Shelby hesitated, as if scrambling for an answer. “Because we needed the money for the expansion so we could make the balloon payment to our landlord. Rehabbing Chad was the easiest way for that to happen.”
“Is there something else you’re not telling me about Chad?” She picked up the tin and trimmed off the overlapping dough with a knife.
“I know a lot about Chad that you don’t. So if you find out things you don’t like, please remember you wanted it that way.” Shelby leaned closer. “But what I’m really afraid of is that you’re pulling a Jerry Maguire here. Falling for the kid and the idea of a family rather than seeing Chad for who he still is. A great guy, but totally obsessed with football.”
Jo stopped rolling the crust out for the top of the pie and considered. Was she doing that? Or was it just the opposite? “Actually, I was planning to go to the cemetery on Saturday with Chad. I want to try to finally find some closure. I think Ryan and Chad have helped me find the courage to do that.”
“Really? You’ve never gone back since the funeral.” Shelby stood and wrapped her arms around Jo. “I know what a big deal that is for you.”
Jo returned the hug and blinked back her tears. “I think it’s time to do it so I can move forward.”
“I hadn’t realized you still struggled with coming to terms with Bryce. Does me being pregnant make things worse for you?”
“No! I couldn’t be happier for you and Nick. I think finding out that Chad was still affected too made me feel like it wasn’t only me.”
“Chad regrets a lot of things when it comes to you.”
“Me too.” Jo sighed. “We’re both different people now, though, and it’s nice to just be friends again.”
“Friends is good. But please go out with the guy Lori found for you before you give up dating altogether and sleep with Chad. Gary seems perfect for you. Someone who wants a family, is really nice, a pediatrician who loves kids, and he’s even smoking hot.” Shelby gave Jo a hard squeeze before she released her. “I know dating is hard. Don’t chicken out and take the easy road.”
Was she being a coward by settling for sleeping with Chad rather than getting back out there? He’d be the easier choice because he’s familiar. And hot. Which wasn’t a good enough reason to complicate her life by sleeping with Chad. “Okay, deal. When does Gary want to get together?”
“Let me text Lori and see.”
Chad waited for the elevator doors to part into his condo, then stepped out and threw his coat over the back of the couch. It was too damn early for a drink, unfortunately, but he could’ve used one. Even after showing the doc the video Jo had made of his progress, his physician had just told him his new injury from the ranch wasn’t helping things, but overall, his prognosis hadn’t changed. Playing in the pros wasn’t likely to happen unless some real improvement occurred soon. He wasn’t ready to resort to his plan B for his life and settle for being an architect yet.
He sank onto the couch and held his head in his hands. He had to find a way to fix things. Football was his life. What he loved to do. It was as integral a part of him as his heart was. He’d just have to find a way.
When his cell rang again for the tenth time in the last hour, he let the call go to voice mail. His coaches kept calling, but he needed to deal with the news the doc had just given him before he could talk about his knee with anyone on the team. He’d write them another sugar-coated text about the state of his knee after he calmed down some.
Maybe if he worked harder, did even more than Jo asked, he could get back on track.
Ryan’s stocking feet appeared, so Chad raised his head. “Hey, Ry.”
“You’re late. Did my mom call?”
“Nope. Sorry.” Damn Linda. He’d sent her a text and an email with a custody agreement attached, but she wasn’t talking to him. But if he wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, maybe she was still traveling and didn’t have Internet access. “How was your day off with Heather?”
“Okay. Can I have a snack?”
“Sure. Knock yourself out.” Chad wasn’t in the mood for a fight. The last thing he wanted to do was argue about what Ryan could have for a damn snack.
Ryan blinked at him. “Anything? Even some of Heather’s cookies?”
“Whatever.” Chad leaned back and grabbed the remote. “If you want to eat crap and stay scrawny your whole life, then eat cookies. If it were me, I’d have some fruit.”
Ryan headed for the kitchen with a frown on his face. He reemerged a few minutes later with a banana and sat beside Chad. “Whatcha watching?” He stuck the banana out for Chad to help peel.
“Good choice.” He fist bumped Ryan. Then he ripped open the banana and handed it back. “Monday night pregame stuff. We don’t want the Chiefs to win tonight.”
“How come?”
“Because they’re our rivals, of course.” He ruffled Ryan’s hair and made him laugh. “Our job is to beat them so we can win the championship and then go on to the Super Bowl.”
“That’d be good, right? Is Jo coming soon?”
“Yep. That’d be very good. And Jo should be here any minute.” He turned his attention to what the announcers were saying about the game later. But then a picture of him in full uniform appeared on the screen, and the announcer said, “San Diego wide receiver Chad Jenks appears to be lying to his coaches about his medical progress after the hit he took early last month during the Raiders game.”
Chad watched the video of the hit, and then they cut to him limping around his gym during a workout, and his heart lurched. Copies of text messages he’d sent from his phone to his coaches saying he was healing well and almost better appeared on the screen and made a liar out of him.
“An unnamed source says Chad is desperate to save his starting position, but he is only hurting the team by not revealing the extent of his injuries. We asked for a statement from the Chargers organization, but they declined to comment. In other news—”
Chad hit the mute button on the remote and sat in equal parts disbelief and fury. Who the hell would do that to him? Could do that? Who had access to his phone? And his workouts?
Only Jo.
He’d just given her the code to his phone on Saturday night. And she’d been filming his workouts all along. But she’d never do that to him. Would she?
Had she just been waiting for the opportunity to betray him? Would Jo really stoop so low? Was it her way of getting out of rehabbing him? Had she just been pretending to be friends again to get information to ruin him?
Jo was the last person he’d ever think would betray him. It hurt as badly as the prospect of never playing again. She knew how much it meant to him to play.
Or was it revenge? For what he’d done to her all those years ago? For not believing her and not being there when Bryce died?
When the elevators doors parted, Jo appeared. “I just heard the news in the car, Chad. Hi, Ryan.” She sat on the couch next to Ryan, tossed her things beside her, and picked up the remote. “How did they get your texts?”
His jaw was clenched so tight, it was hard to spit out, “They have video too. Shot here. In my own damned gym! Who beside you had access to my gym and my phone, Jo?”
Jo’s jaw dropped. “You’re accusing me of doing this?”
“Who else would I blame!”
“Stop yelling. You’re scaring Ryan.”
He leaned down and got in her face. “I don’t care! Answer the question, Jo. Why did you do this to me?” He saw red, he was so angry with her. And damned hurt that she’d do that to him.
Jo stopped her search for the news clip on TV and quietly said, “Ryan. Can you please go watch TV in the den? Chad and I need to talk.”
“‘Kay.” Ryan stood and started to leave but then stopped. “If you make Jo leave too, I’ll hate you, Chad!”
Chad ran a hand down his face and dug deep for calm. Just when he’d been making progress with Ryan, he’d taken two steps back. When he opened his eyes, Jo stood toe to toe wi
th him with her arms crossed.
She growled, “How could you think that I’d ever do something like this to you?”
The anger and hurt in her eyes reminded him of the last time he’d accused her of something. Falsely. Suddenly his stomach hurt. “You’d be the logical choice.”
“The logical choice? Strike one for being an ass!” Jo stood on her tip toes and got in his face right back. “Shelby was right. You haven’t changed a bit, Chad!”
Jo was as angry as he’d ever seen her. Her hands were both fisted at her sides, like she was refraining from punching him in the face.
Luckily the video of him in the gym came on the screen again, so she whipped her attention from him and toward the television. “I don’t recognize that band’s T-shirt. When was that shot?”
He tried to calm down enough to study the screen. He had a habit of listening to and wearing his favorite band’s T-shirt when he worked out. “That’s because that shirt is new. I wore it yesterday.” And Jo had been on her date when that was shot. Crap.
Jo turned her head toward him again. “You worked out yesterday? I told you we were going to take a break for two days. That’s strike two!”
“Technically, that’s strike one. We were at negative one.”
“Whatever!” Jo threw her hands up in the air. “That you could think for one moment that I’d do that to you makes me want to walk out the door and never see you again, Chad.”
Panic slammed through his gut. He needed her. “Please don’t.” The hurt tears in her eyes instantly cooled his remaining fury. What had he been thinking? Jo would never do that to him. It was why he’d wanted her to be the only one to rehab him.
“I’m sorry. I literally just heard the news seconds before you walked in the door. I overreacted. Bad news at the doctor’s office. Then bad news on TV. I know you didn’t do it. Please. Stay and help me figure out what happened. And what to tell my coaches.” He sank down onto the couch, utterly defeated.
Could he salvage his career? And what about Jo? He hoped to God he hadn’t blown it with her again—he wasn’t sure is heart could take it twice.
Jo was hurt and angry, but something about the way Chad’s shoulders drooped, and the defeat in his voice, made her stay. “Do you think Linda could’ve done this to you?”
His head snapped up. “She was really pissed last night. And she’d hinted at wanting back child support. She might be desperate enough to do it. But how?”
Jo drew in a deep, calming breath and sat beside Chad. “Have you had that same code that a four-year-old can figure out on your phone since you were married?”
“Yes.” Chad flopped his head on the back of the couch, closed his eyes, and groaned. “And I always leave it in the kitchen to charge while I work out. Dammit!”
“Well, the first thing you need to do is change that password.”
“Done. But what am I going to tell my coaches, Jo? My doc said today he still didn’t hold out much hope for me.”
Jo laid her hand on his thigh and gave it a pat. “Well, he doesn’t know you the way I do. If your knee keeps improving each day, I still think you can overcome this. It’s not going to be easy, but you’re not a quitter. So call your coaches. Right now.”
Chad’s head lolled her way. “And say what?”
“Tell them the truth. That the limp they saw was due to an accident at the ranch on Saturday. You have tapes from before the accident that show marked progress. That your trainer has faith we’re going to have you back before the end of the season, and that you’ll be more careful with your phone from now on.”
A slow grin lit his face. “You really think I can play again?”
“If you continue to improve, then yes. Why would I still be here putting up with all your crap otherwise?” She was hopeful, but realistic enough to know he might not. But that wasn’t what he needed to hear at the moment.
“Thank you, Jo. If I asked for a hug right now, would that earn me another strike?”
“Yes.” She wanted to hug him too, tell him it’d be all right, but what he needed was a kick in the pants right now. Not sympathy. “Now let’s call your coaches so the PR team can save your precious reputation. And so whoever did this sees they didn’t win this round.”
“You’re the boss.” He smiled and pulled his phone from his pocket. “I’m guessing if 1-2-3-4 is a bad code, then 5-6-7-8 probably won’t cut it either?”
She rolled her eyes. “How about your mom’s birthday. Or someone who the public would never link to you?”
“Okay. I’ll use yours.” He started tapping numbers in.
“No! The point is that you’re the only one who knows the code.” He still remembered her birthday? She’d always thought it was his mother who’d remind him to get a gift each year. “Wait. When do you think my birthday is?”
His expression turned smug. “It’s May fifth. You give me so little credit, Jo.”
“Well, you have to admit, I was the one who remembered your family’s birthdays, not you.” She smiled, kind of impressed he remembered.
“True.” He started scrolling through his missed calls. “But none of them have a birthday on a day for partying. While I’m celebrating Cinco de Mayo, eating guacamole, and drinking my ice-cold cerveza, I always think of you.”
Jo picked up the pillow beside her and smacked him on the arm. “Just dial. We need to get busy saving your sorry ass.”
Chad found the number and hit redial. While he waited, he leaned close and whispered, “Thanks for sticking. I don’t know what’d I do without you.”
When he smiled so sweetly, so sincerely, something shifted in her chest.
“No problem.” But maybe it was. She’d never put up with behavior like that from any other client. Was she falling in love with Chad again?
She needed to lock that down quick. He was leaving in a few weeks after she healed him.
Friday, and her date with Gary the pediatrician, couldn’t come soon enough.
11
SOMETIMES MAKING A MISTAKE IS JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED.
Jo tucked her Kinesio tape back into her gym bag after Chad’s workout on Friday afternoon. She’d taken a bit of a risk in pushing him harder than she liked during the past week, using some new exercises on Chad’s knee, and so far they were really paying off.
He was finally healing well, and they were coming up to the point where he would probably either continue to improve or hit the level of as good as it gets. Her stomach clenched when she thought about how Chad would react if he couldn’t play again. It’d surely throw him into a terrible tailspin.
Chad’s damp T-shirt smacked her arm. “Where did you go off to just now, Jo? Something wrong?” He tossed his shirt into a hamper.
“No. Just thinking.” She checked the time on her fitness band. “Crap, I’m late. I need to get ready for my date tonight. Tell Ryan I left him a snack in the fridge with his name on it.”
“Will do.” Chad crossed his arms across his sweaty, bare chest. “Is your date the reason for that pensive look on your face?”
She couldn’t tell him it was his knee she was worried about. Her job was to keep him positive, now more than ever. “I am a little nervous about tonight.” She grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder as they headed for the door. “First dates generally suck.”
Chad smiled, and his eyes lit with mischief. “If you need a little practice before you sleep with him, let me know. Two years is a long time. You might have forgotten how it all works.”
“Or, instinct will overcome me and I’ll rip his clothes off and ravage him because it has been two long years.”
“Lucky guy.” Chad swallowed hard, then looked away. “If you want, I can text you to give you an out if the date’s not working.”
They walked side by side by the rooftop pool. “Do you do that on first dates? Have someone lined up to text you at a certain time?”
“Always. There’s nothing worse than being stuck on a bad first date, silent
ly hoping she won’t order dessert so you can get the hell out.”
“Then this is for all the poor women who’ve you bailed on.” Jo pushed him into the pool. “I think you should do ten laps for penance.”
Chad’s head popped up again and before she could evade, his hands wrapped around her legs. He tugged. “Hey!” She wasn’t going to win the battle, so she flung her bag to safety just before she hit the cool water alongside him in the deep end.
Once she came back up for air, she used both hands and pushed his head under water. She’d just reached the side to get out, when his hands slid around her waist and he pulled her under again. But this time he didn’t let go. He held her body snugly against his as they both broke the surface and swiped their wet hair from their eyes. “Okay. Very funny. Now let go. I have to leave.”
“Since we’re both wet”—Chad’s hand drifted to her butt and he gave it a soft squeeze—“how about we have a race? Loser makes the other dinner tomorrow night.”
The one thing Chad had never been able to beat her at was swimming. “What are you making me?”
He whispered, “Not so fast. You have to beat me first.”
He looked so irresistible with his hair wet and slicked back, with droplets of water weaving their way around all the muscles in his neck and chest. And the cold water wasn’t keeping him from growing hard against her belly. She’d better agree to the race before she did something stupid like make love to him right there in the pool. “You’re on. One lap. To the other end and back. And then I really have to go.”
He let her wiggle out of his embrace, so she headed for the end of the pool. As soon as he’d joined her, she said, “Go!” and took off.
He appeared by her side and matched her stroke for stroke. He could usually keep up for the first quarter of the race, but then all his bulk tended to slow him down. Jo dipped under to make the turn and was shocked to see him still keeping up with her pace.
She hated to lose, so she dug deep and gave it all she had. Chad kept up. As she approached the side of the pool, she surged forward to beat him. But his arm was longer, and they touched the at the exact same time.
Perfectly Ms. Matched (Rocky Mountain Matchmaker Series Book 2) Page 11
