Kelsie brought her hands up to her face. “Oh, no.” Her heart sank to the basement.
“Rumors of team unrest on the Steelheads came to a head today after the Steelheads’ fourth loss. A locker room altercation between offensive team captain Tyler Harris and defensive team captain Zach Murphy had to be broken up by coaches and teammates.”
Clips of Tyler and Zach in each other’s faces and about to come to blows followed the news reports full of speculation and some facts. The short clip ended when HughJack stormed into the locker room and booted the press from the room.
“Unnamed sources close to the team indicate the friction between Murphy and Harris has been escalating since training camp. This recent altercation was set off by Harris’s comment regarding Murphy’s dedication and lack of focus since he’s been dating a former beauty queen.” The sportscasters went on to cite statistics to prove their point along with how well Zach’s former team was doing without him.
Dread welled up inside Kelsie. Dread for Zach, knowing his status with the team had just shifted from a comfortable lead to a twenty-one-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
The three women looked at each other.
“I wonder if HughJack is reconsidering our plan now?” Last week Rachel had approached Veronica and the coach with the women’s plan to force Zach and Tyler to get along. HughJack had hated the idea and said thanks but no thanks.
Lavender shook her head and sighed. “Who knows. Ty’s gonna be unbearable to live with tonight. I’d better head home so I can be ready to defuse the bomb.”
Rachel stood at the same time as Lavender. “Me, too. You okay here by yourself?” Rachel tossed a hundred on the table. Most likely, her way of compensating for Kelsie not accepting her check.
Kelsie nodded. “I’m fine.” Only she wasn’t fine. She was sick to her stomach.
What would HughJack do now that the feud had hit a very public forum?
Kelsie watched the clips on the sports channels, unable to draw her eyes away from the train wreck.
Her cell rang and she answered it without checking caller ID, hoping it was Zach.
“Kelsie?” A crisp, businesslike female voice left no doubt in Kelsie’s mind who was on the other end of the phone.
“Yes?”
“What’s going on with you and Zach?” Veronica’s displeasure reached through the phone and grabbed her by the throat.
“I—I— It’s not like it looks.”
“What is it like?”
“There’s nothing going on.” She didn’t have anything to say for herself.
“That’s not what I hear.”
Damn Tyler Harris.
“Do you expect the Steelheads organization to throw good money away so you can seduce one of our players?”
“I’m not seducing anyone.” Kelsie hated the panic in her voice but couldn’t keep it out.
“Well, you’re certainly not changing his image either. I’m sorry but this isn’t working out. The team won’t be needing your services any longer.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry, Kelsie. My hands are tied. My father is out for blood, and he’s blaming you.”
“I understand.” Kelsie went cold inside. She’d just been doused with a bucket of Gatorade without the high of winning the game. Raising her hand to her head, she bumped her drink and the cold, sticky liquid spilled into her lap. Grabbing napkins, she frantically worked to clean up the mess, hold the phone, and keep herself together, all at the same time.
“I owe you the deposit back.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
Kelsie wanted to argue, but she couldn’t pay back the money.
She wasn’t giving up. “It’s too late to move the gala elsewhere. The preparations are well underway.”
Silence for a long moment, then Veronica sighed heavily. “I’ll figure out something.”
“Zach will still host it, and he’ll be the polished man I promised he’d be.”
Veronica snorted. “Why? What do you get out of this?”
“If it’s successful, and we raise more money than last year, you’ll use my business and recommend it to others.”
“And if not?”
“I pay back the money and match it with a donation to your charity of choice.”
Veronica waited so long to answer that Kelsie thought the call might have dropped. “Fine. I’ll agree to that.”
Kelsie let go of the breath she’d been holding. She could do this.
Chapter 14—Goal-Line Stand
Zach’s house was dark when Kelsie doused her headlights and coasted into her usual parking area. She’d just finished several hours at the mall theater, and her feet were killing her. She didn’t have proper shoes for being on her feet all day.
Scranton peeked out of his hiding spot sequestered under mounds of warm blankets. He opened one eye, blinked a few times, and slipped back under the covers.
Glancing around, she hit the door lock and hoped she didn’t need to go pee in the middle of the night.
Why the hell did she keep coming here?
Because she felt safer knowing Zach was a hundred feet away? Because deep down she trusted him? Or was it more complicated than that? Maybe she had more than a high school crush on the big, tough football jock?
Or maybe she was still looking for a rescuer.
She sighed. What she wouldn’t give for a hot shower right now.
Funny how those things she’d taken for granted such as running water, a toilet, and electricity became so valuable when she didn’t have them. Rain spattered against the window and distorted the trees outside into an ominous scene from a horror movie. A clap of thunder sounded, and Kelsie jumped. Her teeth chattered and not because of the cold. Scranton whimpered and dug deeper, reminding her of a gopher she’d witnessed digging a tunnel through her grandmother’s flower garden. It hadn’t ended well for the gopher. She hoped it ended better for Scranton and her.
Lightning lit up the car, followed by another crash of thunder. Kelsie dove under the blankets and threw them over her, huddling beneath them. Scranton scrambled back underneath and plastered his shaking body against her ribs.
Her heart slammed in her chest as if it, too, wanted to escape the confines of the car. Her breath came in short gasps. Her hands shook with fear. She’d always been terrified of thunder.
She couldn’t do this anymore. Couldn’t live in this car never knowing what lurked outside ready to do unspeakable things to her. There had to be another way. Maybe a live-in nanny or caretaker or something. Anything but this.
The wind picked up and flung buckets of water against the windows louder than an angry ocean surf. She shivered as the gloom and damp air waterlogged every cell in her body, frightened and thinking about what she’d give right now to feel safe and have a warm bed.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Kelsie froze, certain she didn’t hear what she thought she’d heard. She held her breath and didn’t move. Her heart pounded harder than a drummer in a heavy metal band.
Tap. Tap. Tap. A little louder this time.
Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.
What if it was a murderer? What if he had a gun? She didn’t want to die. She wanted to live and prove she could be a better person. Shouldn’t a person be allowed time to show they’d learned from their mistakes? Yet what did a predator care about redemption?
“Kelsie.” The gruff, muffled voice sounded concerned not predatory. Still she didn’t move. “Kelsie.” Now the voice sounded impatient and a lot like—
With trembling hands, she pulled down the blanket, wiped some moisture from the car window, and looked out.
Oh, crap. She’d been outed.
Zach’s face was pressed up against the window, his wet hair plastered to his head. Rivulets of water ran off his nose and clung to his eyelashes. Her wildly beating heart didn’t stop its runaway pounding. It pounded even harder now, the fear gradually being replaced with other emotions.
Kels
ie almost preferred the fear.
Humiliation surged through her. Worse humiliation than being turned down for job after job or being belittled by her ex for some minor transgression. She never wanted Zach to see her reduced to this—homeless and living in her car. She ducked her head under the blankets and sent up a silent prayer that the man would just go away.
“Come in the house.” His deep, husky voice carried through the glass and over the sounds of the storm.
His tone didn’t allow any discussion, but when did that ever stop her? Peeking out from under the mound of blankets, Kelsie shook her head.
Zach yanked on the door and found it locked.
She turned her back to him and gathered the blankets around her like protective armor.
Pound. Pound! POUND. He’d break the window if he kept that up.
She turned to glare at him and mouthed go away.
He shook his shaggy head, sending droplets of water flying.
They stared each other down for what seemed like an eternity. He didn’t flinch despite the rain pouring down his face and dripping off his nose and chin. He’d be sick if he stayed out there much longer.
Kelsie caved and ended the standoff.
With a sigh, she unlocked the door.
Zach wrenched on it at the same time, and she almost fell out. Righting herself on the seat, she clutched the blankets to her chest while smiling her lil-ol’-me smile as if he were a pageant judge. She faked a nonchalant yawn and rubbed her eyes.
Zach didn’t smile back or even react. “Let’s talk in the house. I’m drenched.”
She raised one eyebrow in her best imitation of a snobby English blue blood. “Please.”
“Please.” He didn’t say it like he meant it. He said it like he’d love to strangle some sense into her, but she ignored that small detail. She didn’t need a second invitation.
Gathering Scranton, Kelsie sprinted barefoot through the rain into the house and didn’t stop until she was huddled on the edge of the leather couch near the blazing fire crackling in the massive stone fireplace. Zach sank onto the couch next to her and dangled his hands between his knees, water still dripping off him and forming a small puddle on the hardwood floor. She stared at the dancing flames, not certain if the heat on her face was caused by the warm fire or her own mortification.
“You’re sleeping in your car.”
Well, duh. “Obviously. Can’t get anything past you, can I?” She hated the sarcasm in her voice, but it just slipped out.
He almost smiled. “You haven’t. You’ve been sleeping out there off and on for several days now with the exception of the week you took care of Ramsey’s horses.”
Okay, so, so much for assuming he was oblivious to anything that didn’t involve football and sex. “You knew?”
“Yeah, I figured you had your reasons, and they were none of my business.”
“I’m trespassing.”
He shrugged. “It’s supposed to get down to twenty-nine degrees tonight.”
Scranton crawled off her lap and hopped onto Zach’s. The traitor licked Zach’s impressive biceps, as if to thank him for the rescue. Tentatively at first, Zach petted the tiny dog. With a contented sigh, the little poodle curled up on Zach’s lap, barely bigger than the large hand stroking Scranton’s back. A second later, he was snoring like a three-hundred-pound lineman after a tough Monday Night Football game.
“We were doing just fine in the car.”
He glanced down at the dog. “Tell that to Scranton. Besides, I thought you might want to sleep somewhere warmer.”
“I’m just between places to live. I apologize for not asking your permission. It’s just a bit of an embarrassing situation to be in.” Embarrassment didn’t begin to cover how she felt about her circumstances. Try demeaning. Demoralizing. Humiliating. Hopeless. Desperate. Yet given the chance, she’d live in her car over going back to the stifling, domestic cell in which she’d been imprisoned for ten years.
“It’s not safe for you out there, Kel.” His kind brown eyes met hers. She so did not deserve his kindness.
“I’m fine.”
“You can have one of the spare rooms. Take your pick. The blue room has the best bed.” Zach’s voice buzzed in her head as if far away.
“It has the only bed.”
“True.”
“Zach, thank you so much for the offer, but I can’t stay here for free.” She couldn’t take advantage of him any more than she already had. This new, improved Kelsie didn’t use people. Especially not someone like Zach.
“Then pay me to rent a room, whatever you think is reasonable.” His chin jutted out with his usual stubborn resistance to any opposition.
“I’ll be out of my present situation soon.” Liar. Liar. Liar.
“Did the Steelheads sentence more players to your tutoring?” He tried to smile but didn’t quite succeed.
She hugged herself tighter as the futility of her situation settled like a dead weight in her stomach. “No, actually the opposite.” There now, honesty might hurt, but it also made her feel as if a weight lifted off her chest. Incredibly liberating, even though temporary denial might feel a hell of a lot better in the short term.
The stark truth hidden in her words didn’t go over Zach’s head. “Veronica fired you?”
Kelsie nodded and gnawed on a fingernail, willing herself not to cry. God, she hated the helplessness, but she would not let this situation defeat her. She raised her head and looked him squarely in the eyes. He, on the other hand, appeared torn.
“It’s because of me, isn’t it?” Guilt flashed across his face like a neon sign.
She would not let him own the blame. “I didn’t do my job. Actually, I failed miserably.” Kelsie forced a smile and tapped his broad chest. “But don’t think you’re getting out of your classes, buster. I told Veronica I was committed to my task and to the gala.” Her charm school wasn’t finished yet.
“Where’ve you been tonight? You didn’t arrive until late.”
“I’m selling tickets at a theater a few nights a week.”
“I see.” He didn’t gloat or rub it in, instead captured her hand and held it in his big one. She lifted her face and met his troubled gaze. “You can’t stay in your car. It’s not safe, and the weather is nasty.”
“Staying in your house is not an option for me. I have nothing to offer in exchange.”
A flare of desire crossed his face, and he looked away as if ashamed.
“Is that what you want?” Maybe an obvious question, but she needed to hear the answer.
He shrugged, his gaze focused on the fire.
Kelsie chewed on her lower lip and stared into the fire, too. The flames danced wildly, mimicking the flames inside her. It wasn’t like she was an innocent virgin. Or even an innocent. Could she bargain her body for a safe, warm place to stay?
After entertaining the possibility for a brief moment, she kicked that idea out on its ass. Not even for her own personal safety and comfort. Which didn’t mean she didn’t want to sleep with Zach. Oh, Lord, she wanted to be wrapped in his strong arms more than she wanted to take a shower with soap and hot water or sleep in an actual bed. This independence thing could be exhausting. It’d be so easy to let someone else take charge for a while.
No. No. No.
“I want you, too, Zach, but not in exchange for rent. Not like that.” She needed to make him understand that she wanted him for him—no other reason. She scooted closer until their thighs touched.
He flinched and rose to his feet, backing away from her. “I would never ask you to prostitute yourself like that.” He stared down at her. His handsome face a kaleidoscope of conflicted emotions.
“I know you wouldn’t.” He held her in higher regard than she held herself.
He shoved his hands in his pockets, his jaw working as if he was trying to spit out unspoken words.
Oh, Lord, she really did want him, not just physically, but emotionally. She wanted to wipe the sadness and conf
usion from his face and replace it with desire and pleasure. She wanted to be the one to make him forget the pain of his past, if only for a little while. It was the least she could do for him, especially after what had happened to his brother and her cruel role in his agony.
She’d give herself to make him happy, then she’d go back to sleeping in her car with her pride a bit tattered, but still intact. She hadn’t been with a man except Mark in over a decade, and her ex had been a selfish lover. Instincts told her what kind of lover Zach would be—kind, tender, caring, yet passionate. He’d take her to heights she’d never reached, teach her what sex was really about. She wanted that. Wanted his comfort, his kindness, his athlete’s body. She needed to feel desired again, needed to feel the touch of a man who cared about more than himself.
She needed to heal. And she needed to forget about the stark reality of her present situation. Just for one night. And she needed to make him feel better, even if only for a little while.
Kelsie made her decision in the time it takes to snap a finger. “That doesn’t mean I don’t want you, because I do. I really do. Right here. Right now. No expectations. No strings.”
Zach’s nostrils flared, and he worked his jaw. His heavy-lidded gaze told her all she needed to know. Even if she was making a huge mistake. At least she was doing it for all the right reasons.
~ ~ ~ ~
When Kelsie rose and started walking toward him, Zach stood stock-still, as if the slightest movement might drive him to his knees. Maybe it would. With his elbows locked and his hands fisted inside his pockets, he didn’t pull her into his arms.
His head pounded over the tug-of-war going on inside it. Use her like she’d used him? Send her away with a few hundred dollars? Be sucked into the vortex that was loving Kelsie? Or run like hell while he still had a measure of sanity?
Fuck, what the hell was he doing? About to jump in bed with the woman who’d caused shitloads of grief in his life. Only this Kelsie seemed…different. Way different.
“I want you, Zach. Just you and me. No past. No future. Just here and now,” she whispered in his ear, her voice all soft and breathless.
Offsides: The Originals (Seattle Steelheads Book 3) Page 14
