Playing for Keeps (Texas Scoundrels) (23 page)

“Mattie is a teacher at the high school. Of course I’d find out.”

“And no one from the school called you?”

“No.” She picked up her cell phone and scrolled through the list of incoming calls. “Nothing.”

Jed sat forward and braced his elbows on his knees. “He’ll be home soon. We’ll find out where he’s been hiding out all week.”

“I can’t imagine—” She quieted when the kitchen door suddenly slammed closed.
 

Austin walked across the kitchen and dropped his backpack on the table. “Hey, Mom. How long until dinner?”
 

“Where have you been?” Jed demanded.
 

Austin stopped and glared at his father. “Out,” he said, his tone filled with uncharacteristic insolence.
 

Griffen didn’t know what had happened to her sweet baby boy, but he was turning into a stranger. “Austin, sit down. We’d like to talk to you.”

Austin walked into the room, keeping a wide berth from both of them, to slump onto the other end of sofa. He leaned back and propped one foot over his knee.

“Why did you lie to me?” she asked.
 

He wouldn’t look at either of them, keeping his gaze transfixed on the half-filled box of DVD’s. “I never said I was going to school.”
 

“You said you’d see me
after
school. You led me to believe that’s where you’d gone. How is that different from lying?”

Austin shrugged. “So am I grounded or what?”

“You bet your ass you’re grounded,” Jed bit out.
 

Austin looked from Jed to her. His dark eyebrows pulled into an angry frown. Anything was better than the I-don’t-give-a-damn attitude he’d given them since walking in the door. “Fine. For how long?”
 

She looked to Jed, but he kept silent. “Two weeks,” she told Austin. “No privileges.”

“And you can forget the tournament this weekend,” Jed added.

Austin shot off the sofa. “You can’t do that.”

“Can’t I?” Jed countered. “Watch me, pal.”

“Mom. Do something.”
 

Identical pairs of chocolate eyes turned to her. She had the distinct impression she was being asked to choose between them. She knew what she had to do. No matter how much it hurt Austin now, she had to side with Jed. Austin had to learn he wouldn’t be allowed to pit the two of them against each other.

“Yes, Austin. He can,” she said quietly.

“You’re going to let him do that to me? He doesn’t have the right.”
 

The torment in her son’s voice nearly broke her resolve, but she had to stand firm. “Yes, he does. You wanted your father in your life. This is part of the deal.”

Tears and accusation welled in Austin’s eyes. She nearly caved.

“I hate you. I hate you both,” he said before running from the room. His feet pounded on the stairs, then moments later, his bedroom door slammed closed.

“That went well.” She blew out a stream of breath. She needed to talk to him, needed to let him know what he’d done was unacceptable. They were only punishing him so he’d learn that deceit came with consequences. She stood but Jed reached out and clasped her arm in a firm grip.
 

“Don’t, Griffen.”

“I have to go to him.” She tugged but his iron-hard grasp held her tight.
 

He shook his head and stood. “Give him time to cool off first.”
 

That sense of choice warred inside her again. In doing the right thing for her son, she’d hurt him. But if she hadn’t backed Jed up on the tournament issue, in the end, Austin would walk all over both of them, playing both ends against the middle time and again. Austin needed to understand she and Jed were a united front.
 

“Let him think about it awhile.” He took her hand again and pulled her to him. “He’ll get used to the idea.”

She sighed when he slid his arms around her and held her close. She needed to be held, needed the comfort.
 

“We have to put a stop to this before it becomes a habit,” he said, running his hands over her back.

She leaned back to look up at him. “We?”

“He’s my kid, too.”
 

Yes, Austin was his son, she’d never denied that. She’d even gotten used to the idea. Austin might not like Jed disciplining him, but she knew he’d be hurt if Jed suddenly decided not to hang around. Hadn’t they already established that fact when Austin had caught them kissing? “What are you saying?” she asked.
 

He frowned. “I can’t just walk away from him. He’s my son.”

She stepped out of his embrace. “What about your career?”

Jed shoved his hand through his hair, fighting the frustration her questions caused. “What about it? One has nothing to do with the other.”

When she frowned at him, he moved to the window. “I don’t know yet,” he finally admitted.

“Do you plan on being a part-time father? A weekend dad? For Austin’s sake, we should discuss this.”

Why couldn’t she just stop the interrogation? He was here now, wasn’t that enough? “I don’t know,” he said again.

“Jed, children need rules, they need boundaries. How can we set those if you don’t even know what you’re doing with your life?”

God, she was so right. If it hadn’t been for the rules and boundaries his grandparents had set and made sure he followed whether or not he liked it, he never would have gotten through high school. He was the man he was today because of his grandparents. He knew that. And he was grateful.
 

She wanted promises, not for herself, but for Austin. Only he wasn’t capable of providing them. How could he, when he had no clue what he was doing next? His grandfather had taken his responsibilities seriously. Shouldn’t he do the same for his own kid? What would he be saying about the old man’s memory if he walked away from the one person who really mattered—his son?
 

He turned face to Griffen. She stood in the center of the room, her expression solemn. And what about her?
 

“I’ll be there for Austin.”
 

It was as far as he was willing to go.

Thirteen

JED HIT THE mute button on the remote control, silencing the late night talk show host. He pushed off the bed and paced the confines of the motel room, coming to a stop at the window in time to see a flash of lightning in the distance highlight the patchy clouds in the night sky. Springtime in Texas was in full swing.

He needed to make a decision, and he was leaning more and more toward retirement. Just cut out now while he was still considered one of the best, not make a fool of himself like Favre had done by refusing to give up on a career that had been over for some time. No, it was much better to go out with a bang, not a whimper.
 

And do what?

He didn’t know anything except the game.
 

Football had been his life since he was ten years old. His grandfather had signed him up in hopes it’d help him settle into his new life without his parents. The old man might have been a hard-ass, but Austin Maitland had been one smart son-of-a-bitch.
 

So what are you going to do?

Dammit, he didn’t know anything except the game.

And it had made him rich. If he wanted to go fishing every day for the rest of his life he could. But he knew himself. He’d grow bored, he’d want something more, something to challenge his intellect.

So what
were
you going to do?

He’d planned on a degree in history and going on to earn his master’s degree before the scouts started showing up in his grandparents’ kitchen with their college scholarships and promises of fame. And they’d delivered. But he was thirty-five-years-old. Starting a new career at his age seemed ridiculous.
 

Or maybe not.

He turned and his cell phone on the bedside table caught his attention. He should call Griffen, check-in to see how Austin was doing.
 

And talk to Griffen
.
 

He’d disappointed her. He’d known it the minute he’d said he’d be there for Austin. He was too much of a coward to tell her how he felt about her.
 

Before he could question his motives, he called her. She answered on the second ring.

“Hello?” Her sweet husky voice drifted over him, increasing his regret.

“Hi.”

“Jed?”

He frowned. “You have other men calling you at this time of night?” he asked, feeling territorial.
 

She laughed. “Not lately.”

“How’s Austin?” Their son
was
the purpose of his call. He absolutely had
not
called to hear the sexy voice of the woman responsible for his sleepless nights.

Yeah
.
Right
.

She sighed and he heard a rustling noise. She was in bed. The realization kicked his fantasies into high gear.
 

“He came out of his room for supper. We had a talk.”

“And?”

“And he’s feeling better. He’s confused, though.”

He didn’t doubt that for a second. How else would the kid feel? Jed didn’t have to be a trained psychologist to know Austin’s confusion stemmed from abandonment issues. He was acting out now, pushing the limits to find his footing in this new relationship. And it was up to him and Griffen to help him navigate. “Does he understand why we grounded him?”

“He gets it,” she said. “But he’s still not happy about you keeping him from the tournament this weekend.”

He shifted, propped the pillows against the headboard and leaned back. “We had to. You know that, don’t you?”
 

“I do. And Austin will, too. Eventually. You were right. He needs time.”

“Good.” He glanced at the muted television as Kimmel interviewed a bleached blonde pop tart headed for trouble. He’d met the kid briefly at a party last year. She wasn’t a bad person, just barreling out of control. Another casualty of fame.
 

“What are you doing?” he asked, not wanting their conversation to end.

“Reading.”

“What are you reading?”

“A book,” she said after a moment.

Her shy, noncommittal answer piqued his curiosity. “What kind of book?”

“A fiction novel.” Her voice sounded all prim suddenly.

“Horror?”

“No.”

“Fantasy?”

She paused. “Kinda of.”

“A fairies and gnomes kind of fantasy?”

Her throaty chuckle heated his blood. “Not quite.”

“A romance?” The thought of Griffen reading a romance novel intrigued him. A lot about her intrigued him. Her fiery spirit. Her fierce need for independence. Then there was the fact he was hard just thinking about her.
 

She gave a little laugh. “Don’t sound so appalled.”
 

He chuckled. “I thought only bored housewives with lousy sex lives read those.”

“Now you’re being a jerk. You should try one before you ridicule an entire genre.” That prim note was back in her voice.

“No, thanks.” He enjoyed fiction on occasion, his reading tastes leaning more toward legal thrillers or a good horror novel. “So is it a sexy book?” His mind filled with Griffen and all sorts of interesting, erotic images.

“Hmm, very.” Her voice was a throaty purr.
 

He felt the first, subtle swell of his cock. “Does it make you hot?” Oh, he was going to be in pain if he didn’t head this conversation into a different direction.

Her breath caught in response, and he grinned. “Tell me, Griffen? What turns you on?”

“A lot of things,” she whispered.
 

His erection intensified. “A woman of variety. Tell me. What do you like?”

“Jed...”

He could almost feel her blush through the phone. Worse, he could imagine the pink tinges on her cheeks, and once again wondered where else she blushed. “I’ll make you hot, babe.”

He heard a rustling noise again. The thought of her wearing nothing but a sheet had his erection straining. He was a fool for torturing himself like this.
 

“You already do.”

Jed curled his fingers into his palm at her admission. “I can make you come.”

“Now?”

He chuckled. He’d meant to shock her, but the hint of anticipation in her voice was a challenge he had no intention of ignoring. “Close your eyes.”
 

“Wait a minute,” she said. “I want to turn off the light.”

“Take off your clothes while you’re at it.” Man, was he ever on a collision course now.

“Jed...”

“Trust me.”

She let out a sigh. “Hold on.”