The Rookie: Book 2 The Last Play Series (3 page)

C
harity left
a message on her mother’s phone, telling her not to freak out and to call her when she got to Australia. She hung up and hated how torn she felt. Part of her wanted to demand that her mother come back. Actually, she wouldn’t have to demand anything. She knew her mother would want to come back. She loved Grandpa. He was like a father to her, too.

Another part of her wanted to insist her mother stay in Australia. Since Charity was little she remembered her mother talking about going there. It wasn’t like they’d had a ton of money when she was growing up, and Australia had always felt like this imagined pie in the sky dream.

This would have been one of those times that it would have been nice to have Paul around. He’d always been so reliable in times of personal crisis. She shoved that thought away and hated herself for being so weak.

Unconsciously, she bowed her head and closed her eyes to pray. A flood of memories rushed through her mind. It was like her whole life with Grandpa was flashing before her eyes. More tears that moved in a river down her face. She realized during the prayer that there were definitely worse things than losing a job. Losing him would unhinge her. He was her rock in life. She could always count on him to understand and not judge.

She must have prayed for a long time because the next thing she knew the car had stopped. She opened her eyes and saw they were sitting in front of what looked to be some type of lodge. “This is the hospital?” She pushed the door open and looked for proof.

Legend was already around the car, helping her get her bag out. “That’s what it says.”

It looked more like some kind of ski lodge. She tried to take her bag out of his hands, but he brushed her off. “I’ll help you find him and then I’ll get out of your hair.”

At the moment, she didn’t have time to overanalyze why Legend James had offered her a ride or why he was continuing to be so helpful. She needed to find her grandpa.

The lady at the front entrance referred them to the ER. When they got there, the ER receptionist told them he was getting transferred to a recovery room. When Charity insisted on seeing him, a doctor appeared and explained that he hadn’t woken up, yet.

“All the tests we’ve run have concluded that he had a stroke.”

“Is he okay?”

The doctor frowned. “We think so, but it may take a while for him to wake up.”

“How long is a while?”

“Hours to days to…” he trailed off.

“To what?” she pressed. “Are you saying he might not wake up?” A trembling started in the pit of her stomach.

“We don’t know at this point.”

The doctor was managing the situation. On some logical level she got that, but she still felt frantic. “When can I see him?”

“As soon as they have him set up in his room, we’ll come get you. I’m running more tests right now, so we should know more soon.”

“Fine.” Miserably, Charity found a chair and slunk into it.

Legend sat next to her.

Taking her bag out of his hand, she didn’t look at him. “You can go.”

Legend didn’t move. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t get up to go.

The fact that he wouldn’t go kind of ticked her off. She didn’t need him here to witness her fall apart again today. She didn’t even know the guy. Well, strike that, she actually probably knew him better than he knew himself. Contrary to his belief that she printed lies, she’d been taking notes on him and scouring the Internet, and his friends and the girls he dated for months. But now he was making her uncomfortable. “Please just leave.”

“I want to wait until you get to see your grandpa.”

The vulnerability she felt was overwhelming, and she tried to cover it. “I guess it’s not enough to ruin my career. You want to stick around to make sure I’m suffering?”

Leaning back, he crossed his heels and folded his arms. “You don’t know me at all.”

“Actually, I bet I know you better than you know yourself. Hmm, let’s see. Besides all the information about your love life, I know about—”

“My mother dying when I was born. You already mentioned my abandonment issues.” His lips were tight. His green eyes were angry.

She could tell he didn’t like how she’d thrown that around, but just now she liked that he didn’t like it. She needed to hurt someone, and he was a heck of a good target at the moment. “And you’ve lived with your aunt because your dad’s been career military. You’ve been the hometown jock pretty much your whole life, worshipped because you can throw a ball. Wow, the things we value in our country.” She shook her head.

But he wasn’t getting upset. “I agree with you, but hey, like you said, you gotta find the hole in the defense and use it.”

Mentally measuring him, she was startled he’d agreed with her. Apparently he wasn’t one of those die-hard jocks that thought the game was the only important thing in life. She wondered why he would still be in town and not back in Texas. “Why aren’t you at your Aunt’s place this week?”

Seeming pleased, he smiled. “I guess you do know your facts, Rookie.”

This bugged her. “Don’t call me rookie.”

“Why not? Aren’t you a rookie reporter?”

She kept her voice even. “Ahh, if you think I’m a rookie, I feel bad for the rude awakening you’re in for.”

He let out a sigh. “Look, I never meant to get you fired. I’m sorry, okay?”

Not expecting an apology, she didn’t know what to say. It felt too simple. He couldn’t erase what he’d done with a single sorry. “I don’t accept.”

Flipping his head to look at her straight on released a whiff of his masculine scent. He was wearing some type of cologne that was distracting. She abruptly realized how close he was. Too close.

“Man, you’re fiery.”

She held her ground. “No, I’m
right
. I was thorough. I asked you for an interview and you declined. You were
wrong
.”

He turned away and leaned back, again. “Christmas.” He mumbled.

“What?”

Exhaling, he turned back to her, but he didn’t meet her eyes. He focused intently on his hands instead. “I’d just read an email from my dad that told me he wouldn’t be back from Afghanistan for Christmas. I was…upset.”

Unexpectedly, his admission knocked her off balance. All the preconceived notions of him being an arrogant jerk, all the things she’d built in her mind and collected about him hadn’t prepared her for this. Instantly, she doubted her jerk-ometer. But, she surmised, her jerk-ometer had been off since Paul. “Oh.” She didn’t know what else to say.

He turned and met her eyes. She tried not to notice that his green eyes weren’t pure green. They had flecks of gold and sort of appeared hazel. They looked vulnerable. “Can I tell you something off the record, Rookie?”

She narrowed her eyes and ignored the butterflies in her gut. “Only if you can make up your own nickname.”

A light laugh came out of him, and then he cleared his throat. “No promises there, but it’s a thing, ya know. As you’ve mentioned, my aunt in Texas raised me. My dad, well, he was always saying he would be home…and then he wouldn’t be. Even now…” he trailed.

“Oh.” All of her preconceived notions about Legend James were crumbling. It unsteadied her. “I’m sorry.”

He shrugged. “It’s no big deal, right? That’s life. It builds character. Some people have it a lot worse then me.” He sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

Unwillingly, she thought of how she’d been doing the same thing he was doing only an hour before. “Right, when life hands you lemons…”

Lifting an eyebrow, he grinned. “Make lemonade.”

“Your attitude determines your…”

The side of his lip tugged up, and she couldn’t deny he looked good when he did that. “Altitude. That’s right.” He seemed mystified by her. “I always try to talk myself into being okay by looking at how bad others have it.”

“My dad used to say a ton of cliché things like that when I was little and I would get a small scrape or something.”

He nodded. “What happened to your dad?”

She didn’t respond for a second, not liking that she didn’t hate him anymore. Then she looked away. “He died.”

Silence reigned.

“Ms. Charity Saint.” A woman in scrubs moved toward her.

She stood, shaking her head to clear it and feeling bad she’d forgotten about her grandpa for a few seconds.

The woman gestured for her to follow. “This way.”

Charity scowled back at Legend as he walked closely behind her. He was like one of those dogs that follow you home and you’re really not sure what house they belong to. Unfortunately, he didn’t seem to notice the scowl.

All she could see when she walked into the hospital room was how pale and fragile her grandpa looked. He was hooked up to machines with oxygen tubes stuffed up his nose and another tube down his throat. Immediately she went to him, taking his hand and putting her head against his chest. The fact that she had fallen apart again wasn’t something she registered. All she could think was that she wanted him to be okay. She wanted to wake up from this horrible nightmare and be sitting on his back deck, looking up at the stars and sipping hot chocolate. She needed him. Until this moment she’d taken him and everything he meant to her completely for granted. “Grandpa,” she said over and over softly. “Wake up, please.”

The scraping of a chair across the floor didn’t disturb her until she felt a hand on her shoulder. “Here, you can sit down.”

“No,” she refused. She couldn’t sit. At a time like this she needed to do something even if that was just being as close to him as possible. “Go away. Please.” She sniffed and turned her head, looking at her grandpa’s face. She reached up and lightly touched his cheek. He was usually so meticulous about shaving, but Charity noticed he had light stubble on his chin. He must have had the stroke before he’d had a chance to have his morning shave. For some reason that made her cry even harder.

C
harity didn’t know
how long it’d been by the time she finally dislodged herself from Grandpa’s chest. How long it’d been since she’d quit crying and only focused on praying and asking God to help her grandpa. She’d started at the beginning and went through all the reasons she needed him still. She’d even told God that he’d taken her father and, even though she hadn’t understood about that, she’d always felt so close to grandpa. He’d been like a father to her. He’d been the best father figure, grandpa, friend, and confidant she’d ever had. Finally, sitting back hard in the chair, she sat silently, keeping her hand in his. The bag Legend had been holding and her phone were sitting on another chair he’d apparently dragged over and put next to her. Staring at her phone, she felt dazed and tired and suddenly exhausted. She picked up her phone and saw some texts from Shelia. She pressed her number, she didn’t want to talk, but she needed to ask Sheila to watch the B and B for a few nights.

A
fter leaving the hospital
, Legend found himself driving in circles around Park City. He’d never been up Parley’s Canyon before, and after stopping and getting out at a ski resort, he’d decided to take the lift up and then hike down the mountain. It’d been awesome. He berated himself for never coming up with the guys when they’d wanted him to. No, the last four years he’d been too focused on football, football, football. The only breaks he had taken were when his dad was on leave from the army or holidays with his aunt. All he had seen was going pro. Playing for the Dallas Destroyers. That’s all he he’d ever wanted. His mind flashed to her. The girl he tried never to think about. She’d been his girlfriend during his sophomore year at the U. But she’d messed things up. Big time. Even though he didn’t have that dream anymore, at least he had football. Then Charity’s face flashed into his mind. He remembered how she’d said he’d taken her dream. Suddenly, he found himself back in front of the Park City hospital. He put his car in park.

Whipping out his phone, he pressed Jason’s number.

“You’re already missing me. How sweet.”

“Shut it.”

“What’s up?” He heard people in the background.

“I bought a car.”

“What?”

“Convertible, a red Mustang.”

“You dog.”

“Right.”

“I can say I’m officially impressed.”

“I’ll text you a pic.”

“What are you doing right now?”

“I’m in Park City.”

“Legend James isn’t going in for another training session?”

“Nope.”

“Weird.”

“Right? I actually brought that reporter up here.”

Jason hesitated. “What? Like on a date?”

“No. It…her grandpa had a stroke.”

“Oh.”

“It’s…” he sighed, not knowing why he’d called.

“That’s cool. I mean, good for you, dude.”

“Yeah, okay, I better go.”

“Are you okay?”

He sighed. “Uh, yeah.”

Jason hesitated. “Is this about Charity?”

“What? No. Why would you ask that?”

“I don’t know, because you are acting strange.”

“No. I’m not. And I didn’t call because of
her
.”

Jason let out a long breath. “Okay, look, since you’re there you should stay a couple nights and enjoy yourself.”

“You think?”

“Totally. Go out. Meet some single people.”

For whatever reason he’d needed someone to give him permission. “Yeah. Maybe I will. Look, I gotta go.”

“See ya.”

He got out of the car and grunted. He should go out and meet people, not be at the hospital. He thought of Charity’s article. For having such a cold heart, he sure felt like a push over.

E
ven though Charity
wasn’t completely asleep, she was almost there, dozing in and out, half-way propped on Grandpa’s bed with her hand in his. Then she heard a throat clearing. Her eyes flipped open.

Legend James surprised her with his arrival for the second time that day. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sat up. “Look, I’m under legal obligation with the paper to print a retraction, okay? Even though I told the truth. Give me a few days.”

He frowned. “I’m not here about that.”

Leaning back, she kept her hand in Grandpa’s. “Then why are you here, Legend?”

Appearing to measure her words, he took another step into the room. “Has your mom called, yet?”

Legend put her on edge, and Charity didn’t like the feeling. She shook her head. “She’s still in the air. I won’t hear from her for a couple of hours still.”

“Do you have a car?”

Studying him, she tried to figure out why he cared. It wasn’t uncommon for people to want to help others during something like this, but knowing what she knew about Legend, he didn’t seem to be the do-gooder type. “No.”

“I can give you a ride back down.”

“I’m not leaving.”

He hesitated. “Are you going to sleep here?”

She shrugged. “I haven’t decided yet.”

This seemed to trouble him. “Then where would you go?”

He kept asking questions Charity didn’t have answers to. Right now, all she could think about was praying for Grandpa. Her own comfort was way down on the list of priorities. “My grandpa’s house is just a street over from Main Street.” She shrugged. “I figured I could get a ride with some family friends. I just need to call them.” Hesitating, she softly squeezed her grandpa’s hand. “Then I’ll use his car. He wouldn’t mind.” Her eyes fluttered, but she was grateful the choking, uncontrollable emotion from earlier didn’t assault her.

Shifting his stance, Legend tucked his thumbs into his pockets. “It’s past dinner. Have you eaten anything?”

“No.” She let out a sigh. “I couldn’t.”

For a few seconds Legend just stood there, meeting her eyes. It would be hard to describe to anyone the feeling that floated through her in regards to him. Admittedly, she’d never really liked him. Not for any real reason. Well, maybe because he fit the mold of stupid, arrogant jock. The kind that demanded a lot from waitresses but tipped them two percent. His dating stats had only reaffirmed her conclusions, not to mention the way he’d refused to give her an interview without even looking at her. It bothered her that the past few hours were proving all of her previous assumptions wrong.

Jolting out of their staring contest, he shook his head. “Okay, I just…thought I’d check.”

Accepting help wasn’t something she had ever done graciously. Her mother always teased her that since she was born her first words were ‘I can do it by myself.’ “Thanks for earlier,” she offered.

He nodded. Then his eyes fell to her grandfather. “I can sit with you. Or I can sit with him while you go get something to eat.”

At his offer, she felt a pang of guilt for calling him cold hearted. “No, thanks. I’m good.”

Hesitating for only a second, he took the chair next to her and pulled it slightly away and sat anyway.

“Ugh.” She threw one hand up. “What are you doing?”

“Look, I won’t say anything, okay. I’ll just be here.”

Not having the strength to argue, she focused on her grandpa, closing her eyes and turning to prayer for what seemed like the millionth time that day.

The doctor showed up a little bit later and explained that her grandpa’s test results looked good. No major damage. “He’ll wake up. It’s just a matter of time.”

“How long does it usually take?” she asked.

The doctor surprised her by giving her a soft smile. “Look, I know you want to rush it, but the fact is he had something very traumatic happen in his brain. It will just take time. Sleep is good for the body. It will help him heal.” He looked at Legend. “You and your boyfriend should go, get some rest, and eat. Come back in the morning.”

“He’s not my boyfriend.” It came out defensively.

The doctor was studying Legend. “Legend James,” he said with admiration in his eyes. “Well, may I just say it’s a privilege to make your acquaintance?”

Legend looked uncomfortable. “No, what you do here is amazing. It’s a privilege to make yours.”

A lot more humble than she’d imagined. Well, more than most of the television interviews she’d seen had led her to believe. But, to be fair, those had mostly been with him after a game and the whole team was amped up.

The doctor backed up toward the door. “You guys are welcome to stay until eight, but then we ask that you go home. Really, it makes life easier on the staff. Plus, I know you don’t feel like eating, but you should. You need to keep your strength up. Your grandpa will need you at your best when he wakes up.”

“I’m not leaving.” Charity was horrified to think how grandpa would feel if he woke up all alone in the hospital.

“They’ll call you if he wakes.” He nodded down the hall. “I’ll talk to them myself.”

Taking in a large breath, Charity felt on the verge of another breakdown. “I won’t leave.”

Legend cleared his throat. “Come on, you can come back bright and early.”

“No.” Complete stubbornness shielded her from reason.

Legend took a step closer to her. “C’mon, Charity. Would your grandpa want you to act this way? No, of course not. He’d want you to take care of yourself.”

A blur of tears filled her eyes and made her angry. Angry at the tears and angry at Legend for inciting them. But she knew he was right. Roughly she grabbed her bag. “Fine, but using Grandpa and what he wants is a cheap shot. You don’t know him or anything about what he would want.”

Legend kept his face neutral. “You’re right,” he agreed quickly and shrugged. “Charity, look, I’m just trying to help. I’m trying to be a friend here.”

She scoffed, “Oh, believe me, I don’t need you as a friend. No, you’ve done enough to wreck my life.”

He sighed. “If you let me give you a ride to his house, then I’ll get out of your life. I promise.”

Some might find it strange that most girls would bend over backwards to have Legend James trying to help them. But, she reasoned, brushing by him and moving down the hall, most girls hadn’t done four months of research on him. “You know, you acted like all my research was an invasion of your life, but who’s the stalker now?”