Tender Mercies

by Mary Manners

  She shot daggers in his direction. “You stay out of this.”

  He held up both hands. “I’m innocent.”

  “Yeah, right.” She turned back to Andy. “Get whatever you need and march straight to my office—no detours. Get started.”

  He dug the toe of his tennis shoe into the grass. “Oh, why do I have to go to school? I’m gonna be a pro football player. I don’t need an education. I’ll make a ton of money without one.” He tossed Cooper the ball. “Magazines will be hounding me for interviews, and maybe I’ll even get paid to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated. You got to do that, didn’t you, Cooper? Tell her.”

  Cooper went stone still. His gaze locked with Lexi’s, and when she opened her mouth to give Andy what-for, he shook his head ever so slightly and murmured, “Let me handle this.”

  “Cooper—”

  “I’ve got it under control. I’ll take Andy in, help him get started. You just take care of whatever needs taking care of around here, OK? Renee was looking for you earlier—something about the budget.”

  Oh, the budget...

  “But—”

  He shook his head again. His eyes were pleading. “Give it a rest, Lex. I’ve got this one.”

  She sighed. The pain in her head made the world around her go gray. She didn’t have the energy to battle. Not now, not here—not like this. “Oh, OK. But make sure he gets right to work, or we’ll be up all night. And I need some sleep tonight...I really need some sleep.”

  “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll make sure he gets everything done.” He slung an arm over Andy’s shoulder and tossed the ball back to a kid behind him. “You guys carry on with the game. I’ll be back in a while.”

  Lexi sighed as grumbling erupted. “No fair,” Caleb groaned. A shock of red hair glowed like flames beneath bright sunlight, and freckles spattered his pale cheeks. “Why does Cooper have to quit just ’cause Andy has homework? I still wanna throw.”

  “Me, too,” Alex joined in.

  “Yeah, me too.” Their voices washed over one another until all that remained was a cacophonous storm.

  Lexi held up a hand to silence the chaos. “Cooper said he’ll come back soon,” she assured the group that threatened to turn into a mob. “Why don’t you toss the ball around, practice your game while you wait? Maybe you can show Cooper some new moves when he gets back.”

  “Good idea,” Anna, the dark-haired girl who’d joined them just a few weeks ago, agreed. “We’ll run a few plays, show him what we can do.”

  “He’ll be impressed, I’m sure,” Lexi encouraged. “I’ll watch for a few minutes, see what you’ve got.”

  Maybe, with any luck, I’ll coax this headache from a ferocious roar to a mild purr in the meantime.

  “You know about football?” Caleb asked, his eyes narrow with skepticism.

  “Sure. I used to watch it all the time.” She’d been Cooper’s biggest fan, front and center at every game. She’d learned how to massage his sore muscles and feed his voracious appetite during two-a-day—sometimes even three-a-day—training sessions. She’d listened to him lament over every loss, every fumble and interception, every bad call, and celebrated sweet victories with him.

  “But I’ve never heard you talk about it,” Anna continued. “How come? Miss Renee goes to all the home football games and Mr. Branson likes to watch on TV, but you’ve never mentioned football.”

  “I don’t watch it anymore. At least I haven’t lately. I’ve been very busy. There’s a lot to do around here, and it takes up most of my time.” She grinned, though the effort nearly split her head in two. “You guys keep me hopping.”

  “Maybe Cooper can help get you interested in it again. He’s sure a good player, isn’t he? Too bad his knee hurts.” Anna brightened, and her smile revealed two shiny metallic rows of braces bound by navy blue and canary-yellow bands...her school colors. “It’s getting better, though. He said so.”

  “Yes, I hope so.” It would get better, and he’d go back to practice again with the NFL. Actually, spring training had already begun.

  Why isn’t he in Jacksonville?

  She tossed the ball to Caleb. “Go run some plays now. I’ll watch.”

  “OK, Miss Lexi. Here we go.”

  She enjoyed the warm sunshine on her face, the sound of laughter and easy banter that filled the air. She breathed in the sweet scent of lilac bushes Cooper had helped the kids plant last weekend, and forgot about the dire financial straits Thursday’s Child was in, dismissed Andy’s mound of homework. Soon the headache eased to a dull throb, then fled altogether.

  ****

  “You really have a degree in marketing?” Andy’s eyes flew wide. He’d dumped the contents of his backpack onto Lexi’s desk and sorted the stuff into two piles—what he needed...notebook, math book, pencil, and what he didn’t...iPod, sketch pad, wadded up notes he and Brody had passed during English class. Cooper watched, remembering the heaps of notes he’d sneaked to Lexi during their classes together. He still had a few, tucked neatly between the yellowed pages of his high school yearbooks. Every once in a while he took them out, smoothed the crinkled paper, read them...and remembered. “But I thought you played football when you were in college.”

  “I did play football, but I had to go to class, too.” He reached for Andy’s math book and scanned the lesson he had to complete. “You can’t just go to college to play sports. You have to work toward a degree, keep your grades up, and I chose to study business and marketing.”

  “But, why? You’re never gonna use it, are you?”

  “Sure. I’ve already used it. Football has a business side, you know.”

  That’s what it boils down to, Coop...you’re a product.

  “It’s not just all about throwing the ball and running plays.” Cooper shrugged. “Besides, my body won’t hold out forever. Then, what? It’s good to have something to fall back on.”

  “But don’t football players make a ton of money?”

  “That depends.”

  “You have, though. Right?”

  “I’ve done OK.” The kid had stars in his eyes, and Cooper wondered if he’d looked the same when he was young and dreamed of making it big. “But there are no guarantees.”

  “I don’t get it.” Andy doodled on a scrap of paper. “If you spend time studying in college you have less time to practice. And if you have less time to practice, you might not get recruited to go pro, right?”

  “And if you don’t study, don’t make the grades, no college will even consider looking at you—or keeping you, so there’s no chance at all of being recruited. You have to have the whole package, Sport—brains, talent, and a whole lot of hard work.”

  “Oh, then forget it.”

  “What? You have an aversion to hard work?”

  “No. It’s not that. It’s just...my grades aren’t the best.”

  “And why is that? You seem smart enough to me—or do you just put on a good show?”

  “Aunt Lexi says I’m smart, but I don’t apply myself.”

  “I’d have to agree with her on this one.”

  “But I’ll never get all this work done. And even if I do, I’m gonna fail math anyway. Mr. Grinstead hates me.”

  “Hate’s a strong word. Mr. Grinstead’s tough. I know from personal experience. But I can’t imagine him hating anyone—not even Billy Huggins, who put a night crawler in his coffee.”

  “He did? When?”

  “Before your time, Sport. Old Grinstead took a huge gulp from his mug, choked on the wiggly thing. He was up in front of the class, gagging and turning every color of the rainbow. I sprang from my seat to give him the Heimlich. We’d just learned how to do that in our first aide class, you see.” He laughed, remembering. “I was teacher’s pet after that, no denying it. Saved the old man’s life, I did.”

  “Wow. That’s cool. What happened to Billy Huggins?”

  “No one knows for sure. He got suspended, never came back.”

  “Well, since Mr. G
rinstead likes you so much, maybe you can put in a good word for me, get him off my back. Maybe he’ll forget about the math project...and detention.”

  “No dice. I’ll put in a good word—maybe—but you’re going to do the project. I promised Lexi you’d get it done, so let’s get started.”

  “Aw, I thought you were on my side.”

  “I am. That’s why you’re going to do it. Now, where’s the outline. I’ll show you a shortcut.”

  Andy reached for his math book. “A shortcut. Cool.”

  ****

  “He’s really finished with everything?” Lexi leaned against the door jamb and studied Cooper, who slouched in her rolling desk chair, his feet propped neatly on the cluttered desktop.

  “Yes, really.” He winked, and his dark eyes drew her in. “I do have a miracle or two tucked up my sleeve.”

  “Thanks, Cooper.” She tore open a package of cashews and offered him some before tossing a handful into her mouth. The salt soothed her taste buds and her belly rumbled with hunger. “I appreciate your help. I didn’t mean to stay outside so long.”

  “The kids roped you into playing a game or two. I saw you run a few plays through the window.” He grinned. “I forgot how quick you can move.”

  “Luckily I had a pair of running shoes in the car. I would have never made it in these sandals.” She sighed. “It was fun. I used to play with the kids all the time, but I’ve had more paperwork lately, more planning sessions. That takes time away from the action. I miss it, but I guess I haven’t lost all my moves. I only got tackled a few times, anyway.”

  “No broken bones, so it hardly counts.”

  “Guess not.” Lexi gathered the papers on her desk into a pile and slipped an array of pens into a ceramic jar. The center had closed half an hour ago, and Andy was busy shooting baskets in the gym to work off some energy. Down the hallway, she heard the hard slap of rubber against polished wood. “Sometimes the responsibility is overwhelming. Andy is a lot of work, but a lot of fun, too.”

  “How’d he come to...um...live with you?”

  “It’s a long story.”

  “I’ve got time.”

  Hunger gnawed at her belly, and she felt the lure of a long, hot shower, but she knew if she left without giving Andy time to work out unbridled energy raging in his system she’d just pay for it later when she had to fight with him to go to bed. So she gave up on organizing and took a seat on the edge of the desk.

  “Well...when my dad died he didn’t have much to show for a lifetime of hard work, but what he did have he left to Terri and me, equally. We sold the house, and I used my part of the money to open this place. Terri decided she wanted to be an actress, so she moved to Los Angeles. She spent two years there, hunting down auditions and networking with agents and people who said they knew a thing or two about the business. And that was hard enough on Andy, since he was left alone most nights. Anyway, it didn’t work out, and she got mixed up with a bad crowd, blew through most of her savings. So, she decided maybe fashion is her thing. She’s in New York looking for work, last I heard.”

  “I’m sorry, Lex. I didn’t know.”

  “How could you?” She didn’t accuse, just stated the facts. “She had a harder time than me, Cooper. The guilt’s eaten away at her.”

  “It shouldn’t. She was only seventeen when she...when your mom...”

  “I know. But she doesn’t see it that way. She feels responsible.” Lexi slipped off her sandals, pressed the soles of her feet against cool tile. “Anyway, when she decided to move to New York Andy was dead-set against going. He ran away—twice. So I offered to take him in. He wasn’t real thrilled with that option, either, but it was better than long nights left home all alone in New York. I guess he’d had enough of that in California. Needless to say, it’s been...interesting.”

  “I’ll say.”

  “He’s a great kid, really. He’s just lacking some boundaries, and he’s a little bit insecure.”

  “That’s understandable.” Cooper reached into his pocket for a pack of gum and offered her a stick.

  She unwrapped it and the scent of cherries filled the air.

  “He asked me if we used to date.”

  “What? Why?” She gagged on the wad of gum she’d pressed into her mouth and Cooper sprang from the chair to smack her soundly between the shoulder blades.

  “You OK?”

  She nodded as she wiped tears from her eyes and coughed to clear the rock from her throat. “I-I think so. How did he know...about us?”

  “He found a photo of us in formal-wear, like we were headed to a wedding. Apparently, it fell out of one of the paperbacks you loaned him.”

  “Oh, that must have been prom...senior year.” Unable to bring herself to destroy the photo after Cooper left, she slipped it between pages of the book and forgot it.

  He leaned against the wall and jammed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I remember how beautiful you looked. Man, you stopped my heart that night when you floated down the stairs in that silver-sequined dress, the strappy sandals...wow.”

  She was surprised he remembered. She’d loved that dress...felt like a princess in it. He’d made her feel like a princess. “That was a long time ago, Cooper. A lifetime ago.”

  “Seems like just yesterday. Remember how we made a pact to go as friends, because college was just around the corner and we didn’t know for sure where we’d be...didn’t want to have a hard goodbye? And then at the lake afterwards, beneath the light of a full moon, you let me kiss you?”

  She shivered at the thought. It had been completely unplanned, unexpected. His body was warm, protective as he gently eased her against him. And the kiss...he’d smelled of cherries and woodsy aftershave, just like he did now. Oh, how his strength caused a tingle to race from the top of her head to the pit of her belly. He’d kissed the breath right out of her, and it was simply...amazing.

  She worked the gum, fought to clear the memory from her mind. “I’d rather not talk about it.” It had been the bridge between their friendship and a newfound romance, a bond that went deeper than friends skipping rocks down at the pond or doing homework together over a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies. And through it all, Cooper had been wonderful...patient and loving—until the lure of wealth and fame changed him. Lexi wound a strand of blonde hair around her index finger and changed the subject—fast. “Um, Andy seems to like you.”

  His gaze held hers, and he was quiet a moment. “It’s mutual. I’d like to take him to the Orange and White game this weekend, give him a taste of some real football. Maybe it will motivate him to try harder in school.” He cleared his throat and his gaze pierced hers. “I’d like it, Lex, if you’d come, too.”

  She rushed to the desk and began to gather scraps of paper she’d scribbled notes on. “Oh, Cooper, I...I don’t know. There’s so much to do here, and—”

  He touched her shoulder gently and she turned back to look at him. “You don’t have to tell me now. Just think about it, OK?”

  “O-OK.” She could do that much, at least.

  His cell phone rang, startling them both. He answered, listened, then hung up and said, “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”

  Her stomach growled in response, and he laughed as he strode from the room to disappear down the hall.

  Oh, he’s impossible!

  She collapsed into the desk chair and laid her head on the desk. Would this day ever end? She longed for the spray of a hot shower and the warmth of her down comforter.

  Max must be ravenous. I’ll bet Andy forgot to feed him again this morning.

  Cooper returned carrying a large white sack and a stainless steel carafe. The aroma of tangy spaghetti sauce and hazelnut coffee made her mouth water.

  “Cooper, what on earth...?”

  He grinned and set the sack on her desk. “They can hear your belly roaring as far as the highway. You need to eat, Lex.”

  She pressed a hand to her midsection. “It’s late. I s
hould get Andy home.”

  “You should eat.” He removed two foil pans from the sack along with plastic forks and knives. “I remember how much you like spinach ravioli from Bellacino’s...and their hazelnut-vanilla latte.”

  “But they don’t deliver. How—”

  “Don’t worry about how. Just fill your belly, OK?” He uncovered one of the pans and pressed it into her hands. Fat ravioli drenched in warm marinara sauce and smothered with mozzarella nearly brought her to tears. “Dig in. And if you’re worried the coffee will keep you up all night—don’t. It’s decaf.”

  “You thought of everything, didn’t you?”

  “Hardly.” He stuffed a forkful of pepperoni-and-mushroom calzone into his mouth and poured her a cup of latte. Steam rose and swirled, and the rich aroma made her mouth sing. “But this will have to do, for now.”

  They ate in companionable silence while the sound of Andy playing in the gym serenaded. From time to time, the slap of his shoes, the thump of the ball, paused briefly and his groans over an easy missed shot reverberated up the hall.

  He’ll sleep well tonight, Lexi thought with a sigh of relief.

  Outside the office window, a full moon cast a hazy glow over an empty parking lot.

  “When will you go back?” Lexi delved into a ravioli, speared a bite and drowned it in marinara before slipping it into her mouth.

  “To Jacksonville?” Cooper’s calzone was nearly gone. “I don’t know.”

  “But you’re going back...right?”

  “I’m under contract. I’m obligated.” She heard hesitation in his voice.

  The ravioli turned to stone in her belly. She set the container on the desk. “Of course. I understand, Cooper.”

  His gaze found hers, held. “Do you?”

  She sighed. I don’t understand any of this. Why did he come back here now...like this? “Thanks for the food, Cooper. It was...delicious. Now, I really have to get Andy home. He’ll be a bear to wake up for school tomorrow morning.”

  “OK. Just one more cup of coffee for you while I clean things up here.” Cooper refilled her mug as he motioned to the ravioli container, empty now except for remnants of marinara sauce. “Boy, you were hungry.”