Best of Three (Counting on Love) (15 page)

Nate was supposed to cover Ryan. Instead he put his head down and went straight ahead, Conner in his sights.

The next thing he felt was a brick wall hitting his chest right before his ass hit the ground. The next thing he heard was Shane Kelley saying, “I don’t think so.”

“Hell, yeah!” he heard Conner shout.

Nate turned to see the football fall perfectly into Ryan’s outstretched arms.

“What the fuck?” Brian yelled, stomping toward Nate.

Nate rose slowly, stretching to his full height and faced Brian squarely. “Back off, Axel.”

“You missed your cover.”

“Yep.”

“That’s bullshit, Sullivan.”

“Get over it.” He shoved Brian.

That didn’t go over well. As expected.

Brian shoved Nate back, Nate grabbed Brian’s jersey and they went at it for the ten seconds it took their teammates to jump in and pull them apart.

“Get your head out of your ass,” Brian said as Cody shoved him the opposite direction from Nate.

That was exactly what he needed to do.

The offense huddled again and Nate took the opportunity to catch the eye of one of his defensive brothers. He tipped his head toward Shane. Travis, the lineman, nodded his understanding. Travis would take on Shane, giving Nate a chance to get through the line.

Theoretically.

They lined up, Conner called the play and they snapped the ball. Travis charged Shane, blocking the bigger man, allowing Nate to dart to the right and spin. Shane shouted, but Nate was already on Conner. He knocked their quarterback to the ground with a satisfying thud.

It was, of course, understood by everyone that the quarterback didn’t get hit in practice.

Even if they didn’t go at him full force, injuries could occur and they needed Conner to be in top shape.

Then again, they had several weeks of practice before league play started. He’d have time to heal.

Nate stood over Conner. “How do you feel?”

“Like you’re a jackass,” Conner told him. He pushed himself to his feet as Shane grabbed the collar of Nate’s jersey and spun him around.

“What the fuck, Sullivan?” Shane asked.

“You missed your block,” Nate told him calmly.

“The hell if I did. Your boy Travis missed
his
to come after me.”

“And you don’t think an opponent would quickly figure out that you’re the guy to get rid of if they want to get to Dixon?” Nate asked.

“Take it easy, guys,” Cody said, putting a hand on Shane’s shoulder.

Cody was a running back and smaller than Shane, but he could at least slow the guy down.

“What the hell?” Ryan asked, pushing in to where his friends were gathered.

The rest of the team was likely wondering all the same what-the-fuck and is-Sullivan-crazy stuff, but they would let Shane, Ryan and Cody handle it. The five guys were a team within the team. They didn’t just play together, they worked together too. All being in emergency services—a cop, a firefighter, a trauma surgeon and two paramedics—they had a lot of opportunity to spend time together working in sometimes tense situations where they had to depend on and trust each other. When the five of them were on a scene, everyone else knew that letting them take the lead together would guarantee the best outcome. They were a hell of a team, on and off the football field and they often chose to blow off steam together socially too.

“I was mixing things up, keeping everyone on their toes,” Nate said.

“I’m talking about Conner’s ankle,” Ryan said.

Nate turned back to find Conner limping as he tried to step on his left ankle.

Okay, he could take Conner out of practice for that. He wasn’t the team physician, but during practice, when Doc Porter wasn’t there, Nate filled in.

“You should rest that,” he said to Conner.

“Fuck that.” Conner tried to step down again, winced and pulled his foot up. “Dammit, Sullivan.”

“You’re not going to make me actually test and treat you, are you?” Nate asked.

Dammit. He wanted Conner to sit out the rest of the day. That was it. Nate didn’t want him hurt. And Nate didn’t want to have to treat something he’d caused. Then he would feel like shit. All because of Emma. That girl really did cause a lot of trouble.

“No, you’re not treating me,” Conner said with a scowl. “I don’t know what your problem is but you’re hitting like you’re out for blood today. Stay the hell away from me.”

Nate sighed. “Let me look at it.”

“No. Hell no.” Conner stepped down again, this time able to bear weight. “I tweaked it. It’s fine.”

“I’ll hold him down for you, Doc,” Shane said, giving Conner a grin. “It’d be my pleasure.”

“All of you stay away from me.” Conner limped a few steps away.

“What’s with him and you now?” Cody asked. “I thought he was all for you and Isabelle living together?”

Shane laughed at that. “Conner’s not all for anything having to do with his friends and his sisters. Iz and I are going to live together, period. Conner’s telling himself he’s fine with it because we’re engaged. But now that it’s real, he’s hating it. And me a little bit.”

Shane didn’t look particularly fazed by that. Shane never had been particularly fazed by Conner’s feeling regarding Shane being with Conner’s sister. He’d fallen hard and fast for Isabelle and only humored Conner because it made things easier on everyone if Conner felt he still had some say in Isabelle’s life.

Shane had joined the Hawks the year after Nate, Cody, Ryan and Conner had been added to the roster. He was a hell of a player and probably the best cop in the city. The guys had quickly learned to trust and respect him on scenes and on the football field. But Shane had set his sights on Isabelle almost from day one, so he and Conner’s rapport had been…interesting from the very beginning.

“You need to look at his ankle,” Ryan said to Nate. He was watching Conner limp away.

Nate sighed. “Fuck. Fine.”

“I’ll help you hold him down,” Ryan said with a grin at Shane.

Ryan was also involved with one of Conner’s sisters. He was a member of Conner’s paramedic crew so they spent long shifts together even outside of the football team. Where there might not be an emergency scene that called the guys all together for weeks at a time, Ryan and Conner saw each other almost every day.

But Ryan didn’t rub it in with Conner like Shane did.

Nate studied these men. Maybe he should take notes. If he was going to be involved with Emma… He shut that down right away. He was not going to be involved with Emma in any way that her brother needed to know—or worry—about. It wouldn’t be long lasting, no matter what it turned into.

Cody started after Conner. “I’ll get him. He’s not pissed at me.”

“You sure?”

Cody stopped and turned back to Shane. “Why do you ask? Why would he be mad at me?”

“You spend a lot of time with Olivia. His
baby
sister.” Shane lifted a shoulder. “So, I’m asking.”

Cody pinned him with a serious stare. “Olivia and I are
friends
. And she works for me. I can’t be messing around with her.”

Cody was the fire chief at Fire House Three and Olivia was his administrative assistant. The way Nate understood it, Cody and Conner had been friends since college. Cody had known the Dixons longer than anyone.

Ryan shook his head. “I don’t know. There are all kinds of workplace romances that go on. Sex on desks, on copy machines, in coat closets…”

Cody shifted his weight from one foot to the other and cleared his throat. “None of that’s happening.”

Nate grew interested too. Cody looked really uncomfortable.

“You’re right. Your workplace is a little different. You having sex with Olivia in a fire truck, Madsen?” Shane asked.

Cody looked over to where Conner was standing. “Shut the fuck up, Kelley.”

“You
are
?” Ryan asked. “I knew it. Amanda said no way, but I knew there was something going on.”

Cody stalked back over to where they were standing. “No,” he said, his voice low. “Olivia and I are not having sex
anywhere
, but I don’t even want my name, Olivia’s and the word sex mentioned in the same sentence around Conner. You two are giving him enough headaches.” He shoved Ryan back.

Ryan laughed. “All I know is that if I was spending that much time with Amanda and trying
not
to be attracted to her, it would make it even worse.”

Cody shook his head. “We’re friends,” he repeated.

“No worries,” Shane said, slapping Cody on the back. “She can’t be interested anyway.”

Cody scowled at him. “Why not?”

“Because you know the movie
P.S. I Love You
by heart, you’ve spent the night on her couch a dozen times and never made a move, and I know her dirty little secret,” Ryan said.

Cody frowned, looking back and forth between Shane and Ryan. “What dirty little secret?”

“That
you’re
the one who makes those fudge peanut butter brownies she’s famous for at the fire house,” Ryan said.

“
You
make those?” Nate asked. Those brownies rocked. He’d heard the firefighters gushing about them and he’d teased Olivia enough about not having any at the hospital that she’d finally brought some down.

Cody slugged Ryan in the arm. “So what? We bake together. Big deal. And how do you know I’ve spent the night and not made a move?”

“Olivia told Amanda,” Ryan said. “And I guess she sounded disappointed when she said it.”

Cody stared at him, clearly unsure what to say to that.

Nate grinned. The guy liked Olivia. It was clear. Of course, getting involved with one of Conner’s sisters would be most complicated for Cody as Conner’s long-time trusted friend.

Conner joined them. “What the fuck are you all talking about? Can we get back to practice?”

“We’re talking about how you’re not mad at Cody because he’s not sleeping with any of your sisters,” Ryan said, with a huge grin.

Conner frowned at them all suspiciously. “
That’s
the topic of conversation?”

“Well, you won’t listen to us because we’re making Amanda and Isabelle happy,” Shane said. “Apparently, you want your sisters unhappy and—”

“If you say horny or unfulfilled or anything else about sex, I will knock you on your ass, star offensive lineman or not,” Conner warned Shane.

Shane laughed. “I was going to say cranky, but yeah, I guess that has to do with sex. Isabelle gets cranky when she’s not getting any. Not that that happens much.”

Ryan nodded. “Amanda too.”

Nate bit his lip. Hard. Emma got cranky about not getting her way sexually too. But he was
not
supposed to know that.

“You’re right. I’m mad at both of you,” Conner said. He scowled at Cody.

Cody held up his hands. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. I’m not sleeping with any of your sisters.”

“But you won’t take Emma off my hands.”

Nate’s spine went straight and stiff. What the hell?

Shane laughed. “What’s that mean?”

Cody sighed. “Conner’s been
joking
about me hooking up with Emma and trying to settle her down.”

“Sit down, Dixon,” Nate said firmly. Joke or not, he didn’t want to think about any guys hooking up with or settling Emma down. He liked her…unsettled. “I want to look at the ankle. Or I’ll have Coach bench you.”

Conner gave him a dark look, but Nate’s tone and threat were serious and Conner knew that. He dropped onto the grass and stretched his leg out.

Nate crouched by Conner’s feet, pulled his shoe off, not necessarily gently, and peeled off his sock. Nate began prodding the tissues around the joint.

“You would be okay with Cody dating Emma?” Shane asked. “Seriously?”

“Emma needs to be tied to one guy,” Conner said.

“It’s okay for
Emma
to date one of your friends, but not Amanda or Isabelle or Olivia?” Nate asked, digging into the lateral ligaments that he was fairly certain Conner had strained.

“Ow! Fuck,” Conner bitched. Then he shrugged. “One guy, even if it’s a friend, would be preferable to her changing men as easily and often as she changes shoes.”

Nate frowned. He didn’t like that analogy at all. He looked at Cody. “Why haven’t you taken him up on it?”

Cody shook his head. “Uh, no thank you. Emma’s great but she exhausts me. She’d be a handful.”

Well…yeah.

“Exactly why Emma’s the one I need some help with,” Conner said. “I’ve only got two hands and twenty-four hours in a day. I need some backup.”

Nate rotated Conner’s ankle in a way that would twinge those ligaments if they were inflamed.

“Ow! Dammit, Doc.”

Yep, definitely a ligament strain.

“I’m not man enough for Emma,” Cody decided.

Shane and Ryan laughed. Cody had plenty of women who thought he was more than man enough…for pretty much anything. He’d autographed his share of cleavage. Apparently, there was something women liked about firefighters.