The Running Series Complete Collection: 3-Book Set plus Bonus Novella (102 page)

“How do you get to a glacier?” Reese asks.  “Are you renting a team of sled dogs?”

“No, but that sounds pretty awesome.  I’m flying into Anchorage, renting a car and driving to a small town called Seward a few hours away.  There’s this sightseeing company they’ve been working with that provides helicopter shuttles to and from the National Park.  The helicopter will fly us onto Bear Glacier.  Lucas sent me some pictures.  I can’t wait to see it for myself.”  Auggie pulls up the pictures Lucas sent, and he’s undeniably right, it’s breath taking. 

After a nice long chat about Auggie’s love life, the tables are turned, and Reese asks as she refills our drinks, “So, Jette, how did it go last night?  Did you tell him?”

“Ooh, I’m sensing a little drama, mama.  Tell me more.”  No one likes to dish the dirt like Auggie.

“Well, I’ll tell you both, but you have to keep your mouths shut.  You have to swear on your lives that you will never, ever, tell another living soul, no matter how much they torture you or how much money they offer you.”  Auggie rolls his eyes.  “I’m serious.  You have to swear, or I’m not saying a word”

Auggie’s eyes grow wide with curiosity.  “Oh my God, Jette.   Does Evan have a love child out there somewhere?”

“No!   Come on, I’m serious.  Do you both swear?   I can’t tell you unless you swear.”

Auggie stands up and places his hand over his heart, “Miss Fletcher, you have my word as a gentleman to keep your secret safe.”  He plops himself back down on the lounger and gives Reese the evil eye. 

“Okay, okay.  I, Reese Adelaide Barrett, do solemnly swear that I will never reveal the information that Juliette Fletcher is about to divulge to another living soul for as long as I live and breathe, so help me God.”  She sticks her tongue out at Auggie, “Is that good enough?”

“Yes, thank you.”  I take a deep, cleansing breath, and then I just blurt it out, “Auggie, you already know most of this.  Evan recently discovered that someone was feeding him steroids to speed his recovery, and I found evidence proving that person is Adam.” 

“Holy crap!” Reese exclaims.  “That’s some serious, shit.  Is that why Evan was on edge all the time?  Was he all juiced up?”  Memories of that difficult time come flooding back, and I just nod in agreement.

“Jette, how can you be so sure it was Adam?” Auggie asks.  “I know you’ve had your suspicions, but you better be absolutely certain about this.” 

After the initial shock wears off, I tell them everything, including how I rifled through Adam’s private files in order to find the evidence I needed.  They ask about what Evan’s legal options are, and I explain how it’s in his best interest to keep things quiet.

“And Adam admitted it, just like that?” Reese asks, horrified.

“Not only did he admit it, he got defensive.  He thought Evan should be thanking him, not criticizing him.”  They both gasp when they hear that.  “The worst part,” I add, “is that he blamed me.  He said that Evan was thinking with his dick instead of his brain and that’s completely my fault.”  I hesitate before revealing my biggest worry in all of this.  “I don’t care what Adam believes.  I just hope Evan doesn’t blame me for coming between him and his best friend.”

In the Dark

T
his should be a happy time for Evan, full of excitement and pride.  Unfortunately, the split with Adam is affecting him more deeply than I imagined.  He misses his friend.  Marcus and Derek show up Tuesday night attempting to take him out for a few drinks, but Evan won’t budge.  He makes up excuses about needing to study his playbook, but we both know that he has every page of that book memorized forward and back.  No one knows those plays better than him.

I have been dreading going to work, unsure of what to expect from Emmy.  I betrayed her trust and I deserve whatever consequences that may bring.  She asked me for a favor and I took advantage of her kind nature.  While it may be true that Adam is guilty and Evan has every right to know the truth, I have to ask myself, do the ends justify the means?  Is Evan better off now that he knows the truth?

It’s been two and a half days since the blow out, and I haven’t heard a word from Emmy.  She and I are working the lunch shift together, so there is no way to avoid seeing each other.  Maybe it’s best if we clear the air without letting this simmer any longer than it already has.

When Emmy arrives, she tosses her purse and keys behind the bar.  Normally, she would stash her things in my office, but not today.  I’ve been waiting in my office for her to arrive, hoping to “accidentally” get a chance to speak with her privately.  She is definitely avoiding me.  But she’s here, so that means there’s hope.

Clare is behind the bar again with her today, so before it gets too busy, I come out and ask Emmy if she would join me in my office.  I know Clare can handle the bar alone for a few minutes.

Emmy sits and I shut the door to give us some privacy.  “Emmy, I’m afraid that this situation with Adam and Evan is going to come between us.  You’re already avoiding me and I think it’s a good idea for us to get everything out and in the open.”  I frown as I recall the terrible things that were said.

“You’re right.  I am avoiding you, but probably not for the reasons you think.”  She looks down at her feet rather than look directly at me.  “I’m embarrassed.  What Adam did to Evan was horrible.  I know you’re mad at Adam, and I was afraid you wouldn’t want to talk to me, either.”

“Oh, Emmy, I was afraid you wouldn’t want to talk to me because of what I did.”  Swallowing, I continue.  “What I did was wrong and it’s okay if you’re mad at me.  You trusted me enough to send me into Adam’s house while he wasn’t home, and I took advantage.”

“Yeah, that was pretty sucky,” she chuckles.  “But I can forgive you.  You did it for your future husband.  I probably would have done the same thing.”

Relief washes over me and I cannot resist the urge to grab Emmy and hug her.  “I’m so glad we talked this through, Emmy.  I feel so much better now.”  Emmy smiles her usual perky and cheerful grin, and I know that everything is going to work out.

“Yeah, I feel better, too,” she beams.

“Hey, how are things with Adam?” I wonder.  “Is he still as upset with me as he was on Sunday?”  Adam said some very hurtful things and I don’t know if I will ever be able to fully forgive him, but I would like to know if he meant all those things he said.

“He was never actually mad at you.  We had a . . . I don’t know what to call it.  I had just told him that I thought we were pregnant,” she says very matter-of-factly.

“What?”  I’m not at all certain if I heard her correctly.

“I’m late, so we went to get a home pregnancy test.  We just left the pharmacy and were on our way back to use the test when you called.  Adam was a little freaked out, to say the least.”

“So, are you . . .?” I ask warily.

“Oh, no.  The tests were all negative.”  She shrugs her shoulders.  “Aunt Flow showed up yesterday.”  She actually seems a little disappointed.

“Should I tell Evan?  I think if he knew why Adam ‘freaked out’, as you put it, he might feel differently.”

“I don’t know, Jette.  I think maybe it would be best if we stay out of it.  It might be a good idea to let them work it out themselves.  If Adam wants Evan to know, he’ll tell him.”

I’m speechless.  Emmy’s right.  The last thing I should be doing is getting in the middle again.  “Deal.  So, are we . . . cool?”

“Yeah, I think so.”  Emmy smiles at me and I have no choice but to grab her and hug her one more time.  “I feel so much better.  Let’s get back to work.”

Emmy heads back behind the bar and I return to the kitchen with a little spring in my step.  Although I don’t know what’s going to happen with Adam, at least I know I haven’t lost one of the most important friendships in my life.

About halfway through the lunch shift, I get a call from Delaney Duffy, Troy’s wife.  Some of the players’ wives and fiancées are travelling together to Friday’s game.  When I explain to her how I thought families didn’t attend away games, she explains how the wives work around that policy.

First off, she tells me that we cannot travel with the team.  They have a private plane that takes them to their away games.  With over fifty players, twenty coaches, a half-dozen trainers and managers, that’s nearly eighty people.  She reminds me that many of the players require two seats, filling whatever empty seats there may have been.

Since most of the games are just for one night, they don’t get together for too many away games, but they like to go to the special ones, and the first game of the season is definitely special. 

I ask about where we would stay and she confirms the rules, which I already know.  There is a strict curfew and a tightly enforced ban on female companionship in the rooms.  Wives and girlfriends are barred from sharing a room with members of the team.  Because of that, they reserve a bank of rooms in the same hotel, but on a different floor. 

Despite the fact that there’s little time for interaction with the team, it’s a great opportunity to be there to support the players and to remind them about the importance of family. Delaney gives me some statistics on the divorce rate in the NFL and it’s worse than I thought.  The families that make it are the ones that realize what’s really important.  It's not about the fame, and it's not about the fortune.  It’s entirely about the family and the ties that bind them together.  The more shared experiences a couple can have, the better chances of a long and happy future together. 

It doesn’t take me long to decide that my answer is “yes”.  I don’t even need to check with Evan.  Troy’s wife Delaney and Carlo’s wife Willow are both going.  It’s time I start behaving like an NFL wife, too.  Besides, I’ve never been to Detroit before, so I guess I can cross that off my bucket list.

When I ask Delaney about players’ girlfriends, she has a rather flippant answer for that one.  It seems that NFL girlfriends come and go a lot.  Delaney learned the hard way that many NFL flings were short-lasting.  Girlfriends change so often that there’s no point in the wives dedicating too much effort to developing those friendships. 

Besides, it’s fairly expensive to lay out the money for First Class plane fare, hotel fees, and expensive dinners.  Then there’s the shopping outings during down time.  It’s often too costly for single women to afford. They decided some time ago that it’s best to only include wives, fiancées, or long-term partners. 

The main purpose for my question was to include Reese in our travel plans, but it doesn’t sound like that would be appropriate.  Not yet, anyway.  If things work out with her and Shaun, maybe she can join us at the end of the season, but not now.

When I return to the kitchen, I tell Reese all about my new travel plans.  She is so excited for me that she readily helps me coordinate coverage.  I’ll be away tomorrow and Friday, two fairly busy days.  Everyone is so willing to rearrange their lives for me that it’s humbling.  In no time at all, I have both shifts covered.

I send out text messages to my mother, Auggie, and Derek, telling them to watch for me in the stands at the game.  All our friends will be gathered together at Rush Friday night to watch the game.  I was looking forward to joining them, but my new plans are pretty awesome, too.

Near four o’clock and the restaurant is empty.  It’s that in-between time when it’s too late for lunch, but too early for dinner.  Marcus takes advantage of the free time to pull the bartenders together and work on their flair bartending.  Emmy is working on a basic hand stall move.  It includes a single flip of the bottle and catching it on the back of your hand.  The final step is to pop it back into the air and catch it by the neck in order to pour a shot.  We have special empty plastic bottles that we fill with water for practice.  The last thing I need is to have shattered bottles of expensive liquor all over the floor.

While I’m practicing my behind-the-back flip and pour, my phone goes off.  I slip to the far end of the bar to answer the call while the rest of the team continues their practice.  It’s Delaney calling to confirm our plans.  Luckily, she was able to reserve one more seat on the plane.  I grab a bar napkin to take notes.  We’re flying out of Atlantic City tomorrow afternoon.  Our flight will leave at five o’clock, a few hours after the team’s flight.  We’ll take the red-eye home at midnight late Friday night.  The team will be flying home at around the same time, so Evan and I can drive home together. 

Once the plans are set, I thank Delaney and return my attention to the bar.  I must have been on the phone longer than I thought, because when I turn around, the lessons have ended and there’s a customer sitting at the bar.  At closer look, I realize it’s not a customer at all.  It’s someone I recognize in a flash.  Looking up at me with a wicked grin is none other than Ryker Donovan.

“So, Jette, I guess it’s road trip time, huh?  Sounds like you’re off to scenic Detroit.  Every girl’s dream vacation.”  Ryker smiles and watches me closely as I walk towards him.

“It’s not polite to listen in on other people’s conversations, Ryker.  What are you doing here?  I thought both Evan and Marcus asked you not to return.”  I stand staring at him with my arms crossed.