Slope of Love (Love in Bloom: The Remingtons) (22 page)

“Jayla…”

She blew out a frustrated breath. “Look, I know you didn’t tell me to protect me from stress overload. I get it, okay? But with your history with women, I don’t think there can be any secrets between us. Ever. Not to protect me, not to protect you, and not to protect us as a couple.”

“I agree, but—”

Finally having secured her equipment, she pushed to her feet. “No buts. I trust your feelings for me, and I thought you had always been honest with me about everything. Even the things I didn’t want to hear—like you having sex in the back of someone’s pickup truck while they were driving down the highway.”

He ran his hand down his face, his eyes full of sorrow and maybe even shame.

“But stuff like this makes me wonder if I only thought you had been honest with me. Maybe there’s more I don’t know, and I don’t want to think there is.”

“Jayla, there’s not. There’s nothing. You gotta know that.”

“Maybe I do, but just stop protecting me. I’m a woman, not a child, and the last thing I need is you treating me like I can’t handle something.” She skied toward the kids and paused to take a deep breath. She loved that Rush wanted to protect her, and in equal measure, she hated that he felt he had to. Driving that hate into a little bit of crazy overreaction was the pain in her arm that no one—not even Rush—could protect her from. The realization that she’d kept that pain from him, and that in doing so, she was equally as guilty, gave her a twinge of guilt.

RUSH STEWED OVER the trouble Kelly Baker had caused, and it pissed him off even more knowing that his anger was exactly what she’d wanted to achieve.
Fuck with my girlfriend and make me suffer
. Why did chicks do that? He’d never pine over a woman who didn’t want him. What a waste of energy.
Move on already
. His gaze moved to Jayla, who was watching a group of students practice standing from a fall. He realized that if Jayla ever
really
pushed him away, he’d not only pine like a lost child, but he’d do his damnedest to get her back. The cold shoulder she was giving him at the moment would eventually blow over, but knowing Kelly had started the trouble because of him made him madder than hell.

He managed to make it through the class without letting the stress get the better of him, and when they took the kids up the lift for a last trip down the mountain, he caught up with Jayla.

“Hey, I’m really sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing.”

She held both poles in her left hand and watched the kids lining up along the crest of the hill. “I know you did.”

He touched her lower back on the right side and she sucked in a breath. She was definitely leaning to the left. Her jaw was clenched, and her eyes darted away from his.

“Hey,” he said too harshly. She didn’t want protecting, but he couldn’t goddamn help it.

She snapped her head toward him, wincing at the movement.

“One to ten?” When she didn’t answer, he asked again. “One to ten?”

“I’m competing.” She didn’t give him time to respond. She pushed forward and skied over to the group.

Rush spent the rest of the class fighting the urge to convince Jayla she was making a huge mistake. They were nearing the end of class when he noticed a news crew standing nearby. He glanced at Jayla to try to get her attention, but as she’d been doing all afternoon, anytime he looked over, she looked away. Kelly Baker, however, spent the class moving parallel to him. When he took the kids to the lift, she walked along the path at the bottom of the slope. When they gathered for instructions, she walked over to where they were. He kept her in his peripheral vision for the sole purpose of avoiding coming into contact with her, and as Jayla was doing to him, he avoided eye contact like the plague.

Rush waved the students over, noting how much more confident they were on their skis now than they’d been at the beginning of the workshop. It pained him to see Jeffrey keeping distance between himself and the other skiers, but on the upside, Suzie had made friends with the other kids and had stopped vying for his attention. Taylor leaned in close to Meg and said something he couldn’t hear, and they both looked back at Jeffrey. Rush was not in the mood for Taylor’s antics. He was running on shoestring patience, and Taylor yanked it at every turn.

Jayla took her place beside Rush in front of the group, and he did a quick visual assessment of her. She held both ski poles in her left hand again. Her right arm was bent at the elbow and pressed to her side, and her jaw was clenched tight. She was in pain. Big, honking, unavoidable, competition-threatening pain.

Distracted and feeling like his nerves were on fire, he addressed the kids. “We’re really proud of you guys. You were courageous, you listened well, and you all came out on top, with few falls and no injuries. I’d say that’s a success and you should be proud of yourselves.” Rush glanced at Jayla, offering her a chance to speak.

True to her nature, she pulled her shoulders back—both of them—then looked over at the kids, a forced smile curling the edges of her lips.

“You guys did great. I hope you’ll continue to take more lessons and really hone your skills.” Her voice was softer than normal, her breathing shallow.

She was obviously still angry and in pain.

And I’m not allowed to help
.

Rush returned his attention to the group. “Does anyone have any questions?”

“Who was the best skier?” Taylor slid a nasty look at Jeffrey.

Rush silenced the look with an icy stare. “This wasn’t a competition. You’re all equal.”

“But if you had to choose?” Taylor pushed.

“The best never have to ask,” Jeffrey said, as if he’d been asked. “Only the insecure need verbal acknowledgment.”

Rush glanced at Jayla, but the look was wasted. Her eyes were trained on Kelly Baker, standing a few feet away. If emotions could melt snow, there would be a river running between the two women, and he’d be drowning, dead center.

“Who asked you?” Taylor asked.

Jeffrey stood with his back pin straight, his poles securely in his hands. He blinked up at Taylor as if he’d asked a ridiculous question. “Isn’t that obvious by my response?”

Rush wanted to high-five Jeffrey, but Taylor’s gape-jawed look was celebration enough.

“Competition can be crippling,” Jayla said, surprising Rush. “Let’s not make this workshop about that kind of foolishness. You guys all did great, and as you progress, remember that the only competition you have is with yourself. Just have fun and ski safely.”

Rush smiled. Maybe she was rethinking the competition after all. He hoped so, because the teammate and boyfriend sides of him had merged over the last two hours, and he wanted to take her straight to the hospital to find out what the hell was going on with her shoulder.

The kids thanked them for teaching the workshop and went to the bench at the bottom of the slope to remove their skis. By the time Rush went to find Jayla, she was gone. Thankfully, Kelly Baker was no longer standing nearby. He scanned the area and spotted Kelly standing by the other parents and—
oh shit
—Jayla was heading directly for her.

I DON’T DESERVE this.
Jayla left her skis by the bench and stomped through the snow toward Kelly Baker. She’d had enough of Kelly watching Rush, following him like a puppy as they taught the class and giving her nasty looks.
I’ll be damned if some blond bimbo is going to spread lies about me.
She hated herself for the next thought that popped into her head, but she was in tremendous pain and was battling her own demons about competing, and goddamn it, the thought was true.
Maybe if Kelly Baker would concentrate on her daughter a little more and on Rush—or men in general—a little less, then Suzie wouldn’t be heading down Slut Street with no hopes of being pulled over.

She slowed her pace when she was about twenty feet from Kelly, who was frustratingly prettier up close, which pissed Jayla off even more. When she got close enough to see the red nail polish on Kelly’s fingernails and realize her snake eyes were green, not brown as she’d thought, she thought about her own reputation—
the face of Dove, a role model for young girls—
and stopped cold.

What am I doing?

Kelly’s high-pitched voice sent an icy chill down her back. “Yeah, Jayla might be America’s sweetheart, but what she has in looks, she lacks in teaching skills.”

Jayla breathed harder. Her hands fisted, sending a bolt of pain through her right side. She saw Suzie off to the side, talking with Taylor and Meg and shooting glances at her mother. Jayla took another step toward bold-faced-lie–telling Kelly.

Kelly flipped her hair over her shoulder and locked eyes with Jayla. “But Rush Remington?” She was speaking to another young mother, while narrowing her eyes at Jayla. “Now, that’s a man I wouldn’t kick out of bed for eating crackers. What he’s doing with…” She opened her eyes wide, feigning sudden recognition. “Oh goodness, if it isn’t Rush’s girlfriend.” She dragged her eyes down Jayla with a scowl on her lips, then turned to the other mother and said something Jayla couldn’t hear before the other woman walked away. Kelly set her eyes on Jayla, shedding her beauty like a snake sheds skin.

Jayla closed the distance between them.
I probably should have thought this out better
. Her phone vibrated in her pocket, distracting her from her thoughts. She pressed her palm to her pocket, against the offending sound, and focused on handling the situation she’d come to face. She couldn’t say what she wanted to.
Look, ho, put your claws away before I rip them out with my teeth.
No, that wouldn’t be cool at all. She thought about what Jennifer might say to a student, and in a flash, she knew how to handle Kelly.

“Miss Baker, I understand you have issues with my instructing. I’ve worked diligently with Suzie, and I’d like to address whatever issues you have.”

With a smile on her lips, as if she were telling Jayla how much she loved her outfit, Kelly said, “Careful now, sweetheart. You wouldn’t want the press to hear about how America’s sweetheart is really a nasty, jealous bitch who said heinous things to an innocent bystander.”

“You wouldn’t d—”

“Jayla.” Rush’s hand landed on her shoulder.

She twisted from his grip, sending another shock of pain through her. “I’ve got this, Rush.”

“Jay…”

Her entire body went hot with anger. Her muscles flexed so tight that even turning to face him hurt.

“Please, just go away and let me handle this.” That’s when she saw the reporter she’d noticed earlier, microphone in hand, heading directly for them with a camera already rolling.
Holy crap.

“Mom, what are you doing now?” Suzie’s voice drew her attention back to Kelly.

Suzie. Oh God, Suzie
.

Suzie stood, red faced, with her hands on her hips between Kelly and Jayla. “What are you doing? Why do you always do this?”

Kelly reached for her daughter, who shrugged her off.

“First you sleep with my skating instructor, and now you pull this?” Suzie pointed to Jayla, and Jayla was struck mute and still as a statue. She couldn’t have moved if her life depended on it. “They’re great ski instructors. They helped me ten times more than you ever could.” Suzie stomped off toward the parking lot, leaving Kelly to chase after her and Jayla to feel like a complete ass for letting Kelly get under her skin in the first place. She obviously had bigger issues fueling her inappropriate accusations.

In the next second, the reporter shoved a microphone too close to Jayla’s face. She pulled back, trying to feign a smile and knowing she was too confused to pull it off.

“Jayla, are you ready to compete?” the reporter asked.

She was reeling from the altercation, causing the camera to feel too close and the sun too bright, and she couldn’t keep her eyes from darting around in search of Rush. Definitely not her best moment.

“Yes. I’m looking forward to it.” She focused on the camera and finally managed a smile. “The whole team is ready.”

“How do you feel about the season coming to an end?”

“I’m excited to spend time with family and friends and happy for the success we’ve had.”

By the time she turned away, Rush was gone. She’d sent him away and he’d listened. Damn him. Damn her. Damn Kelly. She was messing everything up again.

She felt her heart crumble inside her chest and realized that the injury that had chased away her sanity was nothing compared to the pain of an aching heart.

WELL, THAT SUCKED
. Being a boyfriend was about a million times harder than Rush had ever imagined. If he had walked into the same scene between Jayla and Kelly a month ago, he would have told Jayla she was off her rocker to think he’d let her handle a situation that had arisen only because of him.
Like hell you will.
That’s what he would have said instead of allowing Jayla to call the shots when her body was riddled with pain. He’d had to walk away. There was no other option. If he’d stayed, he would have spoken his mind—and Jayla would have leveled him for it.

He walked around for thirty minutes, trying to figure out what to do and how to navigate his new role. When that didn’t help, he stopped at the convenience store in the resort and picked up a few things. Now he sat on Jayla’s porch, elbows on knees, hands fidgeting for lack of purpose, and he still had no idea what to do. The coach expected them at practice in half an hour. How the hell would Jayla manage that, given the way she was favoring her shoulder? His hands were tied, and he fricking hated it. He lifted his eyes just as Jayla came around the corner of the resort. She was looking off to the right, and there was no hiding the way her right shoulder drooped. He rose to his feet, wanting to carry her back to the cabin and take care of her, but he didn’t move.

She lifted her eyes and caught sight of him, slowing nearly to a stop. Her mouth opened, but no words came.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi.”

She moved toward him, and he fought the urge to reach for her hand. His pulse kicked up for the awkwardness between them. He searched her eyes for some indication of where they were headed.