The Rookie: Book 2 The Last Play Series (10 page)

L
egend actually thought
he might be having a heart attack, or one would be approaching soon at the rate his heart was beating. So, he stood there knowing his face was bright red, staring at Charity’s equally red face, and waiting for the pain to start down his left arm.

“Legend, are you there?”

He coughed and then cleared his throat, trying to focus on her mother. “Uh, yes, ma’am.”

“Paul really hurt her, Legend. You should just know that.”

“Mom!”

“I think you should pay attention to whatever is happening between you and Legend.”

“Stop it, mom.”

This moment could win for world’s most awkward moment between a parent, child, and…friend.

Charity took the phone and turned away. This time, Legend didn’t stop her. Every part of him was strung up, wired, ready to explode. Going to the back of the house, he pushed the screen door and ended up on the deck.

The cold night air filled him. Freed him. It felt wonderful, but he couldn’t escape the change of events, not that he really wanted to escape them.

Kiss her?

Without thinking, he cupped his hand in front of his mouth and blew into it, sniffing hard. He hadn’t ordered the onions, so there was that. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the brand new pack of gum he’d bought earlier when he’d bought his new shirt, grateful for his small change from cheapskate to living it up fun guy.

The screen door opened and then fell back, smacking into the wood. “Hey.”

Swerving back to her, his heart kicked back into overdrive. He was pretty sure he could win a NASCAR race right now if he could use his adrenaline for fuel.

Not moving, she looked him up and down. He couldn’t stop doing the same to her. Tonight she’d worn a white summer skirt that flowed to her calves and almost cascaded with her when she moved. Dang, he’d always thought she’d moved with some measure of grace, but the skirt made it more obvious, flowing in perfect synchrony. A simple, blue fitted top with a square neck and a gold sunflower necklace wrapped around her neck and matched her earrings. Her hair was half up, half down. He’d wanted to tell her at dinner that she was one of the only women he knew that it didn’t matter how many times he looked at her, every time only made him want to look at her more. “Hey,” he said lamely. Not sure what to do, he gestured uncertainly to the porch swing. “Want to sit?”

She seemed equally uncertain, but agreed and sat next to him, squeezing to the opposite side of the swing as much as she could. “Sorry about that. I mean,” she said, looking up at the stars, “my mom says ridiculous stuff sometimes.” She yawned. “This whole night’s left me very tired.”

He didn’t move. “Charity.” It was all he could say. Her mother’s advice had unlocked everything he’d been feeling for her. “You know I don’t get involved with women easily.”

Jerking to a stand, she moved toward the house. “I am so mad at my mom. She says such stupid things. Seriously, she’s been butting into my love life since she had Victor ask me to my first dance.”

He stood. “I think your mom has a good idea.”

Cocking her hip to the side, she took a chunk of her hair and began to twirl it. “No you don’t.” But her voice had turned wondrous and child-like.

Slowly, he moved toward her. “Do you want to kiss me?” He had to know.

Pulling her hand up towards her scalp, she suddenly scratched next to her ear. Then, she took both of her hands and shook out her hair. “My mother makes me crazy.”

His hands shot out and grabbed her wrists.

She stopped moving, untangling her hands.

The sun tan smell wove through him. The bottom of his stomach tightened. And all he could stare at were her lips. He wondered how they tasted. Would they taste like the lip-gloss she used, watermelon flavored maybe?

“Don’t do this, Legend.” Her breath came fast.

“Do what?” Urgently, he let go of her wrists and put his hands onto her waist, pulling her into him.

Closing her eyes, a soft cry came out of her. “I still have feelings for Paul. Even though he’s such a complete idiot.” But her lips were up, ready to meet his.

With the same kind of restraint he used to discipline himself in football, he gently pushed her back.

Her eyes flew open. “You’re not going to kiss me?” She sounded disappointed.

“You want me to?” He stepped closer, challenging her.

She put one hand to his chest, and he could feel her tremble. “Please, Legend.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what’s happening, but this can’t happen. I just need a friend.” Tears glistened in her eyes.

He saw the pain on her face, and it almost killed him. He couldn’t do that to her. All he knew was that with everything he felt for her, he couldn’t allow it to turn into something she resented and hated him for. He covered her hand with his over his chest. “If that’s what you need, that’s what I am.” He picked up her hand and pulled it to his mouth. Skimming the back of it gently with his lips, he felt her tremble.

He let her go and then moved for the screen door. “This friend needs to sleep at the hotel tonight. I’ll see you in the morning.”

C
harity awakened
in the morning to the sound of loud thumping. Sitting up in her bed, she checked the neon clock on the bedside table. Six-thirty am.

Another round of pounding echoed through the house.

“Hold your horses!” She took the robe she kept at her grandpa’s off of the back of her bedroom door and flew down the stairs, wrapping it around herself. A million thoughts went through her mind—had the hospital tried to call and been unable to get ahold of her? Was her grandpa okay? Was there smoke coming out of the house?

She threw open the door, and Legend stood there, looking akin to what she imagined Zeus would look like in the sky. Well, that is if the Greek God wore a bike helmet and spandex. “Come on, Rook. You’re coming down the mountain with me.” He had a handful of black clothes in one hand and held it out to her while pushing inside the house.

Baffled, she tried to shake off the extreme jittery vibe that she got when Legend was in the same room with her. She’d spent most of the night tossing and turning and then having weird dreams where the witch lady was trying to kiss her. “I’m not going biking,” she declared, holding the clothes in her hand like they were poisonous. “Take these back.”

He swerved on her, his face frustrated. “I’m sure
you
slept like a baby. But I didn’t. In fact, I don’t think I really slept at all, and so an hour ago,” he paused and pressed his lips together, “when I was not sleeping, I told myself that any
real
friend of mine would do something to help me get my mind off of some things. Plus, you can get some pictures for your article.”

Giddiness swept through her. And then guilt. “Oh? And does that ‘real friend’ live here and fit into these lycra hooker clothes?” she asked as she threw them onto the couch.

Expelling some of the pent up energy he had confronted her with, he moved with superman speed to the clothes and picked them up. He held them out to her, and she could see him shaking. His voice was tight. “Please get dressed and come with me.”

Even though she wasn’t ready to be more then friends, she couldn’t help feeling happy that he cared so much.

Pointedly, accusingly, he lifted his eyebrows and took a step closer to her. “Why are you smiling?”

Letting out a huff, she had to let him know that she knew. “Number one draft pick, Legend James, is standing in front of me begging me to go biking with him. Nothing is normal in my life now.”

He moved past her, back out the front door, and onto the porch. “Mine’s not normal, either. Let’s go.”

She followed him, laughing. Then she saw two bikes attached to his car. Seeing that he was serious, she stopped laughing. “Wow, you already have the bikes and everything?”

He wouldn’t even look at her. He just kept his hands on his head and drug in deep breaths. “I have no idea what I’m doing here, Rook.”

She softened toward him. “Okay.”

He turned, his eyes wide. “Okay? Did I just hear you be accommodating?”

Rolling her eyes, she moved inside the house and then hollered back. “I expect some good pictures.”

W
atching Charity
fly down the mountain next to him in her spandex suit with her hair flying through the air and pure joy on her face was not the best remedy for calming down what he would already consider an obsessive tendency towards her.

“Wahoo!” she yelled, throwing up a hand and high fiving him. “This is awesome!”

They’d been going for about forty-five minutes. First they went up the ski lift, with the nifty attachment for the bike, and then they flew down the mountain together. It had occurred to him about twenty minutes ago, as they leisurely rode up the mountain bantering and she’d taken selfies of them while asking him questions for her article, that he was stupid to give her this exclusive. This exclusive was the exact thing that would take her to New York and away from him.

“What’s wrong?” she’d asked when she’d sensed his mood change.

He’d been trying to be kind and selfless to her, so he couldn’t admit that he’d been selfishly thinking of ways to get her to come with him. “Nothing.”

“Oh, you just got kind of quiet.”

Since he felt like his hands were tied behind his back trying to be a good ‘friend’ to her, he’d quickly recovered and moved on.

Now, as they neared the bottom of the mountain he asked himself again, what the hell was holding her back from him? Why didn’t she want him?

Was it his ego? Was it… He honestly couldn’t think of why she wouldn’t like him. He knew she felt this thing between them. He knew it. It was just there.

They pulled to the side of the path, and she tugged off her helmet, grinning. “That was amazing.”

He nodded, and they began heading back to the main lodge. “Do you want to grab something to eat up here?”

She agreed. They got some hot oatmeal and sat on an outside table. There were a bunch of tourists doing the same thing they’d been doing. Some were families, and others were couples. Legend thought again that he’d like to get a house here one day. It would be a perfect place to relax with the family.

Then he looked at Charity. She was sitting with crossed legs on the bench across from him, sipping her coffee and twisting her oatmeal around with a spoon. He didn’t even know if she wanted what he wanted. He tried to be casual about asking, “So what else is in your life plans? I sense Charity Saint, world class reporter, definitely has plans.”

Sticking out her tongue, she smiled. “Let’s see, I guess I imagine that after I travel the world, maybe report all over the world, I’ll come back home and settle around here.” She lifted a shoulder. “Have a couple of kids.”

“You want kids?” His excitement totally exposed his interest.

Seeming embarrassed, her face flushed. “I don’t want to tell you this.”

He gave her a mock frown to hide how much he actually cared about her answer. “What? You can’t tell a friend you want a family?”

Her eyes went dreamy. “I want like five kids, maybe six.”

“Really?” He hated this. Why was he torturing himself?

She shrugged. “It’s always been mom and me and grandpa. Mom wanted more but they weren’t able to have any before Dad passed. I’ve always looked at my friends with big families and been envious.”

He had too. A part of him started to freak out. Every answer she gave made him like her even more. Man, he needed to leave Park City. He wondered if he left now, just got up and left, if he could forget Charity.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“You do that sometimes.”

“What?”

“Kind of space out.”

He stuck his tongue out at her. “Whatever, Rook.”

“Two!” she accused. “That’s two whatevers.”

“So you keep track of everything I say now?” He liked it more than she could ever know.

She rolled her eyes.

He grinned. “I wouldn’t have pegged you for a big family kind of girl.”

“Why?”

“That’s easy. You’re very career driven.”

Her hands flew up. “That’s why journalism works. I can decide when to stop saving the world and have kids.”

He got close to her, and the tension between them grew. “Why don’t you want to kiss me?”

Her cheeks flushed. “Who says I don’t?”

“Is it because you still want Paul?”

Her eyes got teary. “Since I was twelve, I always thought it would be him. Him, I would be marrying and living my life with. Traveling with. Having children with. But…”

“He’s a jerk.”

“Stop.”

“Hey.” He let out an angry grunt. “Any guy that cheats is a jerk.”

She nodded and looked sad. “True.”

Slowly, he lifted his hand and reached out, picking up a strand of her hair. The sunlight caught the colors—red, gold, brown. It was glorious. “One day you’re going to kiss me Charity Saint,” he declared.

“Oh yeah?” she countered.

He grinned. “And you’ll be the one asking.”

C
harity sat at the hospital
, tapping her foot and holding her grandpa’s hand. After coming back from biking, she’d showered and driven up to the hospital by herself. Legend hadn’t texted or called. She thought of how it felt to have him touch her hair. Of the cocky way he had told her she would ask to kiss him.

Pshaa. She would not kiss him. If for no other reason, she wouldn’t do it to avoid giving him the satisfaction of being right.

She spent the day reading Moby Dick to her grandfather and trying to jam out all thoughts of Legend. But then she’d worked on the article about Legend, which led to more thinking about him. About how his smile kind of crooked to the side, showing a half dimple when he thought something was extremely funny. Or the way he always acted kind of cautious around her. It made her feel like he cared about what she thought. She wanted to talk to her grandpa about how she was feeling.

She stared at him. Raw panic filled her. Panic that she’d held at bay all day. If her grandfather didn’t wake up soon…she shook her head and wiped her eyes. She couldn’t think about that.

“Hey.”

Legend stepped into the room. He wore the same khaki shorts from last night with a different green Park City t-shirt. He looked so amazing, and all the good things everyone said about him were turning out to be true. Hating that he filled her brain every second and that she felt this instant attraction every time he walked in a room, she looked away. “Hey.”

He let out his breath and sat next to her. “How’s it going?”

The smell of him was strong, fresh. It would drive her crazy. She frowned. “No change.”

He got up and went to the record player, giving her a smile. “Have you tried his favorite record today? I’m sure he wants to hear a song.”

“It’s been a hard day’s night…” The song blared out.

Charity smiled, grateful for the truce between them. “Good idea.”

Charity felt a gentle squeeze from her grandfather’s hand before she saw a fluttering in his eyes.

She stood, her heart feeling like it would stop. “Ohmygosh. Ohmygosh.”

Jerking to his feet, Legend moved for the door. “I’ll get a doctor.” He took off down the hall.

Leaning closer to him, she didn’t care that tears fell down her cheeks. “Grandpa, Grandpa, I’m here.”

It looked like he was trying to move his lips.

Frantically, Charity looked to the door hoping that someone would come fast. She didn’t know if he could breathe or talk with the tube in his mouth. She had imagined how much it would hurt when he woke up, and she’d been worried about it. “Hold on, Grandpa. They’re coming.”

He squeezed her hand one more time before closing his eyes again.

“No!” She couldn’t stop herself from yelling, “Wake up!” She yelled at the door, “Help! Help!” She anticipated hearing the sound of the heart monitor beep like in movies or something.

A flurry of doctors and nurses rushed in. A nurse pulled her back.

She fought to stay by her grandpa. “I want to hold his hand.”

Then Legend was next to her, pulling her back and calming her. “It’s okay. Shh. They have to check him out. It’ll be all right. Just wait back here.”

“What’s happening?” she asked the doctor. “He was just awake. He squeezed my hand, and he opened his eyes and tried to talk. He did. Legend saw it.” She spun around to look at him. “Didn’t you? Tell them!”

He kept his arm around her, running his hand up and down her shoulder. “Yes, I did. Yep.”

Some of the staff backed off, and the doctor emerged smiling. “This is good, Charity. Normal. When this happens it is a good sign. It means he’s trying to wake up. It means his brain is working.” He stopped to let the words sink in.

She gasped, pulling in a long breath. “He’s going to wake up.”

The doctor nodded happily. “I think so. I think it’ll just be a matter of a few days, and he’ll be fully awake. Don’t worry. It happens in stages. He’s gone through a traumatic event, and it might take a bit of time.”

The terror and adrenaline that had surged through her now turned to pure relief. She felt light, deliciously light, happy, and free. She shrugged away from Legend and threw her arms around the doctor. “Thank you! Thank you!”

He let out a light chuckle. “Well, I wish that I could take credit, but I can’t.” He patted her arm as she pulled back. “It’s almost time for visiting hours to be over. I’m thinking that letting him rest is just what he needs to heal faster. So I want you two to go get some rest and come back in the morning.”

Her hands began to shake and more tears came to her eyes. Tears of happiness. She turned to Legend. “It was the song! I know it was.” She smiled. “Let’s go celebrate!”