Chapter Four
Josie put in her earbuds and turned on music as she read the dossier she'd been provided on Dillon Walker. She was trying to form a mental picture of who he was and had been.
A high school football star offered scholarships by the top ten universities and colleges in the country with top-notch football programs, he'd sailed through to his bachelor's degree, carrying his team from one winning season to another.
His senior year, the NFL came courting. It probably didn't come as a surprise that he took the offer from Texas. His first two years, Dillon didn't see much actual game time, but he used those years to his advantage and completed his Master's Degree.
Year number three Dillon's star rose. His first game transformed him from a second-string quarterback to a star, and that's where he stayed for three years. She remembered watching him play. Talk about an arm. She once saw him throw a seventy-yard pass to win a game.
Yes, he was a darling of the sport. Big contract, lots of endorsements and women coming out of the woodwork. He nearly married his third year in the pros, but his fiancé caught him in a threesome with her best friend and a television star, and resulting scandal was ugly.
After that he fell out of the headlines until a play went horribly wrong. He was rushed, and his left knee crushed, and there was damage to his spinal column. Two surgeries and eighteen months later, the verdict was in. He'd never play professionally again.
Dillon disappeared for nearly a year, then reappeared, coaching for a high school in Oklahoma. He took the team to state and left the school. For the next few years, he moved from state to state and soon earned a reputation as a king-maker, turning green players into stars.
He might not have returned home had scandal not rocked his world again. Once more, a sex scandal. The only difference was this time the rumors were that he and the vice principal's wife were into some pretty kinky stuff, and when they were found out, she accused him of being a freak who liked to hurt women.
His family quickly put a lid on that. The vice principal found himself suddenly a wealthy man who no longer needed a job. So, he and his money left the cheating wife and headed for Cabo where he was to this day.
Dillon went home to Texas and with this help of his family, secured the job of head coach for the Cotton Creek Mustangs. He took them all the way to State his first year and now they were the defending champs.
And there had been no mention at all of him being involved with a woman in the time he'd been back in Texas. It was as if he'd embraced celibacy as a way of life, despite all the offers he received.
Josie closed the file and leaned back to shut her eyes. She pictured Dillon in her mind, the way his eyes didn't seem connected to his smile, and the civility demonstrated in his speech that seemed a contrast to the tension evident in his posture.
Was he a man who hid rage behind an affable facade? She hoped not because darkness called to darkness and to her shame she had more than her fair share already.
*****
Dillon checked the caller ID when his phone rang. "Hello."
"Mr. Walker? Josie Harper here. I should arrive in about five minutes. Could you check and see if there are neighbors out and about?"
"Does it matter?"
"Actually, it does. If there are people who might witness my arrival, then your reception would demand a certain degree of enthusiasm and intimacy if we are to stay in character with the roles we've been assigned for the duration of this assignment."
"Oh. Well, let me check. Hold on." Dillon left the back deck and walked through the house. Josie's tone of voice held no enthusiasm, that was for sure. She sounded all business, and it occurred to him that despite the unusual aspects of the assignment, that's exactly what it was for her. A job.
That's how he'd treat it as well. And with luck, none of his neighbors would see her arrive. He stepped out onto the front porch, and his heart sank. The couple across the street from him were out in their front yard, taking down holiday lights from the house.
Their next-door neighbor had the garage open, and the man was working on his riding lawnmower. Damn. "There are people around," he said into the phone.
"Then greet me like you're happy to see me, Coach. This is my introduction to Cotton Creek, and we need to sell our roles."
"I know what I'm supposed to do, Agent Harper." He could be just as professional, and if that's how she wanted to play this, then he said, Game On. He'd play to win.
"Good. See you in a couple of minutes."
He sat on the front porch swing, rocking back and forth. The neighbor across the street taking down holiday lights saw him and threw up a hand. "Afternoon Coach!"
"Afternoon, Andy."
A black Jeep Wrangler slowed as it neared his driveway and then turned in. Dillon stood and started toward it. The horn of the Jeep sounded a couple of loud blasts before the vehicle came to a stop.
The door opened, and Josie climbed out. He damn near missed a step. Holy hell. The last time he saw her, she was wearing a rather severe business suit, slacks and jacket over a white shirt. Today she had on jeans that rode low, a skin-tight sweater that rode high and cowboy boots.
To his surprise, she ran over to him and literally leaped at him. Dillon caught her by the waist, and she wrapped her legs around his waist as her arms snaked around his neck. "Here we go," she said a moment before she kissed him.
For a split second, all he could do was stand there, in shock. When she murmured against his lips, "Work with me Coach," he snapped to, slapped one hand beneath her firm ass and the other on the back of her head to take control of the kiss.
Dillon felt her stiffen and took a bit of pride in being able to shock her a little. But she recovered quickly, and when the kiss ended, she drew back, ran her index finger sideways across her lips and cocked one eyebrow. "Well, that should do it for starters. What do you say we get my stuff from the car?"
"Works for me." His hands drifted up over her rear and to her back as she kind of slithered down his body. "I'm assuming you're aware we have an audience."
"You think I'd greet you this way if we didn't? Now smile, Coach. Like you said, we have an audience."
Dillon felt his expression probably looked more like rictus due to a gas attack than an actual smile. It was quickly becoming clear that pretending was harder than it seemed.
Right, and you didn't enjoy that kiss at all.
Sometimes he downright resented having a conscience. He let her take his hand and together they walked to her car. She looked across the street and waved. That's when Dillon saw Andy and his wife, Beth, both watching. Carl, the neighbor next to them, was now standing in the driveway with a wrench in one hand and a greasy rag in the other.
Great.
"I see that look, and you need to get rid of it," she turned into him playfully, ran both sets of fingers into the waistband of his pants and tugged. "They need to believe, remember?" She stood on tiptoe and kissed his chin.
"Well, you're doing a fine job, Agent Harper."
Josie smiled up at him, and he was all too aware that the smile did not reach her eyes. "Why thank you, Coach."
With that, she turned, opened the back hatch and grabbed a piece of luggage and a laptop case. He grabbed hold of one very large piece of luggage. "Did you bring everything you own?" He grunted as he hefted the heavy bag onto the driveway.
"There's one more," she pointed. "And no, but again, the objective is to make it seem real and do you think a woman would move in with her lover and not arrive with her stuff?"
"I can see I am woefully ignorant about such matters." He dragged out the last suitcase.
"No worries." She closed the hatch. "Shall we?"
He gestured for her to precede him and followed her to the front door. She stopped and waited for him to open the door then entered.
Once inside she turned to look at him. "You do have a guest room, correct?"
"Yeah, this way."
For the first time since he'd moved into the house, he gave a silent thanks to his twin sister, Delaney, who'd decorated the place. There were two guest suites, and each was well appointed, with a queen-size bed, a small sitting area, and private bath. He directed her to the largest of the two.
"Make yourself at home."
"Maybe we should talk about a plan for the work week?"
"Sure."
"Great. Can we do that while I unpack?"
"Yeah, sure." Wow, when had he become reduced to one syllable words?
"Well, sit. It's your house, after all." She grabbed the biggest piece of luggage and easily slung it on top of the bed.
Their conversation far outlasted her unpacking and they moved from her room to the kitchen. "I can cook if you have groceries," she commented. "And I'll go to the store tomorrow and stock up. I don't expect you to feed me. Oh, and I am kind of a coffee snob. I have a box in the back seat of the Jeep and a coffeemaker – cold brew. And oh boy, are you in for a treat. You'll never go back to regular once you taste my brew."
"I haven't been to the store, so why don't I take you to the steakhouse? It's good."
"That's fine with me. Do you have anything to drink?"
"Beer and orange juice."
"I wouldn't say no to a cold beer."
He joined her, and they went onto the back deck and resumed their conversation. Over the next hour, Dillon's opinion of Josie Harper underwent a dramatic change. Not only did she know her stuff when it came to off-season training, but it became clear that she loved football.
That both pleased and concerned him because she was becoming more attractive every moment and the last thing he could do was be interested in a woman who was only there because she was hired to protect him.
But, since they were both supposed to be play-acting, he could have a little fun with this situation when they were around others. A thought entered his mind and had him wondering. Could he play his role so well that she just might want to cross the line from professional to personal?
If Dillon had one failing it was that he was competitive. About darn near everything. He never backed down from a challenge, and now he just might have a new one. Sure, it was one of his own making, but that didn't matter.
It was a challenge. And one he was going to win.