Playing For Keeps (17 page)

When the kids went to check out the dessert
case, she said to Mike, “I need to talk to you.”

“I reckon you do.”

“Kyle’s got his car.”

“Best you drop by my house after dessert.
I’ll put Ty to bed and we can talk then.”

She hesitated about being alone with him, but
this couldn’t wait. “Fine.”

Dessert was fun and Kyle was lighthearted the
entire time. She was grateful to Mike and Tyler who were obviously
making up for Neil’s absence. Usually when his father pulled a
stunt like this, Kyle couldn’t get over his hurt feelings. Neil had
ruined many evenings for them.

When Kyle left to drive Kay home and the
Kingstons took off, Jacelyn waited about ten minutes in her car,
then drove to Mike’s house. He was on the front porch, on the old
wooden swing that seated two.

“Is Ty asleep?” she asked, coming onto the
porch.

“Conked out on the way home and never woke
up.” He motioned to the swing. “Sit.”

She did, next to him. And was assaulted by
his presence. He’d removed his sports coat, and the white shirt
stretched tautly across his chest. He smelled all male. Because of
his size, he stretched his legs out and rested his arm across the
back of the swing, but didn’t touch her. “What’s goin’ on?” he
asked.

“A lot of things. First, why was Kyle crying
this morning?”

“I, um, I can’t tell you, Jacey.”

“Why?”

“He brought Ty back around noon and I could
see he was upset. After he, um, told me some stuff, he asked me not
to share it with you.”

That hurt. “I’m his mother!”

Mike kicked the swing back and forth. “Now
don’t get all hot and bothered, darlin’. Sometimes a guy’s gotta
vent, and he doesn’t wanna do it on somebody that’ll hurt as much
as he’s hurting, if you get my drift.”

Her chest unclenched. “I get your drift. It
was because Neil didn’t come to the concert tonight.”

“Well, now, if I could betray a confidence,
I’d probably confirm that.”

“That’s why you and Ty came tonight.”

“Hell, no. We came to hear the next star of
the New York music scene.”

Jacelyn smiled.

He tipped her chin. “That’s good to see.”

“What?”

“That smile.”

“There hasn’t been much to smile about today.
I’m so mad at Neil.”

“I’m none too happy with him myself. He’s a
first-class jerk, Jacey. I’m sorry.”

“Me, too, for Kyle.”

“That boy’s a gem.” When she didn’t say more,
Mike asked, “What else happened today?”

“Well, first the good news. I need to meet
with you tomorrow formally. To offer you an adjunct position in the
Sports Studies program.”

“So it went okay? With the department?”

“Partly.”

“What does that mean?”

She explained her encounter with Craig
Anderson.

Mike swore. “I keep causing you trouble.”

“He went to Lew Cavanaugh.”

“What?”

“Made the same complaints.”

“To the president of your college? God, this
was just what you wanted to avoid.”

“Lew was a perfect gentleman, though.”

Jacelyn, I want you to know about the
complaint lodged against you. I also want you to tell me you’re not
involved with Mike Kingston.

“What did you say to Cavanaugh?”

“I lied.”

“What?”

“I told him I wasn’t hot for the wide
receiver coach of the Bulls.”

“You told the president
that?”

“Actually, those were Craig’s words. In
milder terms, I assured Lew there was nothing unprofessional going
on between you and me.”

“Well, except for a couple of slipups, there
isn’t.”

“Nor will there be, Mike.”

“Yeah, I’m beginning to accept that. What did
Cavanaugh say?”

“He said he’d hate to see me ruin my
reputation at Beckett for a summer fling.”

“Ouch.”

“I’m sorry. I did make it clear to Lew I
wouldn’t have anyone dictate to me who I was friends with. That you
and Ty were a part of Kyle’s life and nobody had the right to tell
me I couldn’t see both of you.”

“Good.”

“Good?”

“Well, not really good.” Mike ran a hand
through his hair. “I want you in my bed, Jacey.”

“Oh, God.” Hearing it so bluntly put, she
froze for a minute, then started to get up. “I have to go.”

“Wait!” He held her arm. “What I meant was, I
want you there, but I won’t pressure you. I won’t flirt anymore,
tease you anymore.” He ducked his head. “Steal any more
kisses.”

She swallowed hard. She was going to miss
that. “I appreciate that. Can you come see me tomorrow at school,
to formalize the offer?”

“Sure.”

“Then would you do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

“Stay away from me for a few days.”

“So nobody talks?”

“No.” Jacelyn stood, needing to put some
distance between them. “So I can get my equilibrium back.”

“Sure thing, darlin’.”

She stared at him for a minute, then circled
around and descended the porch steps. Halfway down the walk, she
looked back. He’d come to the railing and was gripping the post,
watching her. “This isn’t what I want, you know,” she said
starkly.

“Me neither. But we don’t have much
choice.”

“Good night. And thanks for what you did for
Kyle. I’ll never forget it.”

As he watched Johnny Turk hotdog it on the
Ohio field in the scrimmage against Cleveland, Mike gripped the
clipboard until his knuckles turned white. “What the hell does he
think he’s doin’ out there?” Though his tone was curt, his words
were quietly uttered.

“His girlfriend’s in the stands.” This from
Marcus, who stood next to Mike, also assessing the play.

The July sun beamed down on them, a pleasant
counterpoint to the blood boiling inside Mike.

“What’s eating at you, Coach?”

He shot a quick glance to Marc. “Nothin’.
Why?”

“You’ve been—what do women call
it—
remote
and
distant
all week.”

Tim Mason sent in another play and Mike
watched Turk try to sidestep some cornerbacks. One circled behind
him, waiting to tackle him if he caught the ball, or catch the pass
if it was overthrown. Mike yelled, “Behind you, Turk.”

It didn’t matter anyway. Turk missed the
throw, tipping it out of bounds.

He swore to himself. “Get ready to go in,
Marc.”

“I’m ready.” When Mike didn’t pick up the
conversation, Marcus did. “The guys are calling you by your old
nickname.”

The Cool King. Even in his playing days, Mike
rarely lost his temper; instead he turned inward and froze
everybody out when he was mad or frustrated. His teammates and
coaches used to respect that. It had worried the hell out of the
players. When he was in one of those moods, everybody gave him a
wide berth.

All week, except when he was with Ty and
Kyle, he’d kept to himself. He was steely. Unfriendly. And mad as
hell at the world. Because, true to his promise, he hadn’t spent
any time with Jacelyn. She’d asked him to stay away and he had.
He’d changed the game plan, and come up with an alternative
strategy. Just get the hell through the rest of this summer camp
and then skip town.

It was hard, though, since they’d met up a
few times....

First for the formal offer to be an adjunct
next semester.

Congratulations, Mike. I know this is
what you want.

I thought it was.

Then one afternoon, he’d picked Tyler up at
the pool in the subdivision where Kyle lived. He didn’t know
Jacelyn had gone with them and, from the expression on her face,
she obviously hadn’t realized he’d be coming for his son. He could
have gone his whole life without seeing her in a bathing suit,
thank you very much. Though it was a simple one-piece red thing,
with little cutouts at the top, it rode high on her legs and shot
his blood pressure to kingdom come.

He’d also bumped into her at school twice.
Both times they’d been polite and phony with each other.

The pencil he held in one hand broke in
two.

“Something wrong, Coach?”

He glanced over to see Gage standing next to
him. Gage who was hot and heavy with Millie these days. She was
coming to the scrimmage with her boys.

After he sent Marc in, he looked over at his
friend. “I’m pissed at the new kid, is all.” Even to his own ears,
his excuse sounded lame. “And seriously considering cutting
him.”

“Uh-huh.”

Silence. Bring on the Cool King.

Gage watched the play, wincing when the
quarterback got sacked hard. “He’ll need some therapy tonight,”
Gage said dryly.

“Yeah. Hope it doesn’t cut into your love
life.”

Instead of getting mad, Gage laughed. “You
got it bad, buddy.”

“Don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”

“You’re jealous as hell of Millie and
me.”

Mike glanced at Gage. No sense in lying to a
good friend. “Yeah, I reckon I am.”

“She’s here.”

“You said she was coming.”

“I don’t mean Millie.”

“Huh?”

Gage handed Mike binoculars and pointed to
the area of the bleachers where coaches’ and players’ families sat.
“Look over there.”

Through the lenses, Mike scanned the section.
He saw Marcus’s wife, who was watching Tyler, since he’d flown down
with Mike. Millie and her boys.

And Kyle? How’d he get here? He looked to the
kid’s right. “Holy hell. Jacey’s here.”

Gage snorted. “Like I said, you got it
bad.”

Mike just stared at the bleachers.

o0o

Jacelyn could swear Mike was watching her
from across the field. For the hundredth time she wondered what she
was doing in Cleveland, Ohio, at a preseason Bulls scrimmage. She’d
asked Mike to stay away, and he’d honored her wishes. She’d tried
to stay away from him, too. But when Kyle had badgered her to take
him to the game, and Millie had coaxed her to come along, she’d
weakened and agreed to attend the out-of-town competition. She knew
she was breaking the rules—that they stay away from each other—but
she’d been utterly miserable all week.

“I think he’s seen you,” Millie said from
next to her.

“Oh, well...” She kept staring.

Gage waved, but Mike turned away.

She wasn’t surprised. He’d been cold and
distant every time she’d run into him this week.

Ty’s coming on the plane with me
Saturday. It’d be right nice if Kyle could come, too.

When?

The night before.

He can’t. He has a recital. “Are you
tryin’ to keep him away from me, Jacey?

No, I’d never do that. He cares about you
and Tyler.

She’d had to bite her tongue to keep from
saying, I
do, too.

Every day, like some silly schoolgirl, she’d
watched him—from where she couldn’t be seen—take his run around the
track after camp was over or before it started. She’d also watched
him coaching and demonstrating techniques for the guys. He was a
good leader. Players listened to him. He didn’t lose his temper,
throw things or scream.

And every night, she slipped into his Bulls
shirt for bed. She’d worn it home after they’d walked by the canal
and hadn’t returned it. No wonder she couldn’t stop thinking about
him. God, she thought she was stronger than this.

Talk had died down about his teaching in the
program. Craig had apologized to her for flying off the handle. Lew
Cavanaugh never brought it up again. For all purposes, her life was
back to normal—except for time she spent with Tyler, which she
treasured.

During her musings, the Bulls won the
scrimmage.

“Hey, Mom, wasn’t that great?” Kyle had Ty by
the hand.

She smiled. “Yes, I enjoyed it.”

He raised his brows. “Who are you and what
have you done with my mother?”

“Stop! I had fun. I just wish Eric could have
come.” Her brother had had to take care of his daughters this
weekend while his wife was away on business.

“I’m real glad they looked good out there.
Coach has been weirding out all week. I think he was worried.”

Tyler let go of Kyle’s hand and went to stand
by Jacelyn. He leaned into her and wrapped an arm around her waist.
“My daddy’s a good coach.”

Jacey hugged him to her. “Yes, Tyler, he
is.”

The boy looked up at her with his owl eyes.
“You coming to dinner with us?”

“Me? No, honey, I’m going with Kyle and my
friends.”

Kyle straightened. “Listen, Mom, we got a
plan. The Smiths are going to the Rainforest Café. They want you
and me to come. And since Ty’s never seen it, we’re gonna ask Coach
if they could go with us.”

“And we’re gonna have a sleepover.” This from
Tyler.

“A what?”

Kyle faced her. “It was Ty’s idea, Mom.
Remember how me and Ron and Timmy used to have sleepovers? We were
tellin’ Ty about them and he said he wished we could have one
tonight. The Smiths thought it would be fun to do again—just like
old times. So we all want to stay in Millie’s room, and she could
bunk with you. That way it’d be just us guys chillin’.”

Jacelyn sought out Millie’s gaze, and her
friend nodded. “Fine by me.”

“Oh, okay. But I think I’ll pass on dinner.
I’ll go to the hotel and get room service there.”

Just then Mike and Gage jogged across the
field and came up to where Jacelyn and the boys stood at the bottom
of the bleachers. Mike looked so good up close, his hair windblown,
his color high. Both men wore khaki slacks and the team’s
blue-collared polo shirts.

Gage went to Millie’s youngest and headlocked
him. “What’d you think, Tiger?”

“It was awesome, Gage.”

Leaning over, Mike squeezed Tyler’s shoulder.
“Hey, guys.” He smiled warmly at Kyle. “I thought you couldn’t
come.”

“Mom drove me up.”

“Your recital go good?”