Defending Hayden: A Second Chances Novel Read online

  Whoever he was, I had no intention of using his phone. First thing tomorrow morning, I was getting a new one. Opening my purse, I placed both phones inside and walked into the restaurant. My best friend and coworker, Michael Briggs, waved at me from across the room. He was still in his green scrubs from Stonebrooke Veterinary Hospital, just like I was.

  Always the gentleman, Michael stood and pulled out my chair for me. A lady at the table beside us asked the man she was with why he didn’t do that for her. Michael was a Southern gentleman, handsome with dark brown hair and amazing green eyes. The ladies loved him.

  “Where have you been? I tried calling.”

  Sighing, I sat down. “It’s a long story. It starts off being stuck at the clinic talking to Wilford.” Wilford Bentley was our employer, the owner of Stonebrooke. I loved the man to death, but he sure did like to talk. “And then,” I said, pulling out my cracked phone, “I got hit by a door and I dropped my phone.”

  “Ouch, how did that happen?” Michael asked.

  I set it in front of him. “Some guy opened the back door and it knocked my phone out of my hands.”

  “Who did it?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know his name. He left after it happened.”

  Our waitress came up, smiling wide. “Good evening. Would you care for something to drink?” she asked me. She was young, probably late teens, with light brown hair.

  “Can I have a sweet tea, please?”

  Her gaze lingered on Michael and then came back to me. “Of course. I’ll be right back.” Michael lifted his glass to his lips, trying to hide his smile but failing. I said, “You should seriously stop smiling at women. They’re going to think you’re interested in them.”

  “What am I supposed to do, scowl? I can’t help being friendly.”

  I rolled my eyes. “And then you’ll break all their hearts when you tell them you’re gay. You’re the only guy I know who could get a different female every day of the week. You should see the way Jeremiah looks at you.”

  “That bad, huh?”

  “Bad doesn’t describe it. He hates that all the nurses fawn all over you.”

  Michael brushed off his shoulders, grinning devilishly. “I can’t help it that he’s as interesting as a bag of bricks. The guy has no personality whatsoever. It’s his own damn fault he can’t get any pussy.”

  “And then here the gay guy is, bringing it all in.” I laughed.

  He scoffed. “He’ll get over it. Besides, the dude’s hard up for you. I think he gets pissed because you’re always with me.” That was the last thing I wanted to think about.

  The waitress came back with my sweet tea, and we ordered our food. I was starving. We’d had a person come into the clinic with a box full of malnourished puppies they’d found in a Dumpster behind our local grocery store. The poor things were close to death, but Michael and I had spent the entire day tending to them. I still didn’t know if they were going to make it, but we were hoping for the best. One of my nurses, Amanda Oliver, had taken them home with her so she could feed them during the night.

  Michael pointed down at my phone. “Do you need me to cover for you tomorrow morning so you can get a new phone?”

  “That’d be great, if you don’t mind. However,” I said, pulling out the one the guy had given me, “I have this one to tide me over in case I can’t get away.”

  Brow furrowed, Michael took a sip of his beer. “Where did that one come from?”

  “From the guy who hit me with the door. He told me to keep it until I got a new one.”

  He sat back, surprised. “Wow, that’s interesting. Who was he?” Then his attention focused on the large group behind us, and his eyes went wide. “Wait, it wasn’t one of the Cougars, was it?”

  “Why would it be one of them?” I asked.

  Sighing, he waved toward the bar. “Because the whole team is here. Did you not see them when you walked in?”

  I glanced behind me at the herd of men laughing and carrying on at the bar. “I guess I was too busy looking for you to notice,” I said, turning back to him. “Besides, I don’t watch football. I wouldn’t recognize any of them if I saw them on the street.”

  He stared at me as if I’d lost my mind. “We’re going to have to remedy that. When pre-season starts, you’re coming to my house to watch a game. I’ll get you broken in.” Our food came, and I stole one of his fries when he was busy gawking at the players. “I saw that,” he said.

  “I just took one.” It was the same thing every time. I never ordered fries because I knew I’d be tempted to eat every last one on my plate. That was why I always stole one or two from him.

  “So what did this guy look like? Did he look like a football player?”

  Pursing my lips, I closed my eyes and pictured those light blue eyes staring down at me and the way his arm muscles had tightened when he bent down to pick up my phone. “Now that you mention it, he probably could be. He was tall, with reddish-brown hair.”

  Mouth gaping, Michael dropped his fork. “Are you kidding? That sounds like Derek McLaughlin. He’s the only one on the team with reddish hair.”

  I burst out laughing. “I knew you liked football, but I didn’t realize you were that into it to know what they all look like. But I don’t know if it’s him or not.” Michael pulled out his phone and typed away. “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “I’m going to find a picture of him. I have to know.” When he turned the screen my way, I gasped. The guy was in his football uniform, all dirty and sweaty during a game, but it was definitely him.

  “That’s him,” I said. He grabbed Derek’s phone and started searching through it. I tried to get it back, but he pulled it away. “What are you doing?”

  “If this is his phone, I want to see what he has on it.”

  “Michael, stop, it’s private. We can’t look through his stuff.”

  He shrugged. “Hey, if he was willing to let you use it, he should’ve known what would happen.” Huffing, I sat back while he looked at the phone in awe. “There are some great pictures on here. Looks like he must’ve been out West when he took that time off after the accident.”

  When he passed me the phone, I couldn’t help but look at the pictures. They were beautiful, with tons of snowcapped mountains. I was shocked that there weren’t any with other people. “What accident are you talking about?”

  He shook his head incredulously. “Do you not ever watch the news?”

  “Obviously not. What happened?”

  “First off, Derek McLaughlin is our best linebacker, with record-breaking interceptions. He was in an accident with Evan Townsend and one of the team cheerleaders, Brianna Ward; she and Derek were dating at the time. They were on Stowe Road when someone ran them off the road. Brianna didn’t survive, and Derek almost didn’t, either.”

  “Oh my God, he lost her? That’s so tragic. Did they catch the person who ran them off the road?”

  He nodded. “Eventually they did, but Derek was fucked up after that. He left the team and disappeared. I guess he’s back now. It’d be great if he is, because the team needs him. They play so much better with him there.”

  My chest ached as I looked down at Derek’s phone, at the lonely pictures. “That’s so sad. I can’t imagine going through something like that. He was very friendly, though.”

  A wide grin spread across Michael’s face. “I’d hope so. You’re a good-looking woman, Hayden. He’d be stupid not to notice.”

  I glared at him. “Don’t even think about it, Michael. I hate it when you try to play matchmaker. Besides, he’s a professional football player. Those guys go after the glamorous girls.”

  “Not true, sweetheart. You’re just scared of getting your heart broken. Just because you had a bad relationship in college doesn’t mean every guy is going to hurt you.”

  “Doesn’t matter,” I said, taking a bite of my salmon. “I’m not interested in anyone right now, and I like it that way.” I didn’t have time for a relationsh
ip, and I definitely wasn’t going to start with someone out of my reach.

  Chapter 4

  Hayden

  “Good morning,” Andrea greeted me as I walked into our local downtown café.

  Belmont was a small city just outside of Charlotte, so the café wasn’t packed, like larger places would be. I liked that. Our downtown was quaint, with lots of different shops. We had an upscale steak house, a high-end salon, the best cupcake bakery in the state, a couple different pubs, and several boutiques. Right in the middle of it all was Stonebrooke Veterinary Hospital. I never had to go outside of my bubble because I had everything I needed around me.

  I waved at Andrea and walked up to the counter to wait in line. Andrea May was the owner’s daughter and the manager of Caramel Café.

  Once the elderly gentleman in front of me got his coffee and muffin, it was my turn. Andrea smiled and grabbed a large cup. “The usual?”

  “You know it.” I laughed. “And I think I’ll take two blueberry scones instead of one. I’m tired of Michael trying to eat mine.” Every morning before going into work, I’d pick up a spiced pumpkin latte. It used to be a drink they’d make only in the fall, but for the past year they’d kept the ingredients on hand, and I was indebted to them.

  She shook her head. “He’s such a nut. I haven’t seen him in a while. Where’s he been?”

  I shrugged. “Here and there, I guess. He’s planning on moving back to Raleigh soon.”

  “Oh no, why?” she asked, her smile fading.

  “He got offered a job by one of our friends from college. It’s a larger clinic right in the city. Michael’s always been the type to want bigger and better things, and although he won’t admit to it, I know that’s what he wants. Plus, our families are out there.”

  She fixed my latte and passed it to me along with the blueberry scones. “I hate to hear that. He’ll definitely be missed around here.”

  “Yes, he will.” I was going to miss him more than anything. We’d been friends for years and even lived together when we were in college. My parents knew they had nothing to worry about in the romance department. He was more than a friend; he was the brother I never had. I’d known Michael was leaving for some time now, and the end result was still the same: I hated it. Other than my job, he was all I had.

  After I paid, I walked out of the café and waved at her again through the window, then headed to the animal hospital. Stonebrooke was my home. I loved working with animals; it was a job that I was excited to come to every day. Not many people could say that. When I walked in, Katrina, our gray and white house cat, meowed at me. She lived at the clinic and roamed around freely, greeting everyone who came through the door. Wilford had taken her in about six years ago, when she showed up on the doorstep of his house. She’d adopted him, and that was something he didn’t take lightly. I had a cat adopt me one time when I was thirteen, and she was the best cat I’d ever had. I’d never known a cat to be as loving as she was. She came with me everywhere, even to college when I got my apartment with Michael. When she got sick, my heart broke. I cried for days after having to put her down.

  Once inside the office, I could hear Margerie and Wilford cracking up in the break room. Margerie was his assistant, and had been for about thirty-five years. When one of my professors at NC State had told me about a job opening in Belmont, I thought she’d lost her mind, since I didn’t want to move away from my hometown. But it was a good opportunity. Wilford was a friend of my professor’s father, and she said he was one of the best people you’d ever meet. She was right. I’d never heard of an assistant staying with the same doctor for as many years as Margerie had. That had sealed the deal. Not to mention he’d had another opening available and had offered to give it to Michael if I’d come. It was the best decision of my life.

  Michael walked in shortly after I did, and I held up the bag of scones. “Grab one,” I told him.

  Brow furrowed, he looked at the bag and then at me. “What’s in it?”

  “A blueberry scone. There’s one for me and one for you.”

  He burst out laughing. “Tired of me taking bites of yours?”

  “Yes, now get yours and stay away from mine.”

  Reaching into the bag, he grabbed his scone and smiled. “Thanks, darling.”

  “You’re welcome.” We walked to the break room and sat down at the table with Wilford and Margerie. Wilford was pushing sixty-five, with the whitest hair I’d ever seen; it was almost blinding. Margerie was in her sixties, too, with short gray hair and glasses that looked like she’d worn them since the fifties.

  “Good morning, kids,” Wilford greeted us happily.

  “What’s got you in a good mood this morning?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “Just enjoying life, my dear. Has either of you seen Jeremiah this morning?”

  Michael nodded toward the door. “He pulled in just as I was walking in.”

  “Great,” he said. “Looks like we’re going to have a busy day.” Then he focused on me. “How are the puppies doing?”

  I sipped on my latte and cleared my throat. “Michael and I examined them, and then Amanda took them home. I’m positive they’ll pull through. She should be here with them soon.”

  “I’m glad you were able to save them. Have you talked to Kellie about taking them in?”

  I shook my head. “Not yet, but I will today.” Kellie Spence was his granddaughter; she owned the animal shelter, Furever Yours, that was connected to the clinic. She was a pro at finding people to adopt and foster animals.

  The intercom beeped and Jessica’s voice came through the speakers. She was one of our nurses and worked mainly with Jeremiah. “Dr. Briggs, your eight-thirty appointment is here.”

  Michael finished his scone and stood. “Thanks, Jessica. Is Charity here?” The nurses rotated among the doctors, but Charity Kerrigan was Michael’s main assistant. Amanda was my favorite.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Do you mind getting her to take them back? I’ll get started early.”

  “Will do,” she said. “Oh, and Dr. Bentley, you have a call on line one.”

  Wilford started for the door. “I’ll take it in my office. Thanks.”

  Margerie followed him out of the break room while I hurried to finish my scone. Jeremiah walked in just as we were both about to head out. “What’s up, guys?” He put his bottles of water in the refrigerator and finished off his coffee.

  “Nothing much,” I answered. “Did you have fun on your day off?”

  “I did. A couple of my buddies and I went to the Whitewater Center,” he replied, winking slyly. He knew I loved that place. Jeremiah Patton was a good-looking man in his early thirties with dark brown hair and brown eyes. He loved to flirt with me, but I knew better than to get involved with a colleague. Occasionally we had lunch together, but that was it.

  Crossing my arms over my chest, I pretended to be peeved. “I am so jealous right now. I might try to get out there this weekend.”

  Michael nudged me with his elbow. “And I’ll go with you.” He headed for the door and stopped. “Oh yeah, do you still want to get a new phone during lunch?”

  “It’d be nice. It shouldn’t take me long.”

  He waved me off. “No worries. I was just going to go to the gym during my lunch hour.”

  “Sounds good. We can do lunch tomorrow if you want.”

  He winked. “Deal. I’ll catch you later.”

  Once he left, Jeremiah and I were left alone in the break room. “What happened to your phone? Didn’t you just get a new one?” he asked.

  I chuckled. “I did, but it broke last night.”

  “That’s a shame. I was going to ask you if you wanted to grab lunch today. I’m dying for that southwestern wrap at the café.”

  I was craving one, too. “I tell you what,” I said, looking at the schedule on the table. “Why don’t I just meet you at the café? It doesn’t look like I’ll be too busy around lunch, so I can always get out of here a little
early, get my phone, and then head back. Does that sound good?”

  Jeremiah smiled. “I’ll see you then.”

  He walked out, and I was about to follow him when a phone started to ring; it was coming from my purse. My heart skipped a beat and I gasped, walking toward it slowly. I hadn’t thought about what I’d do if someone actually called Derek’s phone. I pulled it out and stared at the name that popped up on the screen…Evan Townsend.

  “Wow.” It was strange to think that in my hands I held Derek McLaughlin’s phone, one of the best NFL linebackers in the league, and calling him was another famous football star. No one would ever believe it.

  —

  It didn’t take long to get my new phone, and I was able to meet Jeremiah on time. Lunch with him went by quickly, and I was glad for that. Though he was always interested in my personal life, there wasn’t much to tell. I worked and I went home. All of my friends were back in Raleigh, but I’d thought I’d be okay with Michael by my side. Now he was leaving, and I’d be by myself.

  “Are you thinking about moving back to Raleigh, too?” Jeremiah asked.

  We still had ten minutes before we needed to get back to the clinic, so we took our time walking back. “I don’t know,” I said with a shrug. “I like it here. It’s going to suck being without Michael, but I know he’s ready to move on to bigger things.”

  “And you don’t want to?”

  “Not really. I wanted to find a small-town practice to work in. I just wish my family was closer. Three hours isn’t a long way away, but it’s not like I can get off of work and go see them at a moment’s notice.”

  He nodded. “I understand. My parents live in Charlotte, so they’re close by.”

  “Lucky.” We laughed and he opened the door to the clinic, waiting on me to enter. “Thanks,” I said in passing. He followed me to the break room, where I dropped off my purse.

  “If you ever want to go to the Whitewater Center or hiking, you can always call me. I know you like doing that kind of stuff.” His eyes sparkled, and I couldn’t help but smile. If the situation were different, I probably would date him.