Hayden

The restaurant was unusually packed for a Monday night. I found a parking spot at the back of the restaurant and hoped it was okay to go in through the back door. There was no sign that said otherwise. My phone rang just as I was about to enter, and when I pulled it out of my purse, the restaurant door swung open so fast it hit my hands, knocking my phone out of my grasp and onto the pavement.

“Oh no,” I shouted, cringing when I saw the screen had cracked. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” I should’ve bought a protective case the second I got my new phone the day before. Stupid me, I’d wanted a good one and ordered it off the Internet. Now it was too late.

“Fuck,” the guy said, pausing after barreling out of the door. “I am so sorry.”

“Not as sorry as I am. That was a brand-new phone,” I said, bending down. He put his hand on my shoulder and picked up the phone before I could get it. Whoever he was, he was dressed in a pair of distressed jeans and a tight blue shirt that hugged his muscles perfectly. Usually I saw the same people at the tavern, but he was definitely new. He tried to turn my phone on, and it wouldn’t comply.

“Looks like it’s broken,” he murmured regretfully, handing it back to me. I looked up at him and froze, meeting his light blue gaze. Why did he look so familiar? He was tall, with dark auburn hair and a body that could put any man’s to shame. “Let me buy you a new one,” he offered, drawing me out of my stupor.

“A new one?” I asked, mouth gaping.

He nodded. “It’s my fault it’s broken.”

I stared at his eyes and almost got lost in those blue depths before reality struck. “No, that’s silly. I bought an extended warranty in case something like this happened. I’ll just get another one tomorrow.”

“But that doesn’t do you any good tonight.” He pulled out his phone. “Take mine for now. That way you’ll have something in case there’s an emergency.” Who is this guy? When I didn’t take his phone, he grabbed my hand and wrapped my fingers around it. “I’m not taking no for an answer.”

“I don’t even know you. Why would you offer to do this?”

He shrugged. “Just seems like the right thing to do.” Turning on his heel, he started toward a large black truck, and the lights flashed as he unlocked it.

“Wait!” I shouted. He glanced back at me, lifting his brows. “How will I get in touch with you to return it?”

He nodded at the phone and then looked at me, a small grin spreading across his lips. “Don’t worry, I know how to get in touch with you.” I couldn’t help but stand there in amazement as he got in his truck and drove away. It was the strangest encounter I’d ever had. What kind of person gives his phone away to a stranger?

Whoever he was, I had no intention of using his phone. First thing tomorrow morning, I was getting a new one. Opening my purse, I placed both phones inside and walked into the restaurant. My best friend and coworker, Michael Briggs, waved at me from across the room. He was still in his green scrubs from Stonebrooke Veterinary Hospital, just like I was.

Always the gentleman, Michael stood and pulled out my chair for me. A lady at the table beside us asked the man she was with why he didn’t do that for her. Michael was a Southern gentleman, handsome with dark brown hair and amazing green eyes. The ladies loved him.

“Where have you been? I tried calling.”

Sighing, I sat down. “It’s a long story. It starts off being stuck at the clinic talking to Wilford.” Wilford Bentley was our employer, the owner of Stonebrooke. I loved the man to death, but he sure did like to talk. “And then,” I said, pulling out my cracked phone, “I got hit by a door and I dropped my phone.”

“Ouch, how did that happen?” Michael asked.

I set it in front of him. “Some guy opened the back door and it knocked my phone out of my hands.”

“Who did it?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know his name. He left after it happened.”

Our waitress came up, smiling wide. “Good evening. Would you care for something to drink?” she asked me. She was young, probably late teens, with light brown hair.

“Can I have a sweet tea, please?”

Her gaze lingered on Michael and then came back to me. “Of course. I’ll be right back.” Michael lifted his glass to his lips, trying to hide his smile but failing. I said, “You should seriously stop smiling at women. They’re going to think you’re interested in them.”

“What am I supposed to do, scowl? I can’t help being friendly.”

I rolled my eyes. “And then you’ll break all their hearts when you tell them you’re gay. You’re the only guy I know who could get a different female every day of the week. You should see the way Jeremiah looks at you.”

“That bad, huh?”

“Bad doesn’t describe it. He hates that all the nurses fawn all over you.”

Michael brushed off his shoulders, grinning devilishly. “I can’t help it that he’s as interesting as a bag of bricks. The guy has no personality whatsoever. It’s his own damn fault he can’t get any pussy.”

“And then here the gay guy is, bringing it all in.” I laughed.

He scoffed. “He’ll get over it. Besides, the dude’s hard up for you. I think he gets pissed because you’re always with me.” That was the last thing I wanted to think about.

The waitress came back with my sweet tea, and we ordered our food. I was starving. We’d had a person come into the clinic with a box full of malnourished puppies they’d found in a Dumpster behind our local grocery store. The poor things were close to death, but Michael and I had spent the entire day tending to them. I still didn’t know if they were going to make it, but we were hoping for the best. One of my nurses, Amanda Oliver, had taken them home with her so she could feed them during the night.

Michael pointed down at my phone. “Do you need me to cover for you tomorrow morning so you can get a new phone?”

“That’d be great, if you don’t mind. However,” I said, pulling out the one the guy had given me, “I have this one to tide me over in case I can’t get away.”

Brow furrowed, Michael took a sip of his beer. “Where did that one come from?”

“From the guy who hit me with the door. He told me to keep it until I got a new one.”

He sat back, surprised. “Wow, that’s interesting. Who was he?” Then his attention focused on the large group behind us, and his eyes went wide. “Wait, it wasn’t one of the Cougars, was it?”

“Why would it be one of them?” I asked.

Sighing, he waved toward the bar. “Because the whole team is here. Did you not see them when you walked in?”

I glanced behind me at the herd of men laughing and carrying on at the bar. “I guess I was too busy looking for you to notice,” I said, turning back to him. “Besides, I don’t watch football. I wouldn’t recognize any of them if I saw them on the street.”

He stared at me as if I’d lost my mind. “We’re going to have to remedy that. When pre-season starts, you’re coming to my house to watch a game. I’ll get you broken in.” Our food came, and I stole one of his fries when he was busy gawking at the players. “I saw that,” he said.

“I just took one.” It was the same thing every time. I never ordered fries because I knew I’d be tempted to eat every last one on my plate. That was why I always stole one or two from him.

“So what did this guy look like? Did he look like a football player?”

Pursing my lips, I closed my eyes and pictured those light blue eyes staring down at me and the way his arm muscles had tightened when he bent down to pick up my phone. “Now that you mention it, he probably could be. He was tall, with reddish-brown hair.”

Mouth gaping, Michael dropped his fork. “Are you kidding? That sounds like Derek McLaughlin. He’s the only one on the team with reddish hair.”

I burst out laughing. “I knew you liked football, but I didn’t realize you were that into it to know what they all look like. But I don’t know if it’s him or not.” Michael pulled out his phone and typed away. “What are you doing?” I asked.

“I’m going to find a picture of him. I have to know.” When he turned the screen my way, I gasped. The guy was in his football uniform, all dirty and sweaty during a game, but it was definitely him.

“That’s him,” I said. He grabbed Derek’s phone and started searching through it. I tried to get it back, but he pulled it away. “What are you doing?”

“If this is his phone, I want to see what he has on it.”

“Michael, stop, it’s private. We can’t look through his stuff.”

He shrugged. “Hey, if he was willing to let you use it, he should’ve known what would happen.” Huffing, I sat back while he looked at the phone in awe. “There are some great pictures on here. Looks like he must’ve been out West when he took that time off after the accident.”

When he passed me the phone, I couldn’t help but look at the pictures. They were beautiful, with tons of snowcapped mountains. I was shocked that there weren’t any with other people. “What accident are you talking about?”

He shook his head incredulously. “Do you not ever watch the news?”

“Obviously not. What happened?”

“First off, Derek McLaughlin is our best linebacker, with record-breaking interceptions. He was in an accident with Evan Townsend and one of the team cheerleaders, Brianna Ward; she and Derek were dating at the time. They were on Stowe Road when someone ran them off the road. Brianna didn’t survive, and Derek almost didn’t, either.”

“Oh my God, he lost her? That’s so tragic. Did they catch the person who ran them off the road?”

He nodded. “Eventually they did, but Derek was fucked up after that. He left the team and disappeared. I guess he’s back now. It’d be great if he is, because the team needs him. They play so much better with him there.”

My chest ached as I looked down at Derek’s phone, at the lonely pictures. “That’s so sad. I can’t imagine going through something like that. He was very friendly, though.”

A wide grin spread across Michael’s face. “I’d hope so. You’re a good-looking woman, Hayden. He’d be stupid not to notice.”

I glared at him. “Don’t even think about it, Michael. I hate it when you try to play matchmaker. Besides, he’s a professional football player. Those guys go after the glamorous girls.”

“Not true, sweetheart. You’re just scared of getting your heart broken. Just because you had a bad relationship in college doesn’t mean every guy is going to hurt you.”

“Doesn’t matter,” I said, taking a bite of my salmon. “I’m not interested in anyone right now, and I like it that way.” I didn’t have time for a relationship, and I definitely wasn’t going to start with someone out of my reach.