Second Chance Option

Chapter 2

Chapter 2Cade paced the waiting room of the clinic. Eyes focused on the hallway where the blonde, he didn’t think anyone told him her name, disappeared after explaining Sonny’s injuries. It looked like she was going to puke. Weird, considering she probably saw stuff like this all the time. If he looked in a mirror, he was sure he’d see a similar look on his face right now. The truth was, he was barely holding his s**t together and not having Sonny or Sam with him only made it worse.

Sam was probably going nuts.

The kid who’d stopped to help him after that asshole hit Sonny and took off was still here, sprawled out in one of the big chairs in front of the window that read “Gallagher Animal Clinic.” Other than glancing up from his phone occasionally, he pretty much left Cade alone.

People and animals had come and gone. There must be someone other than the gorgeous brunette with the piercing hazel eyes treating them. He strode back to the reception desk where the blonde, looking like she’d either puked or gotten over the need to, and the receptionist, an older woman whose name he couldn’t remember, even though she’d told him, were talking quietly.

“Any news?”

“Mr. Maguire.” The older woman smiled at him, her kind brown eyes full of understanding.

“I know, it takes time. I just want…” What did he want? He clenched his fist. “I need an update.”

The receptionist nodded and turned to the blonde.

“Sorry, one trip back there is my limit for the day. I’ll watch the front desk.” She moved towards the chair but was blocked by the older woman.

“You know you’re not allowed to cover the front.” She sighed.

The blonde put her hands on her hips. “Seriously? I can answer phones.”

“Delilah, there are rules for a reason.”

Cade could tell this was winding up to be one hell of an argument. Before he could intervene, the kid stood up and did it for him.

“Geez. What’s the big deal? I’ll go back and check for him.” With that pronouncement, he disappeared down the hall.

Cade couldn’t look away from the two women staring at each other like they were one second away from the kind of fight men pay to see, if it involved mud or Jell-O.

“Is he allowed to go back there?” It seemed like a reasonable question to him.

The older woman stared at him liked he was nuts. “Why wouldn’t he be?”

“Um, because he’s a kid and he’s not trained.” The kid might be local, but as far as Cade knew he wasn’t authorized to go back to the operating room.

Both women laughed.

“He’s clearly new,” the blonde pronounced before sauntering off.

Cade didn’t miss the subtle middle finger she flipped at the older woman, neither did the recipient of the gesture.

“That girl.” Sheila clucked before focusing on him. “It’s been a while since you’ve been in King’s Folly.”

He jerked back. “You recognized me?” It had been almost fourteen years since he’d put this town in his rearview mirror.

“Of course. I’ve lived in this town my entire life. I’m not going to forget the man who still holds the college record for completed passes. Most accurate quarterback that ever played the game.” She winked at him.

Warmth crept up Cade’s neck. “It’s been years since I played. I’m old news.”

“Not around here you’re not, especially not now.” She fluffed her hair then held out her hand. “Sheila Caldwell. I’m the receptionist, office manager and all-around girl Friday here. I’m also a member of the town council. If you need anything, you let me know.”

He shook her hand. “Thank you.” He didn’t know what else to say. On a good day, he wasn’t that talkative. Waiting for news on Sonny’s condition made him less so.

Sheila patted his hand. “Tess is the best there is.” She glanced over her shoulder then leaned closer to him. “Don’t let her daddy know I said that. He’s sensitive.”

“Her – ” Cade tensed when he saw the kid coming back down the hall. “How is he?”

“Tess stopped the bleeding. They’re setting his leg now. She said he’s stable and they’ll be done soon.”

“So, he’s going to be all right.” Cade let go of the breath he felt like he’d been holding since he’d found Sonny bloody and whimpering at the edge of his driveway.

“She’s optimistic. My sister doesn’t make promises she can’t keep, but if anyone can get Sonny through this, it’s her.”

“I heard that.”

All three of them turned towards the sound of the voice. An older man came down the hall, the image of the kid.

“Hey, Dad.”

Suddenly Cade made the connections he had missed due to his panic. The gorgeous vet was the kid’s sister, and this must be their father.

“Tyler.” The man nodded at his son as he approached. “So, our emergency patient is going to pull through.” He stepped forward and held out a hand to Cade. “Cade. Trevor Gallagher. Good to see you again.”

“Again?” Cade tilted his head as he shook the man’s hand. He looked familiar and Cade usually had good recall for names and faces. The problem was it seemed like everything around him was moving twice as fast as normal while his brain was at half speed.

“My wife, Tatum, is Coach King’s daughter. We crossed paths a few times when you played for the Knights.”

“Right, Dr. Gallagher. Good to see you again.”

“You and Ed have your work cut out for you, rebuilding the football program.”

Cade rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m still not sure why I agreed to it. It’s the craziest plan I’ve ever heard.” He wasn’t sure he had it in him to put down roots, especially here, but if Ed needed his help, he was all in. And he couldn’t turn down a chance to get back in the game.

Trevor laughed. “That’s one way to describe it.”

“I think it’s awesome,” Tyler said.

“I agree with young Mr. Gallagher.” Sheila joined the conversation. “It’s awesome and just what the program needs.”

“What’s that?” Cade was interested in her thoughts. The idea of a group of coaches coming out of retirement to train a bunch of former players with no coaching experience to take over for them within a few years, had seemed a little out there when he’d first heard it. He wondered what other people thought.

“Coach King and his team will bring experience to the program. You and your team will bring pride back to it.”

Cade was humbled by Sheila’s assessment. He would have to make sure her faith in him was justified.

“You’re amazing.”

Charlie’s words of praise sent warmth flowing through Tess.

“Thank you.” She studied Sonny’s vital signs. Everything was normal. “He’s stable. You can bring Cade back to sit with him for a little while.”

She had a meeting she was already late for. Now wasn’t the time to let a pair of handsome green eyes, a tight t-shirt and mysterious tattoos peeking out from the edges of the sleeves distract her.

Fifteen minutes, three blown red lights, but thankfully no tickets, later she pulled into the parking lot outside the university administration building. It took another ten minutes to get to her destination.

“You’re late.”

The biting tone sent a chill down Tess’s spine and the smell of Paco Rabanne made her want to gag. She closed her eyes and braced herself to turn in the direction the voice had come from.

There was no way she would apologize to him. “There was an emergency at the clinic.” If she could go the rest of her life without having to talk to him, that would be a good thing.

“I doubt anything involving those creatures you waste your time on could be considered an emergency.” The sneer was in his voice and on his face.

Tess glanced around. Brian Gill, Senior was the only other board member in the room. His mud colored hair was thinning hair and going gray and his expensive suit did little to hide his growing paunch.

Her chest tightened. She’d spent the better part of her life making sure she was never alone with him. Senior was the embodiment of the word malevolent.

“Gill, leave her alone.” The president of the university walked into the room.

She swallowed. “Where is everyone else?” Thank God her voice didn’t sound as small as she felt.

“We delayed the meeting. Someone was supposed to call your office and let you know you didn’t have to be here.” President Adams looked pointedly at Gill.

He shrugged. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen Dr. Gallagher, I thought we could have a chat.”

She wanted no part in any chatting he might want to do. “When is the next meeting?” She tried to ignore Gill.

“Six weeks.”

“I’m assuming there’s an e-mail explaining the situation.” There better be. The sooner she could get out of here, the better.

“Yes, but – ” President Adams began.

She held up a hand. The more time she spent with Senior, the more she wanted to throw up. There had been a lot of things she’d grown out of. This feeling wasn’t one of them. Before either man could say anything else she bolted out of the room.

Senior wasn’t following her. Llogically, she knew he wouldn’t. He never pulled his garbage in public and hadn’t done anything that was more than vaguely menacing in years. Still, she needed to leave before he changed his mind and tried something. By the time she got to her car, she’d worked herself up into a state.

Breathe.

She counted to ten as a familiar burning pain spread through her chest. It had been a while since the fiery ache had made itself known. The last time she felt the sensation was probably around the same time she’d been alone in a room with Senior. Funny how that worked out.

Breathe.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this anymore. She was a responsible adult. A respected member of the community. He was a bully and a fraud. Unfortunately, he was also good at getting away with it, whatever his “it” of the moment was. Gathering the proof to take him down would take more than a hot second.

She braced herself against her car.

Breathe.

“Doc?”

A calming baritone voice washed over her. She turned and saw Cade walking toward her. “Hi.” Her voice sounded raspy.

“What are you doing here?” He stopped a few inches away from her.

“I had a meeting on campus.” That she was trying to not think about, much less talk about. “Did you see Sonny?”

His green eyes warmed and he pressed his palm to his heart. “Yeah. Charlie took me back to see him for a few minutes. She said I could come back after I’m done here.”

“Of course. If someone is in the office, you can spend time with him whenever you want.” She blinked as she realized the burning pain was gone and her breathing had returned to normal. It was like he was giving off some kind of vibe that soothed her.

This was new.

He tilted his head. “You okay?”

Better than okay. Now.

She studied him, wondering what this effect he had on her meant. “I’m fine. Thank you.”

They stood in silence for a moment. She couldn’t tell if he wanted to say something else but didn’t mind having a chance to just look at him. His dark hair was cut short, not quite a buzz cut, but close. He had a neatly trimmed beard that made her want to run her hands along his cheeks, and multi-colored tattoos peeking out from the edge of the black t-shirt that stretched taut across his muscles.

It took all her concentration to keep her from letting her gaze drift down to his muscular legs encased in a pair of jeans that had been well washed and clung to his lower body like cling wrap.

She needed to take charge of the conversation. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve got a meeting with your grandfather and Ron in a little while.”

The football program, right. “I don’t want to make you late.” She also didn’t want to admit she wanted the conversation to continue.

“I’m not. You want to tell me what freaked you out so badly?”

“Not really.” More like definitely not.

“But it’s something.” He looked smug like he already knew all the answers.

Sneaky bastard. “Nothing you need to worry about.” It wasn’t anything she wanted anyone to worry about. She’d handle the Gills herself, just like she always had.

He stared at her for a moment before nodding and silence stretched between them, filling the air with a weird energy she couldn’t identify.

“Did you have any questions about Sonny for me?”

“Not right now. Thank you for everything.” He blinked his eyes and looked up. “I was a little out of it.”

“Understandable. He clearly means a lot to you.” Which only made Cade more attractive, if that was possible.

“Yeah. I got him and his brother about six months ago, when my discharge came through. We’ve been together ever since.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“His brother’s all right?” Dogs experienced stress because of family injuries, too.

“Sam’s good. I stopped home to check on him and change before heading over here.”

“Sonny and Sam.” She laughed.

“Yeah.”

“As in Jurgensen and Huff?”

His eyes widened. “You know them?”

She laughed. “Sonny Jurgensen, quarterback for Philadelphia and Washington. Sam Huff linebacker for New York and Washington, commentators for Washington until Sam Huff retired a while back.”

His lips tilted up in a slow smile that made her think he’d made a decision about her. “You know your football.”

“I know a lot of things.” She couldn’t help smiling back at him. Somehow, a few moments talking to Cade centered her.

“I bet you do.”

His silky tone sent shivers down her spine and it was like hummingbirds were flitting around her stomach.

I wonder what he tastes like.

The errant thought had her focusing on his lips. His grin grew, making her wonder if he could read her mind.

He cleared his throat. “So, what’s next?”

“With what?” She looked from his lips into his green eyes.

“Sonny.” His eyes were filled with amusement.

The thought that he was laughing at her was enough turn all her warm thoughts to ice. “He’s stable. You can come by and see him later today and we’ll go over his chart and prognosis.”

She turned to her car, pushing thoughts of him, and her feelings for him, whatever they were, away. Too bad. Getting to know him better might have been fun.

But he had to go and laugh at me.