Fourth Down (15 page)

Ford’s truck sat up a lot higher than
my ancient Honda, and I found myself sitting up super straight just
to see over the steering wheel. I felt like a little kid stealing
my dad’s truck.

The hospice facility was close to the
hospital and resembled a nursing home or assisted living facility.
The antiseptic smell hit me the second we walked through the front
door. We were greeted by the receptionist and waited for the
director to get back from giving a tour.

Three of my former patients had gone
into hospice and none had lived longer than three weeks after
moving in. It seemed once they made the decision to go to hospice,
it was the beginning of the end. With Maggie’s quickly
deteriorating condition, I doubted it would be that long for her.
My heart ached at the impending loss of a friend, and for Ford’s
loss.

Maggie stayed with the director to
discuss the details of her move and to sign the final paperwork,
while the receptionist took me on a tour. I had been here before to
visit a patient, but I went along mostly because I didn’t want to
sit and listen to Maggie plan out her last days. It was hard for
me, harder with her than with anyone before, and I knew it was a
million times worse for Ford.

When she was finished, I drove us home
and settled Maggie back on the couch where she stayed until shortly
after dinner.

“I really wanted to stay up and ring
in my last New Year, but I just can’t keep my eyes open any longer.
Can you help me get ready for bed, Poppy?”

“Of course I can, Maggie. Don’t worry,
I’ll ring in the New Year for the both of us.”

“It’s a pity such a lovely girl should
be alone on New Year’s.”

Yeah, it was a pity. Not that I ever
did anything very exciting for New Year’s, but I wished some year
soon would be different.

After helping Maggie change and get
into bed, I turned off her light and left her door open just a
crack. The house was quiet, and the wood floor creaked beneath my
feet as I crossed the hallway and stood in the doorway of Ford’s
bedroom. The curtains were open, and the light from the streetlamp
illuminated the room.

The queen size bed was unmade, and I
crossed the room to sit on the edge. Looking around I could see
nail holes in the wall and empty spaces on the shelves where
personal items probably used to be. Now the room was bare and cold.
But Ford's bed, with its rumpled sheets was warm and inviting. I
ran my hand over his pillow and the slight indent left by his
head.

The gray hooded sweatshirt that he
wore so often was draped over the top of the headboard. I grabbed
one sleeve and pulled it down. Feeling only a little bit like a
crazed stalker I brought it to my nose and inhaled. It smelled like
him. Not for the first time since that night after Thanksgiving, I
wondered what it would be like to be with Ford. To feel his hands
on my bare skin, the weight of his body on mine.

With a heavy sigh, I curled up on
Ford's bed and hugged his sweatshirt to my chest. The end of my
time with Maggie was nearing, but I had a feeling the end of my
time with Ford would hurt me more.

Chapter Ten

Ford

I was still fuming when I climbed into
Josh’s truck, and it didn’t surprise me when he asked, “What
crawled up your ass?”

There was practically steam coming out
of my ears as I replayed my conversation with Poppy in my mind on
the drive to Grady’s house. No matter what she said that
douchebag’s intentions were, I knew what was really going on in his
head. The same thing that went through my head every time I saw
her. And then she had the nerve to remind me I had no hold over
her, no right to tell her what to do.

The thing that pissed me off the most
was that she was right. It was my own damn fault she wasn’t mine,
but that didn’t make it any easier to take.

“Seriously, dude. You better calm the
fuck down before we get to Grady’s house. This is his wedding day,
and he’s not going to take any of your shit today,” Josh reminded
me.

He was right too. Since Grady had
found out Lindsay was pregnant right before Thanksgiving, he
devised a plan to marry her before the year was over. That left
tonight - New Year’s Eve. The best part was that it was a surprise
for Lindsay. She just thought they were having a New Year’s party.
Normally I would warn him it was a risky move. She could freak out
and say no after all. But with those two, there wasn’t a doubt in
anyone’s mind they would end up together.

The ceremony was scheduled for later
this evening, but Grady had arranged for Lindsay to be out of the
house for a girls’ day and for the guys to help him set everything
up. There were already a shitload of cars in the driveway when we
pulled in.

“Jesus Christ, who are all these
people?”

Josh hopped out of the truck and
reached behind his seat for his suit. The dress code for Josh and
me was black suits and white shirts.

“Remember Lindsay’s cousin comes with
her own security detail, and Leah said Senator and Mrs. Ross were
coming too.”

Oh yeah, Lindsay’s cousin was Taryn
Ross, the daughter of Senator Ross, who was running for President
next year. That would explain the abundance of black SUVs with
tinted windows.

The second we walked through the door,
Grady put us to work. An attractive older blonde woman, who was
introduced to us as Mrs. Ross, was busy arranging flowers on every
surface in sight. Senator Ross, casually dressed in jeans and a
plaid shirt, helped Josh and me string white Christmas lights down
the stairs and across the beams of the cathedral ceiling in the
living room.

Looking around Grady’s house, I could
see Lindsay’s influence everywhere. For one thing, there was
furniture. Before Lindsay walked back into Grady’s life he had a
couch, TV and an air mattress in the bedroom. It looked much better
now.

“Hey, Ford. Give us a hand with these
chairs,” Grady called through the back door. I handed my string of
lights to Senator Ross, who insisted I call him James, and headed
outside behind Grady. Wyatt, Taryn’s fiancé and one of her
bodyguards, was up in the back of a box truck handing down white
chairs.

“Hey, Ford. It’s good to see you
again,” he said to me as he handed me a chair to stack with the
others alongside the house.

“You, too. I’m glad you guys could
make it to watch Grady lose his freedom.”

Grady rolled his eyes. “One day, Ford.
One day you’ll understand I’m not losing anything.”

“He’s right,” Wyatt agreed. “I can’t
wait to marry Taryn, but this damn campaign is putting a damper on
my plans.”

When Josh married Leah as soon as she
graduated from high school, Grady and I gave him a hard time for
months about settling down. He said the same thing to us back then
that Grady and Wyatt just said to me. Now that I was the only one
left, it seemed like maybe they knew what they were talking
about.

“I didn’t invite you over eight hours
before the wedding so you could stand around daydreaming like a
lovesick little girl,” Grady said after smacking me on the back
with a chair.

“Fuck you,” I grumbled and took
another chair from Wyatt.

“Are you moping after that girl?
What’s her name? Pippy?”

“It’s Poppy. And I’m not moping,
Jackass.”

Grady laughed. “Are you bringing her
tonight?”

“Uh…no.”

“Why not? Weddings are great places to
take a girl you’re in love with.”

I froze with a chair in my hands,
halfway between the truck and the house. That was ridiculous. I
wasn’t in love with Poppy. Sure I enjoyed spending time with her,
and it was the hardest thing in the world to keep my hands off her.
She was one of the few people in the world that I was voluntarily
nice to. But that didn’t mean I loved her.

I gave Grady’s shoulder a good shove.
“I’m not in love with her, and we’re not dating. We’re just
friends.”

Grady and Wyatt exchanged a glance
that had me rolling my eyes.

“You just keep telling yourself that,
Ford. But seriously, you should bring her…as a
‘friend’.”

“She’s staying with my mom until I get
home tonight. I can’t find someone else on this short notice and on
New Year’s Eve.” That was a terrible excuse, but it was the only
one I had. I’m sure I could find someone else to stay with my mom,
but I wasn’t sure bringing Poppy to Grady and Lindsay’s wedding was
a good idea. The line between friendship and something more was
already beginning to blur, at least for me.

When we finished unloading the truck,
we started hauling the chairs inside and setting them up in the
living room, leaving an aisle in between. The living room furniture
had been moved down to the basement to make room for the ceremony.
The open floor plan of the first floor allowed plenty of space for
a separate area for a dance floor and tables for food and
drinks.

By the time we broke for a late lunch,
the place was really coming together. It no longer looked like
Grady’s house, but a place where a wedding was about to take place.
The girls were still out doing whatever girls do, so it was just us
guys and Taryn’s mom, Rebecca, for lunch. She had ordered a massive
amount of sandwiches from the local deli and arranged them along
with chips and bottles of water on the kitchen island.

“Lunch is ready,” she called out. In
less than two minutes we were all seated at the tables set up for
the reception with full plates of food.

“I have to say, Ford, I certainly
enjoyed watching you play,” James Ross said as he sat down across
from me. Rebecca sat down next to him and looked at him
questioningly. James nodded his head in my direction and said,
“Ford was a quarterback at LSU a few years back. Top quarterback in
the nation in my opinion.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful. Do you still
play?” Rebecca asked me.

A few months ago I would have given
her a look that would have shut her up and got up and left the
table. Now I was able to carry on a conversation like a civilized
person. My thoughts drifted momentarily back to Poppy as it seemed
any progress I had made recently could be attributed to her
influence.

“No, maam. I broke my leg during my
junior season. It was a career ending injury.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear
that.”

“Grady mentioned you have an interview
for a coaching position at LSU,” James said.

I honestly hadn’t thought much about
it lately, but it was coming up quickly. “Yeah, at the end of
January. My old coach contacted me about the opening on his
staff.”

“It sounds like a great opportunity.
We wish you all the luck,” Rebecca said graciously. She then turned
the conversation to the wedding and how great it was that Lindsay
and Grady had found each other again. It was amazing how down to
earth they both were. I had only ever seen them on TV, and even
then I usually switched the channel. Politics wasn’t high on my
interest list, but I made a mental note to pay more attention to
the upcoming election. Especially since I had just had lunch with
one of the candidates.

Grady whistled to get our attention.
“Finish your food, and get back to work. We only have a few hours
left. The girls will be home soon, and then we all need to start
getting dressed.”

Offering a smile to Mr. and Mrs. Ross,
I tossed my paper plate in the trash and went to see what I was
supposed to work on next. Grady directed Josh and I to help the
caterers unload, while James and Rebecca set out a million white
candles on every surface. Geez, I hope the house doesn’t burn
down.

Grady and Wyatt were setting up the
bar area, which would be complete with a hired bartender. Thank God
it wouldn’t be me tending bar tonight. That shit was getting real
old real fast, and coaching at LSU was sounding better all the
time. Again my thoughts immediately went to Poppy whenever I
thought of leaving town. Maybe I could fly her down to
visit.

Realizing I was spacing out again, I
got back to unloading. Grady was watching me with a knowing look on
his face, so I flipped him off. He just smiled and shook his head,
which was more irritating than if he had retaliated.

After the girls returned and Lindsay
was blindfolded and hurried upstairs so she wouldn’t see anything,
Mr. and Mrs. Ross returned to their hotel to get ready for the
ceremony. Leah, Taryn and Lindsay would be getting ready in the
master bedroom and guest rooms upstairs, so Wyatt, Josh, Grady and
I were stuck using the basement shower. Not that it was a hardship.
When Grady built this house, he may not have furnished it, but the
finishes were top of the line.

Ten minutes for each of us and we were
showered, dressed and ready. As the time for the ceremony to begin
neared, Grady grew increasingly antsy.

“What are you nervous about? You know
she wants to marry you,” Josh said.

“Yeah, I know. I’m just worried that
she’ll be disappointed that she didn’t get to plan the wedding
herself.”

“No way, man. She’s going to love it,”
I said, although I really had no idea if she would be happy or
not.