Page 58 of Ruff and Tumble

“They’re a bunch of shameless wastrels who need to get back to work,” she said, unable to meet his eyes. “And so are you.”

“Actually, I’m going to agree with Hailey on that one.” Regina’s sharp voice hailed him from behind. He did his best to bite back a groan, but Regina either heard or sensed it. Given how well she knew him, it was probably the latter. “And don’t give me that bullshit. I have four missed calls from the team offices, and I’m guessing you have twice as many.”

“It was Garrett’s idea,” he protested, turning to face his sister. “He was desperate to foster one of Cole Bennett’s famous Puppy Cup puppies.”

Since Garrett could be seen in the background, wrestling with an enormous black puppy that appeared to be making a run for the nearest exit, this was an obvious lie.

“Garrett has already heard everything I have to say on this subject, so don’t try putting the blame on him.” Regina stood with her arms crossed, her foot tapping a staccato beat on the concrete floor. “Goaway, Cole.”

“All in good time.”

“Goaway, Cole,” Hailey echoed, ranging herself on the side of his sister. She was still flushed and looking decidedly kissable, but Cole knew better than to make the attempt.

“Fine,” he said, acknowledging defeat. He picked up Philip and pointed the puppy at his sister. “But I’m taking Philip with me. I want him to watch the replay of the Texas game with the rest of the team. It’ll help with his own strategy. I don’t know if you noticed, but I kind of killed it on Sunday.”

Hailey muffled a laugh, but Regina only sighed. “I don’t care what you do as long as you get back to work.”

She meant it, which was the worst part of this whole thing. She didn’t care if he publicly kissed Hailey or played puppy football or adopted twenty-seven different animals in the name of compassion—just so long as his game play didn’t suffer for it. She was indulging him in this puppy plan, playing along in hopes that he’d work it out of his system, without recognizing it for what it was.

His parting gift. His way out. His goodbye.

“Oops.” Regina glanced over Cole’s shoulder and gave a sudden start. “I think Garrett just lost the battle with Cleopatra. She’s heading for one of the side doors.”

“Oh good,” Hailey said with a complete absence of irony. “Hopefully, he won’t catch her until she gets a few of her fidgets out. Try to distract him so she gets some exercise in.”

Regina didn’t find anything odd in this request. With a nod, she went off to assist and/or hinder Garrett’s attempts to corral his new ward. Either way, Cole knew she’d be back—and sooner than he wanted—so he wasted no time.

“What are you doing after work?” he asked, grabbing hold of Hailey’s hand and pressing it.

She stared down at the clasp of his fingers against hers. “The usual. Taking care of the puppies. Laundry. Maybe I’ll go all out and rent a movie.” She became suddenly suspicious. “Why? What are you doing?”

“I was hoping to visit my dad at the hospital.”

All her suspicions melted away at once. “Good for you. He’ll like that. Did you need me to puppy-sit Philip while you’re there?”

“No,” he said. “I was hoping you’d come with me.”

She gave a slight jolt, but his grip on her hand was strong enough that she couldn’t pull away. “What? Me? Why?”

He saw no reason to lie. “Because I can’t get in the doors otherwise. My parents are afraid it’s too distracting in these important Kickoff Cup times, so they’ve had me banned.”

“They have not. You’re just saying that to get me to agree.”

He wished that were the case. Legally, he didn’t think they could prevent him from entering the hospital and standing outside his dad’s room, but he wouldn’t put it past them to try.

“Please? They like you. They respect you.” He gave a slight smile. “They fear you.”

“They do not!”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Are you kidding? The woman with the power to break the curse? You could saunter in there and demand the keys to the city, and they’d move heaven and earth to make you a set. They’re at your mercy, Hailey. We all are.”

She didn’t want to believe him. He could see it in the way she distracted herself by petting Philip, in the way she held her body at arm’s length.

“You could just ask me as a friend, you know,” she said. “Not everything has to be a curse-breaking, back-alley deal.”

That was a matter of opinion. Curse-breaking, back-alley deals were what had brought Hailey into his life in the first place. He could swagger and preen all he wanted in an attempt to keep her, but he doubted it would work for very long. Hailey was a woman of substance, a woman who accomplished things that actually meant something. Strip away the trappings of football, and what did he have to offer in exchange?

Nothing. Nada. An underaccomplished and overhyped man with more money than was good for him, who’d spent his entire life in pursuit of someone else’s dreams. Some deal that would be.