City of Champions (16 page)

"Hey, Gabe, what's up?" Wyatt said, as he clicked his cell phone onto speaker mode and placed it on his coffee table, freeing his hands up to wrap one of his sister's Christmas presents.

Wyatt had spent most of his day off like this — trying to distract himself while he waited to hear what Jenna would tell his team. His agent had told him the team was informed her report was coming through today, and he'd been wound up ever since.

He told himself that was why he pulled up the only picture of her he could find on the Internet and stared at it for longer than was probably necessary.

Her hospital biography picture didn't really do her justice, but it was good enough to occupy his attention in his quiet house on Washington's Landing. It was a small cluster of homes and townhomes on an island in the Allegheny River that was once the site of industrial pollution, but now had been revitalized into a clean and stunning private haven complete with wildlife and trees, even though it was deep in the heart of the city.

Usually, its quiet beauty reminded Wyatt of when he was very young growing up on Lake Travis. Right then it just made him feel like a caged animal, desperate to escape and grab his own future in his claws and not let it go. Instead, he could only wait — and talk to his agent.

"It looks like you don't have the kind of irresistible force over women you thought, Wyatt."

"Shit. That doesn't sound good."

"Jenna Sutherland supplied her diagnosis."

"And?" Wyatt asked, even though he had a sick dread in his stomach that showed he already knew the outcome.

"Surgery, with six to eight months of recovery. And she suggested a change in your playing style to prevent future injury and improve your stats. The GM ate it up. She's some kind of football savant apparently."

"Yeah, she appears to be," he answered morosely, feeling his jaw tightening.

"She's not wrong, you know. Her tips sounded pretty good actually."

"You're just full of good news today, aren't you? I heard some of her ideas, I thought they were good, too. But the only idea that matters is that she said surgery. Do you know anything else?"

"I know that management is definitely on the fence about you. They'll wait until the end of the season to decide what to do with you, but if you go out for surgery — there's really no telling what will happen. I've already gotten calls from other teams."

"A third team in three years?"

"Right. And this transition would be to a backup position. Pittsburgh could kick you down to backup, too."

"Hell, no."

"You could move up to starting QB from there, if you prove yourself — for the Roughnecks, or some other team. Nobody wants to take a chance on you right now, Wy. A pay cut and backup position is much safer for any team that's considering you. Maybe you should think about it, too."

"I'm in my ninth year. That's when I'm supposed to be finally hitting my stride. How would surgery and being second string affect our other plans? My endorsements, modeling, broadcasting?"

"It won't help them. I also talked to my friends at
Fox Sports
and
ESPN
. They liked your off-season appearances on their NFL shows, but I won't lie — they usually want someone that's gone out with a bang, not a whimper. At least gone to the championships. Play-offs aren't enough. I'll keep hooking you up with modeling gigs and endorsements, but if your plan is to support your family after you retire…I think we need to have another idea — a Plan B."

Wyatt looked at Jenna's
UPMC
biography picture again and then at Claudia's half-wrapped gift. It was a key chain for the car he planned to buy her in honor of the holiday and graduating early. It would be a safe, reliable car that would take care of her for years — just like he wanted to do, for her, and the rest of his family.

He steeled himself for what he had to do. Maybe he hadn't been able to persuade Dr. Sutherland yet, but he could still push harder. Even if he wasn't sure how it would turn out, he had to try — there was nothing else for him to do.

"Are you still there, Wy?"

"I already have a Plan B, Gabe. I'll get started on it now."

"Wyatt, what are you thinking? If it has to do with bothering that surgeon, give it up. You didn't affect her opinion this time. You don't really think you can get her to change it, do you?"

"Don't worry about it. Just keep trying to figure out what Pittsburgh wants to do. If they have anyone else in mind to take my position and who it is, okay?"

"Dammit, Wyatt…"

"Talk to you later, Gabe, bye."

"Fine. Bye."

Wyatt knew Gabe was pissed at him, but he couldn't worry about that now. Instead he dialed Jenna's number, trying his damnedest to ignore the tightening in his stomach that happened as he waited — hoped — she would answer.

This wasn't about fun — it was all business, he assured himself. It was time to see if Dr. Sutherland was in the mood for a little holiday ice skating. He figured women were into that kind of thing, or at least he was hoping this one was. 

CHAPTER EIGHT

Wyatt was wrapping up a lengthy round of photographs and autograph signings with eager young kids, all of whom were clearly ecstatic for a chance to meet their football heroes, when he saw Jenna watching him seriously from the edge of the rink, her gloved hands clutching the railing.

Nestled in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh's Market Square, this holiday ice rink with its centerpiece of a Christmas tree was a perfect scene to melt Dr. Sutherland's icy barrier to him, but it was his own that he felt breaking down. There was no denying he was attracted to her. She was dressed simply, but even in jeans and a winter coat, she was downright distracting.

The kids began to skate around the rink, giving Wyatt a chance to take a break and talk to her.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here. How are you, Doc?"

"Hello, Wyatt. You know you're the one who invited me, right?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"I'm just surprised to see you came after all. I figured you'd back out. I think I'm growing on you."

"It appears so — kind of like a fungus."

"All right. I'll take it," he laughed. "I'm glad you came to see me."

"Maybe I agreed to come because I wanted to remove the element of surprise. If you're going to keep popping up in my yoga classes, who's to say you won't appear somewhere else — maybe at the Giant Eagle when I'm out getting groceries?"

"Nah, I'm an Austin, Texas boy, I go to the Whole Foods here. That's my hometown store after all. But if you ever shop there, let me know, I'll meet you at the salad bar."

"Another intriguing offer. But I like this one — who can resist an ice skating rink with a big Christmas tree? And I love kids."

"Good, then I guessed right."

"You did, but I have to say,
I'm actually surprised you called. I figured you'd disappear after I submitted my opinion. I'm sorry about that, Wyatt. It wasn't personal, I really did take into account all your worries, but it's what's best for you…"

She looked down at her hands and it seemed like she honestly did regret having to deliver news that was so devastating to him. Though, he couldn't let that mean anything to him except that he might be able to get her to reconsider her decision.

He touched her chin for just a moment and turned her face up to look at him. "Hey, you aren't getting soft on me, are you?" he teased, until she shook her chin out of his hand and released a laugh.

"No, never. I'm tough," she said, with a small smile.

"Look, don't feel bad. You were just doing your job. This is my way of saying there are no hard feelings. Who knows, maybe you'll find out you can even enjoy spending some time with me."

"True, who knows?"

"Pretty good event, huh?"

"It is. But there's really no press here?" she asked, looking around a bit nervously.

"You don't trust me?"

"It's not that, it's just, I hate the idea of a lot of attention. I like to live a pretty private life."

"Then this is perfect. It's just for the kids, no publicity, and it wasn't even announced, so you should be safe with me."

"Thanks. I don't know how you guys do it."

"What, ice skate?" he asked with a half-smile.

"No, silly."

"Hmm, you think I'm silly now, do you? That seems like an improvement…"

"Oh, stop, I just meant how do you deal with all the attention. Never being able to go out for a gallon of milk without people trying to get your autograph or take a picture of you with their phones… Just the thought of it makes me feel so…exposed."

"Now don't go talking about you being exposed, you wouldn't want to get me all worked up in public, would you?"

Jenna rolled her eyes at him, but she smiled before continuing her thought.

"I mean, anyone can find you anywhere."

Wyatt leaned across the railing and said softly, "I'm not worried. I'm tough, too." He leaned back and looked at her, adding, "Besides, that's how my life has always been. You begin almost not to notice the attention anymore. Though I won't lie — I do try to have privacy when I can find it."

"Hey, Wyatt, come here, it's time to skate with the kids," he heard his friend, J.J. yell from the other end of the rink. Wyatt looked back at Jenna apologetically.

"I'll be okay, get out there. I was promised to get to see you guys skate around with kids, you better get to it."

"You got it, Doc," he said confidently, and skated away.

Wyatt spent the next twenty minutes with some of the nicest kids he'd ever met. Each of them was selected for being an "at-risk" youth, and this was clearly the making of a great moment in their lives. He felt a pang of guilt for never doing more of these things. They had always seemed like a distraction from his ultimate goal of "get in and get out" in the NFL, without becoming too emotionally involved.   For all Wyatt knew, these events were just another example of the league's rabbit hole that had taken his father.

Yet, he couldn't help but think that there was nothing bad about this — and it didn't hurt that a certain pink-nosed blonde was watching him the whole time.

Taking a quick break, he skated over to her and asked, "What do you think, Doc? Look at what great condition I'm in."

"You do move pretty well out there."

"A compliment? I'm shocked. So you don't completely hate me then?"

"Of course not. Just because I don't want to sleep with you, doesn't mean I hate you."

"Hey, you're the one who brought up sleeping together. Besides, you don't have to sleep with me. That's optional. Though I think you'd enjoy it." She raised an eyebrow at him wearily. "Fine, well admit this, Doc — maybe you don't hate me, but I have to think you refusing to sleep with me isn't a
good
thing."

"It just means that I'm a careful person. Yes, I want to have fun and enjoy my life. But I live a quiet life and I have goals that aren't really conducive to a tryst with a Wyatt McCoy type."

"I'm not asking you to go out with a
'Wyatt McCoy type.'
I'm asking you to
spend time
with
me
."

"Type or not, going out with you is still a bad idea. I have ethical obligations as your doctor."

"Oh, no you don't. Your consult is done. You said so yourself. You aren't my doctor, unless your opinion is subject to change?"

Wyatt cringed a little at his own obviousness.

Don't push too hard, you don't want her to catch on to you,
he thought.
Besides, I'm kind of enjoying this time with her. Even when she's giving me a hard time.

"My opinion won't change, I feel pretty confident in it. Besides, I just don't like you in that way."

His heart sank and desperation started to take root again, but he tried to focus on the appealing side of his personality, wishing it would overcome the panic in his chest. The oddest part was that being with her actually made acting like a charming man extremely easy, seeing as one of the things he'd always relied on was his ability to be a calculating son of a bitch.

The part he had to focus harder on was reminding himself he was just acting. It was surprisingly difficult, seeing as how he was enjoying this time with her way too much.

"In what way
do
you like me, Doc?" Wyatt leaned over Jenna, pressing his waist against the railing surrounding the rink and whispered in her ear, "Let me guess. You had a crush on the captain of the football team and he never noticed you. He was a fool. I would have totally made your 80’s movie teen dreams come true."

He felt a surge of pride at seeing a smile quirk at the corners of Jenna's reluctant lips.