“This was a test for Zach. We wanted to re-sign him, but he failed the test miserably,” Simms said.
HughJack jutted out his chin. “Mr. Simms is right, Zach. You’re suspended. Your behavior might have been goaded by Mr. Richmond, but you didn’t handle your reaction properly. You failed to meet the requirements we outlined for you a few months ago.” He’d have been throwing a clipboard if he’d had one in his hands.
“You’re suspending him for something like that? It’s not even related to his performance on the field.” Tyler fisted his hands and stepped in between HughJack and Zach, toe-to-toe with his coach.
“You’re taking Murphy’s side?” A smile tugged at the corners of HughJack’s mouth.
“We need him.” Harris’s steely blue eyes narrowed with determination.
Zach stood behind Harris and kept his mouth shut as he watched the coach. Zach suspected both he and Harris were being played.
“He’s a detriment to this team. He started that food fight and ruined the gala. The sooner he’s off the team, the better,” Mr. Simms insisted stubbornly, while Veronica said nothing.
Harris rounded on her. “He’s not a detriment. Not to me. Not to you. And definitely not to the defense.”
HughJack’s eyes narrowed. Zach knew Harris was walking into a trap but had no way to warn him. “I never change my mind.”
“There’s a first time for everything. If you suspend him, you’ll have to suspend me, too. I’m as guilty as he is, and I’m calling bullshit on this entire thing.”
HughJack studied both of them, not bending an inch. “You’re both team captains. You’re responsible for the actions of your team. Half the team and all the rookies joined in that food fight.” He turned to the owner and Veronica.
Tyler had the guts to grin. “Yeah, they had a helluva good time.”
“I, for one, did not have a good time. That incident reflects badly on the team and my family.” Simms lifted his head, getting that haughty rich-person look Zach used to see on a teenage Kelsie, the one that didn’t fit her anymore.
Tyler turned his pleas to Veronica. “We had a record-setting fundraiser.”
“Daddy, we did,” Veronica added.
Simms ignored them and turned on Zach. “Zach knew the deal. He broke the agreement.” On that note, he cast one last threatening glance at Zach, stomped past Harris, and left the office. His daughter followed him without a look back.
HughJack almost looked sorry. Zach knew they’d put him between a rock and a hard place. Zach hadn’t conformed to the terms of the agreement in HughJack’s mind. “That was the deal, Zach.”
HughJack turned toward Tyler, who lifted his chin in defiance, as if daring the coach. “For unacceptable leadership behavior, I’m benching you both for the first half of the next game.”
Zach nodded, and Tyler glared at each man before he strode out of the room. Turning, Zach followed him into the hall. Neither spoke as they walked down the stairs. Swallowing, Zach turned to Tyler. “Thanks, I—”
“No, thanks. You’ve got a football game to win from the sidelines, at least part of it. Let’s get started.”
Together, they headed for the film room. Maybe hours of film would burn out the image of Kelsie’s stricken blue eyes when he had told her they were through.
~ ~ ~ ~
Kelsie was wallowing in domesticity for lack of anything else to do. She cooked, she cleaned, and she tried to wrap her head around what had happened to destroy the fragile bonds she’d forged with Zach. He barely spoke to her. He went about his business, and she went about hers, what there was left of it.
Kelsie made it her mission to do as much of the gala cleanup as possible by herself, just to show Zach that she didn’t need his money. She underestimated the sheer amount of lights and Christmas decorations and garbage littering the huge house. The kitchen looked like a war zone and the parlor didn’t look much better. Regardless, she toiled away like Cinderella, only her Prince Charming had resigned from the job.
Day by day, she made a bigger dent in the mess, but it was nothing like the dent in her heart.
Lavender told her Zach and Tyler had been suspended for the first half of the next game. She tried to talk to him about it, but he just walked away. She knew the Steelheads’ playoff dreams hung by a thin jockstrap, and one loss would pretty much dash all but the dimmest hopes.
If only she could do something to help. Sex helped, but Zach wouldn’t let her within a mile of him or his fine body. Dang, she missed that body with all its hard, bulging muscles and the dark, crinkly hair on his chest. Those strong thighs and big feet and even bigger—
Kelsie dropped the broom she’d been holding and sank onto the couch. She needed another jetted-tub therapy since Zach didn’t seem to want the task, but with her luck, he’d walk in on her again. Maybe her naked, soapy body would entice him to crawl in the tub with her.
With a sigh, she trudged upstairs, ran the water, and sank into the soapy tub. She closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. Instead, her brain worked overtime. She wasn’t ready to call it quits with Zach. She loved him, and love always found a way, didn’t it?
~ ~ ~ ~
A few days later, Zach slumped on the bench, miserable, cold, and frustrated. Harris sat next to him, hating the helplessness of being benched as much as Zach did.
Out on the field, the Steelheads floundered like coho salmon washed ashore and dying with their last breath.
Brett couldn’t complete a pass to save his soul—or the team’s. Bruiser ran like a ninety-year-old man. The defensive line crumpled under the 49ers constant bombardment, leaving big holes, while the secondary staggered and weaved worse than his grandma’s knitting circle after a few shots of Amaretto.
Zach buried his head in his hands and groaned when the Niners’ running back skipped into the end zone untouched from twenty-five yards out, while the bodies of fallen defenders littered the field. Thirty-eight to nothing. Holy crap. At this rate, they’d be breaking a league record, and not one they’d want to break.
Even worse, Kelsie had barely spoken to him since the gala. He slept alone, thanks to his stupidity. He couldn’t concentrate without her, couldn’t play the game he needed to play, couldn’t think of much else but her, even as his team imploded around him. Fuck, he needed her. Big-time. His quest for a ring faded in comparison to his grief over losing her. And he had lost her. He’d told her it’d never work between them. Yet it had been working until he’d been an idiot who couldn’t get past his damn pride and humiliation.
Someone nudged his shoulder. Zach looked up to find Harris studying him with determined intensity.
“Two more minutes of this shit, and we’ll be off the bench.” Harris nodded at the scoreboard as it mercilessly ticked off the seconds to halftime.
“This is a fucking disaster.” Zach sat up straighter.
“Hey, I’m always up for a challenge.” The cocky Harris grinned at him, but Zach caught a glimmer of concern in the quarterback’s blue eyes.
“Yeah, we’ll come back.”
“As long as your defense gets their ass in gear.”
“As long as your offense puts some points on the board,” Zach shot back, but not quite as indignant as he could have been. The final second ticked off the clock, ending the first half.
“You and I will find a way.” Harris stood up, clapped Zach on the back, grabbed his helmet, and jogged toward the tunnel.
Only they didn’t—find a way.
Yeah, the defense held the Niners to a field goal in the second half, and the offense scored thirty-five points, but it wasn’t enough, leaving them with one must-win game left in the regular season.
Zach’s dream of a ring slipped further out of reach.
Chapter 25—Game on the Line
Kelsie gripped the steering wheel of her car. Zach Murphy wasn’t getting out of this relationship so easily. Not without a fight. She believed in him, and he needed to quit sulking and get over himself.
It was Christmas Eve, damn it, and she was spending Christmas Eve with him, like it or not. This Kelsie fought for the people she loved.
She’d cleared out the rest of the decorations over the past week. She couldn’t leave the mess for Zach. Knowing him, he’d live in that big, rambling house for years never bothering to take down anything. Plus, she knew just the place to put them to good use.
She’d boxed up everything and distributed it to various charities, while Zach avoided her, spending his days and nights at the complex. One game left and the Steelheads’ playoff hopes hung in the balance. Zach had one last chance to realize the one thing he’d worked for his entire life. If they lost this one, there’d be no playoffs for the team. And no ring for Zach. She needed to be there for him, win or lose.
More importantly, she missed her big, tactless guy, missed gazing into those kind brown eyes so full of devotion, missed falling asleep to his soft snore at night, missed his big body heating the bed, missed his quiet intensity. Sure, they were an odd couple, total opposites on the surface, but way too similar inside with all their insecurities and the lack of love in their childhoods. She’d grown up in privilege with everything money could buy, except love. He’d grown up in poverty surrounded by drugs and abuse and risen above it. Kelsie liked to think she’d risen above her upbringing, too, and become a much better person.
She had one stop before Zach’s house. She was headed to the shelter, the very one Zach visited on Tuesdays. After she’d donated a decorated tree to them a week and a half ago, she’d struck up a conversation with the enthusiastic director. Next thing she knew, she’d been scheduled to teach classes twice a week on proper dress and hygiene, successful job interview skills, and tips for keeping the job once hired. It didn’t pay a penny, but the satisfaction more than made up for the lack of money.
Using her contacts from the gala, Kelsie had wrangled donations of work attire. She’d also contacted local businesses, encouraging them to hire from her pool of people. The interest was heartening. Her program was only a week old, but already one disabled veteran was hired as a barista and a father of four had started work at the marina.
Kelsie knew she’d found the thing she was meant to do, and she’d find the means to raise the funds to do it. Her Charm School for Real Men was branching off into a Charm School for Real People.
Now that Kelsie had lived life on the other side, she had a better understanding of how close to homeless most people were. A divorce, loss of a job, a death, any of these could put a person out on the street in a matter of weeks. She knew personally what desperation and hopelessness felt like. Her business might be in shambles, but she was first and foremost a survivor. She didn’t want a penny of Zach’s money and wouldn’t take it if he begged. What she wanted was something money couldn’t buy.
Arriving at the shelter, she opened the door, while Scranton peeked out of the Coach purse Zach had bought her a month ago. Inside, the sounds of Christmas carols rose above the soft patter of the rain.
She entered the big, plain room and was welcomed by the families enjoying Christmas Eve. It was a warm, dry place, but she wanted more for them. She wanted every family in their own home, with a tree and a fire crackling in a fireplace.
She made her way around the room, handing out small gifts, nothing expensive, but practical items like shaving cream and deodorant. Stuff most people never thought about.
A cheer went up in the room and caused her to turn around. Her heart thumped happily at the sight of Zach.
He paused in the doorway, balancing boxes of pizzas so high they hid his face. He wore dress slacks and a slightly wrinkled white shirt. Well, it was a start. She couldn’t help but smile. He put the boxes on the table and stepped back. The kids dug in, not waiting for an invitation, while the adults lined up for their Christmas pizza.
Zach faced her. For a minute, they stared at each other. He ran his hand through his short hair. Kelsie wrung her hands, but she didn’t look away.
“What are you doing here?” His voice sounded tentative yet suspicious.
“I stopped by with a few gifts.” She stood up straighter, rolled her shoulders back, and projected an air of confidence she didn’t feel. Please, don’t let him reject me. Not before they’d had a chance to talk.
“Why would you do that?”
“I know what it’s like to be homeless. I donated that tree to the shelter. I offered my services. I’ve been helping them with interview skills, among other things.”
He glanced over at the tree. “Oh, I thought it looked familiar. It was at my house.”
She nodded, unable to read his reaction. “Yes, it was at our house.”
His expression softened. “You’re the one? The one who helped Marv and Judd get jobs?”
“I’d like to think I helped.” She shifted her gaze to the people in the room and smiled.
An hour later they stood outside the shelter. Inside, the lights from the designer Christmas tree twinkled merrily and lit up the rain-soaked street and sidewalk. Something about those lights warmed Kelsie’s heart. As long as people treated each other with kindness and generosity, there was always hope. She felt hope right now.
“Are you heading somewhere?” Uncertainty clouded Zach’s handsome face. She wanted to throw her arms around him and tell him it’d all be okay.
“Actually, I was going back to the house.”
“I made plans to join some of the guys for dinner at the marina.” His expression gave nothing away. She couldn’t tell if he was relieved to have an out or sad.
“Dinner? Again? Didn’t you get enough pizza?” She teased him, striving for a light tone.
He smiled sheepishly, that same smile she found incredibly sexy and enduring. “Yeah. Hard to believe, huh?”
“I’ll be going then. I don’t want to keep you.” Just like that, her plans for the evening splintered into broken pieces and littered the floor of her heart. Kelsie turned toward her car, her heart aching for what could be, yet not even sure what that was.
She heard Zach’s heavy step behind her. A second later, he wrapped his long fingers around her arm and stopped her. “Come with me.” He almost sounded as if he were pleading.
“I don’t want to horn in on your guy time.”
“You won’t be. I’m the envy of all the guys when you’re on my arm.”
“Oh, so that’s the only reason you want me around?” She linked her arm with his and gazed up at him as hope soared inside her.
He looked her up and down and grinned his trademark wolfish grin. “No, actually, I’m sure you’ll want to stick around until Santa lowers himself down the chimney and delivers his gifts.”
“I have milk and cookies ready.”
“So, you’ll join me tonight for dinner? And we’ll come back here in the morning and help serve Christmas dinner here, at the shelter?”
“A hundred stampeding defensive linemen couldn’t keep me away.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Zach ignored the curious stares of his teammates as he sat down at the table with Kelsie. True to form, the guys pretty much accepted her appearance and turned their attention back to consuming mass quantities of prime rib, garlic mashed potatoes, and veggies.
Tyler and Derek weren’t present as they had family in town, but the small group of teammates that were there enjoyed themselves.
Bruiser entertained the group with outrageous stories of his exploits. If they were true, the guy would have done everything from surfing in a hurricane to ice fishing in Antarctica. He might be full of shit, but his storytelling abilities kept the group laughing through the meal.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Brett, the backup quarterback, sat quietly and listened to the conversations. He laughed along with the guys, yet with an underlying sadness Zach recognized. He used to be that lonely guy until Kelsie came along.
Zach rarely saw Brett with a date and had wondered more than once if the guy was gay. Not that he gave a shit. A guy’s sex life was his bu
siness. Brett was more private than even Zach was, and in his role as perpetual backup, no one paid much attention to him. The ultimate team player, he never complained, always participated in team charity functions, visited schools and hospitals, and kept out of trouble. A local guy, Harris wondered why he didn’t spend the evening with family and childhood friends, instead of hanging out with teammates. Zach guessed it beat spending Christmas Eve alone. No one should have to do that.
His thoughts slipped to his brother Wade. He imagined Wade would be spending tonight with some tall, buxom blonde, just the kind Wade liked.
In some unexplainable way, he missed trading barbs with Harris. Who’d have ever guessed?
As if sensing Brett’s quiet depression, Kelsie engaged him in conversation, asking him questions with such interest and caring the guy slowly opened up. Zach burst with pride at the kindness she displayed to his lonely teammate and earlier tonight at the shelter. He’d had no idea she’d been the one they called their angel.
Mean, selfish Kelsie didn’t exist anymore. She’d been replaced by sweet, strong, caring Kelsie, the woman he loved more than life itself, his rock in a storm, his kick in the butt when he needed it. And he planned to need it for a long time.
He had forgiven her and hadn’t even realized it.
Now if he could find a way to convince her.
~ ~ ~ ~
A couple hours and a painfully full tummy later, Zach and Kelsie walked along the almost deserted walkway next to the large marina. Christmas lights twinkled on the masts of sailboats, while one large yacht was lit up like a cruise ship. Zach reached for her hand. She held his tightly. Never wanting to let go.
“I missed you, Zach.” There, she’d said it. Bared her heart and soul for him to trample if he so chose.
“We’ve been living in the same house.”
“Yes. But separate.”
He nodded. “I missed you, too. Sleeping in the other room didn’t improve my game.” He shrugged. “I don’t know if it could ever work between us, but the deal was until the end of the season. Let’s try it until then.”
Offsides: The Originals (Seattle Steelheads Book 3) Page 26
