Cuffs & Ballers: A Second Chance Sports Romance (Blitz)

by SJ Bishop

"Here," Detective Anderson said, tossing Treena his handcuffs. "He's all yours."

  Treena turned to Coach Allen. "Gregory Allen, you are under arrest for the murder of Penny Ryder. You have the right to remain silent..." He was no longer struggling. He hung his head, defeated. I didn't feel the least bit sorry for him as Treena slapped the cuffs over his wrists, locking them tight.

  50

  Treena

  I tried to stop twiddling my thumbs while we waited for the judge. The last of the Jets entered the courtroom. They were lucky to get seats. If some of the team hadn't gotten here so early, they never would have found a place to sit. The courtroom was packed. The arrest of Coach Allen had made the front page of every newspaper and tabloid throughout the country. A football coach who frames his star quarterback for murder? What could be better, as far as the reporters were concerned?

  Geoffrey Stevens sat beside Jax. I sat right behind him, my hand on his shoulder. He turned and looked at me. My heart melted. Something fluttered in my stomach, and I wondered if it was the baby. I reminded myself that it was way too early to feel the baby kicking inside me. That wouldn't happen for a few months yet... at least, I didn't think so.

  Day by day, I was realizing how little I knew about motherhood. I looked at Clarissa who was sitting next to me on the bench. I'd have to ask her about some of this stuff later. Maybe she still had some baby books I could borrow. First, though, I'd have to tell her I was pregnant. The last couple of days had been so crazy, I hadn't wanted to tell my family anything about my pregnancy. Not just yet. Maybe later today, after Jax's case was wrapped up.

  "All rise," the bailiff called, and everyone stood.

  The judge entered the courtroom. He took his seat and looked around the courtroom as everyone sat back down. Cameras were rolling and photographers were snapping pictures. I wondered if Emily and Anderson were curled up in bed, watching this on television. He was still recovering from his injury, and even though it wasn't serious, Emily refused to leave his side. Especially since it turned out I'd been wrong in my assumption that Anderson had failed her detective's exams on purpose.

  Emily had told Anderson all about that idea of mine. When he'd gotten released from the hospital, he'd gone straight to his office, pulled out Emily's old exams, and gone over them with her point by point. She'd failed them both fair and square, and I'd felt like an idiot. Anderson was ready to kill me, but since he'd made his own assumptions and mistakes—about me and Jax—we'd decided to let bygones be bygones and start over. That had been a couple of days ago, so it was hard to tell how it might go. In another month we might be at each other's throats, but for now things were good.

  "I understand that the defense and prosecution have reached some kind of agreement," the judge said. He glanced at the jury, who were in the courtroom now out of mere formality. Their work here was done. They would not have to listen to any more evidence or render a verdict. Not after what had happened with Coach Allen.

  The prosecutor rose. Caden nudged me with his elbow. He was sitting on the other side of me. He leaned in and whispered, "I bet this guy feels like a schmuck now, huh? He thought for sure Jax was guilty." I smiled at him. Caden was a great guy. I wished he had a girl of his own. He deserved some love in his life. I'd read somewhere that he'd been married once and wondered what had happened. I couldn't imagine any woman ever walking out on him. Then again, I only knew Caden now, long after he'd stopped drinking. What had he been like before that? If Jax was any indicator, Caden probably hadn't been too pleasant to be around.

  "Your honor," the prosecutor said. "In light of new evidence which has arisen, the state would like to dismiss all charges against Jax Ryder."

  The people in the courtroom, who just last week had all been against Jax, erupted in cheers. They drowned out the judge's words, but it was obvious to everyone there what he was saying. The judge banged his gavel on his desk. Case dismissed.

  Jax grabbed me, kissing me hard as Caden and my family clapped him on the back. My father hadn't been particularly surprised to learn that Jax and I were a couple again. He remembered how much we'd meant to each other back in high school. I was pretty sure he was gonna be surprised to learn he had a new grandchild on the way, though.

  "Let's get out of here," I said, talking into his ear. "I've got a nice little welcome home present for you. Plus... I thought we could try out my new handcuffs."

  Jax's eyes burned into me. "You naughty little..."

  His words were cut off as his teammates surrounded him. Mason stuck his hand out, and Jax shook it. "Sorry I was such a dick to you," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "I really thought you’d killed her."

  It was a strange apology, but Jax was clearly in too good a mood not to accept it. The Jets started pushing Jax toward the door, ready to celebrate. Lars ran after them, telling Clarissa he'd see her later. Caden followed them out, "I'll keep an eye on him," he winked at me.

  It was nice to see Jax's teammates supporting him, but I knew that they must've still been in shock that their coach had betrayed them like he had. He'd set up one of his own players for murder. I wasn't sure that the Jets could ever recover completely from something like that.

  Jax had disappeared through the door but came running back to me a minute later. "Come on," he said. "The guys rented out Jon and Buddy's. You know what that means."

  "I get another chance to wallop you at skee-ball," I said grinning.

  "I beat you last time," Jax said.

  "That's what you think."

  "Tonight's the tie-breaker," Jax said. "Whoever wins gets to call the shots in the relationship for the rest of our lives."

  "The rest of our lives?" I asked. "Is that a promise?"

  Jax wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close. "I promise that I will never let you out of my life again. No matter what." He kissed me, and when I pulled away, he was grinning. "By the way, if I win tonight, the handcuffs are going on you later."

  "I've got news for you," I whispered back to him. "The cuffs are going on me no matter who wins." I batted my lashes at him, and Jax grinned.

  Epilogue

  Jax - 3 Months Later...

  I turned to Mason, my hands shaking. "Is everything ready?" I asked.

  "For the hundredth time, yes. Caden's behind the stage, talking to the band. Everything is set. Are you ready?"

  I nodded. "Absolutely."

  "You're lucky we're winning," Mason said, clapping me on the back.

  "Why is that?" I asked.

  "Because," Mason said, "no one wants to marry a loser. Duh." He shook his head as if that were obvious. I tightened my lips. Mason had been a big help to me in setting things up today. He wasn't such a bad guy. He was still kind of a dick sometimes, but now I realized he was like that to everyone.

  Suddenly, Caden appeared on stage. His team hadn't made it to the big game this year, but they'd come close. Caden had taken them as far as he could. It wasn't his fault they'd lost out on it—that was just bad luck. If their wide receiver hadn't broken his leg, the Jets would be playing the Patriots today. The rest of football agreed with me. The New England Patriots had refused to let Caden go when his contract ended this season. Instead, they'd offered him the single biggest contract in sports history. He was already a millionaire, and with his new contract, he'd be hitting billionaire status next fall.

  I was surprised the Jets had done so well this season, considering all that had happened. The owner had hired a new coach right away and let me come back to the team without any issues. He figured that since I was such big news, I could bring the team lots of free publicity. Whatever. I was just happy to play. Even more than that, though, I was happy to put the last few months behind me. Coach Allen's trial had come and gone, and he would be rotting in jail for the rest of his life. Convicted of first-degree murder, as well as attempted murder and obstruction of justice, he was not even eligible for parole.

  "Ladies and gentlemen," Caden said into the microphone. The crowd cheered. Mas
on was right. It was a lot better going into halftime with the upper hand. It would make taking the stage that much sweeter. "We have a man here tonight who would like to say a few words to his girlfriend. Maybe you can all help get her up here. What do you say?"

  The crowd began to cheer. I looked towards the fifty-yard line and spotted Treena sitting between her father and Clarissa. Lars was on Clarissa's right. I started toward them. I'd told her father what I'd planned to do today, opting to be traditional. I respected him and knew I had a lot in my past that might not make me the ideal son-in-law, so I figured I'd better put my best foot forward with him. He'd been ecstatic, especially since it was no secret now that Treena was pregnant.

  Treena had finally come to terms with her pregnancy, recognizing that as a cop, there were going to be some things she just couldn't do until after the baby was born. I'd secretly spoken to Keith and Emily. They'd promised me they'd keep an eye on her and keep her out of harm's way. That didn't make me feel much better, but it helped. They were here somewhere tonight, their own engagement still fresh in the air. From what Treena told me, Keith had helped Emily study for her detective's exam, and this time she'd passed.

  I walked to where Treena was sitting on the bench and pulled her up.

  "What's going on?" she asked. Her stomach was showing now, and she walked slowly beside me as the crowd roared. Up on stage, the halftime band stepped out and began to play a soft instrumental. I got down on one knee, holding out the ring I'd spent a month debating over. A round diamond in a platinum setting gleamed at Treena from under the lights. Her eyes widened.

  "Oh," she said, her hands covering her mouth. Caden handed me the microphone.

  "Treena Walker," I said. "You are not only beautiful and fierce, but the reigning skee-ball champion. I promise that if you marry me, I will spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you and trying to take your championship title away." The crowd laughed. Treena was glowing. "I love you. Will you be my wife?"

  Treena bent down to hug me, almost falling over. I caught her and held her close. "Yes!" she squealed. "Yes!" The crowd cheered. It was only halftime, but I already felt like a winner.

  Blitz Prequel

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  Personal Note

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  Copyright © 2016 S.J. Bishop, All rights reserved.