Line of Scrimmage (25 page)

Dalton’s jaw shifted, hardening his usually amiable face.

Susannah was both mortified by the confrontation and fascinated to see a side of her father that was new to her.

“I’m disappointed in you, Henry,” Dalton said in a measured tone. “At the very least, I believe you owe my little girl an
apology.”

Henry finally looked at Susannah, but there was contempt in his eyes. “How about what she owes me?”

“She doesn’t owe you a damned thing,” Dalton growled. “I’m waiting.”

“I’m sorry.”

Susannah cast her eyes down.

“Steer clear of her, do you hear me?”

“Yes,” Henry said, his Southern breeding forcing him to add a reluctant “sir” before he walked away.

“Daddy,” Susannah said, stepping into his embrace.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I did, and when I get a chance, I’ll apologize to Ryan. I was wrong to infer that he’d do such a thing to you. He may
not have been husband of the year, but he never laid a hand on you as far as I knew.”

“He didn’t. He wouldn’t.”

Dalton kissed his daughter’s forehead. “I love you, Susannah, my sweet girl.”

“I love you, too.

Susannah lifted her head off her father’s shoulder to find Ryan having an intense conversation with Betsy James in the back
of the room. Her hands were on his chest, and she appeared to be pleading with him. He took her by the shoulders as he replied
to whatever she had said to him. Susannah felt her stomach clench with nausea when she realized everyone in the room was watching
her husband have a passionate moment with the woman most of them had once believed to be his mistress. Breaking free of her
father’s arms, Susannah crossed the room. She felt her control slipping through her fingers, and as she marched over to Ryan,
the room around them disappeared. A red haze blurred out everything except Ryan and Betsy. Touching.

With his back to her, Ryan didn’t see her coming.

“Susannah,” Carol said, reaching out to try to stop her.

Susannah ignored her friend and kept moving, the roar in her head escalating with every step she took.

“Get your hands off my husband,” Susannah snarled.

Startled by her sudden appearance, Ryan cried, “Susie!” He pulled his hands from Betsy’s shoulders like he’d been scalded.

When Betsy didn’t immediately remove her hands from Ryan’s chest, Susannah shoved her.

Betsy recovered and took a swing at Susannah, sending a gasp through the room.

Ryan moved fast to put himself between them and grimaced when Betsy’s fist made contact with his ribs.

“
Get away from him!
” Susannah shrieked, flailing against the hold Ryan had on her arms, which was the only thing that kept her from hitting Betsy.

“
Susannah!
” her sister exclaimed. “You’re making a spectacle of yourself.”

“Shut up, Missy!”

When Ryan tried to lead Susannah away, she pushed at him. “Don’t
touch
me,” she snapped. “I can’t believe you’d even
talk
to her in front of everyone, let alone touch her!”

“I wasn’t talking to her! She was talking to
me.
”

“
I saw you with my own eyes!
” Susannah knew she was creating a scene that would keep tongues wagging forever, but she didn’t care. That he’d put his hands
on that woman and let her touch him had sent Susannah right over the edge.

His eyes grew dark with anger. “You saw
nothing.

” She burst into tears. “You’re a liar! Everything they said about the two of you was true.
You lied to me!
Once again you’ve ruined
everything!
”

Ryan bent down, scooped her up, and made for the door.

Struggling against him, she pounded on his back.

“
Put me down!
” Before they turned the corner, she caught a last glimpse of the cream of Denver society watching with astounded expressions
on their faces as her enraged husband hauled the star of the evening from the ballroom. The last thing she saw was Henry’s
victorious smile.

Chapter 26

RYAN CARRIED HER ALL THE WAY TO THE PARKING GARAGE where he finally put her down, shed his tuxedo jacket, and wrapped it around
her.

Bernie and Dalton were right behind them.

“Ryan!” Bernie called. “Wait a minute.”

“Not now, Bern.”

Susannah stood in stunned silence as Ryan opened the passenger door and urged her inside the Escalade.

Bernie put himself between the door and the car so Ryan couldn’t close the door. “Take a breath, Ry,” he said with a hand
on Ryan’s heaving chest.

“I don’t want a breath. I want to leave, so please get out of the way.”

“Not so fast,” Dalton said, pushing past Bernie to lean into the car. “Do you not want to go with him, Susannah?” He brushed
back the hair that had sprung loose from her French knot. “Because all you have to do is say so, and I’ll get you out of there.”

“This is between me and my wife, Dalton,” Ryan snapped. “You need to butt out.”

“I’m not leaving my daughter with you if it’s not where she wants to be.”

Susannah shivered from the cold and wept quietly, not at all sure
where
she wanted to be right then.

Bernie squeezed in beside Dalton and bent over to talk to Susannah. “Susie, honey, I know you’re upset. But you

need to give Ryan the opportunity to explain what was going on in there. It’s not what you think.”

“I know what I saw.”

“And I’m sure it looked really bad, but you need to hear him out.”

“I’m tired of hearing him out, and I’m tired of his lies.”

Ryan exploded. “
I’ve never lied to you!

”

Bernie took a firm hold of her hand. “We’re friends, aren’t we, Susie? Good friends?”

A sob hiccupped through her as she nodded.

“Do you trust me?” Bernie asked.

She nodded again.

“Then please go with him, and let him explain. Will you do that for me? I give you my word that everything he’s going to tell
you is true.”

Susannah studied him for a long moment before she whispered, “Okay.”

Bernie kissed her cheek. “It’s all going to be fine. I promise.” He straightened and turned to Ryan.

“Thank you,” Ryan said.

Bernie hugged him. “Keep your cool.”

Ryan nodded. “Dalton, Bernie will tell you what’s going on. Will one of you please get Susannah’s coat and purse?” He handed
the coat check ticket to Bernie.

“Of course,” Bernie said.

Dalton leaned into the car to kiss Susannah. “We’re at the Inverness. If you need me, call my cell phone, and I’ll come get
you. I don’t care if it’s the middle of the night.”

“Thank you, Daddy.”

Dalton closed the car door.

Ryan got in and started the car. Before he shifted into reverse, he looked over at her with such fury that she burrowed deeper
into the big tuxedo jacket.

He didn’t say a word during the drive home.

When they arrived, he came around and lifted her out of the car.

“What are you doing? I can walk! Put me down.”

“Be quiet, Susannah,” he said as he carried her inside and deposited her in the den. “Don’t move.” He turned around and went
back out the front door.

A moment later she heard the car door close, and he came inside carrying a piece of paper, which he handed to her.

Her hand trembled when she reached out to take it from him. “What’s this?”

“Read it.”

Susannah unfolded the paper to discover some sort of form. She saw his typewritten name and Betsy’s with legal mumbo jumbo
typed below the names. “I don’t understand . . . ”

“It’s a restraining order.”

Startled, Susannah looked up at him. “She’s got a
restraining order
against you?”

“
No!
” he growled. “
I
have one against
her!
”

“Why?”

Like a caged tiger, he paced the room. “At first it was a nuisance. She seemed to be everywhere I was. She’d show up at practice,
at appearances, in restaurants. If I was there, she was, too. I never paid much attention to it, because there are always
so many people around us. I lumped her into the groupie category and went on with my life. But then I found out she was telling
people we were seeing each other. This wasn’t long after we lost Justin, and everyone knew we were having a hard time.” He
ran a hand through his hair. “Anyway, I went to see her to tell her to stop spreading lies about me. That turned out to be
a big mistake.”

“Why?” Susannah asked in a small voice.

“Because she secretly videotaped our discussion and threatened to send the tape to you unless I had sex with her. I panicked,
because the tape would prove I’d been in her apartment. You and I were on real shaky ground at that time, and I was pretty
sure some of the rumors she’d started had reached you by then.”

“They had.”

“Anyway, I refused to sleep with her, and she went nuts. She was totally crazy, hitting me, scratching at my face. It was
insane.”

“You told me you got those scratches at practice.”

“What was I supposed to say?” His eyes were hard and dispassionate. “You know, though, I realized something tonight. When
you said I’d ruined everything—
again
—that was the same thing you said when you threw me out. You heard something about me and her and just assumed I was having
an affair with her, didn’t you?”

“I heard a lot of things.”

“
But you never asked me!
You never came right out and said, ‘Are you sleeping with her, Ryan?’” By now he was shouting. “Because if you had, I would’ve
told you the same thing then that I’ll tell you now: No, I am
not
sleeping with her. I haven’t slept with her or
anyone
else
since the day I met
you!
”

“Things had gotten so bad between us,” she whispered. “We were hardly speaking to each other.

Everyone was saying—”

“We’d been married for almost
nine years,
Susannah. Didn’t you owe me more than to believe a bunch of rumors?”

“We hadn’t had sex in months. I thought—”

“
You thought wrong!
” he roared. “I couldn’t get rid of her! I found her naked in my car after practice one day.

That’s when I told Bernie what’d been going on, and he was all over me to call the cops about protection. I laughed at that.
I mean six-foot-four, two-twenty Ryan Sanderson seeking protection from a
woman?
I was more afraid of the ridicule from the other guys than I was of her.” His laugh was bitter. “Turns out I should’ve listened
to Bernie.”

Susannah was almost afraid to ask. “Why? What happened?”

“After you and I separated, she really ramped up her game. She was popping up every day rather than a couple of times a week.
Then, my apartment in the city was broken into and ransacked.”

Susannah gasped. “Oh my God.”

“I knew it was her because every photo of you and us together had been shredded.”

“She should be in jail!”

“They arrested her and charged her with breaking and entering.”

“Why wasn’t it in the paper?”

“The team used its clout to keep it out of the press. I was terrified it would get back to you. I figured you would think
we’d had a lover’s quarrel or something. I didn’t want you to know anything about it because I was still hopeful we might
get back together. I knew you’d think the worst if you heard my name and hers mentioned in the same sentence.”

As Susannah sat down on the sofa, she felt sick to realize she had done exactly that tonight, even after all the progress
they’d made over the last ten days.

“The judge put her on probation and issued the restraining order. What you
think
you saw tonight was me reminding her she can’t be within a thousand feet of me. I was giving her ten minutes to leave, or
I was going to call the cops.”

“You were touching her . . . ”

“
I was trying to get rid of her!
For Christ’s sakes, Susannah! After everything we’ve been through, do you honestly think I’d risk it all with a piece of shit
like her?”

Susannah was filled with shame as tears rolled down her face. “I’m so sorry, Ry. I just assumed—”

“I
know
what you assumed. Most of Denver knows what you assumed.”

Hurt radiated from him like an infection that threatened to destroy them both.

“I just saw you with her, touching her, letting her touch you, and I lost it.”

“I know. I was there.”

“I’ll bet Henry had something to do with it,” Susannah said, remembering the smile she’d seen on his face.

“I’m sure he put her up to confronting me. They both knew I wouldn’t call the cops or make a scene with you there if I could
avoid it.”

“Instead
I
made the scene.”

“And it was a doozy,” he said, but there was no humor in the statement. He reached up to take off his bow tie and release
the top button of his shirt.

“You should’ve told me all of this.”

“You’re probably right. If I had, then I could’ve dealt privately with your accusations rather than having to withstand them
in front of my teammates and just about everyone else we know.”

She winced. “I’m so sorry for what I said.”

“So am I. When we were at the cabin, I swore to you, I
swore
I’ve never lied to you and I’ve never cheated on you. Yet, in spite of everything we’ve shared over the last week, you saw
me with her and automatically thought the worst. That hurts, Susannah.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. I wish there was something I could say or do to take it all back.”

“I need you to have faith in me. I need you to believe me when I say I love you, that I’ve been faithful to you, that there’s
no one else for me but you.

I can’t be fighting these battles for the rest of my life.

I just don’t have it in me.”

She stood up and went to him. With her arms around his waist, she said, “I do believe you, and I
do
have faith in you. I’m sorry I doubted you, even for a second.”

“A second is all it takes to undermine everything we’ve worked so hard to put back together. Not to mention it gives people
like Henry and Betsy and your sister such satisfaction to see us brawling.”

“I know, and I’m so sorry, Ry.” She broke down into deep sobs. “I’m sorry.”

He put his arms around her and held her close to him, but his embrace was stiff rather than welcoming. “You must be getting
tired, and we have court in the morning.”

“What are we going to tell the judge?” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

She rolled her lip between her teeth and wiped at the tears that remained on her face. “After what happened tonight, I’d understand
if you wanted to go forward with the divorce.”

He closed his eyes and sighed. “I don’t want a divorce, Susannah. That’s the last thing I want. We have a baby on the way.
Have you forgotten that?”

“Of course I haven’t. But I don’t want you to stay with me just because of the baby.”

“I’m not,” he said, but she wasn’t convinced. “Go on up to bed. You need to get some rest.”

“Are you coming?”

“In a while.”

She reached up to kiss him. “I love you, and I’m so sorry about what happened tonight. I’d give anything to be able to go
back to when you were giving me this beautiful pendant.”

“Me, too.”

Susannah left him and went upstairs where she moved robotically through the motions of getting changed, washing off her makeup,
and freeing what was left of the knot in her hair. She took off the pendant and held it in her hand for a long time before
she put it away in her jewelry box. When she got in bed, she was hit by a new wave of helpless sobs. The image of Ryan’s wounded
face was more than she could bear, and she cried until she thought she’d be sick. She had embarrassed him in front of the
most important people in his life and accused him of such terrible things, only to learn he had been victimized by that horrible
woman. Susannah shuddered when she recalled the dreadful scene at the ball.

“He’s never going to forgive me for this,” she whispered to the dark, empty room. “And I can’t say I blame him.”

She lay there reliving the evening’s events for a long time until she drifted into a restless sleep. Dreaming of pretty babies
and football games, she awoke with a start when the faces of the babies began to disappear. Her heart beat hard as she looked
over and found the other side of the bed empty. The bedside clock read three twenty.

Susannah got up, reached for her robe, tied it tightly around her, and went downstairs. Still wearing most of his tuxedo,
Ryan was asleep on the sofa with his arm hooked over his head. Her heart hurt at the sight of his handsome face, soft with
sleep. She squatted down next to him and caressed his cheek.

“Ry?” she whispered.

He didn’t stir.

She removed several of the onyx studs from his tuxedo shirt. Pressing her lips to his chest, she said, “Ryan.”

“Yeah?”

She looked up at him and saw the exact moment when he remembered what happened earlier. “Come to bed with me.” Clutching his
hand, she added, “I need you.”

After an endless moment during which Susannah feared he would say no, he let her help him up from the sofa and lead him upstairs.

She removed the rest of the studs and eased the shirt off his shoulders. When she reached for his pants, he turned away from
her, went into the bathroom, and closed the door.

Susannah got in bed and waited for him.

Ten minutes had passed when he came out wearing only his boxers and slipped under the covers. He stayed on the far side of
the bed, so she moved closer to him.

With her hand on his belly, she kissed his chest.

He trembled ever so slightly.

Encouraged by his reaction, she slid her hand down.

He stopped her. “Don’t, Susie.”

“Let me love you, Ry.”

“Not now.”

Her eyes burned with tears. “It might help.”

“No, it won’t.”

The first thing Susannah noticed when she awoke at eight fifteen the next morning was that she had her pillow all to herself.
The discovery was devastating. With his back to her, Ryan slept as far from her as he could get in the big bed. The gulf between
them was wide, and she wondered if they would be able to bridge it a second time. She was studying his broad, muscular back
trying to figure out what to do when the phone rang. Wondering who would be calling so early, she reached for the extension.