“Whoo!” Roman yelled, pointing at Sam. “That was pretty, Dumont. That was pretty!”
The next day, Tiffany sat with all of them in the box for player’s families with a great view of the Miami Surf stadium. It was an hour until everything started. There was a buffet of food, and Reese was taking pictures of everything. Josh was sitting in his seat, playing a game on his phone. Roman was talking to some people that were coming in and out of their box.
Katie sat next to Tiffany, holding a sleeping Maddy. Katie had her head back on the seat and her eyes closed. “How are you holding up, Miss Country Star?”
She hadn’t realized she would be so nervous for Sam. Tiffany tried to smile and calm herself. “I’m fine, just nervous for Sam.”
Katie grinned. “It’s hard when you know what they’ve gone through. How hard they’ve worked. Everything that’s riding on these games for them.”
Right. Of course she understood. They’d been through a lot last year.
Katie continued, keeping her eyes closed. “The game Roman got hurt, ohmygosh, I thought my heart would stop. It…” Her eyes flashed open. “Josh was with me, and I was eight months pregnant…” She blinked rapidly.
Tiffany’s insides knotted even more. “I’m sorry, Katie.”
Katie smiled at her. “It all worked out.”
“No. I…” Her heart pounded quickly. “I can’t imagine how awful that was.”
Tiffany still remembered watching that game. Roman lying on the ground after getting hit. Them pulling him out on a stretcher. She’d spoken to Katie later, but now she had a whole new respect.
Katie shrugged. “It was a catalyst for him to get out.” Her eyes narrowed. “But I think you’re about to know exactly how it is to have a husband involved in a very dangerous sport.”
Katie’s words…made her mouth go dry. Husband. Tiffany’s heart hammered inside of her. She’d always known they could get hurt. Heck, Roman had gotten hurt. But…it had been different. Roman was not the man she loved.
Shooting to her feet, she rushed toward the door of the box, patting Roman on the shoulder. “Will you help me find Sam?”
46
Sam sat with the team in the locker room. They were waiting for coach to come in and give them the whole ‘get you fired up’ speech that all coaches gave before each game.
But unlike every other game Sam had ever played, Sam didn’t need the talk. He was already keyed up, but it was more than that. He could feel it deep inside of himself—he was ready to break out again. All the doubt and worry from the previous year was gone.
Evaporated.
Not only had going to Wolfe Creek and making amends with Roman changed how he felt about who he was, but he could actually tolerate looking at himself in the mirror now. That was a good feeling.
So he wasn’t here playing to prove something. Of course, he would do that. He would prove that he deserved this spot.
But that wasn’t why he was playing. He was playing because this was what he loved.
He’d forgotten that for a while.
He’d forgotten what he loved. He smiled and he thought of Tiffany. And now he had someone to love. That felt good, too.
“Sam.” One of the managers came in frowning. He motioned him forward. “Someone needs to speak to you real quick. She’s in your training room.”
“Sure.” He jumped up, picking up his helmet and jogging out the door and down the hall.
As Sam rounded the corner to his dressing room, he expected Tiffany. Expected a kiss. Expected a good luck. But he didn’t get what he expected.
He got…Sheena…naked.
47
Roman was jogging next to Tiffany, pointing to a room. “They should be down here somewhere.” They’d gotten past security because most people recognized Roman and weren’t going to stop them. Roman pushed ahead of her. “He’ll be gathered with the team in there.”
It wasn’t easy running in teal boots. But it was even more unbearable, thinking of Sam getting hurt. Even though she knew it was irrational, she had to see him, touch him, and kiss him one more time before he went out onto that field. She just did.
One of the team managers was stationed outside of the locker room.
“We need to talk to Sam real quick.” Roman commanded in a voice that said the guy should obey.
Tiffany was grateful Roman was there.
“Sam is in his training room.” The manager pointed down the hall.
She and Roman turned and went down the hall. Roman smiled at her. “Brings back memories. I even feel nervous for all of them.”
Before they got to the training room, they heard shouting.
Both she and Roman stopped. Then the look on Roman’s face went cold. Stone cold. Killer kind of cold.
“Get away from me!” She heard Sam yell.
“But we were so good together. It could be so much better too. Don’t you remember our tradition before games?”
Hearing a woman’s voice, Tiffany was instantly paralyzed.
But she didn’t have to be for long.
The door flew open, and Sam busted out, huffing and trembling.
Tiffany caught a glimpse of naked flesh behind him.
Seeing her and Roman, Sam’s jaw clenched. He hesitated, dragging in a breath. He looked at Roman. “I don’t know how she got in.”
Roman’s nostril’s widened, and Tiffany thought he looked like a tiger about to pounce. He patted Sam’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, man. I got this.”
Tiffany watched as Roman threw the door open. She saw Sheena, Roman’s ex-wife, and Sam’s ex-girlfriend pulling on her clothes.
“I can’t say I’m surprised you’re trying to claw you’re way to the top, again.”
Every part of Sam was trembling. His forehead was sweating, and he clutched his helmet like he wanted to chuck it and break something.
Tiffany watched as his face turned pale, and he put a hand to his chest. Then he cursed and put his head down, sucking in a breath. “Oh man, not now. Not now.”
Sam couldn’t believe he was having a panic attack.
He let Tiffany take him a little bit down the hall in the other direction. He tried to suck in deep breaths and get his anger under control. “I didn’t know.”
“Shh.” Tiffany rubbed circles into his shoulder. “It’s okay, Sam.” She flashed a grin. “I heard you tell her to get out.”
As he stared into Tiffany’s eyes, it dawned on him that she really did understand, on some level, what he was going through. He remembered the day she’d sent Brett away.
He pulled in another long breath and the pressure in his chest began to ease.
“That’s right.” Tiffany stayed next to him, taking his hand. She stared him straight in the eyes, and he could feel her certainty calming him. “You did it, Sam.” She grinned. “You walked away. You did it.”
It was nice to be able to know that he had done that. To know that Sheena didn’t have any power over him.
The door to his training room flew open, and he saw Sheena moving forward. Anger raged on her face as she tried to get out of the grip Roman had on her. “Let go!” she yelled.
Roman turned to face Sam, his face flashing into a grin. “Nope, Sam and I are going to escort you out of the building and make a very public showing of the fact that you may have fooled us both once, but you won’t come between us again.”
Sam took courage, moving toward Roman. “Good idea,” he said, putting on the face he used on linebackers before the play. He would do this. He could do this.
“Hey!” His coach put his head out into the hall. “Dumont, get in here!”