Page 45 of Game On

She wrenched around to open the door. But before she could escape, he pressed his body flush against her, sandwiching her between him and the door. His breath was warm against her neck. God, she hated him right now! She hated herself more for how her traitorous body still responded to his.

“Don’t, Carly, please,” he pleaded. “I don’t want to remember. Is that what you want to hear? I don’t want to have to relive that time in my life again. I can’t. And I don’t want to be responsible for my father’s kid.”

“Well, you are,” she said, choking down a sob. “And your father’s kid is your brother.”

As he buried his face in her neck she felt his body tremble. She wanted it to be from anger, but she was afraid it had more to do with that ever-present attraction.

“I need your help, Carly, please,” His lips brushed the back of her neck as he spoke and her knees nearly buckled.

She hated how her body reacted to his touch.

“Can you do something with him today while I try and straighten this mess out? I need to be at mini-camp in an hour. I can’t think about football with all this hanging over my head.” Shane’s voice was a whisper as he pleaded with her. “Remember that little speech you gave about the Blaze being a family? Well, I need that family now. Please?”

She tensed at his words. Thankfully, he released her when she pushed away from the door. Carly took her time before turning to face him, finally sure her face and body would give nothing away.

“I don’t care about your football career and I’m not doing it for the team,” she said, pulling the door open. “But I’ll do it for Troy.”

FOURTEEN

Chaos reigned in the Richardson kitchen as Carly absently pushed food around on her plate. The sound of sausage sizzling in the frying pan competed with ESPN on the television. Penny stood at the griddle flipping pancakes as she chatted animatedly with their guests: three hungry football players and an exhausted, forlorn little boy. The older boys sat together at the table with C.J., their conversation a series of grunts as they devoured breakfast faster than Penny could serve it. Molly sat at the breakfast bar absently swinging her leg as she nibbled on a piece of sausage and peppered Shane’s little brother with questions. How old are you? What’s your favorite TV show? Do you play any sports? Troy was too well mannered to ignore her, but his responses were quiet and brief. Penny made a point to ruffle the boy’s hair or rub his back as she shuffled between the stove and the table as if she, too, sensed the boy’s desolation.

Carly basically had acted on instinct bringing Troy and his friends to her sister’s home. The boy needed some TLC, and who better to provide it than her sister, a professional psychologist, and Penny, the ultimate mama bear. The three football players weren’t hard to convince, either. She thought the opportunity to meet an NFL head coach would be attractive to them, but it was their devotion to Troy that ultimately swayed them. Clearly, the college students were fond of Troy and would do just about anything to see him happy.

It was also obvious the three had been close to Bruce Devlin and were nearly as devastated by his death as Troy was. On the short ride to Lisa’s, Troy dozed off while Tiny shared with Carly whispered stories of how Coach Devlin had impacted his life and those of so many of his teammates. She was having difficulty reconciling the icon he described with the demon Shane portrayed his father as.

“So, exactly how are you involved in all of this?” Lisa asked quietly, not that anyone else could hear their conversation over the din in the kitchen.

Carly looked up from the pancake she’d been pushing around on her plate. “Leave it alone, Lisa.”

Not that her sister would. Lisa had a spidey sense well honed through motherhood and years of professional training. Her sister couldn’t resist probing. It was in her DNA. Carly sighed, wondering if her sister could just be grateful she’d been handed her first client for her fledgling grief counseling practice.

“Well, were you out for a jog at six thirty in the morning when you saw Troy arriving at Shane’s?” Lisa continued to dig.

So much for her being grateful.

“I just want to know what’s going on,” her sister continued when Carly remained mute. “Why is Troy here and not in Florida with his grandparents? You can’t just dump a kid and the Three Amigos on my doorstep and not expect me to want answers, Carly.”

“His grandparents were supposed to take him to Florida today. Troy doesn’t want to go or to live with his grandparents. He wants to stay with Shane,” Carly said tersely.

“And how does Shane feel about that?” Lisa asked, employing her best psychologist’s voice.

Carly felt her eyes fill with unshed tears. She wasn’t sure who she was more angry or upset with: herself or Shane. How could she be so attracted to a man who would refuse a relationship with his only living family? A kid who’d just lost his parents, no less. She shivered at the thought of Lisa not reaching out to her when Carly was a young teenager in boarding school. If Lisa had ignored her as Shane planned to do with Troy, Carly wasn’t sure she could have made it through the whole ordeal with Maxim and the media circus that followed.

Yet the man she’d come to know over the past few weeks wouldn’t abandon his younger half brother. At least, the man she thought she knew. It was almost as if Shane Devlin had two personalities: the Devil of the NFL and the kinder, gentler version he kept hidden from everyone else. She hated that she was so disappointed in him because clearly it meant she wasn’t doing such a good job keeping their relationship simple.

Lisa reached out and gently squeezed Carly’s hand.

“Bruce wanted Troy to live with Shane. He went so far as to stipulate it in his will. But Shane doesn’t want him,” Carly finally managed to whisper.

As the shock registered on Lisa’s face, Carly wiped her own eyes. She needed to get herself together and dressed for work. Mini-camp started at noon and she needed to figure out a plan for dealing with Troy and his friends. She wouldn’t ignore the boy even though his brother wanted to. Lisa would help, but she’d demand her pound of flesh from Carly, seeking information about the exact nature of her relationship with Shane. Information Carly did not want to share.

An escape route arrived as Emma waltzed down the stairs dressed in a Mickey Mouse T-shirt and shorts so short, they were indistinguishable under the shirt. Lisa opened her mouth to warn her teenage daughter they had guests, but Molly beat her to it.

“Look, Em, college boys!” Molly shouted gleefully.

With a shriek, Emma retreated up the stairs as C.J. and Molly barked with laughter. The boy who’d introduced himself as Evan leaned back in his chair to get a better glimpse of Emma scrambling back to her bedroom.

“Whoa! How old is your sister?” he asked C.J.

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