CHAPTER FOUR
“I still can’t believe you stormed out of his house and left him stranded,” Melissa said with an amused snort. “Serves the bastard right. I love football, but the players are all the same. And quarterbacks are the worst. They can be cocky motherfuckers, always thinking they should call the shots.”
“Ethan wasn’t particularly cocky… just demanding,” I corrected her. I dunked a tortilla chip into a bowl of salsa and bit it in half.
It was Saturday afternoon and Melissa and I were eating at our favorite hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant. We’d arrived just as the lunch rush had cleared out, leaving us as the only customers. I was grateful for the chance to vent to Melissa without being overheard.
“Speaking of cocky, how’s it been at school with Ben?” she asked, dropping her voice.
“I haven’t seen him. He’s sending his aides to my room to pick up the kids for PE. I was going to pack up his things and leave them outside the door. But I took one look at it and tossed it into the dumpster in my alley.”
“Did it make you feel better?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I don’t know,” I replied and dropped my face into my hands. “So much has happened these last few days, I’m not sure what I’m supposed to feel.”
“Whatever you’re feeling is what you’re supposed to feel, Emily. There are no right answers here. But I understand being filled with so many emotions they seem impossible to sort. Do you need to talk it out?”
Maria Lopez, the owner and chef of Lopez’s Cantina, arrived at our table, both arms covered in long oven mitts.
“Okay, girls, as usual, these plates are hot,” she warned, setting our food in front of us. “Would either of you like a refill?”
“Not yet, thanks though.” My Coke was still three-quarters full.
“I’m good,” Melissa added.
“Alright. I’ll give you girls time to talk. If you need anything, I’ll be behind the register.”
“Thanks, Maria,” I offered.
She nodded and walked back to the front of the restaurant.
“I do want to talk this out,” I told Melissa. “But first, I want to attack this burrito.”
“By all means,” she replied, covering her enchiladas with salsa.
We ate in silence until our plates were clean, then Maria brought us coffee and a plate of sopaipillas and told us to stay as long as we’d like.
“So who’s messing with your head more, Ben or Ethan?” Melissa pressed.
“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “I think what’s surprised me most about the Ben situation is my reaction.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was crushed when I found Ben with Becky… but not initially. The first thing I felt was relief.”
“I think that says it all, Emily,” Melissa murmured.
“Believe me, the anger and hurt followed right behind it. But the relief never left. It hasn’t made any of this much easier. But it’s there. Obviously, you, Linda, and my uncle all saw through Ben better than I did.”
“So maybe listen to us next time,” she teased.
“I will,” I promised and drew an ‘x’ over my heart.
“Which brings us to Ethan…” she continued, trailing off with only a raised eyebrow to finish the question.
I nodded and took a sip of the coffee. “Yes… which brings us to Ethan. I can’t explain it, Mel. I feel the strongest connection to him. It’s like there’s some sort of magnet inside my chest, pulling me toward him. When I crawled into his bed that night, I’d convinced myself I was ready for whatever came after. I just wasn’t expecting him to want to make things so public and official so soon. I panicked a little.”
“You did exactly what you were supposed to do,” she corrected me. “You told Ethan how you feel and what you need. He did the same, albeit he was more of an ass about it. One of you will have to compromise. And it can’t be you. It’ll set a precedent for your entire relationship and you’ll never win another battle again.”
I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. “Aren’t we a little old to play games?”
“Life is a game, Emily. I know being manipulative isn’t in your nature. And refusing to be the first to break isn’t always the most mature way to behave. But neither is insisting on all or nothing and attempting to throw a mostly naked woman out of your house. Trust me. I’ve been around men like Ethan my entire life. I understand how they think. And I also know you. If you let Ethan pressure you into something you’re not ready for, the relationship won’t last. You’re doing what’s in the best long-term interest for both of you. Ethan’s only thinking of what he wants at the moment.”
“So I need to stay strong.”
She nodded. “You did the absolute right thing.”
“Ethan’s stubborn. What if he refuses to give too?”
“Then it isn’t meant to be,” she replied with a sad smile. “I know that’s not what you want to hear. But it’s an outcome I think you should be ready for.”
“Are you still planning to go to the game on Monday?”
She nodded. “I have to. My boss is thrilled that I landed an exclusive with Portland’s new golden boy. But I promise not to enjoy one second of it.”
“Is it wrong that I still sort of want to go?”
“Not at all. But you’re not going. Watch the game at home, if you want. But the last thing you should do is show up at the stadium. That’s advice you should follow even if you and Ethan work things out… especially if you work things out.”
I didn’t follow. “Why is that?”
She rolled her eyes. “I will never understand how you spent a year with Ben without soaking up even a little Sports Center. Football girlfriends and wives are given way more credit than they deserve for their men’s performances. If you start going to games and Ethan does well, they’ll call you a good luck charm. But the moment he blows a game with you in the stands, they’ll call you a curse and you’ll become the most hated woman in the city.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I replied with a snort.
“I agree. But that doesn’t make it any less true.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, if we work things out. Can I ask one more question?”
“Ask whatever you’d like,” she insisted.
“If, by some chance, Ethan does come around, do you think I’d be a terrible person for jumping into a new relationship so soon after leaving an old one?”
Melissa shook her head. “Keep in mind that my opinion is skewed. I love you and I want to see you happy. I also work at a news station and I’m bombarded every day with reminders that life is short. If you decide Ethan is who you want, then screw everyone else’s opinion. Ben is an asshole. I say you should celebrate being rid of him, not mourn it.”
She folded a honey dipped sopaipilla into her mouth and followed it with a long sip of coffee.
“Have you told your uncle about any of this?” she asked, wiping her mouth with a paper napkin.
I shook my head. “He and Claudia left for Florida the morning after we all had dinner. They’re celebrating Walt’s retirement and I didn’t want to interrupt their vacation. But I’m sure he’ll have plenty to say.”
“Does anyone else know about Ethan?”
“Just Linda. I don’t want anyone else to know, Melissa. I can’t exactly explain what’s going on between us when I don’t understand it myself.”
“I understand, and my lips are sealed. I know you’re putting a lot of trust in me, given my job. I appreciate that, Em.”
My eyes widened. I’d never even considered that she’d turn on me. “I know you’d never sell me out for a story. And I promise if there ever is anything to tell, you have the exclusive.”
Melissa beamed back at me and attacked another sopaipilla. Despite my confusion and my anger at Ethan’s demanding behavior, I had a feeling Melissa would have her story sooner rather than later.
***
I spent the next three weeks conquering my urge to call Ethan. But just because I wasn’t speaking to him didn’t mean he wasn’t on my mind. The Stallions won their first three games; I watched anxiously from home, praying Ethan wouldn’t be hurt. He dominated the other teams’ defenses and quickly became the most talked about player in professional football. As he’d promised, sports reporters stopped questioning whether or not he deserved his high priced salary.
Ethan popped into my mind at the most surprising, inconvenient times and everyone at school knew I had something on my mind. Two weeks into mine and Ethan’s standoff, Ben and Becky went public with their relationship and I started getting sympathetic smiles and lots of space. I was more than happy to let them believe Ben was why I’d been so distracted.
My door opened and my students filed into the room with Linda at their heels. I put a wide smile on my face and rose to my feet.
“Was everyone good for Miss Howard?” I sang, meeting Linda’s eyes. We alternated lunch and recess duty and she’d just finished her turn.
“Everyone was great,” she assured me. “Our kindergarteners could teach the third-grade class a thing or two. You’d have thought someone had turned a group of wild monkeys loose in the cafeteria.”
“They were crazy, Miss Kinkaid,” Sophie Lewis told me, obviously in awe of the older kids’ antics.
“Birthday?” I asked Linda with a knowing frown.
She nodded. “Beatrice said a parent showed up with icing drenched cupcakes, topped with chunks of fudge. If you’re not busy after school, she would probably appreciate a trip to the juice bar.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I agreed. ‘Juice bar’ was our code word for happy hour at the nearby pub.
A knock echoed through my room, followed by a collective gasp from all of the kids. I looked past Linda and saw Ethan standing in my doorway.
The kids’ initial gasps of shock were followed by squeals of delight and disbelief. Half of them swarmed him, tugging at his Stallions jersey and asking for autographs. The other half moved to the far wall and blushed with shyness.
Beatrice really lucked out with those sugar bombs. I’d take twenty kids on a sugar high over this any day.
“Okay class, let’s all sit down in our seats.”
I smiled at the kids as they settled behind their desks, then met Ethan’s eyes with my best ‘what the hell do you think you’re doing’ glare. He looked adorably bashful and glanced down to the floor.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I didn’t think this through. I was hoping to talk to you for a minute.”
Linda pushed between us, ignoring Ethan completely. “I have to get back to my room. See you at Arnie’s?”
“I’ll be there,” I assured her.
I turned back to the class with a broad, forced smile. “Boys and girls, I know you’re all excited to meet Mr. McAlister. Unfortunately, he can’t stay to talk today.”
“Noooo!” several voices moaned in unison.
“It’s okay, kids,” Ethan assured them. “I’m here to talk to your teacher about an extra special surprise I want to plan for your school. Would it be alright if I talk to her in the hall for a few minutes?”
They answered him with silent, enthralled faces and a few celebrity-struck head nods.
“I’ll be right back kids,” I promised. “While I’m talking to Mr. McAlister, you can split into your reading groups. I want each group to choose a different chapter book. When I come back, we’ll vote as a class on what we’ll read next during story time.”
I led Ethan into the hallway and turned on him, my hands on my hips.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing here? And how did you get by the front desk anyway?” I held up a hand when he started to speak. “You can’t just show up unannounced and disrupt my class. And I sure as hell hope you plan to follow through on that surprise you just promised them. They’re not going to forget about that,” I hissed, doing my best to keep my voice low.
“I know. I’m sorry. I needed to see you, Emily. I know we only spent one night together, but I can’t get you out of my head. I miss you like I’d miss a piece of my own body.”
Melt. That was so sweet.
“So you thought you’d just show up here and claim me?” I countered, keeping my mad on. “Or have you finally come to apologize?”
“I came to tell you that enough is enough. I know you have your reasons for wanting to take things slow… good, practical reasons. But I can’t take it anymore. I’ve never felt like this before. Until I met you, I thought emotions like this only existed in books. We have a chance to be genuinely, blissfully happy together. I’m certain of it. And I know you feel it too. So like I said, I came here to tell you that enough is enough. Can we please just give in to what we already know is right?”
I shook my head in disbelief. “You have a lot of nerve. We had this conversation three weeks ago and I told you how I felt. Now you show up here and make the same demands? If you’d have compromised even an inch, this would have worked out much better for you. I need to get back to the kids. I’ll tell Principal Matthews he can expect to hear from you about that surprise.”
“You’re being ridiculous,” he called after me. His voice echoed through the empty hallway and three of my colleagues stuck their heads out to see what was going on.
“Get out of here, Ethan,” I hissed.
“Sorry to disturb you all,” he continued, raising his voice. “As you may know, I’m Ethan McAlister. What you don’t know is that I’m in love with Emily Kinkaid.”
Oh my God. Please, just let me disappear into the floor.
I felt my face flush hot with rage while several of the other teachers let out amused laughs and calls of congratulations. I walked straight up to Ethan and poked his chest with two fingers.
“If we were meant to be the way you say we are, you wouldn’t have to force it. Now I believe I asked you to leave.”
He nodded at me, the muscles in his jaw pulsing. He stared at me another moment, then turned and slunk away.
***
“Bartender, my friend and I need another line of shots,” Melissa called out.
“Okay, but you’re cut off after this,” he warned. The redheaded bartender lined up six shot glasses on his rubber mat and filled them to the brim with tequila.
It was Sunday afternoon, and Melissa and I were at Butch’s Sports Bar watching the Stallions play. A week and a half had passed since I’d thrown Ethan out of the school, and my anger and frustration had grown with each day. Ethan had been so close to perfect. If he’d just been willing to compromise, we could have been well on our way to the happy, blissful life he’d described.
The bartender slid the drinks in front of us and the game came back from commercial.
“Just in time, Billy,” Melissa told him.
We were playing a new drinking game to celebrate my decision to hold my ground with Ethan. Every time someone on television called Ethan “Portland’s Most Eligible Bachelor,” we took a shot. We also drank when anyone mentioned any of the women he’d been casually tied to during his career, and every time the reporter from Melissa’s station appeared on the screen. Phillip appeared in the bottom right corner of the television screen and we salted our wrists. We were already on our second line of shots, and the tequila went down without a burn.
“I’m sorry you didn’t get to be on the field tonight,” I told her, tossing aside my lemon rind.
She shrugged and let out a frustrated sigh. “It sucks, but what can I do? The moment the chicken pox threat was gone, I was booted back to the features section. My boss promised to start throwing me some of the lower profile sports assignments. I guess we’ll just wait and see if that happens.”
I gave her a sympathetic nod and turned my attention back to the game.
“Portland’s at first down on the thirty-five-yard line. Here’s the snap…”
“And the Denver defense has blitzed McAlister—”
I watched in horror as a trio of defensive linemen took Ethan to the ground. They piled on top of him and an official tossed up a flag. Ethan’s teammates dug through the pile of bodies, tossing the other players off of him. Melissa slipped her hand into mine as paramedics rushed the field.
“Officials have called unnecessary roughness. McAlister doesn’t seem to be responding.”
“Where the fuck were his blockers?” someone in the crowd called out.
The bar sprung alive with debate, but my only focus was the television. I felt as if my very existence was tied to Ethan’s. I needed him to be okay, even though I still didn’t understand why. The paramedics loaded his limp body onto a stretcher and an ambulance pulled straight onto the field.
“We have to go,” I announced.
“Billy, I need to tab out.”
The bartender swiped Melissa’s debit card and she gave our untouched shots to the couple beside us. She scribbled her name on the receipt while I headed for the door.
“Neither of us are in any shape to drive,” she pointed out as we stumbled onto the sidewalk.
“Then we’ll take a cab. Where would they take him, Melissa?”
“I don’t know for sure. That’s not the kind of information the team shares with anyone. But if I have to guess, I’d say Oregon Medicine and Science.”
“Are you sure? Providence Medical is closer,” I pointed out.
“Yes. But the teaching hospital has better doctors and equipment.”
“Then that’s where we’re going.”
I stepped to the curb and hailed an oncoming cab. We slid into the backseat and I gave the driver our destination. He had the game playing on the radio. During the thirty-minute drive to the hospital, the sportscaster made two separate announcements that there was still no news on Ethan McAlister’s condition.
“He’ll be okay, right?” I asked Melissa under my breath.
“I don’t know,” she warned. “He hit the ground pretty hard. And he had a lot of weight on top of him. I don’t want to feed you false hope, Emily. This could be bad.”
I nodded and gripped her hand tighter. When we finally pulled up to the emergency room entrance, I threw two twenties at the driver and told him to keep the change. I rushed through the open glass doors and into the sterile waiting area.
“Can I help you?” asked the nurse behind the desk.
“We’re here to see Ethan McAlister,” Melissa explained.
If the nurse recognized his name, she did a great job of covering it.
“Room number?”
“I don’t know,” I confessed. “I’m not even sure this is where they brought him.”
“I understand you’re worried, ma’am,” she replied with genuine sympathy. “But I’m not allowed to give out patient information. I can direct you to a specific room, but nothing more.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but Melissa pulled me away. “We understand,” she called over her shoulder.
I shook off her arm as we neared the end of the hallway. “What are you doing? I have to find Ethan. I have to know he’s okay. You don’t understand, Meliss—”
“I get it,” she assured me. “And we’re going to find him. Just follow my lead.”
After finding the main lobby, Melissa stopped in front of a large board that listed every doctor’s office number.
“All of the ortho offices are in wing four B, and the neuro docs are one floor up. I think it’s a safe bet that the patient rooms are close by,” she explained.
“Thank God you’re good at your job. Let’s start on five. Surely they’d prioritize his brain over his bones.”
“One would hope so,” she agreed, rushing after me to the elevator. We rode the car up to the fifth floor and started wandering the hallways, examining the handwritten nameplates on each patient room door.
“You can’t be here,” announced a harsh male voice.
Startled, I turned toward the sound. A strict looking man in a lab coat stared back at me with a frown. The young, burly man behind him met my eyes with a hint of recognition. Melissa sidled up beside me and gave the doctor her most charming smile.
“Is there a problem?” she asked, her voice dripping with innocence.
“This is a closed patient floor. You’re not allowed here.”
The younger man cleared his throat, his eyes still on me. “You’re Emily, right?”
“Yes,” I replied with a sigh of relief.
“This is Ethan’s girlfriend, Doc. He’ll want to see her when he wakes up.”
The doctor pinched his lips with disapproval, but he didn’t make us leave. “Ethan was just taken to radiology. If you’d like to go to the waiting room down the hall, I’ll come get you when he’s regained consciousness.”
“Thank you.”
The doctor gave us a curt nod and continued down the hallway.
“And thank you,” I told the other man.
He nodded and extended his hand. “Brock Simpson, I’m one of Ethan’s teammates.”
“You were injured last week,” I remembered out loud. “How’s the ankle?”
“Not so hot.” He lifted his pants leg, revealing a thick metal and neoprene brace. “Since I wasn’t dressed out for the game, coach let me ride in the ambulance with Ethan.”
“I’m glad he wasn’t alone.”
Brock nodded and the three of us followed signs to the fifth-floor waiting area. Melissa bought three bottles of water from the vending machine and we sat in nervous silence until the doctor reappeared nearly an hour later.
“Ethan is awake,” he announced. “Miss Kinkaid, he’s asked to see you first.”
Relief rushed through my chest and I rose to my feet.
“Take your time, Emily,” Brock insisted. “Just tell Ethan I’m here if he needs anything.”
“I’ll wait right here,” Melissa added.
The doctor paused and studied her for a moment. “Don’t you work for one of the local news stations?”
She nodded. “Yes. I’m a field reporter for Channel 9 News.”
He narrowed his eyes. “I trust your visit tonight is strictly personal?”
“Absolutely,” she agreed, her voice solemn.
He was silent for a few more long seconds, then decided he believed her. “Very well. This way, Miss Kinkaid.”
I followed him down the hallway, anxiety growing in my chest. “Is Ethan going to be okay?”
“I’ll let him answer that for you.”
The doctor pushed open Ethan’s door and disappeared into the room. I took a deep breath and followed. Ethan was propped up in the hospital bed. His face was bruised and cut and tubes snaked into his body, but he looked happier than I’d ever seen him.
“Hey baby,” he greeted me with an ecstatic grin. “If I’d known a few bumps and bruises was all it would take to get you back, I’d have gotten blitzed a month ago.”
***
I knocked lightly on Ethan’s hospital door and gently swung it open. He was sitting upright in his bed, frowning at the screen of his laptop.
“Hey,” I greeted him tentatively. “Are you up for some company?”
Relief washed over his face as he looked up from his computer. “You’re here. I was starting to wonder if I dreamed that. Come in.” He pushed the tray table away from his bed and moved his legs to one side of the mattress. Half of me wanted to rush to him, the other half was afraid I’d hurt him. I perched on the arm of the recliner instead of settling down beside him.
“How do you feel?”
“Like a thousand pounds tackled me,” he replied with a cringe. “But my head is clear today. Doctor Murphy told me I was pretty out of it last night.”
I nodded. “It scared me,” I confessed. “When I first saw you, I thought you were fine. But then you started talking nonsense, and you kept laughing at the wall. The doctor explained it was just the effects of the painkillers they’d given you. But after the way you were knocked out, I was terrified something more serious was going on.”
“My head is the least of my problems. I just got word from the trainer. Thanks to this, I’m sitting out for at least three weeks.” He nodded toward his right arm, which hung from a sling in front of his chest.
I knew he was disappointed, but I felt incredibly relieved. I knew Ethan would play hurt if the coaches and trainers let him.
“Three weeks will fly by in no time,” I assured him, my voice hesitant. This was the first time we’d really talked since I threw him out of the school, and we were both ignoring the elephant in the room.
“If you want, I’ll keep you company while you heal.”
Ethan reached for me with his left arm and I finally joined him on the bed. “I want that very much,” he whispered.
I lowered my lips to his and kissed him gently, savoring his taste. He pulled away when my salty tears hit our lips. He brushed my cheek with his thumb and stared at me with concern.
“Emily, I’m going to be fine. I promise,” he assured me.
“I know,” I sobbed, my tears falling harder. “I was just so scared. I wasted weeks trying to convince myself I was better off without you. But I couldn’t let you go. Melissa and I were watching the game at the bar. When you hit the ground and didn’t get up… I thought… I thought—”
“Shh,” Ethan whispered, easing my head to his left shoulder. He stroked my hair and kissed the top of my head.
“I’m so sorry I wasted so much time. I don’t want to waste any more time,” I sobbed.
“You didn’t waste anything. I did,” he insisted. “I was a bull-headed asshole. We can take things as slow as you want, Em. Just tell me that I haven’t lost my chance with you.”
“You haven’t lost anything,” I told him, lifting my head from his shoulder. I took him by the hand and looked into his soft, hopeful eyes. “I can’t fight the connection between us, not anymore. When I watched those linebackers take you down last night, I felt the impact course through my entire body. When they loaded you onto the stretcher, it was like my heart was being ripped out of my chest. All I could think about was getting to you. I still don’t understand this. But I’m ready to figure out what these feelings mean.”
Ethan squeezed my hand, then lifted it to his lips. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that. And I meant what I said. We can take this as slow as you want. I’m happy just to be in your presence. And I’ll understand if you still want to keep this quiet. I don’t blame you for not wanting to be hounded by reporters.”
“There’s no way we’ll be able to keep it quiet. Until you’re healed, I have no intention of leaving your side for anything other than work. You’re going to be sick of me by the time the doctor clears you for practice.”
“You really want to take care of me?”
“I really do,” I told him with a genuine grin. “But if this is going to work, there are a few things you’ll need to understand.”
“I’m all ears,” he insisted.
“I know you’re used to getting your way. But I don’t do well with ultimatums. You don’t get to decide how you want things and demand I fall in line.”
“I’m sorry,” he offered with a regretful groan. “I never should have told you we had to be all or nothing. Especially since you were fresh out of a long relationship. Of course you needed time to get your head on straight. I should have understood that. The way I spoke to you that morning… that was all insecurity.”
That surprised me. “What in the world do you have to be insecure about?”
Ethan shrugged. “You were with Ben for a long time. You’d told me over and over again how much you loved him, how you planned to settle down with him. I thought you didn’t want to make things official with me because you were still hung up on him.”
That never crossed my mind.
I held his face in my hand and stared at him, my eyes firm and determined. “I don’t want you to ever entertain a thought like that again. I thought I loved Ben. But I can see now that what I really loved was the idea of the kind of life I could have with him.”
“Is that still the kind of life you want, Emily? An uneventful, settled life?” he pressed. I heard the anxiety in his voice and felt bad for not being able to give him the answer he was hoping for.
“Deep down? Yes. If I had my way, you’d have a boring nine-to-five job, you’d play golf every Saturday, and we’d have pancakes every Sunday morning. That type of existence seems exciting to me because I’ve never had it before. But I know that’s pretty much the exact opposite of what you want. And I’d never ask you to give up the life you love.”
“So where does that leave us?”
I shrugged. “We’ll both have to learn to compromise. I guess we’ll figure it out as we go.”
I moved to kiss him again, but the door flew open and a petite, middle-aged redhead bustled into the room.
“Good aft — oh I’m sorry, darling. I didn’t realize you had company. Hello dear, I’m Martha Montez. And you are?” Ethan’s mother extended her hand and looked me up and down with a critical eye.
“Mom, this is Emily Kinkaid. I’ve told you about her. Emily, this is my mother.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, Mrs. Montez,” I offered, politely shaking her hand.
“Kinkaid… you’re the kindergarten teacher? You teach at that underprivileged school.”
“The Day School isn’t in the best of neighborhoods,” I patiently agreed. “But we have students from a variety of backgrounds.”
“That’s wonderful, dear,” she replied with a dismissive wave. She wedged herself between us and started fussing with his pillow.
“How are you feeling, darling? Are they taking good care of you here?”
“I’m great, Mom. I’d be better if you hadn’t pulled strings with the trainers. I know you influenced them to bench me instead of putting me on the injured reserve list.”
She fluffed a pillow with a vengeance. “I don’t have the slightest idea what you’re talking about.”
Martha’s tone told me she knew exactly what he was talking about. But I didn’t want Ethan back on the field any more than she did, so I kept my mouth shut.
“Come on, Mom. Half of the team’s played with broken ribs at some point or another. And even with a busted collarbone, my aim is better than Bronski’s. If Coach had his way, I’d be on the field Thursday night.”
“Honey, you can think what you want. But your broken ribs are in dangerous places. If you’re hit again before they’re healed, you could puncture a lung. Your life is more important than a few games.”
“I think we all agree on that,” I piped in, a little too eager to get on Martha’s good side.
She turned her nose up and looked from Ethan to me. “I trust you understand it’s important my son doesn’t exert himself in any way?”
My face flushed hot at the implication in her words. Ethan, on the other hand, seemed amused by her warning. “Don’t worry, Mom. Emily isn’t going to screw me to death.”
“Ethan David!” Martha gasped.
My face burned hotter, but Ethan pressed on. “I’m sorry, Mother. But if you insist on being inappropriate, so will I.”
She scowled at him but changed the subject. “I called for an update earlier and your nurse said they’re planning to release you this afternoon. Mercedes is setting your old room up and I’ve hired a nurse to take care of you during the day while Victor and I are at work. When you’re up to it, text Mercedes a list of the food you want her to stock.”
“None of that will be necessary, Mother,” he insisted. “When I get out of here, all I want to do is go home.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, sweetheart. Who will take care of you?”
I cleared my throat. “I will.”
She shot me a look. “I don’t mean to be condescending, dear. But I’m not sure you’re capable of doing that.”
“I can take care of myself,” Ethan interjected, his voice harsh. He took a deep breath and continued on with a softer tone.
“Look, I appreciate that you want to take care of me. But I’m a grown man, Mom. I want to heal in my bed, with my things around me. And I already have everything I need for PT in my home gym.”
Martha studied him silently for a moment then let out a resigned sigh. “Fine. I know better than to try to talk sense into you when you get like this.”
She turned to me, her hands on her hips. “Do you plan on moving into Ethan’s place while he’s recovering?”
“I plan to be there as often as he needs me,” I replied. Ethan and I hadn’t discussed me moving in. I wasn’t sure I was ready for that big of a commitment, and I certainly didn’t want to discuss it for the first time in front of his mother.
She sniffed. “I assume you won’t be able to take time off work?”
“I wouldn’t ask Emily to do that,” Ethan chimed in again.
“Fine. I won’t force you to move home, on the condition that the nurse I hired takes care of you while Emily’s at school.”
“Deal,” Ethan agreed. “But tell her to bring a book or something. I’m far from helpless. She’s not going to have much to do.”
Martha looked at the gold Rolex on her wrist and planted a quick kiss on Ethan’s cheek.
“I need to get back to Victor. We have a charity event tonight for the Children’s Hospital. You’ll call me if you need anything?”
“Yes, Mother.”
She nodded at him and then stepped past me without making eye contact.
“Emily, can I please speak with you in the hallway?” she asked just before disappearing through the door. Ethan opened his mouth to protest, but she was already out of sight.
“You don’t have to go out there,” he told me.
“It’s fine,” I assured him, crossing my fingers. “I’m sure she just wants to give me a few pointers on how to take care of you.”
He scowled and his head fell back on his pillow. “Not likely.”
I took a deep breath and joined Martha in the hall. She led me wordlessly to the waiting room and pointed at a bench.
“Have a seat, Emily.”
I sat down and folded my hands in my lap. “Is there something I can help you with, Mrs. Montez?”
She stood in front of me, hands on hips. “Yes. You can tell me what your intentions are with my son.”
“I’m not sure how to answer that,” I admitted, meeting her eyes. “I care about Ethan. For the moment, I intend to take care of him, make sure he follows the doctor’s instructions, and keep him company while he gets well.”
“And after he’s well?” she pressed. “Will you be moving back to your place, or do you intend to use this as your way of becoming a fixture in his life?”
She thinks I’m a gold digger.
“I won’t have to move back to my place because I don’t intend to move out of it. With all due respect, Mrs. Montez, I understand you’re protective of Ethan. But I have no intentions of taking advantage of him. I own my condo outright, and I have my own money. I don’t need Ethan to take care of me.”
She studied me for a few long moments then spoke again. “My son is quite taken with you. And he was crushed when you turned him away. Ethan could have any woman he wants. I suggest you keep that in mind.”
With that, she spun on her thousand dollar high heels and stormed toward the elevator.
I resisted the urge to flip a middle finger to her back.