Line of Scrimmage (5 page)

Chapter 5

SUSANNAH REACHED UP TO SMOOTH THE HAIR OFF HENRY’S forehead. “I’m fine, really,” she assured him. “I was lucky Ryan knew exactly
what to do.”

Henry’s jaw tightened with tension. “Always the hero, isn’t he?”

“He saved my life, Henry. Do you resent him for that?”

“Of course not. But I suppose I’d be pointing out the obvious by saying if he hadn’t forced his way back into your life you
wouldn’t be in a hospital bed right now.”

Susannah sighed. “That’s not fair.”

“You know what’s not fair? Your superstar ex-husband pushing me to the sidelines just weeks before our wedding. Is
that
fair?”

“No, it’s not. It’s terribly unfair.” She squeezed his hand. “I love you, Henry. You have to have faith in that and in me.”

“I do.” He traced a finger over one of the faded welts on her cheek. “I have all the faith in the world in you, Susannah.
It’s him I don’t trust. He hurt you so badly. I can’t just sit back and watch that happen again.”

“Shh, don’t. I’m going to be fine, and in a few short weeks I’ll be your wife. I’ll be where I always should’ve been—with
you. I can’t wait until we have the rest of our lives to spend together.”

He bent over the bedrail to hug her. Trailing kisses along her jaw, he said, “I can’t wait to finally get you back in my bed
again. Eleven years is a long time to wait for that, too.”

She smiled. “We’ll be glad we waited. Our wedding night will be extra memorable.”

His ears flamed with color.

Susannah adored him. He was the one person she could always count on. His devotion to her had never wavered, even after she
made the biggest mistake of her life by leaving him for Ryan when they were in college. She had paid a mighty price for that
mistake, and so had Henry.

“Time’s up,” Ryan said from the doorway.

Henry lifted his head off her chest and leaned in to kiss her.

Susannah combed her fingers through his hair and brought him back for a better kiss.

“I’ll call you later,” he said, breathless from her passionate kiss.

She nodded.

He left without looking at Ryan.

“Does it make you feel like a big man to make him feel small?” she asked.

Ryan stepped into the room. “He is small.”

“Compared to you, he’s a giant.”

“So then why aren’t you sleeping with him?”

She gasped. “You were
listening
to us?”

“I overheard by accident.”

“You disgust me.”

“Does that mean you’ve already forgotten about me saving your life? I thought my heroics would buy me at least one day of
sweetness. I feel cheated.”

She glared at him.

He pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. His strapping presence made the small room feel crowded. “So why
aren’t
you sleeping with him?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“I’ll bet I know why,” he said with a cocky grin.

“I can’t wait to hear this.”

“You’re afraid you’ll be disappointed after me, and it’ll be better if you’re married when that happens.”

Susannah fought to keep the indignation off her face. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. “I’m afraid you’re way off,
but I wouldn’t even try to explain my relationship with him to you. We both know you’re incapable of real intimacy. All we
ever had was sex, not intimacy.”

His eyes flashed with anger. “That’s not true,” he said, stepping closer to her bed. “It was more than that, and you know
it.” When his ribs bumped into the bedrail, his face went chalky and sweat beaded on his upper lip. He reached out for something
to hold on to and stumbled when he came up empty.

“Ryan! What’s wrong?” When he didn’t answer her, she called for a nurse. “Something’s wrong with him!”

The nurse eased Ryan into a chair and checked his pulse. “How did he get hurt?”

Susannah realized she was dealing with one of the three people currently alive in Denver who had no idea who Ryan Sanderson
was. “Playing football. Three broken ribs and a concussion four days ago.”

The nurse, who was old enough to be his mother, clucked her tongue with disapproval as she shone a flashlight in his eyes.
“He needs to lay down.” She put her arm around Ryan. “Come on, big fella.”

He didn’t resist when she helped him up and led him to the other bed in the room.

“Do you know if he’s taken anything for the pain today?”

“No, I don’t.” Susannah was more worried about him than she cared to admit. “I wasn’t with him earlier. Is he all right?”

“He will be. He probably just overdid it. Concussions can make you feel really sick if you’re not careful.”

“He saved my life earlier,” Susannah said softly, her eyes fixed on Ryan in the next bed.

“I’d say that probably qualifies as overdoing it,” the nurse said with a smile. “I’ll send the doctor in to check on both
of you in a few minutes.” She glanced at Ryan who appeared to be asleep. “He sure is a handsome devil. You’re a lucky lady.”

“Yes,” Susannah whispered after the nurse had left the room. “Lucky me.”

“You’re both going to have to take it easy for a few days,”

the doctor was saying.

Susannah was still focused on Ryan’s face, which had yet to regain any of its usual robust color.

“You’ve had a bad knock to the head, and broken ribs are nothing to mess around with. If you don’t want me to admit you, you’ll
have to promise me you’ll do nothing more strenuous than take a leak for the next five or six days. You got me?”

“Uh-huh,” Ryan said.

“You’re not convincing me. I don’t care who you are, I’ve got a bed with your name on it upstairs if I don’t think you’re
taking me seriously.”

“I got you, Doc. I’ll lay low.”

Somewhat mollified, the doctor turned to Susannah.

“You should feel much better by tomorrow, but you’ve had a shock to your system. You need to take it easy, too.”

“I’ll make sure she does,” Ryan said.

The doctor raised an eyebrow. “And how do you plan to do that when you’re going to be flat on your back or in the hospital?”

“We’re going to our place in Breckenridge tomorrow morning,” Ryan said.

“No, we’re
not,
” Susannah said.

“Yes, we
are.
It’s just what we need: no phones, no visitors, no distractions.”

“That sounds perfect,” the doctor said, seeming pleased his message had gotten through to Ryan. “How will you get there?”

“I’ll get a couple of my buddies to drive us.”

“Have a blast.” Susannah folded her arms across her chest. “I’m not going.”

Ryan dug his cell phone out of his pocket. “We’ll see about that.”

The doctor watched them with amusement, which added to Susannah’s irritation.

“Go ahead and call your damned lawyer. I don’t care.”

“If that’s what you want.” Ryan pressed the number on his speed dial. “This is Ryan Sanderson. May I speak to Terry, please?”

Susannah fixated on a water stain in one of the ceiling tiles as her heart pounded.
He won’t do it.

“Hey, Terry,” Ryan said. “A little better. Yeah, it was quite a hit, but we won, so it was worth it.”

Susannah rolled her eyes.
Worth a concussion and
three broken ribs? Yes, to Ryan it would be. All he cared
about was football.

“Listen, the reason I’m calling is I’ve decided to put the brakes on the divorce.”

Appearing uncomfortable to be overhearing their personal business, the doctor signed Susannah’s discharge paperwork, handed
it to her, and left the room.

“I know we’re due back in court in nine days, but I’ve changed my mind.” Ryan listened for a moment and then glanced over
at Susannah. “She’s coming around.”

Susannah got out of bed and grabbed the phone from Ryan. “I’m
not
coming around, Terry,” she said, slapping the phone closed.

“Thought I was bluffing, didn’t you, darlin’?” he asked with the lazy smile that made her want to smack him. Or kiss him.
No, definitely smack.

“You
are
bluffing. You’re not going to stop the divorce.”

“The judge knew what he was doing when he made us wait six more months before making it final. He could see we weren’t finished
with each other, yet.”

“I
am
finished! What do I have to do to convince you of that?”

“Spend the next few days with me in Breckenridge. You heard the doctor. I need to take it easy, and so do you. We won’t get
a minute’s peace if we stay in town. The phone will be ringing nonstop, people coming by—”

“And poisoning me . . . ”

“Susie! That’s not nice. You know it was an accident.”

She sighed as she got up from the bed and slipped on her shoes. “I can’t leave town right now. I’ve got the ball next weekend
and a wedding to plan. I’m not going.”

“I’ll have you back in plenty of time for the ball, and you
are
going. Unless you want me to call Terry back . . . ”

“What am I supposed to tell Henry?”

“I’m sure you’ll think of something.” Ryan attempted to push himself into a sitting position.

Without thinking, Susannah reached out to help him up.

He played the advantage by putting his arms around her. Tipping his head, he kissed her softly and then caressed her cheek.
“You’ve got your color back.”

Amazed by his audacity and her reaction to the gentle kiss, Susannah could only stare at him.
Why does he have
such an effect on me, and why do my knees still go weak
when he looks at me that way? I hate that!
Tugging herself free of him, she left the room.

Bernie and Darling were pacing in the waiting room.

“Susie!” Darling rushed over to her. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” Touched by the genuine concern on his face, she hugged him. “It was an accident. I don’t want you to give it another
thought.”

“I’m so sorry. I had no idea you were allergic.”

“You couldn’t have known.” The hulking football players had captured the attention of everyone in the waiting room. “Let’s
forget about it, okay?”

“Um, yeah, sure,” Darling said. “Give me a year or two.”

Susannah laughed and tipped her cheek to receive a kiss from Bernie.

“You look a lot better,” Bernie said as Ryan joined them, sending a buzz through the waiting room. “But he looks like hell—even
worse than before. What happened?”

“I guess I ‘overdid it’ today.” Ryan shrugged. “I need a favor, you guys.”

“Anything,” Darling said with an earnestness that amused the others.

“Can you give us a lift to Breckenridge in the morning? One of you can drive my car and the other can follow us so you can
get back.”

“No problem,” Bernie said, draping his coat over Su-sannah’s shoulders. “Come on. Let’s get you two home.”

When Ryan tried to put his arm around her, Susannah scurried out of his reach. She was going to have to think fast because
there was no way she could go to that cabin with him. He wasn’t only trying to escape the city by making a plan to go to Breckenridge.
No, he knew the cabin would remind her of a time when she had been happy with him, and he hoped it would lower her defenses.
She could
not
let that happen.

As they rode home in the backseat of Bernie’s Mercedes SUV, Susannah puzzled over the situation from every angle. The call
Ryan had made to his attorney had rattled her. Suddenly, she was afraid to push him. He had nothing to lose by stopping their
divorce, but she did.

She had everything to lose—Henry, her sanity, and the peaceful, uncomplicated life she had built for herself over the last
year. Her stomach twisted with anxiety when she looked up to find Ryan watching her with amusement dancing in his eyes. In
that moment, she hated him for what he was putting her through and for the feelings he was resurrecting in her—feelings she
had long ago put away and tried her best to forget.

When their eyes met, her heart fluttered with the startling realization that he and the judge were right about one thing:
they weren’t finished with each other.

The next morning, Susannah fumed in the passenger seat of Ryan’s Escalade as Bernie drove them west to the cabin in Breckenridge.
Darling followed in his four-wheel-drive truck. Snow had begun to fall as they left their upscale Denver neighborhood of Cherry
Hills, and the bleary day was a good match for her mood.

Ryan, who was stretched out in the back seat, talked to Bernie while Susannah relived the huge fight she’d had with Henry
over the trip to the cabin. She ignored Ryan’s repeated efforts to draw her into the conversation, preferring to stew about
the mess he was making of her new, well-ordered existence.

He has no right to make me go somewhere I don’t
want to go!
She’d had to turn over the final plans for the Black and White Ball to her committee, telling them she had been called out
of town unexpectedly. That was putting it mildly! But she couldn’t very well tell them she’d been blackmailed and virtually
kidnapped by her famous ex-husband. A tidbit like that would stir up years of gossip within her social circle. It was bad
enough her trip to the hospital had been mentioned in that morning’s
Denver Post
—and in the sports section, no less. What an insult! She was only news because she was linked to
him.

Her day had begun with an irate call from Henry who hadn’t appreciated seeing his fiancée referred to in the paper as the
wife of Denver Mavericks’ Quarterback Ryan Sanderson. “What am I supposed to tell my parents and friends when they see that?”
Henry had asked.

Susannah had been unable to give him a satisfactory answer to that question because there wasn’t one.

Henry had gone from furious to ballistic when she told him Ryan was insisting on going to the cabin for the next few days.

“I won’t stand for this, Susannah.”

“
What am I supposed to do?
If I don’t go, he’ll stop the divorce, and there goes our wedding. What choice do I have?”

“I’m beginning to think you’re enjoying this.”

“Enjoying
what?

”