Down by Contact - A Seattle Lumberjacks Romance (20 page)

“Fuck you. I’m giving it everything I’ve
got. You shouldn’t shit in someone’s backyard until you clean up
the crap in your own.”

“You’re scaring me, Harris.” Zach’s booming
laugh echoed across the silent locker room. Only then did he notice
a small group of local reporters inside the locker room door,
witnessing the team dysfunction for themselves, complete with
high-def cameras.

HughJack pushed past the reporters breathing
fire. “Get the fuck out of here,” he spat at the reporters and
booted their asses from the room with one homicidal glare. They
scurried out the door, a couple of them getting stuck as they did
so. HughJack slammed the door after them so hard Zach felt the
vibration through the soles of his shoes.

Oh, crap.

Zach’s anger deflated along with his chances
for a Super Bowl ring. Even Harris backed up a step and plastered a
friendly smile on his face. “Hey, Coach. Murphy and I were just
having a little fun with the reporters. Nothing serious.”

HughJack looked from one to the other with a
scowl that struck fear in Zach’s heart.

“Tomorrow morning. My office. Six thirty
a.m. Don’t be late.”

“Six-thirty?” Harris’s whining faded off
into the sunset when HughJack swung around at him.

“You got a problem with that?”

“No, sir. I’ll be there.” Tyler stood up
straight as if at attention. Zach half expected the suck-ass to
salute or lick the coach’s feet.

HughJack pinned Zach with his penetrating
gaze. “And you?”

Zach nodded with a sinking feeling in the
pit of his stomach that his days with this team were numbered. Even
Kelsie’s charm and manners couldn’t get him out of this mess.

* * * * *

Rachel, Lavender, and Kelsie sat in a
private booth in a pub near Jacks Stadium. Kelsie had survived a
couple tense days waiting for the fallout from Tyler’s discovery of
Zach and her. So far nothing happened. Maybe Tyler would keep his
mouth shut. After all, he did seem to like Kelsie, despite what he
felt about Zach.

“Oh, I forgot to pay you. Thanks for taking
care of our horses.” Rachel opened a checkbook and scribbled out a
check, handing it to her.

Kelsie glanced at it, surprised by the
amount. “It was my pleasure. I love horses, but I can’t take this.
It’s too much.” The old Kelsie would’ve pocketed the check and been
annoyed it hadn’t been more money. The new Kelsie handed it back.
She’d had a wonderful place to live for over a week in exchange for
a few hours of work.

Rachel stared at the check and tried to hand
it back. “Please, take it.”

Kelsie shook her head, doing a friend a
favor without expecting something in return felt liberating. And
Rachel had become a friend. Despite how desperate Kelsie might be
for the cash, she wouldn’t ruin that feel-good feeling by accepting
payment.

When Kelsie didn’t take the check, Rachel
pushed it into her hands.

Sighing, Kelsie tore the check into small
pieces. “Consider this a favor from a friend.”

Rachel shrugged and smiled. “If that’s how
you want it.”

“Hey, ladies, shhhh. Listen.” Lavender
pointed to one the many televisions hanging around the room.

Kelsie’s head snapped upward just as she
heard Zach’s name mentioned on the post-game show. Two
sportscasters sat at a large table. A large still picture of Zach
and Tyler in uniform was displayed behind them.

Kelsie brought her hands up to her face.
“Oh, no.” Her heart sank to the basement.

Rumors of team unrest on the Lumberjacks
came to a head today after the Jacks’ fourth loss. A locker room
altercation between offensive team captain Tyler Harris and
defensive team captain Zach Murphy had to be broken up by coaches
and teammates.

Clips of Tyler and Zach in each other’s
faces and about to come to blows followed the news reports full of
speculation and some facts. The short clip ended when HughJack
stormed into the locker room and booted the press from the
room.

Unnamed sources close to the team
indicate the friction between Murphy and Harris has been escalating
since training camp. This recent altercation was set off by
Harris’s comment regarding Murphy’s dedication and lack of focus
since he’s been dating a former beauty queen
. The sportscasters
went on to cite statistics to prove their point along with how well
Zach’s former team was doing without him.

Dread welled up inside Kelsie. Dread for
Zach, knowing his status with the team had just shifted from a
comfortable lead to a twenty-one-point deficit in the fourth
quarter.

She knew, too, that if Mark saw this, he
might very well figure out who the “former beauty queen” was. Her
fingers curled around her drink as she decided that her problems
would have to wait. Right now, Zach was going to need her.

The three women looked at each other.

“I wonder if HughJack is reconsidering our
plan now?” Last week Rachel approached Veronica and the coach with
the women’s plan to force Zach and Tyler to get along. HughJack
hated the idea and said thanks but no thanks.

Lavender shook her head and sighed. “Who
knows. Ty’s gonna be unbearable to live with tonight. I’d better
head home so I can be ready to diffuse the bomb.”

Rachel stood at the same time as Lavender.
“Me, too. You okay here by yourself?” Rachel tossed a hundred on
the table. Most likely, her way of compensating for Kelsie not
accepting her check.

Kelsie nodded. “I’m fine.” Only she wasn’t
fine. She was sick to her stomach.

What would HughJack do now that the feud hit
a very public forum?

Kelsie watched the clips on the sports
channels unable to draw her eyes away from the train wreck.

Her cell rang, and she answered it without
checking caller id, hoping it was Zach.

“Kelsie?” A crisp, businesslike female voice
left no doubt in Kelsie’s mind who was on the other end of the
phone.

“Yes?”

“You’ve certainly done a fine job with
Zach.” Veronica’s displeasure reached through the phone and grabbed
her by the throat. “Was this your intention all along? Did you
create your finishing school just to snag an athlete?”

“I—I—It’s not like that.”

“What is it like?”

“There’s nothing going on.” She didn’t have
anything to say for herself.

“That’s not why I hear.”

Damn Tyler Harris.

“Do you expect the Lumberjacks organization
to throw good money away so you can seduce one of our players?”

“I’m not seducing anyone.” Kelsie hated the
panic in her voice but couldn’t keep it out.

“Well, you’re certainly not teaching him
manners and tact either. You’re fired.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re fired, and I expect you to return
the deposit you received from the team.”

Kelsie went cold inside. She’d just been
doused with a bucket of Gatorade without the high of winning the
game. Raising her hand to her head, she bumped her drink and the
cold, sticky liquid spilled into her lap. Grabbing napkins, she
frantically worked to clean up the mess, hold the phone, and keep
herself together, all at the same time.

She couldn’t pay back the money. She’d cut
off all her other financial options, and this business was her only
future. She needed her finishing school to be successful.
“But—”

“No buts. The team no longer needs your
services. After this incident tonight and Zach’s sloppy play, I can
only surmise your influence has had a negative effect, rather than
positive, your business is a sham, and you are nothing but a
desperate woman.”

True on all counts, but damn it, Kelsie
wasn’t giving up. “It’s too late to move the gala elsewhere. The
preparations are well underway.”

Silence for a long moment then Veronica
sighed heavily. “I’ll figure out something.”

“Zach will still host it, and he’ll be the
polished man I promised he’d be.”

Veronica snorted. “Why? What do you get out
of this?”

“If it’s successful, and we raise more money
than last year, you’ll use my business and recommend it to
others.”

“And if not?”

“I pay back the money and match it with a
donation to your charity of choice.”

Veronica waited so long to answer that
Kelsie thought the call might have dropped. “Fine. I’ll agree to
that.”

Kelsie let go of the breath she’d been
holding then sucked it back in again when she glanced out the
window of the pub. Across the street stood trench-coat man, leaning
up against his black sedan and smoking a cigarette.

Things just went from bad to worse.

CHAPTER 14

Zach’s house was dark when Kelsie doused her
headlights and coasted into her usual parking area. Scranton peeked
out of his hiding spot sequestered under mounds of warm blankets.
He opened one eye, blinked a few times, and slipped back under the
covers. Kelsie sighed. She wished she was small enough to curl up
under those blankets, but doing so in the cramped car seat didn’t
quite work. Glancing around, she hit the door lock and hoped she
didn’t need to go pee in the middle of the night. Not with her
stalker making an appearance less than an hour ago. She didn’t
believe he followed her here, but he knew about this place so it’d
only be a matter of time before he checked it out.

So why the hell did she come here then?

Because she felt safer knowing Zach was a
hundred feet away? Because deep down she trusted him? Or was it
more complicated than that? Maybe she had more than a high school
crush on the big, tough football jock?

Kelsie rubbed her empty tummy and sighed.
Brushing her teeth in the pub’s bathroom, she missed the comfort of
Rachel and Derek’s little cottage. Funny how those things she took
for granted such as running water, a toilet, and electricity became
so valuable when she didn’t have them. Rain spattered against the
window and distorted the trees outside into an ominous scene from a
horror movie. A clap of thunder sounded, and Kelsie jumped. Her
teeth chattered and not because of the cold. Scranton whimpered and
dug deeper, reminding her of a gopher she’d witnessed digging a
tunnel through her grandmother’s flower garden. It hadn’t ended
well for the gopher. She hoped it ended better for Scranton and
her.

Lightning lit up the car followed by another
crash of thunder. Kelsie dove under the blankets and threw them
over her, huddling beneath them. Scranton scrambled back underneath
and plastered his shaking body against her ribs.

Her heart slammed in her chest as if it,
too, wanted to escape the confines of the car. Her breath came in
short gasps. Her hands shook with fear. Somewhere out there was a
man who made it his business to mind her business at the least and
wished her harm at the worst.

She couldn’t do this anymore. Couldn’t live
in this car never knowing what lurked outside ready to do
unspeakable things to her. There had to be another way. Maybe a
live-in nanny or caretaker or something. Anything but this.

The wind picked up and flung buckets of
water against the windows louder than an angry ocean surf. She
shivered as the gloom and damp moist air waterlogged every cell in
her body, frightened and thinking about what she’d give right now
to feel safe and have a warm bed.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Kelsie froze, certain she didn’t hear what
she thought she’d heard. She held her breath and didn’t move. Her
heart pounded harder than a drummer in a heavy metal band.

Tap. Tap. Tap.
A little louder this
time.

Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.

What if it was the stalker? What if he had a
gun? She didn’t want to die. She wanted to live and prove she could
be a better person. Shouldn’t a person be allowed time to show
they’d learned from their mistakes? Yet, what did a predator care
about redemption?

“Kelsie.” The gruff, muffled voice sounded
concerned not predatory. Still she didn’t move. “Kelsie.” Now the
voice sounded impatient and a lot like—

With trembling hands, she pulled down the
blanket, wiped some moisture from the car window, and looked
out.

Oh, crap.
She’d been outed.

Zach’s face was pressed up against the
window, his wet hair plastered to his head. Rivulets of water ran
off his nose and clung to his eyelashes. Her wildly beating heart
didn’t stop its runaway pounding. It pounded even harder now, the
fear gradually being replaced with other emotions.

Kelsie almost preferred the fear.

Humiliation surged through her. Worse
humiliation than being turned down for job after job or being
belittled by her ex for some minor transgression. She never wanted
Zach to see her reduced to this—homeless and living in her car. She
ducked her head under the blankets and sent up a silent prayer that
the man would just go away.

“Come in the house,” his deep, husky voice
carried through the glass and over the sounds of the storm.

His tone didn’t allow any discussion, but
when did that ever stop her? Peeking out from under the mound of
blankets, Kelsie shook her head.

Zach yanked on the door and found it
locked.

She turned her back to him and gathered the
blankets around her like protective armor.

Pound. Pound! POUND.
He’d break the
window if he kept that up.

She turned to glare at him and mouthed
go
away
.

He shook his shaggy head, sending droplets
of water flying.

They stared each other down for what seemed
like an eternity. He didn’t flinch despite the rain pouring down
his face and dripping off his nose and chin. He’d be sick if he
stayed out there much longer.

Kelsie caved first and ended the
standoff.

With a sigh, she unlocked the door and
decided to put on airs—a bad habit she’d picked up from her
mother—and act as if he were disturbing her in her house late at
night.