Down by Contact - A Seattle Lumberjacks Romance (41 page)

Zach buried his head in his hands and
groaned when the Niners’ running back skipped into the end zone
untouched from twenty-five yards out, while the bodies of fallen
defenders littered the field. Thirty-eight to nothing. Holy crap.
At this rate, they’d be breaking a league record, and not one
they’d want to break.

Even worse, Kelsie had barely spoken to him
since the gala. He slept alone, thanks to his stupidity. He
couldn’t concentrate without her, couldn’t play the game he needed
to play, couldn’t think of much else but her, even as his team
imploded around him. Fuck, he needed her. Big time. His quest for a
ring faded in comparison to his grief over losing her. And he had
lost her. He’d told her it’d never work between them. Yet it had
been working until he’d been an idiot who couldn’t get past his
damn pride and humiliation.

Someone nudged his shoulder. Zach looked up
to find Harris studying him with determined intensity.

“Two more minutes of this shit, and we’ll be
off the bench.” Harris nodded at the scoreboard as it mercilessly
ticked off the seconds to halftime.

“This is a fucking disaster.” Zach sat up
straighter.

“Hey, I’m always up for a challenge.” The
cocky Harris grinned at him, but Zach caught a glimmer of concern
in the quarterback’s blue eyes.

“Yeah, we’ll come back.”

“As long as your defense gets their ass in
gear.”

“As long as your offense puts some points on
the board.” Zach shot back, but not quite as indignant as he could
have been. The final second ticked off the clock, ending the first
half.

“You and I will find a way.” Harris stood
up, clapped Zach on the back, grabbed his helmet and jogged toward
the tunnel.

Only they didn’t—find a way.

Yeah, the defense held the Niners to a field
goal in the second half, and the offense scored thirty-five points,
but it wasn’t enough, leaving them with one must-win game left in
the regular season.

Zach’s dream of a ring slipped further out
of reach, not just a Super Bowl ring, but a wedding ring.

CHAPTER 27

Kelsie gripped the steering wheel of her car.
Zach Murphy wasn’t getting out of this relationship so easily. Not
without a fight. She believed in him, and he needed to quit sulking
and get over himself.

It was Christmas Eve. Damn it. They were
still husband and wife, and she was spending Christmas Eve with her
husband. They’d agreed they’d stay together until the season ended.
This Kelsie kept her promises, and she was going to fight for her
man.

She’d cleared out the rest of the
decorations over the past week. She couldn’t leave the mess for
Zach. Knowing him, he’d live in that big rambling house for years
never bothering to take down anything. Plus, she knew just the
place to put them to good use.

She’d boxed up everything and distributed it
to various charities, while Zach avoided her, spending his days and
nights at the complex. One game left and the Jacks’ playoff hopes
hung in the balance. Zach had one last chance to realize the one
thing he’d worked for his entire life. If they lost this one,
there’d be no playoffs for the team. And no ring for Zach. She
needed to be there for him, win or lose.

More importantly, she missed her big,
tactless guy, missed gazing into those kind brown eyes so full of
devotion, missed falling asleep to his soft snore at night, missed
his big body heating the bed, missed his quiet intensity. Sure,
they were an odd couple, total opposites on the surface, but way
too similar inside with all their insecurities and the lack of love
in their childhoods. She’d grown up in privilege with everything
money could buy, except love. He’d grown up in poverty surrounded
by drugs and abuse and risen above it. Kelsie liked to think she’d
risen above her upbringing, too, and become a much better
person.

She had one stop before Zach’s house. She
was headed to the shelter, the very one Zach visited on Tuesdays.
After she’d donated a decorated tree to them a week and a half ago,
she’d struck up a conversation with the enthusiastic director. Next
thing she knew, she’d been scheduled to teach classes twice a week
on proper dress and hygiene, successful job interview skills, and
tips for keeping the job once you’re hired. It didn’t pay a penny,
but the satisfaction more than made up for the money.

Using her contacts from the gala, Kelsie had
wrangled donations of work attire. She’d also contacted local
businesses, encouraging them to hire from her pool of people. The
interest was heartening. Her program was only a week old but
already one disabled veteran was hired as a barista and a father of
four had started work at the marina.

Kelsie knew she’d found the thing she was
meant to do, and she’d find the means to raise the funds to do it.
Her Finishing School for Real Men was branching off into a
Finishing School for Real People.

Now that Kelsie had lived life on the other
side, she had a better understanding of how close to homeless most
people are. A divorce, loss of a job, a death, any of these could
put a person out on the street in a matter of weeks. She knew
personally what desperation and hopelessness felt like. Her
business might be in shambles, but she was first and foremost a
survivor. She didn’t want a penny of Zach’s money and wouldn’t take
it if he begged. What she wanted was something money couldn’t
buy.

Arriving at the shelter, she opened the
door, while Scranton peeked out of the Coach purse Zach had bought
her a month ago. Inside, the sounds of Christmas carols rose above
the soft patter of the rain.

She entered the big plain room and was
welcomed by the families enjoying Christmas Eve. It was a warm dry
place, but she wanted more for them. She wanted every family in
their own home, with a tree and a fire crackling in a
fireplace.

She made her way around the room, handing
out small gifts, nothing expensive, but practical items like
shaving cream and deodorant. Stuff most people never thought
about.

A cheer went up in the room and caused her
to turn around. Her heart thumped happily at the sight of her
husband.

Zach paused in the doorway, balancing boxes
of pizzas so high they hid his face. He wore dress slacks and a
slightly wrinkled white shirt. Well, it was a start. She couldn’t
help but smile. He put the boxes on the table and stepped back. The
kids dug in, not waiting for an invitation while the adults lined
up for their Christmas pizza.

Zach faced her. For a minute they stared at
each other. He ran his hand through his short hair. Kelsie wrung
her hands, but she didn’t look away.

“What are you doing here?” His voice sounded
tentative yet suspicious.

“I stopped by with a few gifts.” She stood
up straighter, rolled her shoulders back, and projected an air of
confidence she didn’t feel. Please, don’t let him reject her. Not
before they’d had a chance to talk.

“Why would you do that?”

“I know what it’s like to be homeless. I
donated that tree to the shelter. I offered my services. I’ve been
helping them with interview skills, among other things.”

He glanced over at the tree. “Oh, I thought
it looked familiar. It was at my house.”

She nodded, unable to read his reaction.
“Yes, it was at our house.”

His expression softened. “You’re the one?
The one who helped Marv and Judd get jobs.”

“I’d like to think I helped.” She shifted
her gaze to the people in the room and smiled.

An hour later they stood outside the
shelter. Inside, the lights from the designer Christmas tree
twinkled merrily and lit up the rain-soaked street and sidewalk.
Something about those lights warmed Kelsie’s heart. As long as
people treated each other with kindness and generosity, there was
always hope. She felt hope right now.

“Are you heading somewhere?” Uncertainty
clouded Zach’s handsome face. She wanted to throw her arms around
him and tell him it’d all be okay.

“Actually, I was going back to the
house.”

“I made plans to join some of the guys for
dinner at the marina.” His expression gave nothing away. She
couldn’t tell if he was relieved to have an out or sad.

“Dinner? Again? Didn’t you get enough
pizza?” She teased him, striving for a light tone.

He smiled sheepishly, that same smile she
found incredibly sexy and enduring. “Yeah. Hard to believe,
huh?”

“I’ll be going then. I don’t want to keep
you.” Just like that, her plans for the evening splintered into
broken pieces and littered the floor of her heart. Kelsie turned
toward her car, her heart aching for what could be, yet not even
sure what that was.

She heard Zach’s heavy step behind her. A
second later, he wrapped his long fingers around her arm and
stopped her. “Come with me.” He almost sounded as if he were
pleading.

“I don’t want to horn in on your guy
time.”

“You won’t be. I’m the envy of all the guys
when you’re on my arm.”

“Oh, so that’s the only reason you want me
around?” She linked her arm with his and gazed up at him as hope
soared inside her.

He looked her up and down and grinned his
trademark wolfish grin. “No, actually, I’m sure you’ll want to
stick around until Santa lowers himself down the chimney and
delivers his gifts.”

“I have milk and cookies ready.”

“So you’ll join me tonight for dinner? And
we’ll come back here in the morning and help serve Christmas dinner
here, at the shelter?”

“A hundred stampeding defensive linemen
couldn’t keep me away.”

A couple hours and a painfully full tummy
later, Zach and Kelsie walked along the almost deserted walkway
next to the large marina. Christmas lights twinkled on the masts of
sailboats, while one large yacht was lit up like a cruise ship.
Zach reached for her hand. She held his tightly. Never wanting to
let go.

“I missed you, Zach.” There, she’d said it.
Bared her heart and soul for him to trample if he so chose.

“We’ve been living in the same house.”

“Yes. But separate.”

He nodded. “I missed you, too. Sleeping in
the other room didn’t improve my game.” He shrugged. “I don’t know
if it could ever work between us, but the deal was until the end of
the season. Let’s try it until then.”

“And after that?”

“I don’t know. I wish I did.”

“I appreciate you coming to my rescue at the
gala, but I needed to confront Mark myself.”

“Just like I needed to handle the social
situation myself, even if your intentions were good ones.”

She smiled. “Touché. I’m a work in progress.
So are you. No one’s perfect.” She wasn’t giving up on them. Not
yet. “I caught the stalker at our house a few nights ago.”

Stopping abruptly, his mouth dropped open in
alarm. “You
caught
him? What do you mean? As in
confronted?”

She smiled. “With the help of your
Louisville Slugger.”

He frowned as if he couldn’t quite process
what she was saying.

“It took a little persuasion, but he told me
the truth.”

“Which is?”

She turned to face Zach, straightening the
collar of his coat. “Veronica hired him. To try and get dirt on me
and you. She also flew my ex out here to cause a scene.”

“She sabotaged her own gala to ruin me? Ruin
us?” He scrubbed a hand over his face.

“Hard to believe, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, but what he said about you coming
here. Was that true?” He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared
down at her.

“Yes, I came here because you were here. I
didn’t know where else to go. You’d always been there for me before
I acted so horribly and broke your heart. I had to see you. To set
things straight. To apologize. I was hoping—” The words lodged in
her throat.

“Hoping what?”

“That you’d be willing to forgive me, and
that I’d have at least one real friend.”

He pulled her into his arms and held her
with a desperation that came through loud and clear. Wrapping her
arms around his neck, she stared up into his troubled eyes. She
wanted to wash away all the hurt, all the sadness, and make him
happy. But it took two, and she wasn’t sure if he was in the game
or on the bench.

Standing on tiptoes, she kissed him, a kiss
full of hope and promise, a kiss of forgiveness. He kissed her
back, soft and tender, yet hesitant. When he drew back, he stared
over her shoulder instead of in her eyes. She stroked the rough
stubble on his cheek, and he shuddered.

Like a fog blowing off Puget Sound and
revealing the Olympic mountain range beyond, Kelsie saw everything
with amazing clarity. The truth surrounded her, enveloped her, and
left her wondering if she’d always known and refused to see it,
even as a teenager.

Kelsie Murphy loved her husband Zach
Murphy
. Her heart was all-in. Her body was all-in. Even her
head was all-in. She loved him, and she believed he loved her.

But did he love her enough to work through
their differences, learn to trust her and believe in her, make a
family with her—the family they’d both dreamed of and never had.
Could he get beyond their pasts and accept her as the person she’d
become, not the person she had been? A tough task for a man prone
to holding his grudges close to his heart, but he’d managed to
tolerate Harris, could he finally forgive her?

His clean, earthy scent, like pine needles
and soap, plain manly soap, mingled with the smell and taste of
salt water from nearby Puget Sound. A hundred years ago, Zach
Murphy would’ve been a lumberjack, a man who worked hard and played
hard. A man with a work ethic and integrity. Today, he was still
that man. A man a girl like her could fall in love with and
had
fallen in love with. Now, if only she could drive the
deal home. Convince him that she truly did love him and that the
old Kelsie had been laid to rest forever. Convince him he could
trust her.