Down by Contact - A Seattle Lumberjacks Romance (43 page)

“Yeah, losing those veterans last off-season
was a blow.”

“But we gained a very important veteran. You
played a damn good game, too, not bad for an old guy.”

“Thanks.” Zach ducked his head, somewhat
embarrassed by the rare compliment from the quarterback. Sometimes
the simplest answer was best, per Kelsie.

“I think you might still have a few more
years in you, old man.” Harris studied him, and their eyes met.
Harris’s gaze was open and friendly. None of the animosity of the
past showed on his face. “I was wrong about you. You were just what
the team needed. I’m sorry for all the hell I put you through.”

A million possible responses raced through
Zach’s head, but only one thing truly begged to be spoken. He sat
down beside Tyler. “I’m not. I learned more than I’d ever bargained
for. Like you can’t judge a guy by the clothes he wears or the
words he says, but by his actions.”

“And what did those actions show you?”

“That I’d be proud to call that man a
friend.”

“And so would I.” Tyler reached out his
hand, and Zach shook it. “I heard the GM offered you a contract
extension.”

“Yeah.” Yesterday, he’d been called into the
league office, fearing the worst and actually finding out the best.
Until just now, his answer had been no, but Zach wanted to come
back. To hell with the opening for a college coach. There’d be
others.

“Are you taking it?”

“My lifelong dream since I picked up my
first football was to win a ring. I chased that goal with a
single-minded purpose, convinced that without a ring, my career
meant nothing and my life meant even less.”

“And now?”

“And now I don’t quite see it that way.”

“A good woman will do that to you.” Tyler
nodded and smacked him on the back. “Come back. We’ll move hell and
high water to get you a ring next year.”

“I’m thinking about it.”

“In the meantime, join me in the San Juans.
I could use your help getting my retreat for veterans off the
ground. I’ve been toying with the idea of a summer camp for
homeless kids. I understand you do some work in that area. You
in?”

Zach nodded, smiling in spite of their loss.
“I’m in.”

CHAPTER 29

Zach limped out of the locker room and walked
to his truck. His one goal was to find Kelsie. The rain slowed to a
steady drizzle, but still better than earlier. Considering his team
lost its chance for the playoffs, he felt okay. Life was looking up
in all areas—but one. The most important one.

Kelsie.

As he got closer to the truck, the very
object of his thoughts emerged from under a nearby awning and
walked toward him. His breath caught in his throat. Even bundled in
a raincoat with the hood pulled up, she was striking, every bit the
beauty queen who’d imprisoned his heart for life all those years
ago. He’d never gotten a pardon for his sentence, and he didn’t
want one. Ever.

Zach walked toward her, feeling a lot like
that awkward teenager who’d panted after her. He stared down at his
feet and swallowed. “Hi.”

“Hi. How about a ride home?”

Home.
He liked the sound of it, but
did she really mean home in the truest sense of the word? Zach had
never had a home before. He’d bought his Victorian monstrosity
because it’d been a childhood dream of Gary’s. Only lately had it
felt like home, since Kelsie added her little touches, and her
annoying dog scampered around yapping, and her girlie stuff
littered his bathroom counter.

“Are you going to open the door or are we
just going to stand in the rain and gawk at each other.”

“Oh, sorry.” Zach fumbled for the keys and
dropped them on the pavement. He scooped them up and unlocked the
door, whisking it open for Kelsie. She climbed into his big truck
in her usual ladylike manner. Damn, but they were the beauty and
beast, all right.

He got in on the other side and drove toward
home. Something made him take a turn into a parking area
overlooking the waterfront. Somehow, he felt they needed a neutral
place to talk, because for once Zach Murphy was going to bare his
heart and accept whatever consequences came along. She didn’t
question why he didn’t take her home. Instead she dug in her purse
and re-applied her lipstick.

“The team offered me a two-year contract
with incentives.” Zach ran a hand though his short hair, wet from a
combination of a recent shower and the rain.

“Are you going to accept it?” Kelsie put the
cap on her lipstick and stared straight ahead. Zach stared at her
lips and licked his own.

“I’ve always wanted that ring more than
anything.” God, he’d give it all up for Kelsie. “Now, not so
much.”

“Why not?” She looked at him and blinked
those big blue eyes.

“I want you more.”

Her eyes opened wide and her gorgeous lips
parted. “You do?”

“Yeah, I do.” He grabbed her hand and held
it. Tight.

“Zach. You should go for the ring.”

“You think I should?”

“Yes, while you’re at it, how about two
rings.” She flashed her diamond wedding ring at him.

A lump of happiness clogged his throat. “I
think I could manage that.”

“I’ll kick your butt if you don’t.”

“Now that sounds like something I’d
say.”

“This girl learned a lesson or two from the
nice boy and quite a few from life itself. Zach, I’m sorry I
shadowed you at the gala and didn’t trust you to handle
yourself.”

He nodded. “I have an apology of my own. I
understand you defended me at the risk of your business and your
future.”

“It was the right thing to do.”

“And you did it. For me.”

“Do you know why?”

“I hope I do. Tell me.”

“Could the nice man ever find it in his
heart to love the selfish girl?”

“No, he couldn’t. But the nice man finds his
heart bursting with love for the nice girl.”

She smiled, one of those smiles straight
from her heart to his. “I love you, too. My big, warm, kind,
well-mannered man.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” He snorted then
turned serious. “I love you, Kel. With all of my heart and every
cell in my body, including the dense ones in my head.” He wrapped
her in his arms and held on.

Forever.

CHAPTER 30

Kelsie and Zach stood side by side, arms
around each other in their manicured yard near Gary’s memorial
stone. Kelsie couldn’t stop the smile spreading across her face.
Spring flowers raised their colorful heads toward a sun that warmed
the chilly salt air and promised warmer tomorrows.

So much had happened. Zach signed a two-year
contract with the Jacks. They accepted an offer to work with Tyler
and Lavender to create a unique vacation opportunity for veterans
and a summer camp for children in need. Kelsie brimmed with ideas
for the camp and veterans’ retreat. In keeping with the when it
rains, it pours adage, Kelsie had gotten a call from Veronica just
that morning hiring her to do some work with a couple players the
Jacks drafted, definite challenges both of them. And a few days
prior to that, she’d been contracted by a major league baseball
team to offer some classes to their players.

Side by side, she worked with Zach at the
homeless shelter. Kelsie’s training program for the unemployed
homeless was gaining national recognition, not that it mattered to
her. What mattered was all the people who benefitted by finding
gainful employment.

She glanced at Zach, and her heart filled
with love. Giving was so much better than receiving, and she
wouldn’t have changed a thing in her past because it got her where
she was today. She’d purged that former selfish bitch from her soul
to find the true Kelsie underneath. Being a good person was so much
more fulfilling than being a bad one, except in bed.

They’d raise their children with love and
discipline, better than they were raised. And if life threw them
bumps along the way, she’d pull out a page from their pasts and
remember that what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.

And better.

And more loving.

With Zach all things were possible, and
Kelsie knew there wasn’t anything they couldn’t face together
because they’d already faced the worst life had to offer and become
better citizens and partners for it. And someday, parents. Yes,
someday soon.

They’d name their first son, Gary.

Kelsie leaned into Zach and stood on
tiptoes. He lowered his head and captured her mouth with his. They
kissed in a silent promise that they’d always have each other.

No matter what.

Love was the ultimate bond for the beauty
and her beast.

About the Author

An advocate of happy endings, Jami Davenport
writes sexy romantic comedies, sports hero romances, and equestrian
fiction. Jami lives on a small farm near Puget Sound with her Green
Beret-turned-plumber husband, a Newfoundland cross with a tennis
ball fetish, a prince disguised as an orange tabby cat, and an
opinionated Hanoverian mare.

Jami works in information technology for her
day job and is a former high school business teacher and dressage
rider. In her spare time, she maintains her small farm and
socializes whenever the opportunity presents itself. An avid
boater, Jami has spent countless hours in the San Juan Islands, a
common setting in her books. In her opinion, it is the most
beautiful place on earth.

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