The Hardest Cut by Jamie Bennett (book club recommendations .TXT) 📕

around.  I wasn’t exactly sure of my route because I hadn’t been paying attention to it the first time.  I had mainly been focused on Ben the day that he’d brought me to the trainer, on Ben and on the pain in my leg that had been scaring me to death.  And then, despite that pain, I’d closed my eyes and just enjoyed the closeness and the warmth and the strength—I closed my eyes again, remembering.

“Hello there.  It’s Gaby, isn’t it?”

I opened them to see Lyle, the nice security guard who had made Caitlyn feel better when she’d been crying during our second audition.  It felt like that had been years ago, not just a couple of months.  “Yes, I’m Gaby.  I’m not sneaking around here,” I assured him.  “Coach Sam told me to go see the trainer.”

The security guard chuckled.  “Coach Sam.  That title still tickles my funny bone.  Coach Sam,” he repeated.  “Well, for the trainers, you’re heading in the wrong direction.  Come on, I’ll show you.  Hand over that bag.”  He talked to me as we walked slowly through what seemed like a maze of hallways, past doors and offices and then finally into an area that I recognized as the players’ side of the stadium.

One of those doors opened in front of us and a shirtless man walked out, rubbing his face with a towel.  He dropped it and I recognized him just as his eyes lit on me.  “Gaby.  The babysitter.”  Kayden Matthews smiled, looking so much like his brother that I almost smiled back.  Then he flexed and his abs and chest rippled with cut, lean muscle.  I had a sudden memory of a class field trip to the zoo in fourth grade and seeing a peacock unfurl his tail.

“There’s a dress code for the stadium,” Lyle announced, very stern.  “Outside of the locker room, players must be clothed.  Even former players,” he told Kayden, who lost the smile.  Kayden opened his mouth but the door to the gym opened again at the same time and a bundle of cloth came sailing through it to hit him in the face.

“Put your shirt on,” I heard Ben’s voice order.

I started walking, not having anything to say to either Matthews brother.  I hadn’t seen much of them in the week since Kayden had arrived.  They were out of the house constantly and only returned as I was ready to leave.  Ben was back to avoiding me, staying in another room with Tessa and his brother until I was gone.  Of course he would, since he didn’t have anything to say to me, either.  What would you talk about with a boring woman who was just a head of hair stuck on a body that wasn’t so great?

“Gaby?”

“Hi,” I said, but I didn’t slow down.  I saw Lyle turn his head and look at me, but I kept my eyes forward, like I knew where we were going.  It took two long strides for Ben to be at my side.

“Are you going back to the trainer?” he asked.  “Is your ankle worse?”

“It’s much better, actually.  Lyle is taking me.”

“Then I’ll see you at the house,” Ben said.

“I guess.”  I bit my lip and relented.  “Yes, I’ll be there, of course.”  Lyle and I continued down the hallway.

“He’s still watching,” the security guard commented.

“Kayden?  He would watch any woman who crossed his path.”  It didn’t mean anything.

“I meant the coach,” Lyle corrected.  “I heard you’re taking care of his little girl?  He brought her by here once or twice.  She’s a cutie.”

“She is,” I agreed.  He seemed to be waiting.  “That’s all.  I mean, all I do is take care of her, there’s nothing else to the story.”

“Mmhm,” he answered.  I looked over sharply, but Lyle was directing me into the training room and I turned my thoughts away from Ben and onto convincing the trainer to tell Coach Sam that I would be fine for practice next week.

That didn’t work as well as I wanted it to; after she examined my leg, she was shaking her head and frowning.  I wasn’t very successful in getting Ben out of my mind, either.  A few hours later, I was still thinking of him as I was standing with my bag on my shoulder in the window of his house, waiting for his truck to come up the driveway.  “Can you stay for dinner?” Tessa asked me.  “Remember how you used to stay?”

I turned to her and smiled.  “You have your uncle to keep you company tonight!”

“Are you going to see your mommy now?”

No, not since I had told a lie and said that I had plans so that she would leave me alone about being single at my age on a Friday night.  I just didn’t have the energy for the truth, but I had felt worse after lying.  “Not tonight.”

“Do you have a boyfriend, Gaby?” she asked.

“No,” I answered, surprised.

“Uncle Kayden asked Daddy and Daddy said yes,” Tess told me.

“No, I don’t.”  I considered her for a moment.  “What do you think a boyfriend is?”

“Like Cohen and Ana Belén at school.  He’s a boy, and he’s her friend,” she answered.

“Oh!  Then, yes, I do.  I have a lot of boyfriends.”  I laughed, even though I wondered why Ben would have said that to his brother.  “Ana Belén is your friend, too.  Wasn’t it fun when she came over?”  Tessa nodded and we talked about inviting more friends until finally the truck came and parked in front of the house.  “Bye, kitty cat.  I’ll see you Monday.”

She followed me onto the porch.  “Are you going to see your boyfriends now?”

If I was trying to encourage her to be social, then saying that I was planning to hole up like a hermit for the rest of the weekend wouldn’t be the best answer.  Anyway, I would probably see Hallie and Marley.  As the Matthews brothers joined us on the porch, I said, “Yes!  I’m going to see my friends for