yes, it is,” she agreed. She pointed over her left shoulder. “And that one belongs to my parents. Don’t say it… I know. A grown woman living next door to her mom and dad is pathetic on so many levels.”
Hailey paused in the act of exiting the car, but not for long. The soft-eyed beagle she held on her lap tumbled out and began tugging excitedly on the end of her leash. Unlike Philip, who cowered in fear at everything that moved, and Cleopatra, who was on a mission to cover as much ground as possible at all times, Nala had no personality quirks that made her ill-suited for life in an animal shelter.
She was, however, one more mouth to feed and one more kennel to clean. The man who ran the shelter where Nala had been housed was sad to see her go but also grateful. There were already twelve more dogs on the waiting list ready to take her spot.
“That’s so nice for Mia,” Hailey said as she tugged Nala toward the house in question. It was just as large and just as expensive as Regina’s, but there were fewer kids’ toys and more carefully tended rosebushes in the backyard. “And for you. It must be wonderful to be able to pop over and see them anytime.”
Regina glanced at her over the top of the vehicle, amusement pulling her bright-red lips into a pursed half smile. “‘Wonderful’ is one word for it.”
Wonderful was the only word for it, but Hailey knew better than to attempt an explanation. She’d tried with Cole the other day and had failed miserably. If there was an easy way to tell a gorgeous, naked man that she was in danger not just of falling in love with him but with his whole family, she hadn’t yet come across it.
The smart thing to do would have been to dig her heels in, refuse to watch the game with them, partition her life and her heart to keep them safe.
Yet here she was, her heart fully exposed. Again.
“Cole and I didn’t grow up here, if that makes a difference,” Regina added. “He bought our parents this house with his signing bonus. He bought my house when Mia was born. I’m terrified of what will happen if anything else goes up for sale on the block. It’ll be a full Bennett takeover.”
Hailey’s chest clenched at the image this conjured up. Not of all those millions of dollars invested in real estate but of a family so tied together in affection that their lives were completely entwined.
“I know… Talk about champagne problems,” Regina said. “I’m well aware of how it sounds, but I don’t know how else to explain our family. From the moment Cole was born, everything my parents have and are has been tied up in him. His practices and his games, his training and his career… We used to go on vacation every year to whatever football camp he got accepted into. One of them was a stone’s throw from Disneyland. I could practically see the castle from the field.”
“You didn’t get to go?”
“Oh, I went. One of the other moms took a bunch of the siblings one day.” Regina sighed. “Want to guess how many of them grew up to become managers, agents, coaches, and football support staff? Actually…no. Don’t. It’ll just depress you.”
Hailey cast a sharp sideways glance at Regina, but the other woman’s concentration was fixed on her house. “You don’t like being Cole’s manager?”
“Of course I like it. He’s my brother. I wouldn’t have anything if it weren’t for him. None of us would.”
Regina didn’t sound sad or upset; her voice carried more resignation than anything else.
“Come on in,” she added with a gesture toward her parents’ house. “It’ll just be the two of them this time, I promise. No extended family bombarding you with boring stories and nosy questions.”
Hailey knew that was supposed to reassure her, but there was something a lot more personal about her descent upon the Bennetts this time.
“Mom?” Regina opened a side door painted to look like a gingerbread cookie. “Dad? Where are you? Hailey’s here with your new puppy. She’s a looker, so be careful.”
Nala was a looker, and Hailey had no doubt that she’d be one of the first puppies adopted after the show aired, but she was also in a new place with hundreds of exciting smells. Her keen ability to sniff out dropped pieces of food kicked in before they’d made it all the way through a neatly organized mudroom to the kitchen beyond. With a nose pressed firmly to the floor and her tail stiff with excitement, she took off in pursuit of her quarry—any quarry.
“Oh dear.” The leash fell from Hailey’s clasp, and the puppy took off. From the looks of it, this was a very clean and well-run home. The Bennetts might not take Nala’s sure-footed enthusiasm very well. “Reggie, will you see if you can grab hold—”
She didn’t have an opportunity to finish. No sooner had she crossed the threshold into the kitchen than she was being pulled into yet another hug.
Cole’s mom held the embrace much longer than most people could get away with, heedless of the puppy snuffling around her kitchen floor. There was nothing awkward or strange about it, nothing that made Hailey feel as though she was anything but welcome.
“Thank you for coming,” Paula said, the words muffled by the press of her mouth against the top of Hailey’s head. “I feel so much better having you here today. We all do.”
“Would you like to meet Nala?” Hailey asked as soon as she was released and once again gained control of her crushed lungs. Her color felt heightened, but for once in her life, it wasn’t because of embarrassment. This flush was nothing but pleasure. “She’s a little hyped up right now, but that’s because of the drive. She’ll settle down once she has a chance to gain her bearings.”
“Of course she will,” Paula said with nothing but earnest reassurance.
Regina finished removing her outerwear and entered the kitchen with a purpose in her step. “Hey, Mom.” She kissed both of her mother’s cheeks in greeting. “Is Mia upstairs?”
“In the playroom watching cartoons, I believe.” Paula bent down and patted Nala, who found much to interest her in the flour-covered apron placed at nose level. The puppy wriggled and licked and used her big brown eyes to her advantage. “What a darling she is. Julian can take her for a walk after the game. He’ll hate it, but it’ll be good for him.”
“What’s that?” came a shouted reply from the next room.
“It’ll be good for you to walk the dog!” Cole’s mom shouted back. She shook her head. “He can hear me just fine, but I’m being punished for the egg-white omelets we had for breakfast. Head in there, hon, and take him these carrot sticks.”
A plate of immaculately cut carrots was placed in Hailey’s hand. She felt a little overwhelmed by all the warmth and noise of this house, but Cole’s mom winked and gave her a light push. “Go on. He won’t throw the carrots at your head.” She laughed and pursed her lips before adding, “Well, he might, but you won’t mind that. It means you’re one of us.”
“Thank you.” Hailey got up on tiptoes to press a kiss on Cole’s mother’s cheek, unable to resist the impulse. The older woman smelled of roses and sandalwood. “I appreciate this more than you realize.”
Cole’s mom laughed and returned the kiss. “Well, aren’t you the sweetest thing to ever walk through my door. It’s only a puppy.”
She wasn’t thanking her for Nala, but explanations were impossible.
“I hope I’m not intruding,” Hailey said as she entered the next room, which looked to be some kind of television room and den rolled into one. “I brought you a…snack?”
Cole’s dad glanced up from the recliner chair he was seated i
n, an exact facsimile of the one he’d been in at Regina’s house. He smiled when he saw Hailey and frowned as soon as he noticed the plate in her hand. “Drat that woman,” he muttered, but he gave an impatient wave until Hailey handed him the plate. “Does this look like food to you?”
“Carrots are very good for your cholesterol.”
“Bah.” His grunt of displeasure said everything, but Hailey noticed that he picked one up and ate it. He also patted the recliner next to her, accepting her presence here with the same ease and friendliness that his wife had. “Come and sit with me. Tell me what you think of this next play.”
Hailey sat on the arm of the chair rather than the seat, but her attention was soon sucked into the television. Even though it was far too early for the Lumberjacks’ game to start, the screen depicted—what else?—football. The reception wasn’t great, and there was a grainy quality to the footage that made her think it wasn’t of recent origin.
As she watched the crimson-colored jerseys move around the field, she found that age didn’t much matter. It was a good game—a great one, if that throw from the quarterback was any indication—and she found herself getting sucked in.
“Holy crap,” she said as the spiraling throw shot down the field like a bullet. It landed in the hands of a waiting wide receiver with so much strength that the receiver gave a slight start before catching himself and hurtling toward the end zone. “That was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. These are the Mountain Lions, right? From Pullman? College ball?”
“They sure are.” Julian cackled. He held out a carrot for Hailey, who took it and crunched down before she realized what she was doing. “You’ve got a good eye.”
She did have a good eye, and there was something about the way the quarterback—number eight—moved to accept his team’s enthusiasm that gave her a start. Cole had played for the Mountain Lions during his college career, but that couldn’t be him. The images were too old, the helmets too outdated. In fact, they looked like they probably used a similar football to the one encased in glass on her mantel.
Hailey popped the rest of the carrot in her mouth and leaned closer to the television, her eyes narrowed as she watched the next few plays. Everything about number eight looked and felt like Cole. The way he moved and the way he threw, even the way he did a little victory dance when he made a good play.
She wasn’t sure when it clicked, but she whipped her gaze from the television to the man next to her, her eyes wide. “That’s you,” she said, no hint of a question in her voice. “You played for the Mountain Lions. You were better than Cole.”
Julian’s deep, cackling laugh confirmed her suspicion and made her realize what she’d just said. Her color rose, but she didn’t—as she might have in the past—cover her mouth or backtrack in the name of embarrassment.
“I know I shouldn’t say that, but it’s true.” She shook her head as she took in the man next to her, his large frame at one with the chair. “You were amazing. Did you go pro?”
“I told Paula there was a reason I liked you,” he said, chuckling again. “And it’s not because you’re eating these damned carrots for me. Keep watching.”
Wordlessly, Hailey took another of the carrot sticks held out to her and returned her attention to the screen. She was no stranger to old, outdated games, since her dad had enjoyed replaying football footage from the seventies and eighties almost as much as he liked watching it live. In addition to going by an entirely different rulebook, the players weren’t as big or as fast—a thing that might have given them a disadvantage in modern ball but that made for a much more interesting game.
However, size and speed weren’t an issue here. Julian Bennett—how had she never heard that name before?—was both big and fast, and he handled the ball with an ease that looked ingrained. Hailey could feel herself straining as he prepared a trick play that would either end in an incredible score or disaster for the team.
The disaster won out in more ways than one.
“Good God!” She leapt from her seat and held a hand to her mouth as Julian took a blunt-force tackle from the side. The visuals weren’t so detailed that she could see the bones breaking in his body, but there was no doubt in her mind that something had been shattered.
Something had been shattered, she realized—and not just in a physical sense. That looked like the end of a dream.
“I’m so sorry,” she murmured. “That looked awful.”
“It was. I sprained both knees and damaged my back so that it never worked the same again.” Cole’s dad spoke without emotion as he lifted the remote and switched the television off. “A damn shame, really, but what can you do?”
Hailey didn’t have an answer for that, so it was for the best that the skitter of puppy claws on hardwood provided a distraction. Nala darted into the room with a speed that made Hailey feel incredibly smug for having chosen this puppy for her own team. The beagle might be small, but she was fast and she was sneaky. Hailey could respect those qualities.
“You little monster.” She scooped Nala up before the puppy could make a leap for the carrot sticks. “You’re not supposed to misbehave until after I leave. That way, they won’t give you back.”
“Give her back?” Cole’s dad made a grunting sound and extended his arms for the puppy. “Why would we do a thing like that?”
Because puppies were a lot of work. Because their cute little faces lost some of their appeal after the tenth late-night bathroom howl. Because Hailey had no real right to ask anything of these people.
“Oh dear.” Paula came in, wiping her hands on a dishrag. “That’s one fast doggy.”
“I’m sorry.” Hailey winced. “If she’s too much work, I can—”
“Nonsense.” Paula came forward and handed the rag to her husband, who laid it out on his lap like a bed. “We meant it when we said we’d be happy to do anything you need. If you think that animal is quick on its feet, you should have seen Cole at that age.”
“He was fast,” Julian said with a nod at the black screen of the television. “Not as fast as me, obviously, but we knew he had something special.”
Paula gave a cluck of her tongue. “Have you been showing her old footage of your glory days?” She turned her attention to Hailey. “Don’t pay any heed to it. To hear him tell the tale, he was the greatest quarterback to touch a football. Balderdash, I call it, when Cole outstripped your yardage by the time he was eighteen.”
“They measured things differently back then.”
“A yard has always been a yard.”
Julian pointed a finger at his wife in warning, but his expression was one of affection. “Woman, don’t contradict me when I’m trying to show off for a pretty girl.”
Hailey’s blush started to mount. “Oh, you don’t have to—”
“I was good,” Cole’s dad said with a nod. “Probably one of the best. I was devastated when I took that hit, but if there’s one thing all those months of convalescence were good for, it was to lay me flat on my back. There’s no better position for—”
Paula swatted at him. “Julian! Don’t you dare.”
He dared. With a wink, he turned to Hailey and said, “That boy being born saved my life in more ways than one. He’s everything I was—and more, because he doesn’t quit when he’s down.”
“Oh geez. Are you talking about Cole again?” Regina appeared in the doorway, her daughter on her hip. As soon as Mia saw the puppy, she dashed into the room with a squeal of excitement. “You’ve got them started now. You’ll never hear the end of it. Mia, love, you have to be gentle.”
“I am being gentle,” Mia said as she settled herself into a comfortable position on the floor and began twirling her fingers at the puppy. “Ask the puppy lady.”
The puppy lady watched Nala and Mia closely and, finding nothing amiss with the way the girl handled the animal, nodded her approval. “She has a ve
ry natural way with dogs.”
Regina rolled her eyes in Hailey’s direction with a warning glance. “Don’t start. I cannot and will not add a puppy into the mayhem that is my house.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“That little puppy you have earmarked for Mia is cute, but we’re a strictly dog-free house.”
“Of course you are. I won’t mention it again.” Hailey made the motion of a zipper over her mouth.
“After seeing all the trouble Garrett has gone through to tame that giant beast you saddled him with, you can hardly expect me to open my arms and my home.”
Hailey couldn’t help but laugh. “Cleopatra is a bit of a handful. I hope he’s not too upset with me.”
“He’s not. I was over at his house a couple of nights ago, and he was training the animal to run on his treadmill. I couldn’t tell which of them was enjoying it more.”
Hailey’s interest perked. She didn’t know this woman well and knew Garrett Smith even less, but something about the casual mention of being at his house struck her. She was struggling to come up with the most tactful way to ask about their exact relationship when Julian told them both to quiet down.
“Those puppies of yours are on the TV,” he said, pointing. Sure enough, he’d turned on the pregame show, where scenes from the Lumberjacks locker room showed Philip and Cleopatra sitting alongside their temporary masters. Philip’s teal bow tie was askew, as it almost always was, and Cleopatra was tugging on the hem of Garrett’s jersey, but the image was a powerful one.
“There are a lot of these little guys waiting for good homes,” Cole said as he lifted Philip to his cheek. As if aware that he was being watched by millions of people around the world, Philip lolled out his tongue and gave Cole a shameless kiss. “Not just the puppies appearing at the Puppy Cup in a few short weeks but in shelters across the country. Even if you can’t open your home to one of them, you can open your wallet. Every little bit helps.”
Hailey felt every part of her heart swell. Cole was plugging her puppies on live television. Cole was plugging her puppies on live television without being asked.