Page 80 of Ruff and Tumble

If you want something, Hailstorm, go after it.

Well, she was going to. She wanted to say this, so she would.

“I went several years without feeling that again. My dad hugged me, and for a long time, it fixed something broken inside of me, but it wasn’t until I met your mother that another woman held me in her arms.” Drawing closer, she tilted her red, streaming face toward Cole’s. He was starting to look seriously alarmed, but that didn’t stop her. “She’samazing, Cole. Your whole family is. In the short time I’ve known them, they’ve hugged me and accepted me and treated me like I was one of them. It doesn’t even occur to them to question their right to love and be loved. Just like it doesn’t occur to you to do the same.”

“Hailey…”

“No.” Anger was winning now, and in a big way. Her sad tears mixed with furious ones, but she made no move to dash them away. “You think I’m the lucky one, but you’re an idiot if you can’t see what you have. I get it—they push too hard and want too much, and letting them down feels like the end of the world—but I can guarantee that your mom will still open her arms to you. You get to keep hugging her, Cole. You get to keep being hugged. For all the thousands of children who will never have someone like her, who will never know that kind of love and affection, stop being such a stupid, selfish chickenshit andtalkto her.”

Philip was the first to break the silence that followed this outburst. He gave a small whine and pushed his head underneath Hailey’s hand, licking liberally at any part of her skin that he could reach. It was as if he, too, finally heard her—finally understood. As much as he might love Cole and long to be with him, he and Hailey were the same.

“Er, if I might add a small caveat, it’d be best for us if you’d talk to herafterwe finish today’s filming.” Nelson drew forward with an apologetic grimace and a gesture at his wrist. The PA didn’t wear a watch, but his meaning was clear. “Sorry, Hailey, but we’re already way behind today.”

She drew a deep breath and nodded, more grateful for this interruption than her tear-streaked cheeks might lead her coworkers to believe. She swiped at them with the back of her hand. “Of course. Try, if you can, to clear out the football players, although feel free to hand out the adoption forms if they’re serious. Cole, you’ll want to check in with hair and makeup first, but they probably won’t do much. The handlers will have your team ready for you on the sidelines, and we’ll aim for cameras rolling in…ten minutes?”

She lifted a finger to her eye to check the state of her own makeup and was grateful to find that Penny’s permanent marker was holding fast. That woman deserved a bathtub of her own after this.

“Ten,” she repeated with a nod. Cole had yet to move and was staring at her as though she’d pulled her still-beating heart out of her chest for him to inspect, but that was only to be expected. That was pretty much what had just happened.

For once, however, she didn’t mind. Her public confession was embarrassing and unprofessional and exactly the sort of thing she always did.

And she’d do it again in a fully visible heartbeat.

“I’ll see you on the field, Mr. Bennett,” she said. “I hope you’re ready for this. Our adoring public awaits.”

Chapter 19

“Oh, for the love of everything.” Regina stared at Cole as though he wasn’t the brother she’d known and taken care of for thirty-two years—the brother she’d known andloved. “Have you lost your mind? What did I tell you about adopting Hailey’s puppies?”

“Why are you yelling at me?” Cole lowered himself to the kitchen chair nearest him. A tall glass of water and a bottle of painkillers were waiting there for him, but he reached for neither. Nothing could possibly hurt worse than the hole in his chest. “Did you not hear the part where I told you that she hates me?”

“Of course she hates you.Ihate you. What were you thinking, taking the entire team over there like that?”

“She loves those puppies. I thought she’d be happy to see them all in good homes.”

Regina threw up her hands. Her kitchen was always immaculate, thanks to the same fleet of cleaners who kept his home in such a good state, but she was attempting some kind of baking project, so flour was everywhere. “I said it from the start, but you didn’t listen. Youneverlisten. Adopting that woman’s puppies won’t make her like you.”

“That’s not helpful right now, Reg.”

“Well, you asked my opinion. That’s my opinion.” She peered closer at the cookbook that was open on a stand in front of her. “What even is cream of tartar? Do you think I can skip it?”

“Hell if I know.” Cole began toying with the glass of water. He’d come over here at his sister’s request—something about paperwork that needed to be signed—but he knew he wouldn’t be leaving here until he told her the truth.

Hailey had been right about that. He was a coward and a chickenshit, and Regina deserved better. Hailey had been right about a lot of things, actually.Shewas the one who really deserved more.

“What are you baking, anyway?” he asked. He was going to broach the subject of his shoulder—hewas—but he needed a minute to compose himself first. “And why?”

“I’m trying to make a lemon meringue pie, but none of this makes any sense. How can anything have this many eggs? And don’t they have to be cooked to be safe?”

“Lemon meringue?” Cole ignored the bulk of his sister’s commentary. Forget the pie—this whole situation didn’t make sense. Regina didn’t cook. Reginanevercooked. Especially not a complicated dessert he couldn’t recall ever eating before—but that happened to be a favorite of a certain wide receiver they both knew. “Reggie, who is this pie for?”

“I knew I should have just bought one and changed the pan out.” She began searching through her cupboards in earnest—possibly in pursuit of the elusive cream of tartar but more likely to avoid looking at him. “This is what I get for trying to be creative.”

“Reggie,” he repeated, louder this time. Mia was next door at their parents’ house, and Hailey had refused to let Philip come home with him, so he was at liberty to yell all he wanted. “Stop that and look at me. Are you making a pie for Garrett?”

“I don’t think you want to start this game with me, Mister I-just-bribed-thirty-of-my-friends-to-try-and-win-a-woman-over.And failed.”

“It is, isn’t it?” he demanded. “You’re making him pie. You love him.”