Head Over Heels (33 page)

“You don’t think you’ve done enough?”

“Gunny. Please.” Eboni held her fiancé’s arm. “It’s obvious she cares about him.” She pulled Gunnar toward her. “It wasn’t so long ago that I was in her same position…with you.”

Gunnar stared at Eboni for a beat before he cupped her cheek and planted a soft kiss on her forehead and lips. “This is different.” He opened the door to the conference room.

Camera flashes bathed them in sporadic lights. Kari held her hand up to block the blinding beams.

“Christ, when did they get here?” Gideon held Janelle close to him.

“How’s Thane?” one nosey reporter asked.

“Is this the reason he hasn’t returned to spring training?” another blurted.

“Any truth to the story that Jarrod Townsend stabbed Thane?”

Gunnar glanced at Kari. “You’re an agent. You’ve been chasing Thane for his business. You take care of this. Let us take care of our family.”

As Kari watched Thane’s brothers and their fiancées leave her with the den of wolves, anger swelled in her. She understood Gunnar and Gideon being scared and upset. She wouldn’t be the fall guy for this situation. She also wouldn’t be leaving. She made a promise to Michael, and she couldn’t discount her feelings. Damn it, she loved Thane.

Thane blinked so slowly it felt like years in between each time he opened and closed his eyes. He heard the heart monitor that registered each of his beats first before he finally focused and noticed the all-white room. For a moment, he transported back to the final call he’d had with Queen. He remembered hearing the same sounds through the phone.

He rested his hand that had tubes coming from it on his midsection. He felt the stiff puke-green striped gown he wore. He tried sitting up to get a better view of the room. Who was he kidding? He wanted to see if Kari had stayed here with him.

“Easy, Mr. Wells.” A thin, young man placed his hand on Thane’s shoulder. “Let me help you.” He picked up a corded remote and adjusted the bed to elevate Thane’s head. “My name is Orion. You can laugh.”

Thane could barely muster a smile.

“I’ll be your nurse.” He glanced behind him. “I have to say, this is the first time I’ve been in a room with so many famous folks.”

Thane looked beyond the nurse to see Gunnar and Gideon on two different couches, both fast asleep.

“Anyone else?” Thane knew his abbreviated question wouldn’t be understood.

“What do you mean?” As he spoke, Orion took Thane’s vitals.

“Besides my brothers.” Thane nodded toward them.

“There were a couple of women here with them for a while. They made them go home sometime late last night.”

Thane nodded. He had a feeling the nurse would say something like that. He’d had hoped for a different outcome. He’d wanted Kari to care beyond him being a star athlete.

“There was some woman in a smoking-hot red dress who was answering questions after a group of reporters showed up. She seemed to handle them well until security kicked them out.”

“Really?” Thane noticed a pitcher on a raised tray. He started to reach for it when Orion stopped him and poured a cup of water for him.

“Yeah. She took care of those folks like a pro.” He positioned the straw to Thane’s mouth and patiently held the cup until Thane took his needed drink. “Is that your manager or something?”

Thane shook his head.

“Whoever she was, I wouldn’t let her go.” He set the cup back on the tray. “What’s your pain level? One for tolerable and ten for the worst pain ever, like the kind of pain if you ended up in the ring with him for ten minutes.” He pointed to Gunnar before chuckling.

Thane felt a little sore, but nothing he hadn’t felt before while training. “Five.”

Orion nodded. “Drugs are still in your system from the surgery.”

“Surgery?” He glanced down at his body.

“The doctor will be in soon to talk to you. Until then, you get some rest.” He placed the remote by Thane’s hand. “If there’s anything you need, you hit this button. Are you comfortable?”

“For now.”

“I’ll take that.” Orion smiled. “What about food? You hungry?”

Thane shook his head.

“They’re still coming by with breakfast. I think you’re on the ultra-bland diet. Oatmeal.” Orion shivered. “The perks of having gastric problems.” He went to the door. “Like I said, if you need me, hit the call button.”

Thane nodded. “Thanks.”

He placed his head back on his pillow and closed his eyes.

“At some point, are you ever going to get out of bed?”

Thane opened his eyes and turned toward the voice. He saw Gunnar standing from the couch and heading toward him. He noticed that his oldest brother still had on the same all-black ensemble from the dance. Hell, what day was it?

“What happened?” Thane rubbed his eyes. He turned his wrist to view the time and date.

“They had to take off your jewelry before the surgery.” Gideon stood from the couch and sauntered toward the bed. “Everything’s in there. We checked.” He also wore the same clothes from the dance.

“What day is it?” Thane raised his head a bit more to regard his brothers.

“Sunday.” Gunnar cleared his voice. “The doc should be in soon, but you had a pretty nasty ulcer. Did you know?”

Thane remained quiet.

“That’s a yes.” Gideon nudged Gunnar’s arm. “Why didn’t you tell any of us? Did Mom know?”

“I didn’t tell Mom or anyone that my stomach hasn’t been right for a while. I didn’t think it was that bad.” Thane pushed the white, stiff blanket from his body and pulled up his hospital gown.

“Hey, easy there.” Gunnar slid the curtain that blocked the view of anyone that might come into the room. “You don’t want to show the whole hospital your business.”

Thane didn’t care who could see his dick. As soon as he saw five small incisions held together with surgical tape across his stomach he cursed. He plopped his head back on the pillow.

“So this is the lesson here.” Gunnar put his hand on Thane’s shoulder. “Stop holding things in. Let everything out.”

“Yeah, that’s always been your problem.” Gideon shook his head.

“That and being a sickly kid, right? Isn’t that what you’ve always said about me?” Thane glared at his older brother.

“Yeah. You were. Every week, Mom was taking you to see a doctor or a specialist. It surprised me that you even went into baseball. I thought you would have gone with the whole clothing design thing.” Gideon ruffled Thane’s hair.

Not wanting his touch, Thane pushed his hand away from him. “Where’s my—” Thane didn’t know what he should call Kari.

Did she qualify as a girlfriend now? He hadn’t signed on with her as an agent, but that didn’t seem to matter to her. She’d handled his business regardless. Hell, why hadn’t he signed on with her?

Before Thane could finish his question, his hospital room door opened. The person who walked in pulled back the curtain. Thane blinked as soon as he saw his current agent, Alec. Although he talked to the man often, he hadn’t seen him in over a year.

The short timeframe hadn’t been kind to him. His now all-white hair stood over his head like the man had slept on the roughest flight over from California. Unlike a lot of agents, Alec wore an old-school track suit, complete with thick white lines down the sleeves and the sides of the pants. His purple-rimmed glasses covered half his face.

“You look like shit, kid.” Alec patted Thane on his shoulder. “If I wasn’t already retiring, you would push me there.” He looked up at Gunnar and Gideon. “Christ, how did your mother do it? Raise a family of champions.”

Thane didn’t want to talk about his brothers. Or maybe his problem had to do with being lumped together with them in the same category.

“How did you get back here?” Gunnar pointed to Alec.

Alec snickered as he adjusted his glasses. “Nothing is off-limits for a man like me.” He held Thane’s hand like a nurturing father. “I told them I needed to see my number one client.” He gazed down at Thane. “Client for now. Boy, news gets out about my retirement and the freaks come out of the woodworks.”

“I don’t think talking about business right now is the best thing.” Gideon shook his head.

“Probably right, but it has to be done.” Alec raised his hand in the air, showing off a stack of paperwork. “With your forced time off, you’ll have time to read over these.” He placed the papers on the raised tray by Thane’s bed. “It’s the contract to dissolve my representation.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Gunnar ran his hand over his head. “He just had surgery, and you’re talking business.”

Alec shrugged. “It’s the way of the world. Real life doesn’t stop because you want it to.” He faced Thane. “The other contract is for that agent I was telling you about.”

“I haven’t met him yet.” Thane learned from his mother that if you do business with someone, you should be able to look that person in the eye, especially before signing a contract.

“You don’t need to. He’s handling your money.” Alec laughed. “I’m trying to save you a headache. I was contacted by Frank Milliner with the Winning Edge Agency.”

Thane recognized Kari’s agency’s name. He perked up at hearing it. “What did he say?”

“Thane, don’t worry about any of that now.” Gideon made his way to the other side of the bed where Alec stood. “You need to rest and get yourself better.”

“Yeah, you need to do that. But whatever you do, don’t sign with that agency.” Alec shook his head and grimaced.

“Why is that?” Thane stared at Alec.

“The owner said he was sending over someone you wouldn’t be able to resist. I think they’re trying to get you with some groupies or worse, a hooker or something. That guy always seemed shady to me.”

“Is that where your girl works?” Gideon tapped Thane’s leg.

Thane didn’t answer. He had to process all this information. His heart told him that Kari had been more than bait from an unscrupulous sports agency. She hadn’t pushed for a relationship or physical contact. That had been all him. None of this could be true of Kari, his woman, his savior.

“Read over the terms.” Alec looked around. “You should be getting some flowers or something nice soon.”

“You’re here. You couldn’t bother to bring them yourself?” Gideon cocked his head as he regarded Thane’s agent.

Alec tapped his chest. “Bad ticker. I probably shouldn’t have made the plane trip over.” He smiled at Thane. “But as soon as I heard the news, I had to come here myself and see him.”

It warmed Thane’s heart that at least Alec’s main motivation to see him had more to do with Thane’s wellbeing than business. His brothers stayed by his side, but the act felt more like familial obligation rather than genuinely caring for him. Or maybe his judgment had been clouded with hate for so long, he couldn’t tell the true difference. When he caught Alec glancing at his watch, his heartbeat slowed.

“Got another meeting?” Thane’s voice sounded stronger the longer he stayed awake.

Alec rubbed the back of his neck. For the first time since having the man as his agent, Thane noticed Alec’s face transforming into a ruddy color.

Alec leaned down closer to Thane’s ear. “There’s a little get together happening down at the Oceanfront for, um, otters.”

Thane felt his eyebrows rut together. Had he really come over here to look at animals?

“Otters are young, thin, sleek men.” Alec stood up straight and gave Thane a knowing look.

Thane nodded. “Okay. Your husband is here with you?”

Alec took a couple of steps back to the door. “You can scan and e-mail me the paperwork whenever you’re ready. Nice seeing you, kid. Call me anytime.” He escaped before he could answer any questions.

“That’s a strange dude.” Gideon shook his head. “But he got you a sweet deal.”

“Is Kari here?” Thane reached for his remote.

Gunnar shrugged. “Don’t know. She said she would stay here until she could see you.”

“Wait. She was here and you refused to let her come in and see me?” Thane pressed the nurse’s call button.

“She’s the reason you’re here. If she had told you about Jarrod—”

Without apologies, Thane cut off Gideon. “No,
I’m
the reason I’m here. I’ve let things bother me and fester in my gut for far too long.”

Orion came back in the room. As soon as he saw Gunnar and Gideon standing next to Thane’s bed, he beamed. “Hey, gentlemen.” He slapped palms with them both and pulled them each into a half hug before addressing Thane. “You rang?”

“I’m really tired.” Thane glanced at his brothers. “They’re about to leave.”

“Oh, so it’s like that?” Gunnar’s voice boomed.

“You said that there was a woman last night in all red that was answering questions to reporters?”

Orion nodded. “Yeah. I think she’s still out there.”

Thane pulled his blanket up higher on his body. He glanced at Gunnar and Gideon. “Thanks for helping me last night and staying with me today. You two need to go home and get some sleep.” Then he turned to Orion. “If she’s here, will you get her for me?”

“Unbelievable.” Gunnar shook his head and stormed out of the hospital room without a word to Thane.

It didn’t surprise Thane that Gunnar had gotten angry about his decision. Gideon hugged Thane even after being politely booted from the room.

“You need us, you call.” Gideon stood. “This changes nothing between us, understand?”

Thane found it hard to embrace his brother. Eventually, he raised his arms and held him. “Thanks for coming. I mean that, man.”

“I know. Sometimes you have a funny way of showing it.” Gideon strolled out of the room.

A couple of minutes later, the door opened again. From behind the curtain, Kari appeared. Her disheveled hair and wrinkled dress didn’t take away her beauty. As soon as her gaze connected to his, she wiped under her eyes and smiled.

The smile nearly broke him.

* * * *

Kari didn’t care that she looked a mess the first time she got to see Thane. She promised Michael that she would see him before she came back to the hotel. It hurt her that Gunnar and Gideon had refused to let her see Thane. Even Eboni couldn’t get the big man to budge.

As she stood next to his hospital bed seeing him with his eyes open, she felt a wave of relief wash over her body. She wanted him to smile at least, but she understood. He had surgery. Who would be happy about that?