“Says who?” She couldn’t help but laugh at the little tyrant. Though he was the youngest, he didn’t usually act spoiled. He was obviously having fun with this situation.
He closed his eyes and winced.
“Josh?” Lily leaned forward.
“My head kind of hurts.”
“Are you being serious or are you playing me?” She didn’t know and it was too close to the terror of losing him to risk not responding appropriately.
He pressed a hand to his forehead. “It hurts, Lil.”
“I’ll get the nurse.” She stood.
“No.” He grabbed her arm. “They gave me some pain stuff a little while ago.” He slumped down. “I’m pretty tired.”
“Okay. I’ll let you sleep.”
His eyes flew open. “No! Not until you promise to talk to Hyde.”
Lily didn’t know that his head actually hurt, but she had no desire to mess with him right now. “If I promise, will you try to rest?”
“Yes.” He stared at her expectantly.
“I promise to talk to Hyde.”
He gestured, sweeping his hand at her. “And…”
“And give him a chance to explain.”
“And…”
“What?”
“Kiss him and all that stuff.”
“I don’t know about that, Josh.” She pushed the thought of kissing Hyde to the back of her mind. She could not let herself go there.
“Okay.” He sighed dramatically. “Now go tell those nurses I want some more chocolate milk and maybe a donut or something good. Those eggs were nasty—runny and no salt.”
Lily shook her head. “You promised me you’d rest.”
His dark eyes twinkled at her. “I will. As soon as I eat.”
“You’re spoiled.”
“Can’t be spoiled when you deserve it.” Josh laughed, but then he really did close his eyes like he was in pain. “Love you,” he whispered.
“I love you too. I’ll get the nurse and some good food for you.”
“Thanks, Lils.”
Lily closed the door quietly and headed straight for the nurse’s station. “He said his head is hurting.”
“It will for a while. The medication will kick in soon and he’ll be sleepy.”
“He wanted chocolate milk and a donut.”
The nurse cackled. “That little cutie. How do you ever tell him no?”
“We don’t.” Lily laughed, a strangled sort of relief in the ability and desire to laugh again. “But he’s not usually this demanding.”
“Guess he can’t be with that many siblings.”
“True. Thank you. Should we give him some time to rest?”
“Probably. He’s doing fabulous, but his brain will need time to heal. I’m sure your mom will be back in here as soon as she wolfs down the breakfast your handsome boyfriend brought.”
Lily smiled weakly. “Probably. Thanks.” She walked slowly out of the intensive care. She’d rather stay with Josh, especially when she had to fulfill her promise to talk with Hyde.
The waiting room was like a party as the other families shared the Udy’s happy news and ate the food Hyde had brought. Lily stood just outside the door and watched for a few seconds. Hyde glanced up and caught her eye. She swallowed and thought maybe if she inclined her head he’d come her way and they could find a private spot and get this talk over.
“Lily?” A soft voice said at her elbow.
Lily turned and recoiled. Hyde’s mom, Teresa, and her best friend, Allie. “What are you doing here?” She asked in a voice that was much too harsh, like they had no right to be here at all.
“Teresa needs to talk to you,” Allie said in a no-nonsense voice. “If you’ll just come with us, please.”
Lily raised her eyebrows in what she hoped was a challenging way.
“Oh, come on now, girl, you’re not a brat and we all know it. Drop the attitude and give my friend a chance to apologize.”
Lily’s eyebrows really did pop up then. “Wow.” She sighed and turned. “Okay.”
Allie took her elbow and led her down the hallway to some couches. They all sat and it was completely awkward for a few seconds. Lily had promised Josh she’d talk to Hyde, but she was not ready to talk to his mom. Josh would expect Lily to forgive her and that was awfully hard.
“Spit it out, girl,” Allie said.
Lily stared at her, but realized she was talking to Teresa, not her.
“Okay. Give me a second to breathe.” Teresa glared at Allie then turned to Lily and her expression softened. “Sweet girl. I’m so sorry.”
“You are?” Lily had expected some sort of apology, but this was real. It was heartfelt and very, very lucid.
“I’m a horrible person, Lily. I’ve been pretending my condition is worse than it is.”
“And hiding her lies from her best friend, mind you,” Allie interjected.
“I already apologized to you.” Teresa whirled on Allie. “Can you lay off for two minutes?”
Lily gave a surprised laugh. This was a different Teresa than she’d ever been around, but this was insane. Hyde’s mom had been pretending to be out of it?
“Lay off. I’ll give you lay off,” Allie snarled.
“Sorry, my dearest friend of this lifetime. I’m very sorry, and I’m sure I’ll spend the next twenty years making it up to you.” Her voice dropped and she stared at her hands. “Well, at least until my condition really does progress.” She pinned Allie with a stare. “Then maybe I’ll be blissfully unaware and happy in my insanity, and you can be the one feeling guilty.”
“Ha! I won’t feel guilty for at least thirty years.” Allie smiled at Lily. “Apologize to the girl so you can buy me breakfast at Café 13.”
“Demand, demand. Give me a second to spit it out.”
Lily pressed her lips together to contain another laugh, almost forgetting that this woman had hurt Josh’s feelings and called her a money grubber to a national reporter.
Teresa turned back to her. “Like I was trying to say. I’ve been horribly selfish and I pretended I was suffering from more dementia than I really am.”
“Why?” Who would do that?
“There’s really no excuse, Lily. My husband deserted me and then I was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. I was terrified and scared and all I knew was I couldn’t lose Hyde too.”
Lily didn’t know how to respond to that. How sad. Yet she wondered if this woman knew her own son. Hyde was honorable and good. He wouldn’t desert his mom. He would never desert you either, a little voice in her head said.
“I didn’t want you to steal him away from me,” Teresa said.
“Oh.” That made sense. This woman had been deserted by her husband and she was facing a debilitating mental condition that was only going to get worse and she was so terrified of losing Hyde to another woman she acted irrationally.
“Then when that reporter was interviewing me, he claimed you were cheating on Hyde and I really lost it.” Teresa rolled her eyes. “I should know more than others how reporters twist the truth.”
Lily nodded. As protective as Teresa was of Hyde, of course she would react poorly if she thought Lily was taking advantage of her boy.
“I understand you might not be able to forgive me, especially since I turned those cute brothers of yours away and then the accident happened.” She shuddered out a breath. “I’m so relieved the one with the big smile …”
“Josh,” Allie inserted.
“Thank you, Josh, is going to be all right.”
“Thank you,” Lily said stiffly. She wanted to forgive, but she thought of Caleb and Josh trying to go apologize and Teresa telling them Hyde didn’t want to talk to them. She kept picturing the car hitting them and Josh getting walloped by the airbag so hard he had this horrible brain trauma. She recognized the accident wasn’t Teresa’s fault, but it was all tied together in her emotional duress.
Teresa grasped her hand and Lily felt a warm surge toward this woman. She was
kind of a mess, but she was an endearing mess.
“Please don’t blame Hyde for any of this. He’s innocent like your brothers and even though you haven’t known each other for very long I’ve seen the signs that he loves you.”
Lily bit at her lip. Again, she had no clue how to respond. Love was a pretty big step from slapping a guy across the face.
Teresa nodded. “I understand. You’ve been through a lot and this is a lot to process. I hope you and I can be friends someday.”
Lily stared into her blue eyes. There was sincerity there. “Thank you.”
Teresa nodded then stood and tugged Allie to her feet. “Come on. Let’s go buy you breakfast. You deserve some reward for staying quiet for the last five minutes. That’s a new record.”
Allie guffawed. “Trying to let you apologize right.” She bumped her hip into Teresa’s. “You did okay, friend.” Allie smiled at Lily. “Give your brothers a hug for us.”
Teresa’s eyes darted around the couch. “Where’s the present? Didn’t we buy a bunch of stuff?”
“I told them just to send it all up to his room.”
“Okay, thanks.” Teresa exhaled and smiled.
“What present?” Lily asked.
“Oh, we just sent a little something to Josh.” Allie gave her a quick hug then looped her elbow through Teresa’s and tugged her down the hallway. “And give Hyde a hug from us too.”
“We’ll see,” Lily shot back.
“Girls gotta hope.” Allie winked at her. “Make it work boy,” she barked.
Lily laughed, confused until she turned to head back to the waiting room. Hyde was leaning against the wall. The air whooshed out of her. He looked tired and tall and impossibly handsome.
“Yes on the hug or no?” His cheek crinkled as he smiled at her.
Lily tilted her head to the side. “It’s a soft maybe right now.”
Hyde nodded and walked slowly toward her. Lily found herself backing up until she hit the wall. Hyde stopped a foot away. His eyes searched her face. “I’m sorry, Lily. Sorry I believed you would date Ike behind my back and sorry that I got upset and sorry that Josh and Caleb were in the accident.”
Lily nodded. She was beginning to see that he would never have hurt her or her brothers purposely and neither would his mom. Hope started to swell in her chest. Maybe there was a chance for them after all. She studied his dark eyes for a few seconds before finally admitting, “I understand and …” She bit at her cheek and then forced the words out, “I’m sorry too.”
“You shouldn’t apologize.” He took a step closer.
“I’ve been pretty unreasonable. The article ticked me off then you ticked me off then your mom ticked me off and then …” She gestured toward where Josh’s room was.
“All very good reasons to be unreasonable.” He took another step and extended his hand. “Please forgive me and be my trainer again?”
Lily took his hand, loving the pressure of his large fingers encompassing hers. She debated for a few seconds then worked up the courage to ask, “How about your trainer and your girlfriend?” She bit at her lip as she waited for his response.
Hyde’s eyebrows darted up then he chuckled and tugged her into his arms. “Does that mean I’m getting the hug Allie demanded?”
“It’s still a maybe.” She blinked up at him.
“Can we make it a definite maybe?”
“Maybe.” She laughed and it felt so good.
Hyde clasped her to him, holding her like he hadn’t seen her in years. A shudder ran through his body. He kissed her forehead and whispered, “Oh, Lil. I’ve missed you.”
Lily stood on tiptoes and brushed her lips over his. “Not nearly as much as I’ve missed you.”
He bent closer and kissed her until the world was swirling. Lily decided forgiving him was definitely worth it.
Chapter 18
Christmas Day
Hyde prepared to jog down the tunnel. This was one of the best parts of any home football game. Running out to the roar of the crowd. His beautiful fiancée, her family, his mom, Auntie Allie, and Lon were waiting in the stands and he couldn’t wait to repay Dallas for their triumph in the Super Bowl last year. Josh was expecting him to win the Super Bowl this year and a victory over Dallas would be the perfect step in that direction. He smiled to himself, as if he had sole responsibility or ownership of the win or loss.
Cameron Cruz grinned at him and tugged his own helmet on. “Catch the ball this game, will you?”
“Throw it my direction and you’ve got nothing to worry about.”
Cam grinned and thumped him on the shoulder. “I want to take it to Legend.”
“Let’s do it.”
Hyde bounced onto his toes, pumped to go play.
“Hyde?” Someone was tugging on his arm. He turned and the world started spinning.
“Dad?” he asked tentatively.
His dad had aged twenty years since Hyde had seen him last February.
“Dad.” Hyde hugged the older man to him. His dad had always been a big guy, bigger than Hyde even, but he’d not only lost twenty years but probably fifty pounds and it seemed like a couple of inches of height too.
“Son.” His dad hugged him tight. “I just wanted you to know that I’m here. I’ve always been here.”
Hyde pulled back. He received regular post cards but that was it. “But why? Why don’t you come home?”
“I can’t. Your mother.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, I know I’ve gone about this all wrong, but the two of us are like … coffee and alcohol together.”
His father was obviously downing a lot of alcohol to look this rough. Hyde cleared his throat as the crowd roared and his teammates started filtering around him to the field, unsure what to say. He wanted his dad to come home and he knew his mom did as well, but he’d just disappear again and that would hurt his mom all over again. She was doing good. Really good. Sariah had moved into the house, taking over Hyde’s area above the garage when Hyde relocated to Denver. Sariah was going to massage therapy school and being there when his mom needed somebody and Hyde was able to pay her well and not have Lily’s family think it was charity.
“You’ve got to go.” His dad knew. He’d been here.
“Do you need anything?” Hyde asked.
“Naw. I’ve got money and a place to stay. I’m fine.”
“Please, Dad. Call me sometime. Don’t cut me out too.”
His dad nodded and gave him a little shove. “Go.”
Hyde turned and jogged away.
“I’m proud of you son,” he yelled after him.
Hyde waved in acknowledgment, emotions battling within him. His dad really had deserted his mom, but he hadn’t deserted him. It was bittersweet, like trying to eat Sour Patch Kids and the sweet almost made you keep eating them, but the sour made it not worth it.
He ran onto the field and the crowd noise swelled. He looked around desperately for Lily and his mom. Finally, he spotted them by the fifty-yard line. Right where they always were. Right where they should be. They were holding hands and cheering for him. Josh and Caleb were next to Lily, screaming and waving too.
Sariah was between his mom and Allie. The girl seemed to have flourished as much as his mom had. Sariah needed the semi-independence and financial security of working for his mom and being able to go to school, and his mom needed to know that someone was there who loved her.
Hyde brought his glove to his mouth and kissed it then waved it to all of them. His dad had deserted them, but Hyde would never repeat that family curse. He would be there for his family no matter what.
Lily lost her voice sometime in the third quarter, and kept screaming anyway. With only twenty seconds in the game Dallas was up twenty-eight to twenty-four, but Denver was on the nineteen-yard line. Hyde had played insanely well, but he and Cruz needed one more touchdown completion or Dallas would keep the bragging rights, unless they matched up in the Super Bowl again.
Josh clung to her left ha
nd and Teresa to her right. They all bounced almost in unison as they watched the center hike the ball and Hyde sprint for the end zone. The clock ran out as Cruz dodged defenders. The crowd seemed to hold its breath then start screaming as one when Cruz drilled the ball Hyde’s direction. Hyde was in the end zone, but the pass was a little low and a Dallas defender was in front of him. Hyde twisted and dove around the defender. He snatched the ball with both hands, inches from it touching the ground, and rotated his body, landing in the end zone on his shoulder and back.
The noise in the stadium was deafening. Lily was screaming, even though her throat was raw. Josh hugged her, while he jumped up and down.
Hyde leapt to his feet, holding the ball aloft as the crowd continued to roar and the referee threw his arms up.
“He did it!” Teresa screamed.
Lily hugged her. “You should be one proud Momma!”
“You should be one proud future wife!”
They both laughed.
Hyde sprinted down the field and through his teammates, who were streaming onto the field and slapping him on the back. Hyde clung to the ball. He reached their spot in the stands and leapt up, grabbing onto the railing with one hand and tossing the ball to Josh with the other then pulling himself up with both hands.
“That’s for you, bud. It’s not the Super Bowl, but almost.”
Josh clung to the ball. “Yes! I love you, Hyde!”
“I love you too, bud.”
Lily hurried to the edge and grabbed onto him. He climbed the rest of the way and jumped down next to her.
“I’m happy to see you too,” Lily laughed.
Hyde whipped his helmet off, picked her off her feet, and kissed her. He tasted like salt and happiness.
She could hear the crowd roaring around them, but all she could feel and see was Hyde. “I love you, my mega-stud,” she whispered against his lips.
He chuckled. “I owe all my mega-studness to the best trainer in Colorado.”
“Maybe in the world.”
He laughed then murmured, “I love you, too,” and gave her one more mouth-watering kiss.
It was one of those perfect moments. Their families crowded in around them and it only added to the joy as Hyde picked up Josh with one arm and hugged his mom with the other with Lily still pressed against his abdomen. Lily realized Hyde was far from that guy she thought threw his money around. He threw around love and made others better, happier. Not because of his money, because of who he was. She squeezed him tight and grinned. The best part was … he was hers.
Pass Interference Page 15
