Defending Hayden: A Second Chances Novel Read online

  “Let’s see…I don’t think you’re the type to want to stay in an office. Suits and ties don’t seem like your thing.” She was right there. “But I see you wanting to be adventurous. You protect your team, and I can tell that being protective is part of your passion. You’re strong, so your strength should definitely be utilized. With that being said, I’d say you majored in some kind of criminal justice?”

  Chuckling, I sat up and faced her. “You got half of it right. I did major in criminal justice, but my main goal was getting a degree in wildlife management and forestry. I want to be a park ranger.”

  Her eyes lit up. “I can totally see you doing that.”

  “Hopefully I’ll have several more years of football before that. I don’t want it to end just yet.”

  “I still need to watch you play.”

  “How about next weekend? It’s our first home game. I can get you the best seats in the house.” She looked at me and bit her lip, her chest rising and falling with her breaths. When she didn’t answer, I knew something was wrong. “Hayden?”

  Averting her gaze, she looked down at the grass and picked at it. “Is all of this just part of the bet we made, or do you really want me to be there with you? As much as I like you and enjoy your company, I don’t want to be another conquest. I’ll be more than happy to come to your game, but I don’t want to be someone you forget after the week is done. I’m already losing my best friend in a couple of weeks. I don’t want to get my heart broken.”

  I grabbed her hand to keep her from making a gaping hole in my yard. Being just friends with her wasn’t what I really wanted, but it was clearly either that or nothing. “I’m not going to break your heart, because I’m not going to ask for it. I don’t want you trusting me with something that precious. As far as being friends, I meant it. After I win the bet, I plan on keeping in touch with you.”

  She scoffed and tossed a handful of grass at me. “I should’ve known not to make a bet with you.”

  I winked at her. “You’ll know next time.”

  Sighing, she looked up at the sky and then back into my eyes. “I’ll come to your game. But if you don’t win, I won’t ever go to another one.”

  “Then I guess we’ll just have to win.”

  Chapter 11

  Hayden

  “I can’t believe your boyfriend is a freaking superstar,” Amanda exclaimed.

  “Shh…don’t talk so loud. He’s not my boyfriend. We’re just friends,” I corrected her.

  She shook her head, gawking at me incredulously. “Friends don’t talk to each other like you do. Plus, he’s getting away from practice to come eat lunch with you. Just a friend doesn’t do that.”

  “Michael and I do. We eat lunch together all the time.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You and Dr. Briggs have known each other since you were in diapers. Besides, he’s gay. He doesn’t count.”

  “I’m glad to see my sexual orientation comes up in your conversations,” Michael said, waltzing into the room. The second I’d left Derek’s house on Sunday, I’d called Michael and told him everything. He didn’t believe that Derek and I could keep things on a friend level. I was determined to prove him wrong.

  Amanda turned bright red and cleared her throat. “Sorry, Dr. Briggs. I was just stating a fact.”

  He waved her off. “I already know the story. I’m just glad I get to finally meet him. He is coming here to pick you up, right?” he asked, turning to face me.

  “Who’s coming?” Jeremiah asked.

  I threw my hands in the air. “Looks like everyone’s going to know my personal business by the end of the day.”

  Amanda burst out laughing. “Dr. Hunter, everyone in this city will know once you’re in the public eye. The media will have a field day with this. You’ll be in the papers, tabloids, you name it.”

  The thought terrified me. I hadn’t thought about what would happen if Derek and I started making appearances. “Shit,” I grumbled under my breath. “You’re right.”

  “Who are we talking about?” Jeremiah asked, his gaze darting back and forth. I could sense his jealousy and hoped like hell there wouldn’t be a problem.

  Michael patted him on the shoulder. “Hayden started spending time with Derek McLaughlin. He’s coming to take her out to lunch.”

  Jeremiah’s jaw tensed. “Is he, now? I guess that means we all get to meet him.” He put his bottles of water in the refrigerator and walked out of the room without a single acknowledgment to me. I guessed he was pissed.

  It was time for my first patient, so Amanda hurried off out of the room, leaving me and Michael alone. “Looks like you broke ole Jeremiah’s heart,” he said, laughing.

  I blew out a frustrated breath. “Hopefully he’ll get over it.”

  “I don’t know. He’s been hard up for you for a while.”

  “Thanks for the encouragement,” I said, hitting him on the arm.

  “You’re welcome, babe. Just make sure you don’t leave for lunch without introducing me.”

  I kissed him on the cheek. “I won’t. Now get to work.”

  Three days had passed, and Derek had lived up to his word. Every morning he texted me a simple Good morning and now he was going to eat lunch with me. Everything we were doing wasn’t exactly what friends would do, but I had to keep it that way. He’d specifically said he didn’t want my heart. Though it had hurt to hear, it was for the best. But dammit to hell, I wanted more.

  I started to walk out into the hall and stopped when Amanda caught me by the arm, pulling me back inside. “What are you doing?” I asked her.

  She handed me a chart and I looked inside. She said, “Mrs. Jenkins is here with her beagle, Lady. Do you remember them?”

  I nodded, thinking back to the time when Mrs. Jenkins had brought in Lady after she was bitten by a snake. The poor dog had been through a lot and managed to live through it. “Yes, I remember,” I said.

  “Well, the poor thing has a growth on her throat. I’m not the expert, but it looks like a thyroid carcinoma. I wanted to give you a heads-up before you go in there. Mrs. Jenkins is really upset.”

  “Thanks, Amanda, I appreciate that. I’ll go now.” I’d seen many dogs and cats with that form of cancer, and there was a good chance of survival if the growth could be removed. If not, they had to go through chemotherapy.

  “They’re in room three.”

  Holding the chart to my chest, I knocked on the door and entered. With a tear-streaked face, Mrs. Jenkins looked up at me, and my heart broke. “Good morning, Mrs. Jenkins,” I murmured softly. Lady was in her arms, and I could see the growth on her neck. It wasn’t large enough to restrict her breathing, but in another few weeks it probably would be.

  “I wish it were a good morning, Dr. Hunter.”

  I set the chart down and sat across from her. “Looks like Lady’s been through a lot the past couple of years.”

  She snorted. “Tell me about it. My baby can’t catch a break.”

  “When did you notice the growth?” I asked.

  She blew out a frustrated sigh. “Let’s see…it started coming up a couple of weeks ago, and I thought it was just a bug bite. The bugs around here must love her, because she gets bites on her all the time and they go away. But this one hasn’t gone anywhere; it just steadily gets bigger.” She rubbed behind Lady’s ears and kissed her nose. “She doesn’t seem to be in any pain. That’s why I didn’t rush her here sooner. But now that it’s grown, I wanted to get her checked out.”

  I rubbed Lady’s head, smiling when she licked me. “We’ll get you fixed up, little Lady.”

  “What do you think it could be?” Mrs. Jenkins asked. “And don’t sugarcoat it. I want to know what you really think.”

  Lifting Lady’s chin, I felt around the tumor, knowing very well what it was even without the CT scans. “Mrs. Jenkins, I can’t give you a formal answer without running some tests, but from the looks of it, I’d say Lady has what we call a thyroid carcinoma. It’s a cancer t
hat is very common in cats and dogs.”

  “Can it be treated?”

  “Yes. Depending on what we find from the tests, we’ll be able to determine if we can operate or if we’ll need to administer chemotherapy. We won’t know until after we examine her more thoroughly.”

  Sniffling, she held Lady close to her chest. “Will you be able to do that today?”

  I nodded. “I’ll do everything this afternoon, and you can come pick her up. Once I know what it is, we’ll figure out a course of action.” Tears streamed down her cheeks, and my chest ached. I remembered the day I’d felt the tumor in my cat’s stomach. She’d been sick for months, but I’d wanted to hold on to her for as long as I could. I was selfish and couldn’t bear to be without her. That same day, I’d put her down so she wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. That was one of the reasons I hadn’t had any animals since her.

  Mrs. Jenkins got to her feet and so did I. “Do I just hand her to you?”

  “Not unless you want to follow me to the back and lay her down in a kennel. You can say goodbye to her there. I’ll make sure she’s comfortable while she’s here.” Opening the door, I led her down the hall to the back room that housed all of our patients. I picked out a smaller kennel with a nice, fluffy bed. “I think Lady will like this one,” I suggested.

  Mrs. Jenkins nodded and gently placed Lady inside. “I think so, too. Will you call me when the tests are done?”

  “Of course.” She said goodbye to Lady and walked with me to the front. “Take care, Mrs. Jenkins. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  She shook my hand. “Thanks, Dr. Hunter.”

  As soon as Mrs. Jenkins was gone, Amanda rushed up to me. “So what do you think about Lady?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know, but I’m hopeful. Let’s get these tests done and find out.”

  —

  For the rest of the morning, I went back and forth from Lady to my other patients. Luckily, the rest were simple exams, but there was an old German shepherd that had to be put down. I loved animals, and having to take their lives hurt my heart every time, especially when the owners took it hard. I’d never mastered the art of distancing myself from the pain. Jeremiah and Michael could do it, but I hadn’t developed the thick skin. I probably never would.

  Time started edging closer to lunch, and I needed the break; I was ready to see Derek. Once I heard the intercom beep in my office, I knew it was time. “Dr. Hunter,” Jessica announced giddily.

  “Yes,” I replied, trying to keep from laughing.

  “Derek is here for you.”

  “Thank you. I’ll be up there in a second.”

  “Take your time,” she said in a sultry voice.

  Just the thought of her up there working her charm on Derek made my stomach clench. Jessica was young, beautiful, and could get any man to turn his attention to her. I took off my lab coat and ran a brush quickly through my hair. Before I could walk out, Michael brushed past and winked back at me.

  “Looks like it’s time to meet the boyfriend,” he announced.

  “He’s not my boyfriend, Michael. Now, don’t embarrass me.”

  He laughed. “Why not? I have lots of funny stories to tell him.”

  And he did. Michael knew everything about me, including the time I ran into a tree and broke my nose; that wasn’t one of my glorious moments. Michael waited for me to join him and we walked up to the front together. Derek waited by the front door, and when he saw me, he smiled. His auburn hair was covered by a University of Tennessee hat, and he had on a pair of khaki shorts and a navy T-shirt. I thought I’d find him at the front desk talking to Jessica, but he paid her no mind.

  “Hey,” I greeted him.

  “Hey yourself. You ready to go?”

  I placed my hand on Michael’s arm. “Yeah, but I want you to meet my friend Michael, the one I told you about the other night.”

  Michael held out his hand and Derek shook it. “It’s nice to meet you,” Michael said.

  “Likewise. Hayden has said nothing but great things about you.”

  Michael nudged me in the side, a sly smile on his face when he winked. “That’s because she loves me.”

  Laughing, I rolled my eyes and grabbed Derek’s arm. “Come on, let’s go.”

  “Wait! I want to meet him,” Amanda shouted, racing around the corner. She straightened her scrubs and rushed up to us, her eyes full of excitement. “I’m Amanda.” She held out her hand and Derek shook it.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Amanda. I’m Derek.”

  I looked up at him. “She’s my assistant.”

  “Ah, I see. Does she work you hard?” he asked her.

  Nodding, she put her arm around me. “Yes, but she’s amazing.”

  “That she is,” he agreed, grinning down at me.

  I ignored the butterflies in my belly and tapped my watch. “We have to go so you can get back to practice on time.”

  He waved at everyone and I pulled him out the door. The last thing he needed to do was get caught by Wilford; we’d never leave the office. “Where do you want to eat?” he asked.

  I pointed at the pub just down the street. “Have you ever been there?”

  He shook his head. “You’d think since I live here that I would have, but I haven’t. If I go anywhere, it’s usually to Carolina Tavern. They have the best food around.”

  “I know what you mean. That’s my favorite place around here, but I know we don’t have the time to drive out there.” We stopped in front of the pub and he opened the door. “This place is good, too. You’ll like it.”

  The hostess glanced at us and then did a double take when she noticed Derek. She stared at him for a minute before grabbing our menus. “Just two?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Derek replied.

  She smiled up at him and led us to a table, setting our menus down in front of us. “Your waitress will be right with you.” As soon as we sat down, she rushed off to the bar and whispered something in the bartender’s ear. The guy looked at Derek and nodded.

  “Looks like they recognize you,” I told him.

  Derek glanced over at the bar and waved when they waved at him. “So it seems. As long as they don’t bother us, I’ll be fine. It’d be different if I was with the guys.”

  “How is that?”

  He looked down at the menu and shrugged. “I could care less about people taking up my time when I’m with them. But with you, I don’t want anything interrupting us.”

  “Why not?”

  He lifted his head. “Because I actually want to spend time with you.”

  I shut my menu because I already knew what I wanted. “You might not want to say things like that. We’re just friends, remember?”

  His gaze turned serious. “Even friends can get scared away, Hayden. This is something I wanted to talk to you about, especially before the game this Friday. I just want you to be prepared.”

  “Are you talking about the media?”

  “How did you guess?”

  “Because it’s something I wanted to talk to you about, too. Take, for instance, now—what if people take pictures of us and start speculating?”

  “Is that something you can handle?” he asked, his expression concerned.

  “I guess so. I’ve never known anyone like you. I don’t know what to expect.”

  He started to speak, but then the waitress came by and asked for our orders. As soon as she left, he leaned over the table, his voice low. “There probably will be pictures popping up on the Internet and people wondering who you are. You don’t seem the type to scare easily, but there might be things said that’ll make you think bad of me.”

  “Like what?”

  “How much do you know about me?” he questioned seriously.

  I shrugged. “Not much, other than what you’ve told me about yourself.” And what Michael had told me about the accident, but I didn’t want to get into that.

  “So you haven’t read the tabloids or searched my name on the Internet?”


  “No,” I said with a shake of my head; it was the truth.

  “Do me a favor and don’t. That’s what I meant by even friends can get scared away. Other than the guys on the team and a few from the police department, I don’t have any close friends in North Carolina. It’s nice to be myself and get away from that part of my life. I just need to know that you’ll be able to handle whatever comes your way.”

  He stared at me, waiting for an answer. My palms started to sweat and my heart raced. “I can handle it,” I said, hoping like hell I knew what I was getting into.

  Reaching over the table, he grabbed my hand. “Just promise me you won’t believe anything you hear, see, or read without talking to me first. I don’t want you getting the wrong impression about me.”

  I squeezed his hand. “I promise.” I’d read plenty of newspaper and tabloid articles about celebrities. It was hard to determine what was true and what wasn’t. I figured it had to be the same for high-profile sports players.

  Our waitress brought our food and drinks and my stomach growled. Even though fried food wasn’t the healthiest thing to eat, it sure did smell good. At least I’d ordered a salad to go with my chicken tenders. Derek glanced down at my stomach and chuckled, his mood seeming to lift. I didn’t want to tell him that his concerns had me a little worried, but I couldn’t be scared of something that hadn’t happened yet.

  “Tell me about your morning,” he said, taking a bite of his burger.

  My stomach dropped, the food I’d just swallowed feeling like a brick going down my throat. “Well, let’s see. I had to put down a dog and run tests on one that has cancer.”

  He cringed. “Ouch. That couldn’t have been easy.”

  “It’s not. It breaks my heart when I have to take the life of a loved one or when I have to give the owners bad news.”

  “I bet,” he murmured. “But I know you’re good at what you do.”

  “I try,” I said with a smile. “I just wish I could save them all.”