Page 49 of Undeniable Love
Now he was curious, but his eyes felt heavy and maybe it would be best to wait until he was in a better frame of mind.
“I’ll call you tomorrow night, Ty. And thanks.”
“For what?”
“For not pushing.”
“Like I said, I get it. Now try to sleep and good luck tomorrow.”
Jax hung up and put the phone to the side before grabbing the remote and turning the TV on low. He didn’t dare go to ESPN or even the local news. Streaming was the better way to go right now and he opted to just put on season one, episode one of Frasier for some background noise.
Carefully, he slid lower under the blankets and was about to shut his eyes when his phone dinged with an incoming text. Reaching for it, he stared at the screen and wondered if he was hallucinating.
Lucy.
Lucy: Hey. Just wanted to say that I hope you’re alright.
Lucy: I saw the game and I hated that none of the reporters knew what happened.
Lucy: Anyway, just…thinking of you and hope you’re okay.
A small smile tugged at his lips. Right now, he wasn’t coordinated or awake enough to type a response with one hand, but it lifted his spirits just knowing that she was thinking about him.
The last text from her was a heart, and Jax placed the phone on his chest and held it there with his good hand as he dozed off.
Chapter Eight
“Are we sure this is a good idea? I would think that something like this could wait. I mean…why make Jax dance like a damn puppet right now? He’s still healing.”
But no one was listening. There was too much excitement, apparently.
Lucy was currently standing beside Maddie in the middle of a freshly cleared section of the old Ramsay property. Today was the official groundbreaking and announcement of Jax’s camp. His newly formed board of advisors—and soon-to-be-named board of directors—all loved her idea of an actual PT clinic leasing the space full-time with the stipulation of additional staff and hours during camp season.
Not that she was the one to discuss it directly with Jax. Tyler had pitched it with all of her notes and then he and Maddie talked and hammered out details. Once a tentative agreement was in place, Maddie offered Lucy the management position and she accepted. Over the next year, she’d be working with Jax’s team to approve equipment and then look for a staff of her own.
So here she was standing in a field with Maddie and her husband Knox and their three-year-old son, Liam. Tyler was there, along with a group from his company. On top of that, Jax, Travis, and Declan were here with a few other teammates, along with his mother and his brothers, Noah and Simon.
Simon was the reason there were about a hundred screaming fans behind a wall of security.
How is this my life?
There were conversations going on all around her, but all she kept doing was sneaking glances at Jax. His arm was in a sling, but he was all…business casual and smiling at everyone and looked so damn good that she wanted to go over and beg him for another night.
So not gonna happen…
She didn’t realize she’d sighed until Maddie leaned closer. “You okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“The sigh. And you’re frowning. Is everything alright?”
As much as she wanted to say no, Lucy forced herself to smile. “I’m just wondering when they’re going to get started,” she lied. “We’re not so far in the south that it’s not chilly on a September morning.”
Fortunately, her boss agreed. “As for your earlier comment about Jax still healing, he seems to be handling it just fine. From everything I’ve heard, the injury wasn’t as severe as the doctors originally thought, and he’ll be back on the field in two weeks.”
“Would have been nice if anyone told me that,” she mumbled. It was at that moment that Jax looked at her and smiled. She smiled back and gave him a small wave, but as soon as she took a step forward, the mayor of South Creek stepped up to the podium and began his speech. The man waxed poetic for several long minutes about the hometown hero and how he was making such a huge contribution to their small town with this camp. Of course there was a roaring round of applause when he finished and then Jax stepped up to say a few words.
He gently cleared his throat and smiled at the crowd before he began. “I remember playing pee wee football over at the elementary school. Naturally, I dreamed of one day playing in the NFL, but I never truly believed I’d be where I am today.” He paused and glanced over at her brother before continuing. “As many of you may remember, several friends and I were involved in a car accident on graduation night. Three of us walked away with minor injuries, but my best friend since kindergarten suffered some catastrophic injuries—injuries that ended his dream of going to the NFL with me.”