by Hart, Taylor
He nodded as if it could be true. “So out with it, Ms. Saint. I know you and Victor were involved. Now tell me about this Paul.” He put his hands up. “And are there any other men should I know about?”
Evidently finding him hilarious, she giggled more. “Oh my, I think you should give up football and become a reporter.”
He stepped closer to her, acting like he was just trying to get under her skin, but he cared more then he wanted to let on. “It’s not fun to have your life under a microscope, is it?”
The blue in her eyes caught in the moonlight. He hadn’t seen her be silly like this before. He liked it.
“I better get to bed.”
All of a sudden, the only thing he didn’t want to do was leave. “O-kay, I get it. You’re probably tired.”
She lifted a shoulder, but she didn’t step back. It was like she didn’t want to quit talking to him. “It’s not like I could sleep in this house full of memories, but I should try.”
He wanted to pull her into him, to hold her, and to stroke her hair. Which was crazy because he never wanted to do that. “Tell me one of the memories.”
Her eyes widened. “You want to hear about my grandpa?”
“There’s nothing I would like more.” Much to his surprise, it was the truth.
Moving to the side, she nodded. “Okay, come on in.”
The place definitely looked like a bachelor’s pad, but he was pleased to see the faded University of Utah wallpaper. He held back a laugh when he saw an old black and white picture of what appeared to be her grandpa kicking a ball on a football field. Then he saw him with a team picture on the old field of the University. “You’re grandpa was a player?”
A slow smile lit up her face. “He’s an alumni, and he was the kicker all four years.”
Legend studied the pictures. “That’s really cool. I think we’d get along.”
She rolled her eyes. “You have no idea.”
He also saw functional wood furniture and a big television. He noticed a record album and a bookcase full of vinyl records. A guitar was propped next to the shelf. He nodded to the vinyl. “Nice.”
She smiled, looking around with tears in her eyes. “Yeah, he still listens to records.” She shook her head. “I…the last time I was here I broke one of his Beatles albums.” More tears rushed down her face, and she let out a long breath.
He put a hand on her shoulder. “Your grandfather loves you.”
She gulped out a sob. “I know it’s stupid, but I just…I’m sorry.”
Before he realized what he was doing, he took her into a hug. “It’s alright. Shh…”
She cried harder. “I just wish I hadn’t scratched that album. He loved it.”
“Which one was it?”
“I don’t know, it had the song It’s Been A Hard Day’s Night on it.” She broke free. “Let’s go out to the back deck.”
He followed her, quietly appreciating the comfortable feeling of her grandfather’s home.
Charity held the screen door for him. “Grandpa and I would hang out here on the deck all the time. He has sleeping bags right inside the closet in there, and he would drag them out here and bring his guitar. We would talk for hours. He’s like…he’s the person I told everything to and he always understood.”
Legend nodded.
“We would get in the bags and sit on that swing and talk and talk.”
She was beautiful. The way she spoke about her grandpa, the way she stood looking up at the sky. He found himself selfishly hoping she would cry again, so he would have a reason to comfort her.
She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. “I wish he would just wake up.” She shuddered. “I hate being here by myself.”
An idea formed in his mind. Without asking, Legend moved back to the door and went inside, opening the closet next to the door and looking for the sleeping bags. He pulled them out and took them back outside. He also grabbled the guitar.
“What are you doing?” she asked incredulously when he emerged.
“I’m hanging out with you.” He felt silly saying it like he was asking for permission. “Is that okay?”
Taking in a shaky breath she shrugged, looking vulnerable.
He gestured to the big swing. “It’s not a big deal. It’s what friends do. They hang out with you when you’re going through crap.”
“You’re my friend now?” She sounded suspicious, but she took a sleeping bag and moved toward the swing.
“Only if you promise not to tell Victor. I don’t want to get my butt kicked.”
Chapter 10
Charity couldn’t believe the night had turned out this way. Legend James, the man she’d wanted to murder two days ago, was sitting next to her on her grandpa’s swing, strumming a guitar, and looking at the stars with her. It felt weird.
He went through different chords. “See, Rook, when you’re just my friend, that saves me from having to not ask you out again.”
“Whatever,” she scoffed, hating that she found his joke kind of funny. She huddled down into the sleeping back, recognizing the pop song he was playing.
He grinned up at her. Then he closed his eyes and half hummed half sang the song.
In a strange way, the night had turned out really nice. It was kind of comforting to have him there.
He finished the song.
“You’re good.”
He shrugged. “Naw, I just dabble.”
“Hmm…”
Looking at her he grinned. “What did that ‘hmm’ mean?”
“Nothing.”
He pointed at her. “No, it was definitely something.”
Like she would admit that shutting off her reporter mind was almost impossible. It was hard for her to not keep cataloging things about him.
“Are you okay?” he asked quietly.
The concern in his voice made her want to cry again. “Distract me.”
“What?”
“Tell me something to take my mind off everything.”
“Okay,” he said, wrinkling his nose in thought as he played nonsensical chords and thought for a minute. “Umm, Jason and Troy would be amazed that I’m actually just hanging out and not doing some type of football training.”
“They’re like your besties, right?”
He gave her a macho look. “Pfft, men don’t have ‘besties,’” he mimicked her.
She laughed.
“But I guess if we were chic talking, then that’s what I would call them.”
“Chic talking?”
He nodded, going into some chorus she thought was familiar.
“Tell me about them. What are they like?”
Taking in a long breath, he looked at the sky. “Brad’s an engineer, and he’s brilliant with numbers and calculations. The funny thing is that he’s not a typical engineer type. He’s crazy. Always wants to do something. Go somewhere. Get people together. He was the one that really kept getting me to ask out all those girls. He always had something he wanted us to do, and it required me to get a date. He keeps it fun, I guess.”
This was interesting.
“And Jason?”
“Well, you already interviewed him,” he accused.
She looked guilty and said nothing.
“Anyway, he’s more serious. Don’t get me wrong. He’s fun, too. He’s a business major and wants to be a CFO or CEO of a company one day. He has a girlfriend that he started dating our sophomore year. I’m sure he’ll marry her soon. He’s willing to pay his dues and start small in business. Totally down to earth. That’s what I really liked about those guys since our freshman year. They’re both willing to work for it and they’re both just real.” He shook his head. “I wish they both could have gone pro.”
“Yeah.” It was really amazing to her that Legend was completely different than what she’d thought. “You feel guilty about it, don’t you?”
He didn’t look at her, focusing on the guitar. “Yeah.”
“Why should you feel guilty?
You’re better.”
“But they’ve worked so hard. We’ve all trained like crazy together.”
“Life’s not fair.” She shrugged. “People work hard, but they may not ever get what they want in life. You just have to keep going.”
At this, he paused and reached out, putting a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry I said you were a rookie reporter. You’re actually pretty good.”
“Stop.”
“No, I mean it. I…”
“I shouldn’t have used your fame to get ahead.” She shrugged.
“You do have talent, and all those stats about my dating life were impressive.”
She laughed. “Ah, you’re trying to be nice to me.”
He grinned. “Is it working?”
She didn’t answer.
He probed. “You say you have important stuff to write. What’s ‘important?’”
She shrugged. “You’re gonna think it’s stupid.”
Leveling her with a glare, he lifted his eyebrows separately. “Aren’t we past that?”
Giving him a small grin, she laughed. “Fine, I just always thought I would be able to change the world with my words, like uncover some conspiracy that reveals poisoned water wells that are causing the whole town to get some disease. Or find the people responsible for selling small children in human trafficking or…be in on world governments conspiring for the overthrow of a tyrant in the pursuit of freedom…” She trailed off and hit his shoulder. “See, I knew you wouldn’t get it.”
Frowning, he let out a sigh. “What do you mean? I get it. I was just thinking that it kind of sounds…dangerous. What did Paul think of your world saving?”
At the mention of Paul, she sobered. “I don’t know.”
“Really, you don’t know?”
She hesitated, not wanting to discuss her feelings about Paul with him.
“C’mon, Rook.”
She sighed. “Paul had different goals. He worked hard, graduated a year early, and is now doing a year in the Peace Corps, helping villages in Africa get clean water.” She felt her eyes shimmer with moisture. “But the relationship...”
“What?” he probed.
“You don’t want to hear this.”
“Hey, fair’s fair, that’s all I’m saying. You know everything about me.”
Letting out a breath, she leaned deeper into the sleeping bag. Her feelings for Paul needed untangling, and she’d been putting it off. Figuring that Legend might get more than he bargained for, she dug in. “Okay, but now we’re really chic talking.”
Lifting one shoulder, he smiled. “Full chic mode is on.”
She smiled, liking how relaxed it felt to talk to him. “I’ve known Paul forever. I think he moved in when we were twelve, and I fell in love with him in high school. I mean, I’d dated and stuff before, but when we got together, it just felt…perfect. I know he loved me. The thing is he also loves Africa. He loves to talk about the people and study the culture. He’s brilliant, and he’s trying to make a difference. But as my mother would say, ‘Paul puts Paul first.’”
“So you do still love him?”
She hesitated. “No. Yes. He hurt me. I went to see him last fall, and one night he said he had to run to the store. I followed him. I don’t know why. I just had this gut feeling, and I watched him meet up with a girl. I watched them kiss.” She shrugged, hating how another round of tears splashed down her face. “When I confronted them, he acted like it was the first time it’d happened, and she’d initiated it. But I broke things off and came home early. It’s so stupid. He’s been trying to convince me it was all a mistake. I don’t know…I want to believe he’s telling me the truth. I always thought we’d end up together…” she said faltering, not wanting to sound more pathetic than she already felt.
He gave her a small frown. “I’m sorry. That sucks.”
Blinking her eyes to keep in the tears, she let out a sigh. “Yeah, well, that’s life, right?”
“The sun will come up tomorrow,” he offered, grinning.
It made her smile that he was already making inside jokes between them. “It’s a long ways from your heart.” She grinned. “My dad always used that one.”
Strumming a chord, he nodded. “I like it.”
“Well, okay, if we are really chic talking, then tell me why you didn’t give any of those women second dates.” It bugged her that she wanted to know so much, but she did. “And what happened with Katrina?”
He let out a long breath. “If this got out, my agent would kill me. He doesn’t know. No one knows.”
This made her want to know even more.
He put the guitar down and grabbed the other sleeping bag, unzipping it.
“Legend, you don’t have to tell me, I get it.”
Leaning back, he pulled the bag on top of his lap. “No, I actually want to.”
Chapter 11
Legend thought about the fact he hadn’t talked about it since that awful summer it’d happened. “I met Katrina our freshman year at the U. I liked her. We were friends. By sophomore year, we were more than friends. I thought I loved her. Then…she got pregnant.” He turned away, unable to face her. No one knew this except Brad and Jason and his aunt. He didn’t know why he was compelled to share it.
“A lot of us have things that go too far. What happened?”
“I was ready to marry her. To make it right. I believed in a man stepping up and doing the right thing, but Katrina didn’t want to. She said it would ruin her life. Her parents didn’t want her to either. I was so angry with her. Them. I actually convinced myself that I would take the baby and raise it. My aunt said she would help me. I…” Unwanted tears filled his eyes at the memory. “I remember I was going to tell my dad when he called that Sunday, but I never got to.”
He couldn’t continue, but then, for some reason, he wanted Charity to know the truth. “Her parents took her for an abortion.”
“What?” Charity sucked in a shocked breath.
Tears made their way down his face. “I…I went bezerk. I remember Katrina’s father came to my apartment and took me for a walk. He told me she was transferring somewhere else, and I was to stay away from her. I just took off. I ran. I ran and ran for like an hour, and then I fell down by this bridge. I just lay there. All I could do was think about that baby. About his cold little body.” He sniffed and turned to her, seeing the sorrow in her eyes. He stood, sucking in a breath. “I can’t believe I just told you that.” He sniffed again.
After a moment of quiet, she patted the bench. “Please come back.”
He went back and sat down, his heart racing. Talking about it had brought the horror of it back to him. “Ya know, I just I knew I couldn’t be that way with a girl again. I had messed up. Big time. I ruined some kid’s life. I…” he broke off, unable to look at her. “Some kid died because of me.”
“She got the abortion,” she stated it firmly.
“But I shouldn’t have done that, anyway. Ya know I never believed in sex before marriage. I always wanted to wait. And so dating became, in a way, simpler after that.” He shrugged, wiping his face. “I told myself I would never take another relationship lightly, ya know? I would never be with a girl again until I could marry her and be able to do things the right way. It was better that way.”
They sat in silence for what felt like forever. Then he felt her reach for his hand. “I’m sorry.”
Warmth rushed through him at her touch. “It took me a long time, but I forgave Katrina. It was pointless to carry around all that anger, but football became the only real thing in my life. I told myself that I would be the best and have a life where I could be there for my kids. And the woman that I married one day would love our babies.” More tears spilled down his face, and he felt like a blubbering mess. He wiped his face. “I’m sure you’re really glad you asked.”
Her hand stayed in his. “Hey, this is chic talking. I’m your friend, and I listen when you’re going through crap.” She gave the same nonchalan
t shrug he’d given her earlier.
He let out a little laugh.
“Plus,” she said, staring into his eyes. “I kind of find you amazing, Legend James.”
He stared into her blue eyes. “Ya know, Rook, I think that’s the first nice thing you’ve ever said to me. I’m seriously baffled. I mean, I don’t know what to say.” He was trying to make a joke of it to cover how much her sincerity had really touched him.
Taking back her hand, she gently punched his shoulder. “There, you just ruined it.”
Chapter 12
When his phone alarm went off at seven in the morning, Legend jumped awake, trying to orient himself. He and Charity had both fallen asleep on the big swing.
She jerked awake, frowning and rubbing her neck. “I should have opted for a bed.”
He squirmed out of the sleeping bag and turned the alarm off on his phone. “I gotta go. I gotta be to the little airport that runs the flights for the jumpers in half an hour.”
Charity wriggled out of her bag. “That’s right. I, on the other hand, can sleep for a bit longer because hospital visiting hours aren’t until nine.”
Looking at her with her hair mussed after spending the night on the swing, he felt himself stop. Her soft, white skin hosted a smattering of freckles on her nose. Her eyes that had always looked so blue had a hint of green in them this morning. They were hypnotic.
“Legend?”
“Yeah.” He was jolted out of his thoughts.
She frowned. “Why are you staring at me like that?”
Suddenly, he wanted her to come with him so badly. He didn’t even think before he said, “Come with me.”
She shook her head. “Uh, no. I’m going to the hospital.”
Uncharacteristically, his voice took on a whining quality. It was the same voice Brad used when he was begging Legend to do something. “Ah, come on. We’ll be done by ten. I’ll get you to the hospital right after that. Promise.”
She laughed and grabbed the sleeping bags. “Who are you? You sound like a kid.”
He felt like a kid. He did little jumps and followed her into the house. “You have to come!”
