Chapter Nine
Kelsey spent the day working on the carnival website. She wanted the updated website to be live before the carnies left Sapphire Falls. And she really wanted to walk Odd Todd through the whole thing, and, yes, maybe she hoped to hear that he liked it. In many ways, the Sapphire Falls website was easier. It was already set up well. She just had to tweak and update some of the pages already in place. After that, she was going to put in notice at work. She just couldn’t see herself going back to her soul-sucking job in the city. And Chicago was a much bigger city than Omaha. She was a country girl at heart. She felt like she could breathe back home in Sapphire Falls. Maybe a big part of that was sharing it with Nick, but still, she felt happy here. She could always pick up some part-time work while she tried to get a freelance website design business off the ground. A niggling worry that she didn’t know much about the business side of things nagged at her, but she pushed that down. She’d talk to people who did know that stuff. And she’d figure it out somehow.
She couldn’t wait to see Nick tonight after his shift and hear all about his meeting with Mason. It felt almost too good to be true that she and Nick found each other and fell in love, but she wasn’t the kind of person to overthink things. What they had felt right. That was enough for her.
Only when she found Nick coming off his shift working the kiddy motorcycle ride, he didn’t seem all that happy to see her. He didn’t smile or call her goddess, and when she kissed him, his return kiss was a quick peck before he pulled away.
“You want to go for a drive?” she asked. She’d been hoping they could drive out to a field and “dance” under the stars.
“We need to talk,” he said, indicating a bench in the square.
Kelsey shivered though it was still warm. Why did she suddenly feel like her happy little bubble was about to pop? The carnival was getting that ghost town feel again as the food stand was shuttered, the lights shut down, and workers covered game prizes with tarps.
Nick took her hand and pulled her along. “Come on.”
She sat cross-legged on the bench next to him. “What is it?”
“I got called for training camp with a new NFL team, the San Antonio Rockets.”
“Omigod, that’s great news!” She threw her arms around him in a big hug. “I’m so happy for you!”
“Thanks.”
She pulled back. “Why aren’t you excited?”
“I am. Believe me. It’s just—” he looked off in the distance “—football is, like, everything to me.”
“I know. It’s like a dream come true.”
“I have to keep my head in the game. You know?” He still wasn’t looking at her. She got a really bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Of course he had to think of the game in order to be a good player. Where was he going with this?
“Handsy! There you are!” a feminine voice called.
They both turned to see a gorgeous statuesque blonde woman approaching in a tight sleeveless red dress and red stilettos. Kelsey sucked in a breath. Tara Westwood. Nick’s ex-girlfriend.
“Tara,” Nick said under his breath, standing and crossing to the woman.
Kelsey stood too, wondering if she should join them and introduce herself or hang back for a bit.
But then Tara threw herself in Nick’s arms and kissed him passionately. Kelsey blinked. Nick pushed her away gently.
She swallowed over the lump in her throat, her eyes hot. Was this what he wanted to talk about? That he was getting back together with Tara? Maybe Tara was his football good-luck charm. She had been there when he had such a great season. Maybe he’d called Tara after he got the news that he had a future in football after all.
Her heart raced. They were speaking in a low tone that she couldn’t hear. Part of her wanted to bolt, and part of her wanted to slap them both. She took a deep breath and approached just in time to hear Tara say, “I never should’ve left you. I’m so sorry. I still love you. Can you forgive me?”
“Hi,” Kelsey said, standing next to Nick. “I’m Kelsey. Nick’s girlfriend.”
Nick was quiet, and Kelsey’s heart lodged in her throat. Why wasn’t he setting Tara straight? Why wasn’t he putting his arm around Kelsey or something to show that he actually cared about her?
Tara’s eyes narrowed. “Are you now?” She looked Kelsey up and down, taking in her favorite tie-dyed romper and cowboy boots with a look of disgust. “How did that happen? Feeling lonely, Handsy?”
“It’s Nick,” he said. “We’ve only been together a week.” Kelsey’s gut twisted. Nick had said he loved her, and she’d believed him. What was she? Just a fun time until something better came along? Like football? Or Tara?
Tara wrapped herself around Nick’s arm, pressing her breasts against his bicep. She gave Kelsey a fake smile. “Nick and I were together for six months.”
“Five,” Nick said, extricating his arm from Tara. He turned to Kelsey. “I had no idea she’d be here.”
“We’re in love,” Tara said. “Say goodbye, Handsy.”
Nick gritted his teeth. “How did you find me?”
Tara lifted one shoulder. “I have a Google alert on your name. I heard you got the call. So then I made a call to your parents, and here I am.”
“What about J.J.?” he asked. J.J. McTavish was the former quarterback of the Huskers. Last Kelsey heard, J.J. was playing for the Giants.
Tara frowned. “J. J. is a prick. As soon as he got to New York, he went out one time with the team and told me the guys said it’s better to be single when you’re pro. I’m sure that’s not true. There’s lots of football wives. You don’t feel that way, do you?”
“I don’t know,” Nick muttered.
Kelsey spoke up. “Nick?”
He took Kelsey to the side and spoke in a low voice. “I need to talk to her first, and then you and I will talk. Trust me, it’s the fastest way to get rid of her. She loves drama.”
Kelsey got the message loud and clear. She was second choice. Story of her freaking life.
“Don’t bother,” she said before turning on her heel and walking away. Nick didn’t say a word. But Tara spoke loud enough for the entire town to hear.
“Ooh, Handsy, a kissing booth! Let’s go try it out!”
Kelsey kept going. The kissing booth was empty right now. She didn’t dare look back to see if they were heading that way. She headed straight to the Come Again, wanting nothing more than to drown her sorrows in a margarita. Or maybe she’d just go for straight-up tequila.
When she got to the bar, it was crowded with people, many of them on the dance floor doing the country two-step. She briefly wondered if Nick could two-step and then scowled, remembering what a jerk he was. She took a stool at the long bar and ordered up her tequila. First shot went down nice and smooth, taking the edge off. Second shot appeared in front of her without her asking.
The bartender pointed down the other end of the bar. “Your drink’s on him.”
She looked over. Quinn, the singing corn dog man. He was thirtyish with short black hair and blue eyes, tall and muscular. Sweetly sexy. The kind of guy who would never dump her the minute he got promoted to a bigger corn dog stand. He grinned, and she gestured for him to join her.
Quinn appeared at her side. “Where’s Nick?” he sang in his deep voice near her ear. She got a hot shiver. The man should do radio or voice-over work.
“He’s with Tara.” She frowned and did the second shot. Burn, baby, burn. She sucked the lime. Quinn watched her with interest.
“She crushed his heart,” Quinn sang. “I don’t believe he’d go back.”
“Quinn?”
“Hmm?”
“I love your voice. It’s gorgeous, like you should be on the radio or something.” He smiled, so she went on with what she knew was a touchy subject. “I know the singing has been working for you, but have you tried speaking since you tried the singing?”
He shook his head, serious now.
“Can you try for me?”
“I’ve been singing for two years,” he sang on a down note. His voice dropped even lower. “What should I say?”
“Whatever you want.” She smiled encouragingly.
He smiled back, his blue eyes lighting up. “Would you like to dance?” he sang.
“Say it, not sing it.”
He nodded and took a pull on his beer. “Kelsey…” He spoke her name beautifully.
“Yes?” she said with a big smile.
“Would you like to dance?” he asked with no hint of a stutter.
They grinned at each other. She was so darn proud of him for having the courage to try that she took him up on it. “Sure.”
~ ~ ~
Nick watched Kelsey bolt in the direction of the Come Again bar and immediately wanted to follow, but Tara was pulling his arm, demanding they “talk this out,” so he figured he’d better get rid of her first. He’d been taken by surprise with the kiss she’d laid on him. She’d always been aggressive in bed, but she also knew how to satisfy a guy, so he’d never complained. Now that he’d been with Kelsey, he could see the difference between Tara’s almost completely one-sided way of making love and the fun of two people who loved each other coming together. Oh, fuck. He did love Kelsey. What the hell was he doing pushing her away?
Football, you idiot. You have to choose football. All in. One hundred percent focus. The proof was right in front of him.
“Handsy,” Tara cooed, “this town is so cute. Where do you stay?”
“Stop calling me Handsy. It’s Nick.” She would never call him Nick no matter how many times he’d asked. Even in bed. She only wanted him to be that guy—the football player.
She pouted and ran her hand up and down his bicep. “But that’s your name. You’re good with those hands.”
He took in a deep breath and let it out. He’d been raised to be respectful of women, but Tara was irritating the frick out of him. “Have a seat. We’ll talk.” He gestured to the bench where he’d been about to bail on Kelsey. He had to hurry this up so he could apologize to Kelsey. The look on her face when she saw him with Tara had just about killed him. He needed her to know that he and Tara were never happening again.
Tara didn’t take a seat. Instead she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body fully against his. “I missed you,” she said in a breathy sexy voice. The one that used to have him ripping her clothes off.
He tried to pull her arms off him, but she clung to him. “I want to talk,” he said, gently pushing her away. “Over on that bench.”
“Fine,” she said on a sigh.
She took his hand and walked with him to the bench. As soon as he sat down, she sat in his lap. He lifted her and set her back on the bench. “I know why you were with me before,” he said, “and I know why you want to be with me now. It won’t work. I don’t want to be with someone who just wants me for football.”
“I don’t just want you for football. I love you.”
Did she really? Because he had really loved her before. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings. But wait…
“Is that why you dumped me as soon as J.J. got a big offer?” he asked.
“J.J. came on to me,” she said. “He really poured it on with the flowers and love notes.”
Nick’s brows drew together. He couldn’t imagine J.J. writing love notes. His teammate was rough, crude, and cursed a blue streak.
Tara rushed on. “I was confused. But he showed his true colors and…” She blinked rapidly and a single tear tracked down one cheek. “I realized how good I had it with you.”
He pressed his lips together. He wasn’t sure if she was faking or not, but that tear seemed real. Just in case she was serious, he let her down gently. “I need to focus one hundred percent on football. I can’t be with anyone right now.”
“Not even that weird tie-dye girl?”
He stood abruptly, biting back the blast he wanted to level in her direction for calling Kelsey weird. Enough. He had to talk to Kelsey. “Goodbye, Tara.”
“Will you call me when you get settled on the team? I’ll wait for you.”
She sounded sincere. He’d never ask someone to wait around for him to hit the big time. She stood and hooked her fingers in the belt loop of his jeans, pulling him close.
He looked down at her beautiful face. One look at the cold, calculating look in those blue eyes told him everything he needed to know. Maybe he had a bit of his uncle’s gift for knowing someone with a look in their eyes. “If I don’t make the team, should I still call?” Not that he ever wanted to be with her again. But he wanted to hear her say it. To admit that she only ever wanted him for football.
She laughed, a hard, fake-sounding laugh. “Of course you’ll make the team! Don’t be silly.”
“What if I don’t? Would you still want to be with me?”
She hesitated.
“Thanks, I’ve got my answer.” He strode away, determined to find Kelsey and finish their talk.
“Handsy, wait!” Tara called.
He turned. “Go find some other football player to follow to the big time.”
“But I want you!”
He winced. “I’m sorry. I can’t.”
Her face fell. He kept walking, and he didn’t hear her heels clicking behind him. Even though she’d broken his heart before, he didn’t want to hurt her any more than he had to. He got no pleasure in revenge. He needed to see Kelsey and explain as nicely as possible that it was over. He had to be all in with football. It wasn’t personal. He wouldn’t be with anyone. Bachelor Nick. All in, Coach.
He’d just about convinced himself of the necessity of his bachelor state by the time he reached the Come Again. And then he opened the door, took one look at Kelsey dancing in Quinn’s arms, and everything went to hell.