Chapter Sixteen
Gia
I saw it happen. Stevie was a big kid with wide elbows and no awareness of anyone else in the world, much less the multi-million-dollar catcher he’d half-tackled. The kid had grown fast and sometimes got so focused he didn’t notice anything else. Like who was in between him and the friend he was chasing. I saw Connor stumble and his face go white, and then stoic. It was the blank expression he used when he was keeping absolutely everything inside. Like excruciating pain.
Oh my God!
Rob and Jake got him out. I made up a lame excuse and grabbed the team doc. Cassie was already moving toward the door, her hands shaking. I grabbed her just as she was pulling out her car keys.
“Not a chance,” I said. “I’m driving you.”
She agreed with a jerky nod, and we headed to where the ambulance sirens were growing stronger.
Oh my God!
We needed to keep this quiet. I glared at Doc’s assistant, the one with his phone pressed to his ear.
“Tell them to turn off those sirens, now!”
The kid nodded and spoke into the phone. After far too much time, the lights and the sirens abruptly shut off. But not before more people had joined us at the team doors, Joe DeLuce included. I looked around, searching for Connor. He was braced between Jake and Rob, standing tall as they waited. I started to go to them but was jostled on one side by Heidi. Technically she was Rob’s girlfriend, but she was also a reporter with the Indianapolis Star.
“Is he okay?” she asked.
“Of course he’s fine!” I snapped, wondering if I was talking to her or to myself.
Oh my God!
Heidi’s startled expression softened as she looked at my face. “Of course he’s fine.” Then she squeezed my arm. “And of course, this is all off the record.”
I nodded, still gripped in panic. I started to move toward Connor again, but this time, I was stopped by Stevie’s foster father. His look of horror was stark and likely mirrored my own.
“We’re so sorry,” the man said. “Stevie didn’t see—”
“It’s fine,” I said. “It was an accident. And besides, he’ll be fine.”
I should have stayed to reassure him. I should have told him not to talk to the press about how bad they felt for possibly screwing up Connor’s career. Player injuries had to be handled carefully, especially as we headed into the pennant race. I should have done all those things. Instead, I maneuvered myself to Connor’s side, standing right next to Cassie.
“I’m fine,” he was saying, but I could see that he was lying. His skin was ashen and sweaty, and there was a tight, rapid rhythm to his breath. But worst of all was the underlying panic in his gaze. He hid it—or tried to—when he looked at Cassie. But the moment Doc gently dislodged her, Connor looked at me, and I could see terror in his eyes. It was quiet, but I felt it as surely as a baseball bat to the sternum.
“Stay with her, please?” he said to me, indicating Cassie.
“Of course,” I answered, though I didn’t know if he heard me. The ambulance was pulling up. Fortunately, I had no trouble keeping that promise. Neither Cassie nor I wanted to leave Connor’s side, but we weren’t allowed to ride in the ambulance with him. Besides, I also had a job to do. I couldn’t help Connor medically, but I could stop any press from getting out too early.
So I squeezed Cassie’s arm. “Stay here. I have to get my purse and bring up the car. Swear you won’t go anywhere without me.”
“I swear,” she answered, her gaze never leaving Connor’s face.
“Good.” And then I took off at a run. First stop—Heidi.
“I’m not going to say a word—” she said, but I cut her off.
“I believe you. But do you think you could keep an eye on social media and stuff, as well as your journalist friends? Don’t stop anyone.” Those words choked me, but I knew it was the only ethical thing to say. “Just give me a heads-up if the news gets out. I’d like to keep it quiet until we know what the damage is.”
“Sure,” Heidi answered, already pulling out her phone. She was smart and capable, and I was pretty sure I could count on her. And if not, Rob was right there beside her giving me the thumbs-up. That was enough for me to overcome my natural suspicion of all journalists.
Next stop—Stevie’s foster father, who had been joined by his wife and their boy. Stevie was the first to start talking. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see him. Is it bad? Is he going to die?”
“He’s going to be just fine,” I said, praying it was true. I squatted down to look the child in the eye. “No one is dying.” I couldn’t blame him for being clumsy, so I tried to distract the kid while emphasizing to his foster father that this needed to be kept quiet.
“It was just a game—”
His foster father interrupted with a gentle pat on his shoulder. “We know, Stevie. But we don’t play games inside.”
“I won’t. Never again. I promise—”
“That’s good.” I looked into the father’s eye. “Please, can you not talk about this? Not until we know exactly what’s up and can make an official statement.”
The man winced. “That bad?”
I held up crossed fingers. “It’s probably nothing.” Then I forced my expression into a happy smile. “Did you get any cake, Stevie? There’s probably some left.”
The boy brightened immediately, and the family headed back inside. Job number two, done. I went inside, quelling rumors on the way. It took far too long to get some stuff for Connor and my purse, then even longer to find my car and pull it up to where Cassie was wringing her hands. Thank God she’d waited. The girl hopped in before I’d fully stopped the car, and then together, we rushed away to the hospital, praying the entire drive.
I tried to reassure Cassie. “He’ll be fine. It’s just his knee. It’s not like he has cancer or anything. It’s just a knee.”
She looked at me, her eyes stark, and her mouth sealed shut. God, stoicism must be a family trait.
“Yeah, okay, so baseball is his life, but we shouldn’t jump to any conclusions.”
Silence. Okay. So she was jumping to as many of them as I was. But that wasn’t going to help anyone.
“Did you call his agent?”
Cassie shook her head. “He doesn’t like me to get involved.”
“Right.” Probably because it could bring her into close proximity to Sophia. “I suppose he’ll do that at the hospital, anyway.”
The girl shook her head. “The paramedic gave him morphine. I don’t think he’s going to call anyone.”
Not once he was doped up, he wouldn’t.
A phone rang in the back seat, and I frowned at Cassie. She had her purse, and I had my cell plopped into a dash phone holder. The only thing in the back was…
Oh shit. Connor’s jacket. I’d grabbed it plus a baseball cap from his locker. It would help him fly under the radar when he was discharged from the hospital. So that meant the phone was probably his.
“I’ve got it,” Cassie said as she twisted in her seat. A moment later, she looked down at the phone and cursed.
“What?”
“It’s Sophia.” She showed me the caller ID. It read said “S***”
Well, that was telling.
“Should I answer it?”
I thought about the agreement Connor had with Sophia regarding Cassie. “No. We’ll let him call her back if he wants to.”
Cassie nodded and exhaled. It was a controlled breath, loud and clearly her way of blowing out tension.
“Just how bad is it between you and Sophia?” I knew I shouldn’t ask. Hell, I’d all but promised Connor I wouldn’t pry. But I cared about Cassie, and I really wanted to help if I could.
“Great, if I never see or talk to her.”
Apparently, that was Connor’s plan.
“And have you?” I held my breath, afraid of the answer.
“Not really. I get emails occasionally, with subject headings like ‘Secret birthday party for Connor’ or ‘Help me sell his calendar.’ I never answer. I know she’s lying.”
“Really? How?”
“Because that’s what she does. I mean, she’d be thrilled if I help her sell the calendar. The birthday party would be for publicity, and she’d rope me into doing all the work for it. She’s done it before.”
“Ouch.”
“It was harder before.”
“Before?”
“Before I started in therapy. She made me think I was crazy, and I’m not.” There was defiance in her tone.
“Of course, you aren’t.”
“Now she’s just tugging at me, holding out lures to see if I’ll go for the bait.”
“Good for you for seeing the truth.”
She flashed me a grin. “And you know what is even better?”
I shook my head.
“I know it’s driving her crazy that she can’t talk to me. The one thing Sophia likes best is an audience. So I just stopped talking to her. Completely.”
“Good for you.”
We were waiting at a stop light. I didn’t want to bring up the other question—the problem that had caused her to contact me a few weeks ago, right after Connor and I had broken up, and then again yesterday. But since we were dealing with disasters, I figured now was as good a time as any.
“So has your other problem disappeared?”
“You mean my stalker?”
I winced. The guy was either a nutcase or someone who was really shy and didn’t know an appropriate way to pick up girls. Either way, it was creepy. Starting seven weeks ago, he’d been leaving her gifts at volleyball games and outside her locker. She’d done the right things, talking to her coach and security, but the problem had escalated three weeks ago. Instead of a letter once every other week, she was getting messages every day. She found notes on her dorm door, and then her coach noticed that an odd-looking stranger in the stands seemed fixated on Cassie.
That’s when she’d contacted me.
“Um, yeah. Anything new from him?”
“No. I think you scared him off.”
I shook my head. “I didn’t do anything but call campus security.”
“And they scared him off. Or something. I don’t know, but it’s all been good.”
Except she’d called me again a few days ago, thinking she’d seen the same weirdo lurking around.
“You can always call me. Even when you just want to say hello.”
“I’m neurotic. Even my therapist says so.”
“I doubt that.”
She smiled. “Okay, maybe he doesn’t exactly say that. But he does say I’m coping well. And that a little bit of paranoia is probably healthy in this day and age.” Then she blew out another breath. “And before you ask, I haven’t told Connor.”
I knew that already, because the man hadn’t come storming into my office demanding why I hadn’t broken his sister’s confidence.
“But I will. As soon as I can.”
“Good. Because he’ll think I’ve been lying to him—”
“It wasn’t a lie! You’ve been keeping your promise to me.”
Which he would take as a lie. But he couldn’t ask me to keep his confidences while expecting me to betray Cassie’s. Not that I thought he would see it that way, but it was the truth. And that was the only reason I’d kept my lips sealed when every part of me had wanted to tell him.
“I’ll tell him,” Cassie repeated for the hundredth time. “Even though it’s completely over.”
I nodded then accelerated. A minute later, I maneuvered into the emergency room parking lot. As we got out of the car, Cassie held her brother’s cell phone while I carried in his jacket and hat. And we both kept a wary eye out for reporters. So far, there weren’t any around, but it was best to be careful.
Inside Emergency, I spotted the coach looking moderately inconspicuous wearing a sweatshirt and a sweat-stained ball cap. He directed us inside to a curtained area, but I held back. I wanted to see Connor like I wanted my next breath, but I knew there wasn’t enough room for all of us. Besides, I didn’t have the right to stand by his side and hold his hand. I wasn’t his girlfriend. I wasn’t anything to him except someone he used to sleep with. So that meant Cassie got the first visit.
“You go on, Cassie,” I said. “Tell him I’ve got his jacket and hat for when he wants to leave.”
The young woman frowned at me. “But you’re coming with me.”
I shook my head, though it took all my willpower. “I’m not family. You go—”
“You’re his girlfriend!” She tugged on my arm.
My face flared, but I held back. “No, no. Whatever gave you that idea?”
She rolled her eyes at me. “I’m young, not stupid. Connor never has anyone over to his place except me. Never.”
“I was just there the once.” That she’d seen.
“So, it wasn’t your perfume I could smell everywhere? And the panties in Connor’s room—they’re not yours?”
We hadn’t… I hadn’t… Oh hell. Had I?
Coach rolled his eyes. “Go on. We already know.”
“What!”
He shrugged. “We’ve been taking bets on it for weeks. Please say it started at the All-Star Game.”
I didn’t bother to answer. In fact, I couldn’t frame a single thought. People knew? I thought we’d been so careful.
“You’re so busted,” Cassie said. “Come on.”
We’d barely taken a step inside when the screeching began. At first, I thought someone had died.
“Oh my God, it’s true! How bad is it?”
Cassie suddenly stiffened. Her shoulders tightened, and her grip on my arm turned into a vise. I was abruptly searching her for some wound when the woman’s voice found us.
“Coach! Cassie! Oh God, will he be okay?”
Then I was body-checked from behind as a woman came barreling forward. I knew who it was. Of course I knew. It was Sophia, drawing all eyes to her. Normally, I would have silenced her right away, but the magnitude of this disaster-in-the-making kept me tongue-tied. Thankfully, Coach didn’t have that problem.
The man stabilized me with a protective arm. He also growled a low, “Keep your voice down, woman.”
Good message, bad sexist tag, but Coach was old school. Sadly, Sophia pounced on the word like it was the worst feminine stereotype.
“Woman? My only brother might be dying, and you’re telling me to be quiet? Of all the horrible, chauvinistic—”
“Connor’s fine,” Cassie interrupted. “It’s just his knee, and—”
“Just his knee! It’s his career, you stupid, unthinking child.”
Well, that was uncalled for, and I hated that Cassie flinched under that verbal slap. That meant it was time for me to interfere. “Calm down, Sophia. We’re just getting information now—”
“You be quiet. You’re an incompetent hack who’s not worth my time. Especially now. To think you would use something like this to ingratiate yourself with me. Of all the nerve!”
“She’s got as much right to be here as you do,” Cassie argued. “She’s his girlfriend, and she’s trying to keep this quiet.”
Oh hell. The last thing we needed was for Sophia to realize I was dating Connor. Especially since, sadly, I wasn’t sure it was true. But either way, it moved me from the bottom of Sophia’s shit list to the top of her hit list. The woman drew a deep breath, while her eyes moved over my face, maliciousness emanating from every pore.
“You filthy, conniving—”
“That’s enough!” Coach grabbed Sophia and strong-armed her into a small triage room. Thankfully it was empty, and the ER was relatively quiet, but that could change at any moment. He was still holding on to me, so I was pulled in as well. It was Cassie who remained a step behind, her eyes wide with fear and her hands tight around Connor’s cell phone.
“How could you let this happen?” Sophia yelled, and at first I thought she was talking to the coach. No such luck. Her words and her glare were for Cassie. “Your brother is an idiot. He’s obviously thinking with his dick—” She flicked her fingers at me as if she were throwing a medieval curse or something. “But you’re his sister. You should have told me. I would have taken care of him. And now he’s in the hospital—”
“Oh, good grief!” I snapped. “Would you just shut the hell up and listen?” We might be in a triage room, but we hadn’t managed to close the door. We’d already gotten the attention of the medical staff, and I saw at least one cell phone out, probably taking video. “Connor is fine—”
“Obviously he’s not fine. He’s here.” She pointed a manicured finger at Cassie. “And look at you. Ah, honey, this is what happens when I’m not there to help you. Coach chewed you out last week, your brother’s in the hospital, and you can’t even write a simple English paper. You’re too fragile to be on your own.”
What? I looked at Coach, and he shook his head, equally baffled. Then I realized Sophia was talking about Cassie’s volleyball coach. And she knew about an English paper Cassie had written. What had happened to the no contact rule? How the hell had she found out this stuff?
From the look on Cassie’s face, the hits had been on target. Her skin was ashen and her eyes bright with the sheen of tears.
This was the disaster that Connor had worried about. This was the effect that his bitch sister had on Cassie.
“Now you listen up,” I said, shaking off the coach’s hold. The last thing I wanted was to make a scene in a public hospital, but I’d be damned if I let her rip Cassie apart. “You’re—”
“Don’t bother,” Cassie interrupted. Then she stepped between Sophia and me. “Don’t. Bother.”
“Cassie,” Sophia said, and I’d swear there was heartbreak in her tone—as in an Academy Award winning performance of heartbreak. “I know you’re scared. Everything is moving so fast, and you’re frightened. I’m here to help you.” Then she moved forward as if to hug Cassie, but the girl stepped backward. I helped, making sure my shoulders were in the way of the bitch. Let her turn her venom on me.
“See?” the woman cried. “See how they stop me? I was only trying to hug you. I love you!”
I looked at Cassie, whose eyes were bright with tears. Did she believe these lies? Her jaw was firm, and her hands were fists. I took them as signs of strength, but I wasn’t sure, so I touched her on the arm.
“Why don’t you go see Connor?” I offered.
“I saved you,” Sophia abruptly said. “When that crazy man was stalking you, I was the one who got him to stop.”
My head jerked up at that. So did Cassie’s. What did Sophia know about the stalker? I was about to ask when Cassie gripped my elbow.
“Don’t listen,” she rasped. “Let’s go see Connor.”
“Okay,” I said. I would have agreed to anything if it meant I could get her away from Sophia. I helped Cassie move, using my body to block her from Sophia whose voice had ratcheted up an octave higher.
“They’re lying to you, Cassie. I’m the only one who can protect you. Just me!”
Then Sophia made one last ditch effort to stop us, but I intercepted her while Cassie waved at security. They were approaching cautiously, waiting until someone really got out of hand. And apparently, all they needed was Cassie’s confirmation to convince them who was the bad guy.
“This woman has no business being here,” she said loudly to the two waiting guards.
Wow. I didn’t expect that kind of strength from Cassie. I’d seen the turmoil in her eyes. And yet there had been no wavering in her voice when she spoke to security.
“I have Connor’s medical power of attorney, not her. She needs to go.”
“Why you Little Snit!” Sophia screeched. “I’m his sister! I have a right…” Outrage. Threats. Shrewish words. I winced as I saw all the phone cameras aimed at Sophia. God, what a disaster. And all I could think was…how had Cassie and Connor lived under that? All those years of being treated to Sophia’s nice side one second, then coming face-to-face with the screaming shrew the next? I’d be in the loony bin for sure. But not Cassie. Not only had she called security, but she was now walking with steady steps behind the nurse.
We were going to see Connor. Finally. I clutched my hands together, startled to realize that they were shaking.
“You did good, Cassie,” I whispered before we went through. “Really good.”
I saw her nod, and then push the curtain aside. No one was in the bed, but there was Doc, standing and wringing his hands. He looked haggard, and I immediately tensed. But then he smiled at us.
“He’s getting an MRI, but I don’t think it’s too bad.”
Oh my God.
Relief washed through me, powerful enough to make me dizzy.
“That’s good,” I said, sounding breathless.
Doc grinned. “Yeah. It’s very good.”
Meanwhile, Cassie was looking around, obviously hoping her brother was about to be wheeled back in. I touched her shoulder, needing to steady myself as much as her.
“He’ll be here soon…” My voice trailed away. I took one look at Cassie’s drawn expression, and I gently helped her to the nearest chair. “Hey, kiddo, you okay?”
She nodded, though the movement was hardly convincing. God, her hands were trembling where she still clenched them around Connor’s phone.
“You heard Doc. He’s going to be fine.”
“How does she know?” the girl asked. “How does she always know?”
No question who the “she” was. “It doesn’t matter now—”
“Every time I start to feel good about myself, she’s right there. And she knows.”
Suddenly, I got it. Right there, looking at Cassie’s stricken expression and her quivering body, I understood exactly why Connor was willing to do anything to keep Sophia away from Cassie. Sure, I could see Sophia was a manipulative witch, but that would be damned hard to handle as a child growing up under her.
But Cassie wasn’t under Sophia’s thumb anymore. And I’d sure as hell wasn’t going to let her fall apart now. Not after how brave she’d been just a moment ago. So I dropped down on my knees in front of her, took hold of her trembling hands, and looked up into her pale face.
“She doesn’t know anything. Maybe she’s got information, but she doesn’t know you. She doesn’t see your strength or your love. She doesn’t see how smart you are or how much nerve you’ve got. Hell, you called security on her, Cassie! You’re an amazing woman, and she’s got nothing on you. Absolutely nothing.”
I watched as Cassie’s eyes widened. I felt her hands steady as they heated between mine. Then there was a slight quirk to her lips. “I did call security on her, didn’t I?”
“You were fierce!”
Her lips curved a little more. “And for the record, I’m great in English class. It was a Poli Sci report that I screwed up.”
Sophia had spouted so much nonsense, it took me a minute to figure out what Cassie was referring to, then I remembered. “Nobody cares about politics.”
She gave a half shrug. “That’s why I had too much to drink that night, and showed up to practice the next morning hung over.”
And then got chewed out by her volleyball coach. It all made sense now. But how had Sophia known about it? “We’ve all done that.”
“Yeah, but it was stupid.”
I laughed as I squeezed her arm, watching to see when the color would come back into her face. “That’s what people do in college. Stupid shit. It’s normal.”
She flashed me a weak smile. “I’m doing fine in English. Political Science, not so much.”
“You planning to go into politics?”
Her eyes widened. “God, no. I’m heading for a PhD in molecular biology.”
“Then I think you’ll be fine.” I wrapped my arms around her. “You’re doing just fine,” I repeated. Between stalkers, a crazy sister, and her famous brother’s knee, she was holding up ten times better than I would.
To tell the truth, hugging Cassie helped me deal with my own jitters. It was bad enough we were worried about Connor, but then, to have a showdown like that with Sophia in the waiting room? It was just ugly. If it had been my adopted family, Sophia would have been silenced by three aunts and two uncles, then held up as an example of bad behavior to all the kids, no matter what their age. But that was my family. And clearly no one had disciplined Sophia—ever.
“You know what?” Cassie said as she returned my hug. “I think I am fine.” Then she looked up at me with a brilliant grin. “In fact, I’m better than fine. She yelled at me. She called me stupid and a little snit.”
Had she? That must have been as we were rushing through the swinging doors.
Cassie held up her hands, and I noted with glee that they were rock solid. “And I’m okay. I’m really okay.”
“Yeah,” I said. “You are.”
And at Cassie’s grin, I was finally able to relax, too. I asked her about her next volleyball game and then about her classes. Doc added in his two cents when he started telling us about all the English papers he screwed up. And then, right in the middle of his hilarious story about a Tom Sawyer book report, Connor was pushed into the alcove. He was looking kind of dopey as he sat in his wheelchair. He tilted his head to the side and smiled at his sister, then turned his gaze to me.
“Gia,” he murmured.
“Hi, Connor. How ya feeling?”
“My two favorite girls,” he said as Cassie rushed forward.
“Yeah, we are,” she said as she kissed his cheek.
Then the attendant helped him back onto the bed, where he sat with a goofy grin on his face. I tried to move back to let Cassie have the spot next to her brother, but Connor grabbed my hand and pulled me close. And then he tugged on his sister, too, until she stood at his other side.
I glanced at Doc. “Just how many painkillers has he had?”
“More than enough.”
No argument there. But damn, it was sweet to see Connor all relaxed and happy. He didn’t say a word. He just held our hands and kept looking back and forth between the two of us. His expression was vacant and adorable, and God, I wanted to kiss him.
But I couldn’t do that. And then someone came through the swinging ER doors, and I heard noise out in the waiting room. It wasn’t Sophia, thank God. Someone else must be having a meltdown. Just the thought of that bitch coming anywhere near Connor when he was in this soft, vague, drug-addled state had me bristling like an angry wife. Everything protective inside me surged forward. She wasn’t going to get close to Connor, not until he could defend himself. And the look in Cassie’s eyes told me she was thinking the exact same thing.
Then the interlude was over as the ER doctor came in with a grim expression on his face.