Out at Home (13 page)

“
C’mon,” Tabby ordered, yanking on her am. “I’ll get you to the players’ parking lot.”

***

Taylor paced the sterile waiting room while the burly nurse stomped away to find Brady and ask him if he indeed had a girlfriend named Taylor.

“
Miss Lockwood,” the irritated nurse called out ten minutes later. “This way.”

Taylor ignored her brusqueness and followed her through the maze of corridors until they reached a small treatment room. Taylor pushed the door open and found Brady sitting nonchalantly on the exam table, chest totally bare. With heated cheeks, her eyes immediately drank in the hard, chiseled planes of his chest. He turned his head to her and smiled.

“
Come in, love,” he called. “The doctor left me sitting here.”

“
Are you okay?” she asked, rushing over to examine him herself. He had a purple bruise forming under his left eye, a cut above his right eye, and one more on his lip. His hair was disheveled and his uniform pants covered with dirt.

“
Yeah,” he answered, clearly confused. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Placing her hands on her hips, she narrowed her eyes. “You called my cell and told me to get your keys and meet you at the hospital. That’s all. What was I supposed to think?”

Jumping down, he yanked her hands off her hip and eased her closer so he could wrap his arms around her waist. Her heartbeat tripled as her pulse raced.

Smirking down at her, he winced slightly, bringing a hand to his cut lip. “It’s just a couple of stitches, that’s all. The trainer brought me here and I told him I’d call you and have you pick me up.”

“
Someone obviously punched you one too many times in the head if you didn’t think that a call telling me to meet you at the hospital wouldn’t scare me.”

He squeezed her quickly. “I told you on the phone that I was fine.”

Taylor pulled away with a blush as the door opened to admit the doctor and a young nurse. With angry eyes, Taylor huffed at the young woman as she gazed appreciatively at Brady’s naked chest. The doctor went to work stitching up the gash above his eye just as his cell rang.

“
Get that for me, love, would you?” Brady asked. His eyes crinkled from the weight of his smile as the young nurse reached for the phone at same time as Taylor. Taylor was too quick and snatched it up.

“
Hello?”

“
Taylor?” an unsure voice asked.

“
Yeah, who’s this?”

“
Alex. Is he okay?”

With a sigh, Taylor twisted to look at Brady. “Yeah. Just getting his face stitched up. I asked the doctor to stitch his mouth closed but he won’t do it.”

Brady and the doctor both laughed but the young nurse just glowered. Taylor flashed a fake smile before returning to her conversation. “Are you okay, Alex? Did you get hurt?”

“
Nah, I’m fine. Hey, when Brady’s done can you bring him over to my place? We're kind of getting together to figure out who got ejected and stuff.”

Taylor could almost hear the smile in his voice. “Okay. I’ll tell him.”

“
Thanks. See you later.”

“
Bye,” Taylor said as she ended the call.

“
Who was that?” Brady asked as the doctor finished stitching the ugly cut above his eye.

“
Alex. He wants us to come over once we leave here.” Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she pulled it out, reading a text message. “I got a message from Tia.”

“
Call her back and tell her I was nearly innocent this time.”

“
Nah, I’ll call her later. I need to call Luther later anyway.”

The nurse gasped. “That’s where I know you from!”

Taylor looked at her, brows furrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“
I know Luther and Tia. My dad work’s for Luther’s paper.”

Taylor refrained from rolling her eyes. “Who is your dad?”

“
Henry Lake.”

***

Brady settled in the passenger seat of his car gingerly poking at the stitches in his lip. “So much for making out with you tonight,” he sighed.

She snapped her head to gape at him. “What?”

Chuckling, he rested his hand on her thigh. “I’m kidding, love.”

She relaxed and placed her hand on his. He laced his fingers with hers and squeezed. “So who is this Henry Lake guy that nurse was talking about?”

“
Just some jerk reporter at my office.”

Brady started to raise a brow but winced when he his stitches pulled. “Damn it. I can’t believe that pansy for a short stop could pack a punch.”

“
Pitner?” Taylor asked in disbelief.

“
No, the other team, love.” He shook his hand from hers and moved it up to play with her hair. When her shoulders tensed, he smiled. “Relax. It’s just me.”

She gave him a weak smile and dropped her shoulders. Her hands tightened on the wheel as he continued to twist her hair around his finger, thrills playing around the base of her spine. She pulled into Alex and Tabby’s driveway and nearly sighed in relief. Brady eyed her curiously but said nothing.

He got out of the car and took her hand as if it was the most natural thing. They walked around to the back gate and joined the others on the deck. Everyone called out greetings while Alex pulled out two chairs for them.

Brady sat, yanking Taylor down in the chair next to him while she surveyed the guys for any signs of injuries. Mark had a huge welt on his right eye and a slight bruise on his check. Ian Pitner, who was standing against the rail with a beer in his hand, had only a small scratch on his cheek. Alex and Kyle appeared unscathed.

“
Did you do it on purpose, Mark?” Taylor asked. She blushed slightly but kept her eyes on him.

With a sheepish smile, Mark nodded. “Yeah, I did. I knew they would pull Matthews out of the game next inning and I figured he’d instruct his relief to hit either Ian again or Brady.” He shrugged before pointing at both Taylor and Tabby. “But don’t print that. I’m lucky I didn’t get suspended. Yet.”

Gasping, Zoey smacked him on the arm.

“
Did anyone get suspended?” Brady asked as he took a painful sip of his beer.

Alex shrugged. “We don’t know yet. But you, Mark, and Pitner were the only ones ejected from our side. I think Anderson and Matthews from their side.”

“
We’ll probably all get some kind of fine and suspension,” Ian said grimly, though with amusement in his eyes. “What the hell! It was fun.”

***

“
Sorry we didn’t get to go on our date,” Brady said as they drove back to Taylor’s car. “Do you want to try tomorrow or wait until I get back in town?”

She shrugged. “Whatever you want to do, Brady.”

“
How about if we wait until I get rid of these damned stitches?”

Smiling, she took his hand. “Okay.”

When they reached her car, she hopped out of his. Brady opened his door and rested his arms on the top. “Do you want come over and watch a movie or something?”

She shook her head, a nervous flutter wreaking havoc in her stomach. “I don’t think so. I’ll probably just go home and go to bed.”

Frowning, he rounded his car to stand in front of her. “Taylor, I promise not to try anything with you tonight.”

“
I know, Brady, it’s just…” she trailed off.

He cupped her chin, forcing her gaze to his. “It’s just what?”

She sighed. “I don’t know.”

He dropped her face and gripped her shoulders gently. “You’re fine with me in the car or when we’re around other people. You’re just scared to be at home alone with me. Geez, Taylor. I’m not a monster.”

She dipped her head in shame. “I know that. I just don’t want you to feel as though you have to prove something to me because of last night. Or…umm…because of before.”

He rubbed the back of his neck in agitation. “You think that being nice to you and considerate of your feelings is because of guilt? You think that I’m going out of my way to make things up to you?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I just don’t want to hurt like I did in the past.”

Cursing under his breath, he turned away to run his hands wildly through his hair. He twisted back around to gently grab her face.

“
Listen to me, Taylor. Yes, I did feel guilty but I thought that you’d forgiven me. Now all I want is for you to feel comfortable around me and for us to be together. In some kind of relationship.”

His gaze darkened and he let out a bitter laugh as he released of her face. “But I’m tired of bending over backwards. This whole issue between us isn’t because of my overwhelming guilt. Maybe it’s because of your lack of trust in me.”

She watched helplessly as he got in his car and left.

Chapter Eleven

Cursing with fury, Taylor hit the backspace key several times. She’d arrived early to get a jump start on her ongoing mall story without interruption from her fellow reporters but it seemed as though everyone had had the same idea. She’d attempted to work all day Sunday; especially when the game was on, but the television set lured her away from her laptop. Brady had never called to ask her how many tickets she'd needed and even though she hadn't expected him to, it still hurt.

“
So your boy only got two games, huh,” Josh asked, shaking her out of her miserable thoughts.

“
What?” she asked, looking up at him.

He dropped the thick Indianapolis paper on her desk. “Suspensions came out early this morning. Nolan received two games while Pitner and Johnson received five.”

Taylor snatched the paper, rifling through it until she found the sports section. Her eyes quickly scanned the story. The reporter recapped the whole incident and included quotes from Mark and Ian while mentioning that Brady had been taken to the hospital for stitches.

Josh sat on the corner of her desk, watching while she read. “What, he didn’t call you first thing this morning and cry on your shoulder?”

Taylor rolled her eyes, dropped the paper to her desk, and rested her head in her hands. “I haven’t talked to him since Saturday night.”

“
Really? Why?”

Taylor sighed. “He thinks I don’t trust him.”

“
Well you shouldn’t.”

She snapped her head up, brow crinkled. “You honestly think I shouldn’t?”

“
Yes,” Josh said, his voice succinct. His long sigh eased the tension out of his stiff posture. “Look, I just wanted you to talk to him and get a little closure. I didn’t expect you to start dating him again.”

Anger swirled in her stomach as she rose to his level. “Do you think he’s got another bet going with his teammates?”

“
No, I don’t. But,” he told her, ticking points off his fingers. “He’s a pro now. He’s got the looks. He’ll have the money. He’s on the road a lot. He’s a player. All that adds up to you getting hurt again.”

Groaning, she plopped back down in her chair. “I don’t know, Josh. He doesn’t seem like that anymore. I mean, he was actually hurt because he thinks I don’t trust him.”

He put his hand on her shoulder. “Think about it for a second. Remember how he was in high school? He’d pursue a girl and once he got her, he’d date her for awhile before he’d grow bored and drop her. He did it to Gretchen Steel several times. He likes the chase, Taylor.”

“
Brady Nolan never had to pursue any females. They usually dropped at his feet,” she snorted. “Besides, you didn’t even go to high school with him.”

“
No, but I hung out with his brother from time to time and he always bragged about Brady’s love life.”

She shook her head. “He’s matured since then.”

Josh stood up. “Maybe.” He squeezed her shoulder and walked away.

She bit her bottom lip while she processed Josh’s words. She shook her head and forced all thoughts of Brady out of her mind so she could return to her story. Her fingers finally found the right keys and she settled in comfortably, words racing across her monitor.

Suddenly, a figured loomed over her, blocking the fluorescent lights and casting a shadow across her screen. She pivoted her chair, groaning as Henry Lake folded his arms across his chest, a sneer on his lips.

“
That’s how you get all these good stories, huh?” he leered.

She raised a brow at him. “What do you mean?”

“
You’re sleeping with Brady Nolan. No wonder Luther assigned you the interview. Did he give Luther season tickets or something so you could get the big stories?”

He eased closer to her, uncomfortably invading her space.

Her eyes narrowed, dark, ugly words danced on the tip of her tongue while anger pounded a nail in her brain. “You jerk. You have no clue what you’re talking about.”

“
I don’t? You weren’t at the hospital with Nolan Saturday?” He pushed her notes aside and perched on the corner of her desk.

“
I don’t think that’s any of your concern,” she answered as the blood drained from her face. She yanked her notes away from him, bouncing the pages on the desk to straighten them.

He leaned closer. “And you claim to get what you want by hard work. I never thought one would consider sleeping with local celebrities to be that difficult.”