Fourth Down (14 page)

Ever since the night after
Thanksgiving when Ford had let me know in no uncertain terms that
we weren’t going to be intimate, he had gone out of his way to be a
good “friend”. He completely ignored my request that he go back to
being mean to me. In fact, he had been nicer than ever. I knew it
wasn’t that he had some sort of nice guy epiphany, because he was
still a total asshole to almost everyone else - his mom and friends
excluded. But I guess I fell into the friend category
now.

It was probably for the best. He was
going on that interview for the coaching job at LSU at the end of
January, and I fully expected him to take the job. Even if he
didn’t accept it yet, his mom would be gone soon. It would be time
for him to get back to going after what he wanted. I knew he was
watching football again, with enthusiasm, and I could see the spark
it brought out in his eyes. Football was what he loved, and if he
couldn’t play it, then coaching would be the next best
thing.

If we had started something, it would
have to end anyway when he left. There was no way I was doing
another long distance relationship. Not that Ford had even wanted a
relationship with me. He was clear that he wasn’t a relationship
sort of guy.

A second knock on my door brought me
out of my Ford-induced stupor. I was still in my pajamas with my
hair in a crazy bun. Oh, well. Anyone knocking on my door this
early would have to take me looking like hell.

Just like when he called me a couple
of months ago, Aiden was the last person I was expecting to see
standing outside my door.

“Hey, Poppy,” he said, shuffling his
feet and looking uncharacteristically unsure of himself. The Aiden
I knew was cocky to a fault.

“Aiden. What are you doing
here?”

“Um…can I come in?”

“No,” I replied. He definitely wasn’t
my favorite person, and I didn’t exactly feel welcoming at the
moment.

“Oh, okay. I understand. Listen,
Poppy. I wanted to say I’m sorry for calling you before, you know,
about the paper. That was way out of line. I’m sorry about a lot of
things where you’re concerned.”

“So, did you find someone else to help
you cheat? Or are you home for good?”

He flinched slightly. “Uh, yeah. I’m
out of Cornell. My parents were beyond pissed when I showed up for
winter break with all my shit in my car. I don’t know what I’m
going to do now, probably take some classes at the college
here.”

My lip curled up in a snarl at his
implication that the college I had been attending for the last
three years was going to have to do now that he’d flunked out of a
“real” school.

“Hey, I didn’t mean it like
that.”

“Whatever, Aiden. I accept your
apology. Is that all?”

He seemed surprised at my snarky
attitude. When we had dated, I had never shown him this side of me.
In fact, I hadn’t shown it to anyone. It seemed Ford had been
rubbing off on me.

“Um, yeah. I guess I’ll just see you
around.”

“Okay,” I said and shut the door
before he had a chance to turn around.

Damn! Now I wasn’t going to have time
to finish my playlist before I had to get ready to go to Ford’s
house. At least Aiden had just given me some more inspiration for
my angry music list.

I jumped in the shower and dried my
hair in record time. It was New Year’s Eve, even if I didn’t have
any fun plans, so I took some extra time to curl my hair in big
loose curls. My favorite jeans and an off the shoulder sweater with
a camisole underneath was good for a day at home, with just a
little bit of sexy for Ford. He was doing his damndest to keep me
in the friend zone, but I couldn’t help wanting to look nice every
time I saw him.

I didn’t have to work on homework, so
I tucked my iPod and a book in my bag and headed out the door.
There was at least a foot of snow on the ground, and the steps were
icy as I made my way carefully to my car. I was concentrating so
hard on the ground in front of me, I didn’t notice Aiden’s car was
still parked behind mine until I reached my car.

I frowned at him as he got out of his
car and walked over to me, slipping and almost falling on his ass
on the way. A small giggle escaped my mouth, and I quickly clamped
my mitten covered hand over it.

He offered me a crooked smile. “I’m
glad I can still make you laugh and not just piss you
off.”

“Why are you still here,
Aiden?”

“I just feel really bad, Poppy. I know
you accepted my apology, but it didn’t exactly seem
sincere.”

I sighed and took a good look at him.
Aiden had always be a good-looking guy - tall with blond hair and
blue eyes. All American boy next door. There were dark circles
under his eyes now and he looked utterly defeated.

“It’s okay, Aiden. We’ve all done
things we’re not proud of. Really, it’s okay.”

He nodded. “Thanks, Poppy. Maybe we
can get together sometime for coffee. As friends.”

Awesome, another friend.
Not that I wanted to go there again with Aiden, but it just
reinforced my abundance of
friends
and complete lack of boyfriends.

“That sounds good. Next time you call
me, I promise not to ignore you,” I teased.

Aiden returned to his car, and I got
into mine. I turned the key and…nothing. Not even a sputter. I
tried again. And again. Shit! I dropped my forehead onto the
steering wheel. This was just great. My piece of shit car didn’t
even make it through the winter. I really wasn’t looking forward to
trudging through the snow for the next two months.

A knock on my window made me jump and
squeal. Aiden opened my door and leaned down to ask, “Do you need a
ride wherever you’re going?”

“Sure. Thanks, Aiden.”

Aiden and I chatted about local gossip
on the way to Ford’s house. It was nice to be able to talk to him
again, although I noticed the distinct absence of any attraction I
used to feel for him. Apparently I was a one man kind of girl, and
all my attraction was focused on Ford.

I thanked Aiden again and waited until
he pulled out of the driveway before walking up to the front door.
It swung open to reveal a grumpy Ford before I could even reach for
the doorknob.

“Who was that?” He grumbled at
me.

“Good morning to you too,” I said
sarcastically as I walked past him into the house. I left my boots
and coat in the hall closet and went on into the kitchen. “Is
Maggie still in bed?” I asked when I didn’t find her in the living
room.

“Don’t change the subject. Who dropped
you off? And what happened to your car?”

Seeing the coffeemaker completely
unused this morning, I set about brewing a pot for Maggie and me to
share after Ford left. Shouldn’t he be going soon?

“My car wouldn’t start. I think it’s
more than the battery this time. Unfortunately it couldn’t wait
until spring when I wouldn’t mind walking everywhere.”

“You’re not walking anywhere. I’ll
take a look at it and get Josh or Grady involved if needed. Until
it’s fixed I can give you a ride wherever you need to go. Now, who
dropped you off?”

God, he wasn’t giving up on this.
“Aiden.”

I was still facing the counter and
messing with the coffee filter. Ford’s voice was dangerously close
to my ear when he said, “Aiden? Your douchebag ex-boyfriend? What
are you doing in a car with him?”

Turning around I found myself in a
familiar position, trapped against the counter by a very tall and
very angry Ford. I had to tilt my head up to look him in the
eyes.

“He stopped by this morning to
apologize for asking me to cheat for him, and he was still in my
driveway when my car wouldn’t start. He offered me a ride, and
seeing as how I didn’t have any other option at the time, I
accepted.”

Ford frowned down at me, and I
realized I had missed his frown. That might sound stupid, but it
was a big part of who he was, and while I liked nice Ford I also
liked a little bit of mean Ford.

“I don’t like you being around him,”
he stated like that would be the end of the
conversation.

“Um, I don’t think it matters if you
like it or not.”

He didn’t like that response, and his
frown deepened. “I don’t trust the fucker, and I don’t think it’s
safe for you to be around him at all. What if he tries
something?”

That made me laugh.
“Seriously, Ford? Clearly what we had wasn’t all that special since
he cheated on me. And that was forever ago. It’s really none of
your business what I do or who I spend my time with. If I had
a
boyfriend
who
objected to me having contact with my douchebag ex, I would
definitely take his feelings into consideration. But you’re not my
boyfriend, Ford. You made it very clear that is not a position
you’re interested in.”

His head snapped back like I had
physically slapped him, and I took that opportunity to push past
him to go check on Maggie. She was just getting up and dressed, and
I helped her with what she needed. By the time I got her settled
downstairs on the sofa, Ford was gone.

Maggie spent the morning watching TV
and dozing on and off. Up until the middle of December you wouldn’t
have guessed how sick she was. Although she was thinner than
normal, she had kept up with her normal activities along with
packing up the house. The last three weeks had brought about a huge
difference in her. She rarely ate a full meal and slept more than
she was awake. Ford and I hadn’t talked about it, but I could see
the strain it was putting on him to watch her wilt before his
eyes.

I fixed lunch for us, but Maggie ate
maybe three bites before she pushed her plate away.

“It looks delicious, but I’m just not
hungry,” she said.

“I know, Maggie. It’s okay. I’ll wrap
up the leftovers. Ford can eat them tomorrow.”

She reached out to take my hand as I
walked by. I knelt beside her.

“What is it Maggie? Are you in
pain?”

“He cares about you, dear.”

“Ford?”

She laughed softly. “Yes, Ford. The
way he watches you when he thinks no one is looking. After those
rocky first weeks, he’s been nicer to you than he is to anyone
other than me. I think he’ll leave and take the job at LSU, unless
he has a reason not to.”

My confusion must have been obvious on
my face.

“He will go, Poppy. He’s had one foot
out the door since the day he moved back here. Ford will think that
football is the only thing that can make him happy again. I think
he’s wrong. I think the one thing that can make him truly happy is
right in front of him. Men don’t always do the best job of
understanding their emotions. Don’t let him go, Poppy. Not without
making him understand what he feels for you.”

Maggie was so sincere in her speech,
that I didn’t have the heart to tell her that Ford didn’t feel that
way about me. Instead, I patted her arm and said, “Okay, Maggie. I
will.”

I did believe that Ford was attracted
to me. Hell, I felt the evidence pressed up against me that night
in the parking lot. But the thought of him giving up his dreams for
me? That was laughable. Not that I would say that to
Maggie.

After I cleaned up from lunch, Maggie
asked me to take her to visit the hospice facility she would be
moving into soon. I was surprised that she wouldn’t have asked
Ford. As far as I knew he was doing better with accepting her
diagnosis.

“You don’t want Ford to take
you?”

“He’s been so busy with work and
helping Grady with the surprise for Lindsay, I didn’t want to
bother him with this. I’ve taken him there once before, so he’s had
a tour. But I think I may need to move there sooner than expected.
It’s getting too hard for me to manage the stairs, and I’m going to
need more care soon than I want to ask of Ford. I’d like to go in
today and sign the paperwork and set a move in date.”

Since the last time Ford reamed me for
helping Maggie behind his back, I tried to keep him in the loop on
anything she asked me to help with. Wringing my hands, I asked,
“You will tell him tomorrow that we did this, right?”

“Of course, I will. I don’t think he
will be all that surprised.”

“Maybe not, but it still won’t be easy
for him.” That was the understatement of the century. I dreaded the
day that Maggie passed away. As I did with all my patients, but
with Ford, he seemed to feel things on a deeper level though he
kept those feelings tightly locked away. I feared what would happen
when he allowed them to flow freely.

I bundled Maggie up in her winter
coat, scarf and gloves. It wasn’t until we were at the front door
that I remembered I didn’t have my car.

“Uh, Maggie? I didn’t drive here. And
you are definitely not walking anywhere in this cold.”

“Oh, that’s okay. Josh picked up Ford
this morning, so we can take his truck.”

This only added to my feeling of
unease about doing this without Ford’s knowledge. He had flipped
when I parked in his spot that first day, so I could only imagine
what he would say about me driving his truck. Oh, well. If he was
going to get mad, I might as well give him something to be really
pissed about.