Love of the Game - The Complete Collection (Box Set)

by Shayne McClendon

  What could they possibly want after all this time?

  She stared at the ceiling for a long time, thinking back to that day. Never in her life had she been so hurt. Hearing about it was bad enough. Seeing it was…jarring. The pain and humiliation were still tender. How do you forgive something like that?

  Why was her heart considering forgiveness in the first place?

  Beck and Dex started coming to her room every day.

  Harley didn’t speak to them but they came anyway. When she wouldn’t answer their questions about her life, they talked about what the last five years had been like for them.

  Like her brother, they played for the Phoenix Suns. They thought they might take the championship next year. They’d made the playoffs two years in a row and advanced all the way to the NBA Finals this season. They shared a house about a mile from Hart’s place.

  Every morning, they came and she tried to ignore them.

  In the evenings, Lexie talked animatedly about her day. “Uncle Hart took me to the park today with his friends. We ran forever. Their legs are crazy long. They told me I look as pretty as you when you were little.”

  “Lexie, you’re very pretty but even better, you’re pretty on the inside where it counts most.”

  “Thank you, Mommy. You’re the prettiest mommy ever, inside and out. Do you still hurt?” Harley nodded carefully. “Will you always have that scar?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t seen myself in a long time. Is it very bad?”

  “It’s where they cut your hair to make your brain better. It made you better, so I don’t think it’s bad, Mommy.” Her lip quivered. “I didn’t think you were ever going to wake up. You slept so long. When the truck hit you, I couldn’t get out of my seat. I tried but the button wouldn’t press.”

  She rubbed at the large tears that slipped down her cheeks. “There was so much blood. It was scary. I want you to come home. Please come home, Mommy. I need you to tuck me in at night and wake me up with kisses. It’s just different when you do it.”

  Everyone in the room was crying except Bailey whose entire body was tensed tight.

  “I’m going to come home as soon as I can, Lexie. Every night, I imagine tucking you in and every morning, I imagine giving you kisses. If you imagine that, too…it will be like it’s real.” She bobbed her small head and leaned over to kiss Harley’s cheek. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you, Mommy. I miss our time together.”

  Harley looked at her brother. “Can you scoot me over so there’s room on my good side?”

  He nodded and she could tell he was afraid. He lifted her carefully, wincing when she did and whispering an apology when she couldn’t stop the silent tears of pain. She wiped her face on his shirt and shook her head at him.

  Lexie had been traumatized enough.

  “Baby, come lay with me for a little while. I would love for you to read me a story.”

  Hart lifted her up and settled his niece gently next to Harley. “Stay real still, Lex.”

  “I will, my Hart. I promise.”

  Harley kissed her daughter’s curls. “If you read to me, it will help me get better faster.”

  She fell asleep to the sound of her daughter’s voice, her little girl scent stronger than the antiseptic of the hospital. Her parents and Bailey stood on one side of the bed. Hart and the men she loved stood on the other.

  They were all together again.

  After more than three months in the hospital, Harley’s doctors replaced her hard casts and braces with soft ones she would wear until her x-rays showed full healing to her bones. They felt she was ready to be moved to a long-term physical rehabilitation facility and transported her by ambulance.

  The staff welcomed her and promised to work her up to actual rehab slowly.

  She’d been unable to stop the tears when saw her reflection for the first time since the accident. Her head was shaved along one entire side. There were three bright white scars against her caramel scalp. Many of the bone-deep bruises were faded but still visible. Her nose and cheek were misshapen.

  She looked like a war victim.

  Her mother tried to sooth her. “Baby, it will all heal. It’s going to be okay. You’ll see.”

  “I’m hideous! I look like…oh my god, Mom.”

  Her mother shook her head. “You look like you were hit by a truck. A big fucking truck mowed you down ten feet from your baby. You almost died. They had to pick fragments of your skull out of your brain. That doesn’t heal overnight. Give it time. Give yourself time to heal and you’ll be yourself again.”

  “I need to be alone. Please give me some time.” They filed from the room and heard her whimper, “No one will ever want me now…”

  Just outside the room, Beck doubled over in physical pain as Dex fought tears and lost. Hartman leaned against the wall with his eyes closed.

  Regina pivoted on her heel and addressed the young men she’d always considered her sons. “You know I have always loved you.” They nodded. “Harley is broken. I’m not sure what it is you want from her. You treated her carelessly before and if you hurt her again, I will never forgive you. Do you understand?”

  Beck pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

  She regarded a man who lost his way but might have found his way back. “Be sure you can keep any promises you make. She loves you both too much to handle another hurt at your hands.”

  Dex raked his fingers through his hair. “We won’t hurt her. I give you my word.”

  “See that you don’t. The only thing I care about is getting her back on her feet. Your end-game – whatever it is – will have to wait.”

  The next morning, Harley asked Bailey to shave the rest of her head. “It looks ridiculous the way it is. Better to shave it off and start over.”

  “But…Harley, you’ve never had short hair before.”

  “I’ve never had more than half my head bald either. Please, Bailey. Help me.”

  Nodding, her best friend bought clippers and shaved off the rest of her hair. Stepping back, she smiled. “You were right. It looks better all the same length. Very edgy, Harley.”

  Her mother brought in photos of Harley before the accident and asked why she wanted them.

  “I want to consult with a cosmetic surgeon about my nose and cheek.”

  Regina frowned. “That’s so trivial, Harley.”

  “I need my daughter to see me, not be constantly reminded of my accident. I know I’ll have to wait but I want to know what will be involved. To know one day I’ll see myself in the mirror.”

  The doctor who came to the rehab facility seemed enthusiastic after examining Harley closely. “The doctor on duty the day of your accident didn’t do too badly but we’ll have to re-break your nose. The cheek may require a little more finesse. I don’t see any reason we can’t get you where you were.”

  “Close, all I need is close to what I was before. Nothing fancy.”

  “I can’t do it until you’re cleared by the doctor in charge of your case though. Your body has been through a lot of trauma.” She tilted her head. “I read your file and you’re healing quickly, all things considered.” Standing, she gathered her things with a smile. “We’ll talk more after you’re back on your feet.”

  As therapists established her rehab routine, Harley decided she could withstand any pain as long as she ultimately got home to her daughter without being crippled.

  They started with flexibility and deep tissue massage to loosen muscles unused to movement for so long. Water aerobics that didn’t put stress on her joints seemed to have the best results. Day by day, they built up her ability to accomplish simple tasks again.

  The first day she stood with the help of a walker, she felt like there was hope again.

  Hart and his friends reluctantly returned to Phoenix to start pre-season training. They flew back to Raleigh every chance they could. She received calls from Hart every day and always got funny texts from Beck a
nd Dex.

  She was relieved they didn’t call her.

  When they were in town, her brother took her down to the physical therapy room. Dex and Beck went with them and waited as she suffered through the exercises.

  Harley was glad to be anywhere but flat on her back.

  The intensity of her rehab increased every two or three days. Pain throughout her entire body, Harley pushed until her heart rate went too high or she couldn’t stand up another moment.

  Her goal was to go longer and longer every day. She forced herself to keep moving and the doctors were amazed at her progress.

  Bailey bought her a new iPod loaded with Eminem, Nelly, and Kanye West. She liked anything with a hard beat during her work out.

  Her left leg was the worst break. It was pinned in several places and barely supported her weight, even with the walker. On the same side, she now had an artificial hip.

  After they celebrated her daughter’s sixth birthday in the rehab center, Harley had enough. Despite the efforts of everyone to make her comfortable, she wanted to go home.

  To accomplish it, she’d push herself all fucking day.

  Chapter Ten

  Seven months after being run over by a five-ton delivery truck, Harley was released with a prescription for painkillers, muscle relaxers, and anti-depressants.

  She would continue physical therapy four days a week for a year. Doctors were hopeful she would eventually regain seventy-five percent of her original mobility.

  Harley just smiled and nodded because they didn’t know her.

  There would be continued tests to ensure there was no permanent damage to her brain, nerves, and muscles. She’d exhibited signs of damage to her short-term memory and they were monitoring it.

  Bailey ran her fingers over the short curls that covered most of Harley’s head. “You look sassier every day, girl.”

  It was doubtful hair would ever grow over the deep scars on her scalp. When the rest was long enough, it wouldn’t be as noticeable.

  Being home again was incredible. Harley begged her parents to go home and check on their business and house. They agreed nervously but insisted they’d be back within a few days.

  She laughed when Bailey shrugged her shoulders and said, “I can work remotely. I haven’t missed a day of work or a single meeting since your accident. I’m staying here, thank you very fucking much.”

  Lexie slept with her and Bailey used her niece’s room.

  On the weekends, Bailey insisted on a girls’ day where they each got manicures and pedicures before she took them to lunch.

  When the guys flew in from Phoenix, they stayed at a nearby hotel. Her parents would be staying at the same one when they came back. All of them understood that she needed time to acclimate to her life again.

  Within two weeks of her release, the delivery company representative confirmed that Harley’s medical bills for the accident to date were paid in full. He made an appointment to visit her at home when her family was back in town.

  She made sure Lexie was at school when Brandon Richards arrived.

  The man showed up with a cashier’s check for five million dollars and an agreement in place to cover any future medical bills she might incur as a result of the accident.

  “I require one more clause, Mr. Richards.” He nodded for her to continue. “I’m afraid it isn’t negotiable. Should anything happen to me before my daughter’s twenty-fifth birthday, your company will pay her one million dollars.”

  She took a deep breath. “If I survive, no aneurisms or strokes from the stress on my body from all this shit, you’re in the clear but if I die before she turns twenty-five, you’ll make sure she’s financially taken care of.”

  Harley sat back carefully and waited as the man stood and walked into her kitchen to call his office. It was silent for twenty minutes.

  When he came back, he nodded with a smile. “It should be in your email now, Miss Jamison.”

  Bailey pulled up the message, printed the agreement, and handed it to Harley. “Can you forward them to Dad’s attorney for me?” Her friend nodded as she read the document carefully. When she was done, she handed the papers to her parents.

  While they waited for Peter’s long-time attorney and friend to give his opinion, Mr. Richards examined the pictures on her walls.

  She told him about the ones she could, some she couldn’t quite place and her parents, Bailey, or the younger men would fill in the blanks.

  “You’re a very lovely woman, Miss Jamison. Except for the length of your hair, you’re almost back to your old self. A little more time and you’ll be lovelier than ever.”

  “Thank you.” She felt the light blush cover her cheeks.

  An hour later, Peter received a call. He smiled as his friend told him it was a good deal, covered all the eventualities, and couldn’t believe everything they offered.

  Harley signed each page and her father made copies before giving Mr. Richards the originals.

  The young man shook her hand and held it for a long moment. “Miss Jamison, please believe our company is truly devastated for the physical and psychological pain you’ve sustained over the past months.”

  “I appreciate that very much.”

  “I’d like you to know that Chester Suarez was a dedicated employee with our company for more than twenty years. He did not have a single accident on his employee record. I’m sure he’d be devastated to know the damage he unintentionally caused.”

  “Have you cared for his family financially, Mr. Richards?”

  “Unfortunately, our hands were tied until we settled things with you. We were forbidden by our insurance carrier to release any funds or benefits until we knew the extent of our liability. I want to thank you for being so reasonable. Others would have dragged this out for years.”

  “I don’t know how long it will be before I can work again or if I’ll be able to retain information. I needed enough to know I could support myself and my daughter under any circumstances.”

  “I understand completely. We’ll take good care of his widow now. She will receive all his earned benefits after so many years of service within a couple of days.”

  Harley nodded. “Please give her my sincere condolences.” She tilted her head and removed the original check from the file. “Is this still valid?”

  “It is.”

  “I’d like to sign it over to his widow. Is that possible, Mr. Richards?”

  His eyes went wide then he smiled broadly. “I’ll make the arrangements, Miss Jamison. May I say…you are an incredibly good person?”

  “I’m not greedy. My parents raised me right. I’ll see you out.”

  Harley used a walker outside the house and a walking cane for short distances. The frustration on her face was clear to everyone who knew her. She was accustomed to furious speed.

  They shook hands at her front door and he leaned forward and lightly kissed her cheek.

  “If you ever need anything, anything at all, please call me directly. You look more like the woman in those photos every day. It won’t be long before you feel like your old self as well. Should we ever meet again, I hope the circumstances are better…and that you’ll call me Brandon.”

  She inclined her head. He handed her his business card and left with a smile. His personal cell phone was written on the back.

  As she closed the door, Harley leaned her back against it with a heavy sigh.

  Hart whispered loudly, “Was that dude just flirting with my sister?”

  Dex and Beck nodded. They looked annoyed and it secretly made Harley happy.

  Bailey chuckled. “Even injured, Harley is a hot ticket.” The two men frowned at her.

  Harley grinned at her parents. “I got seriously fucked up but now I don’t have to worry about Lexie’s college fund and I can finally pay you back for all your help while I was in school.”

  Her parents wouldn’t look at her.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Well, Harley…” Her
mother cleared her throat. “You see, we already set up a college fund for Lexie. Beck gave us a check. It was a big check, honey.”

  Harley looked at Beck where he leaned against the wall on the other side of the living room. He met her eyes unblinkingly.

  “You aren’t taking her.” He shook his head. “I can’t live without her, Beck.”

  “I wouldn’t. I would never take her from you, Harley.” His words were firm.

  “I didn’t ask you for anything because I can do it on my own.” He sighed with a small nod. “If you want to do something for her, go through me. Don’t leapfrog me to my parents. Be man enough to talk to me and convince me your reasoning is sound.”

  “Done. Does that mean you’ll actually acknowledge I exist?” he asked her with a smile.

  “Fine, you exist. Dex, you exist, too. Hart, will you pick Lexie up from school with Bailey?” He grabbed his keys. “Mom, Dad, can you please pick up food? I think we should celebrate. I have a check for you to deposit.”

  They nodded and waited for her to endorse the check and fill out a deposit slip. Regina made a quick list of groceries Harley needed.

  “I’ll have a check for you when this clears.” They protested and she held up her hand. “I told you it was only to get me through school. At last count, I owed you more than a hundred grand. Please don’t make me fight with you about it. I’m still recovering.”

  “Not fair, Harley,” her father said.

  She winked. “I’ll use all the guilt I can to make you take and deposit my check. You’ve done so much for me and I planned to pay you back gradually when I started working. I can make good on my promise, just as you made good on yours when I needed you. I love you both very much.”

  They hugged her and whispered how proud they were of her. A few minutes later, they left with Hart and Bailey.

  Harley turned to the two men still standing in her living room. She listened carefully and when she heard the SUV start outside, she walked slowly to the large chair and ottoman to sit down. Lifting her leg to the ottoman, she rubbed the bend connecting her pelvis to her hipbone.