Time of Possession (Seattle Lumberjacks #5) (29 page)

Tears welled in Estie’s eyes and her throat
closed up as memories of her father came flooding back. An
infinitely patient man with iron determination and unconditional
love. The best father a girl could ever have. A great example as a
man and as a father and even more as a husband. Probably the reason
none of the kids had married yet. They didn’t think they could ever
measure up to the incredible relationship their mother had with
their father.

And it scared the crap out of Estie that she
might not do them justice.

Not that they would’ve ever expected
anything of her but to do her best and win graciously or fail with
class.

“Your father would be proud of you for
making the tough decisions.” Trish smiled at her, an approving
smile which warmed Estie’s heart. Her mother understood, and all
she’d ever really wanted was to make the people around her
happy.

Trish leaned forward and grasped her
daughter’s hands in hers. “I saw how you and Brett were during
Christmas dinner. He looked at you like your father used to look at
me. That’s so rare, honey, and so precious. Tyler’s found it with
Lavender. I’ve hoped and prayed that you and Freddie would find it
someday, too.” Her mom’s eyes filled with tears, and she got that
faraway look she usually got whenever she thought of their
father.

Estie wiped a few tears from her own cheeks.
Her mother had just paid her the highest compliment ever, yet Estie
had thrown away the love of a good man. “Mom, why don’t you date
again? We wouldn’t hold that against you. You need a life,
too.”

“Because I had my forever love, honey. I
don’t need anyone else but my kids and my charities.”

“Mom, aren’t you lonely?”

A wicked gleam came into her mother’s eyes.
“I wouldn’t be if my children would give me some
grandchildren.”

Estie had to laugh. “Mom, that’s a major
guilt trip.”

“Whatever works.” Her mother sobered.
“Estie, is Brett your forever love?”

“I don’t know.” Estie ignored Freddie’s rude
snort.

“I do. I saw how you looked at each other.
Trust me. I know that look. There’s someone for everyone, but you
get to choose whether to act on your instincts or deny them.”

“He’s going to play for a team too far from
a vet school.”

“Then he can go to another team, or you can
wait until his career is over. Estie, you have all your life ahead
of you. You can go to a vo-tech school, work as a vet tech, and
pursue the vet degree later.”

“I’m a control freak, and he’s quiet and
reserved and keeps secrets.”

“He’s slow to trust. He needs time to open
up. With love you can work through anything.”

“Do you really believe that?” Estie didn’t
see it that way. She saw it as a possible disaster in the
making.

“I don’t need to believe it. You do. You can
make it work if you’re both committed. Your head and your family
have been making your choices. It’s time to make choices from your
heart.”

The truth slammed into Estie with the speed
of a line drive between second and third base. It threw her for a
loop. “And Brett’s that choice.” It was so simple. So obvious. So
true. Plans could change. She’d already been forced to change them
once. That didn’t mean she couldn’t change them again if the reward
was big enough. Only she couldn’t let him know. Not yet. Not while
he was deciding what team to go to. He had to think they were
through until he made the right decision for him. That’s what you
did when you loved someone. You made sacrifices, and you trusted in
love to eventually win it all.

Her mother just smiled, and Estie knew she’d
finally gotten it right.

Freddie sighed. “I guess you’ll be needing
those Super Bowl tickets after all.”

* * * * *

Estie had made most of her life’s decisions
by committee, and now she’d abolished that committee, though it
didn’t hurt that two members of her committee had already voted
yes. Their approval bolstered her confidence but she didn’t let it
control her actions. Not anymore.

She’d go to the game because she couldn’t
miss out on Brett’s shining moment. She had to be there for him,
even if he didn’t know she was there for him. She’d keep her
distance until he made his decision, as much as it broke her heart
to do so. Now she needed to clear the air with Sylvia. She hadn’t
seen her friend since the shutdown of the rescue other than a few
stilted conversations.

She sat in the Sylvia’s waiting room on a
dreary Seattle day, needing to make amends. Her friend embraced her
grudges, and despite words to the contrary, Estie was afraid she
held her somewhat responsible in the demise of the rescue.

Too busy with patients to talk, she made
Estie wait until all the patients had gone. The staff had left,
too.

Finally Sylvia came out from the back. “Come
on back; I’m just finishing up checking on a few animals that are
in here for the night.”

Estie followed her and waited yet again. She
fidgeted and cleared her dry throat, just wanting to get it over
with.

Sylvia finished her chores and stood before
her, arms crossed over her chest and her generous mouth drawn in a
fine line. “So spill it.”

“You’re mad at me.” Estie threw Sylvia’s
directness back at her.

“What makes you think that?”

“Everything. You’ve been avoiding me. I’m
sorry about what happened. I really am.” Estie last words came out
in a strangled choke.

Sylvia walked to a window and stared out it,
hands clasped behind her back, and Estie waited—not so
patiently—for a response.

Eventually, Sylvia shoulders rose and fell
as she heaved a heavy sigh. She turned back around. “I know it’s
not your fault. I’m sorry if I blamed you, and I won’t lie. I was
blaming you because it was easier than blaming myself. I knew your
relationship with Richard was precarious. My sisters and I
should’ve sought other funding instead of getting complacent with
the Michaels’ generous contributions.” Sylvia met Estie’s gaze.
“I’m sorry, too. I’ve missed you.”

Estie swallowed and nodded. “I’ve missed
you, too. I have news.”

“Let’s hear it, girl.” Sylvia smiled like
the old Sylvia, and just like that all was forgiven and
forgotten.

“I’m doing it. I’m planning to start at UC
Davis in the summer to get finish pre-vet requirements.”

Sylvia threw her arms around her friend and
squealed. “You have a job here as soon as you finish. It’s so hard
to find good vets. We’d be a great team.”

“You don’t know how much that means to me,
Syl.” Estie nodded. “We have been a great team, and we will be
again.”

“Yes, we will.”

Estie wiped tears from her eyes. “I’m
finally following my dreams, and I’m going after Brett. I might
have to put vet school on hold for a few years, but I’ll get my vet
tech certification and some real experience working in a vet
clinic.”

“Great ideas. You have plenty of time.”

“I know, but I get impatient.”

“Going after Brett is where you need to be
impatient. That man won’t wait around forever. He’s too vulnerable
when it comes to females. You wait too long, and he’ll have erected
one hell of a security system around his heart, and you’ll never
get back in. Even worse, he’ll never get out.”

“I love him. I want to work side by side
with him for animal causes.”

“I wish I could find a man like that.”
Sylvia’s smile slipped off her face momentarily.

“You can, Syl, and you will. Keep looking,
but look in the right place, not the wrong places.”

“Show me the right place then get out of my
way, sister.”

Estie laughed. “As a wise woman once told
me, it’s time to make choices from your heart.”

“Words well spoken.”

Estie hugged her friend again, feeling
better than she had in years.

Chapter 18

San Diego. Super Bowl Sunday. Brett’s life
couldn’t get much better than this, with the exception of one vital
missing piece. But today he would not allow himself to think about
missing pieces. Instead he stood on the field in an almost empty
stadium and attempted to imagine what this place would be like in
an hour.

He tossed the ball back and forth to Derek
to warm up his arm. Ramsey loped across the field for a longer
pass, which he caught so smoothly you’d think the guy was cradling
a baby in his arms. Brett almost smiled. Soon Derek would be the
first of the guys he hung out with to have a baby.

He bet Estie couldn’t wait to become an
aunt. God, why did he have to think about her right now? He
refocused on Ramsey: his release, his accuracy, his timing. All of
that stuff that separated the great quarterbacks from the good
ones. Most of all, it was concentration.

Bruiser jogged up to him and nudged him.
“Don’t look now, but you have a fan.”

“Who?” Brett followed Bruiser’s gaze to the
seats behind the Jacks’ bench.

“Fifty-yard line, a few rows up.” Bruiser
pointed, as if Brett couldn’t see them, but he could. Oh, hell
yeah, he could.

They sat in a row together, those strong
women who’d tamed some equally strong men, each one wearing their
guy’s jersey. Rachel, Lavender, Kelsie, Mac, and—

Estie.

Estie? Sitting a couple seats down from Mac
and flanked by her mother and sister. All three of them were
wearing his Number Ten jersey.

His jersey number.

Worn by Estie and her family to show their
support of him despite what’d happened between them.

Dang.

Emotion choked him, limiting his ability to
breathe. He blinked back tears. No way in hell could his guys see
tears. Not a chance. Not a fucking chance.

“You okay?” Bruiser studied him with
concern.

“I’m fine. Really fine.” Brett lobbed the
ball to Bruiser, signaled to Derek to hold on a minute, and jogged
to the sidelines. He looked up into the stands, waved at the row of
Jacks’ wives and girlfriends, saving the best for last. He met
Estie’s gaze and read everything in her deep blue eyes and her
uncertain smile. He smiled back, his heart bursting with joy.

She was here for him. Just him.

“Gunnels, get your ass over here, now!”
HughJack bellowed with impeccable timing as always.

Estie gave Brett the thumbs up.

Joy gave his feet wings, and he sprinted
several yards to the coach, all business and ready to conquer his
dreams. All those people who said he couldn’t do it would be proven
wrong. Yet, they weren’t what drove him. He’d defeated those
demons, seen more than most, and recovered.

This was his time, his moment, and he was
sharing it with the woman he loved and the teammates he’d bonded
with, all on a national stage. The only thing that would make this
moment one hundred percent perfect would be for his family to be
here to support him. But they weren’t, and he’d take what he had
because it was a helluva lot more than he had a few months ago.

Brett bent his head to listen to his coach
go over the game plan. Harris fidgeted in the background, like a
nervous parent.

When HughJack finished with him, Harris
snatched him by the arm. “The Pats are going to go after you.
They’ll come with a blitz like you’ve never seen before. McGill
makes Miller look like a pansy. That guy is nasty. And don’t let
Bowers fool you. He might look like a hulking, slow lineman, but
the guy is quick like a cat. He can leap and bat your passes down
if you don’t get enough height on them.”

Brett nodded. Harris had been beating this
into his head all week. He held his silence. He listened then left
Harris on the sidelines to go through pre-game warm-up with his
team. As one the team jogged back to the locker room, listened to
another lecture by the coach and a heartfelt speech from Zach. Then
all eyes turned to him. Brett had never been good with words, so he
kept it short and simple.

“I have faith in every one of you in this
room. We’ve risen from adversity, and together we can do this.”

Guys nodded and mumbled their agreement.
Brett put his hand out, and the rest of the guys gathered around
him in a circle.

“For the team.”

“For the team,” they shouted back.

Minutes later Brett stood on the field,
fighting off pre-game jitters. Next to him Murphy looked ready to
throw up. Brett elbowed him. “You’re not gonna barf all over my
shoes, are you, Murph?”

Zach’s eyes narrowed, and he glared at
Brett. “Fuck, no. I’ve waited my entire life for this. I’m not
going make an ass out of myself in the biggest game of my
life.”

Brett nodded, happy to see a little color
returned to Zach’s face.

New England won the toss and elected to kick
off. The ball sailed through the air on the kickoff.

Bruiser ran it back to the fifty, and Brett
strapped on his helmet and went to work. No one, not even the best
defense in the NFL, was going to ruin it for him. This day was his,
and this game was his.

Game on.

* * * * *

The clock ticked down. One play left for New
England. The Lumberjacks were ahead by four. Their quarterback
threw a Hail Mary into the end zone and a sea of bodies leapt for
the ball. Brett ran down the sidelines toward the pile of writhing,
struggling bodies. The refs pulled body after body off the pile
until Zach rose to his feet, the football held high over his
head.

They won.

The Lumberjacks won.

The crowd closed around Brett in a crazed
celebration of noise and confetti, but he had only one thought.

He pushed people out of his way in his
desperation to get to Estie. Only he couldn’t find her. She’d
disappeared. It was as if he’d imagined her sitting in the stands
wearing his jersey. He caught sight of her mother and sister
standing with Lavender and Tyler. Pushing a couple reporters out of
the way, Brett literally sprinted to them.