Chapter 18

“So you guys are leaving tomorrow?” Jane asked as she meandered down the trail at Oak Mountain State Park. It was about thirty minutes south of Birmingham down I-65. She’d picked the park for their second date because they had a lot more privacy here than at a crowded restaurant in town. Her shift ended at two, and they’d picked her up at the hospital a little after two thirty. She wasn’t sure why she was still nervous about having them pick her up at home. She was beginning to think she had real trust issues. She hadn’t let the last guy she dated pick her up until they’d been seeing each other for a month.

“Yeah,” King said. He’d picked up a stick a few minutes ago and was absently tapping his leg with it. “We’ve got the Texans this weekend.”

“Are you worried about it?” she asked as Sam helped her over a thick tree root running across the trail. His hand was big and callused and she liked the feel of it. She remembered what it had felt like on her ass as he held her up against the wall in that hotel room. His hand was as rough as the sex had been.

“Nah,” King said dismissively.

“King doesn’t worry,” Sam said. “Not about football, at least.”

“Football is easy,” King said with a shrug. “Sisters, that’s hard.”

Jane laughed. “Well, I don’t have sisters, just my brother.” The park brought back memories of David so forcefully she could almost hear him laughing as he chased her through the trees. They used to camp here with their parents when they were kids. “Sam, do you have siblings?”

“Nope,” he said. “My parents weren’t married long enough to have more than me.”

“I’m sorry,” Jane said, meaning it. “My parents have been married for almost thirty-five years.”

King whistled. “That’s a good run.”

“What about your folks, King?” she asked curiously. “I’ve met your mom, but not your dad.”

“My dad was a good guy,” King said, “but he’s dead. Over ten years now. Heart attack. My mom, she lives with me now.”

“With your two sisters? The ones I met at the hospital, right?”

“Mm-hmm,” King said, swishing the stick along the branches beside the trail. “You see your mom and dad a lot?”

“Every Sunday like clockwork,” she said. “They live in Birmingham. I grew up here, you know.”

“I kind of figured that out from the accent,” Sam told her.

“What about you?” she asked Sam. “You see your folks much?”

“My dad, maybe once a year. When I was a kid he got the requisite two weekends a month. But when I got older our schedules just didn’t mesh and we kind of grew apart. But we try to meet up at least once a year. My mom, holidays. I visit during the off-season. That sort of thing. She worked full-time after they split, so she wasn’t really a big hands-on parent. We get along well, though. She brags about me.” He grinned at her. “And after I was injured, she dropped everything to come out and stay with me for three months. We really reconnected then, you know? It was nice.”

“They say children of divorce don’t really see relationships the same way everyone else does,” Jane said, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. “You know, they don’t value monogamy or forever and ever amen like kids from two-parent homes. Do you believe that?”

“No,” Sam said. “I think I could do forever and ever amen.” He glanced at her and then they both looked away. Sam shoved his hands in his pockets. “Are you asking if that’s why I want the three of us to be together instead of just me and you?”

“I guess maybe I am,” Jane admitted.

“You didn’t ask me,” King said. “I want that, too, and my parents weren’t divorced.”

They were still ambling along, heading for the Alabama Wildlife Center and the Treetop Trail, where you could see the rehabilitated birds that couldn’t be returned to the wild for one reason or another. She always visited the birds when she came here. The heavy conversation seemed out of place on the sun-dappled trail.

“We’ll get to your issues in a minute,” Jane teased King with a grin. “Let’s analyze Sam first.”

“Jesus, I’ve been analyzed so much lately I’m afraid to think at all, for fear someone will jump out of the bushes and say, ‘Tell me how you feel about that, Sam.’ ”

“Sorry.” Jane winced. “I didn’t know. Why so much analyzing?”

He shrugged. “My game was way off when the season started, so I went to see the team psychologist.”

“I remember you told me that at dinner.” She reached out and pulled his hand out of his pocket. After a surprised look he gripped her hand firmly, swinging it slightly as they walked.

“And I took Carmina to a group session at the VA.” He shuddered exaggeratedly. “I hate those things.”

This was the perfect opportunity to ask about his old teammate. Jane had promised herself she wasn’t going to pass up this kind of opportunity again. Talking was important. If she got too deep in her own head, she’d never take any chances.

“Carmina, huh?” she said casually, not looking at him. “Mika told me she’s very pretty and she’s your girlfriend.”

“Whoa,” Sam said, pulling her to a stop. “Time out. She is not my girlfriend. She’s a girl, and she’s probably one of my best friends, but that’s not the same thing.”

“Okay,” Jane said, relief sweeping through her. “Good to know.” She bit her lip.

“Uh-oh,” King said. “Go ahead and ask. What else is bothering you?”

“Talia,” she said, closing her eyes. She opened one and looked at King and then Sam. “Are you two involved?”

King laughed. “Only in Talia’s head,” he said. “She thinks because I brought him home, he belongs to her.”

“I do not feel the same way,” Sam said. “I mean, she’s a nice kid, but no, I’m not attracted to her.”

“Which is a good thing,” King added, “because, ugh. I couldn’t have a threesome with Sammy then. That’s just disgusting.”

Jane laughed. “That’s true.”

King took her arm in his hand, which was even bigger and rougher than Sam’s. “Come on. I’ve never been here.” They started moving again. Jane liked the feeling of having both guys next to her, of Sam’s hand in hers and King’s hand on her arm. She just let herself enjoy it for a minute or two as they walked. They came upon the first enclosure, where a great horned owl sat on a branch near the back corner. It turned its brown-and-white-feathered head and looked at them.

“The feather horns always make them look like they’re judging you,” Sam said, tipping his head to the side to stare back at the owl.

“Why are they in cages?” King asked with a frown. “I don’t like birds in cages. It’s against their nature.”

“All the birds along this trail that are in cages have some kind of injury that prevents them from being released back into the wild,” she told him. “They can’t survive on their own anymore.”

Now Sam was frowning, too. “Maybe they need to be allowed to try. I mean, who decided they couldn’t? Or that they should? Nature gives and nature takes back. It’s the circle of life.”

“It breaks my heart to think of something so beautiful being released to its death,” Jane said sadly. “I suppose they’re kept here more because of how people feel about it than how the birds do.”

“Maybe they’d rather die in the wild than be caged up to salve the conscience of a few humans,” Sam snapped. He turned his back to the cage. “I don’t think anyone has the right to impose their will on another living creature.”

Jane could tell this was important to him. “Not ever?” she said. “Even if it’s in their best interest? Even if it will keep them alive, like this owl?”

“I don’t know,” Sam said softly, staring out into the trees. “I don’t know who should make those decisions.”

King walked over to Sam’s other side and stood there without saying anything, close enough that their shoulders touched. After a few seconds, Jane could see Sam’s shoulders loosen up. Just being close to King could do that for him. Was there more here than just two guys who wanted her? Was there something going on between them? Wouldn’t they have told her?

“Let’s go,” King said quietly, turning toward the end of the raised boardwalk. “What else is there to see?” Sam automatically turned with him, then reached back and snagged Jane’s hand again.

“There’s the lake,” she offered, with one last glance back at the caged owl. She’d never think of these poor birds the same way again. One man’s rescue was another man’s prison, she supposed.

“Now you’re talking. Is there fishing?” King said with gusto. Sam groaned.