Page 72 of Ruff and Tumble

“I guess doctors do have their occasional uses,” Cole said with a rueful glance at his arm. The sling he wore was a pain in the ass but a lot less invasive than he’d feared. Regina tossed him a paper-wrapped sandwich, at which point he grinned and added, “So do sisters. Thank you. I’m starving.”

“Yeah, well. Eat it fast. Dr. Hampton wants to see you.”

He was in the middle of biting into a giant turkey sandwich—which, he noted, had been deliberately garnished with kale—so he had to respond by shaking his head and swallowing.

“No can do,” he said when all Regina did was stand and stare menacingly down at him. He pulled a piece of turkey from his sandwich and tossed it to Philip, who sat ready and waiting at his feet. “My better half and I are needed at the Puppy Cup set this afternoon. Hailey’s orders.”

“Cole.”

“Reggie.”

“He’s your team doctor. You can’t avoid him forever.”

“I made a commitment to Hailey. I can’t avoid her, either. Not when the appearance of luck is more important than ever. We’re going to have to transition hard if we want to convince the team—and Seattle—that she still has the power to break the curse.”

Regina showed signs of glaring at him for as long as it took for him to give in—a thing she had done in the past and could very well do again—but he ignored her. Okay, so he shouldprobablymake an appearance at the Lumberjack medical offices, and he was sure Coach and Aiko had a whole list of inspirational pep talks ready to go, but that was too bad. Marshall could handle things on the quarterback front for a day or two. Cole had puppies to coach.

“She’ll be here to pick me up any minute, so you’d better wrap up whatever this is.” Using his left hand, he twirled a finger in his sister’s general direction. “You might be able to intimidate me into doing what you want, but you won’t be able to move her. She’ll somehow end up getting her wayandgiving you a puppy, and then where will you be?”

Regina didn’t, as he’d hoped, take offense at his words and storm off in irritation. Instead, her expression grew somber, and she lowered herself to the couch next to him, careful to avoid the spot that Philip had eaten through.

“What are you doing, Cole?” she asked. “What is this really about?”

He wasn’t sure whichthisshe was referring to, but he suspected it had less to do with football and more to do with Hailey. He also knew that once Regina started in on this topic, it wouldn’t end well for either of them. They’d had their fair share of squabbles over the years—in their profession and with their family history, how could they not?—but the one thing they’d always avoided was giving each other relationship advice. If Regina thought his choice of supermodels in the past was somewhat questionable, she kept it to herself. When she’d had a one-night stand with a stranger and ended up pregnant with Mia, he’d tactfully refrained from reproach and thrown himself into helping raise his niece instead.

“You’re veering on dangerous ground, Reg,” he said, surprised at the note in his voice. Even Philip seemed to pick up on it, his recognition of that tone causing his ears to come up and his stance to drop.

“I’m just saying. Mom and Dad are starting to wonder. All this puppy stuff will be over in a few weeks, and then what?”

He didn’t have an answer for that, just like he didn’t have an answer for what was going to happen when all this football stuff was over in a few weeks, either. At this point, all he could do was take one day, one hour, one minute at a time.

In this particular minute, he was getting very tired of his sister.

“Unless you have something other than sandwiches to contribute, I won’t keep you,” he said. “I don’t think they need you at the set today.”

She didn’t take the hint.

“It’s not a big deal, and it won’t take long,” she persisted. “You can go with Hailey afterward. It’s just a follow-up X-ray, a few tests to make sure you’ll be recovered enough to play in the Kickoff Cup. Dr. Hampton is really optimistic about your chances.”

The sandwich turned to dust in Cole’s mouth, and it wasn’t because of the kale. He tossed the entire thing to Philip, who lost no time in carrying his precious scrap to the farthest corner of the living room lest one of them decide to take it back. The food would probably slow the puppy down and make him useless in the game this afternoon, but Cole couldn’t find it in him to care. As if his team had ever had a chance against Hailey’s in the first place.

He didn’t know the first thing about puppy football. All he knew was the human variety, for all the good that was going to do him now.

“Knock-knock!” Hailey poked her head in the front door, a welcome distraction in a day—a week, a year—that was starting to look decidedly shitty.

Cole could barely remember a time when he could look at her and find her merely cute. Those adorable freckles, the tinge of color on her cheeks, the worn red shoes—they weren’t the sort of qualities he’d sought in the past, but he’d have been damned if he could go without them now. When he’d been carried off the football field, knowing the tackle that had dislocated his shoulder was the end of the line for him, the only thing he could think of was that he wished Hailey were there with him.

She was a comfort and a delight to his soul. She was sexually responsive in ways that most men only dreamed of. She represented a world where laughter and puppies and her no-nonsense practicality made everything else in his life feel like an overblown, ridiculous sham.

He loved her.

The thought struck like a blow almost as hard as the one that had felled him on the field. His head spun, and his chest contracted so tightly that he couldn’t speak right away. All he could do was watch as Hailey glanced back and forth between him and Regina, her cheeks starting to redden.

“Oh dear,” she murmured. “Is this a bad time? I can come back. There’s a coffee shop down the street—”

“Don’t be silly,” Regina said, her words terse enough to make Hailey wince. “Cole has clearly made his decision. I can tell when I’m in the way.”

“You’re not in the…” Hailey’s voice trailed off as she caught sight of Cole. He wanted to move his facial muscles into the shape of a smile, to reassure Hailey that he wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and show his appreciation the best way he knew how, but although hemightbe able to manage the smile, there would be no suave embraces. His shoulder fucking hurt.