Hard & Deep: A Football Romance Read online

“That's what you don't understand, Sean. Sometimes the fun part is just knowing that she would go home with me. I don't always have to act on it to get the pleasure from it. You know what I mean?”

  “I actually have no fucking clue what you're talking about,” he said, with a chuckle. “You've gone from throwing thousands of dollars around at a club and having women all over you, to getting all philosophical.”

  “Whatever, man, you'll understand when you get older,” Oliver said, his eyes half closed.

  “I'm older than you, Ollie. You need to learn to respect your elders,” Sean said, hitting Oliver's shoulder once again with a closed fist.

  As the two made their way down the main street in the center of town, they passed by a number of loud clubs. The sound of the music would increase as they got near and then fade out as they passed. It created a dizzying Doppler effect that certainly wasn't helping Oliver's nausea. He closed his eyes completely and focused on his breathing. As much as he hated to admit it, he definitely couldn't party like he used to. There would be no way he'd be going home at this hour if he were still twenty two.

  The blood-curdling roar of screeching tires filled the air. He heard Sean yell something and opened his eyes, just in time to look over to his right. A car's headlights were pointed straight at them. He knew immediately that the car wasn't going to be able to stop before impacting his door. The vehicle was going too fast. The headlights got brighter as they neared their final destination. Time slowed down, enough for Oliver's life to flash in front of his eyes. He thought about his brother and his mom and his football team.

  I'm going to die, he thought. God, no. Not now. Not right when everything is going so perfectly.

  He squinted and turned away as the car t-boned the side of them. The sound of exploding glass and crumpling metal filled his eardrums as his world turned dark.

  It was his last memory of that evening.

  Chapter 2

  Elsie

  “It's a unique opportunity, and given your history with sports medicine, one I think you'd be perfect for,” the woman in a power suit told Elsie. “So, are you interested?”

  Nikki Roberts asked the question with the same seriousness in her tone that she'd been using for the entire interview. When Elsie had scheduled this interview for a potential new patient, she hadn't quite been counting on this. This lady meant business.

  Elsie paused for a moment. What she knew so far about this “opportunity” baffled her. An unnamed patient was coming to her tiny town in Iowa for ACL reconstruction physical therapy that was to be top of the line. They wanted her, with her in-depth but underutilized sports medicine background in physical therapy. No one around here cared that she interned with the top sports physical therapists, but apparently that's why this client was coming here. The strangest part of the whole situation was that it was supposed to remain a secret. They hadn't even told her what the patient's gender was yet.

  “Yes.” The word spilled past Elsie's lips before she could change her mind. “I'm definitely interested.”

  I don't have much of a choice if I want to keep my uncle's clinic up and running, she thought. I could use the money right now and this one client will equal about twenty of my usual patients. Not to mention the huge signing bonus.

  “Excellent.” Nikki beamed, exposing the first genuine smile that Elsie had seen from her all day. “Sign this.”

  A contract slid across Elsie's desk in a smooth motion. Elsie read it over quickly, shaking her head as she did so. It was the strongest non-disclosure agreement she'd ever seen. There were clauses for everything regarding the client's security. Elsie knew she would never divulge patient information, but the penalty for doing so, at least according to the contract, would be a financial number high enough to cause her to lose the clinic and everything she owned.

  “This is just the non-disclosure agreement,” Nikki explained. “I'll give you the full contract to bring to your first appointment. If there's something you disagree with, you can have your lawyers contact me tonight.”

  As if I could afford a lawyer, she thought, as she scribbled her name on the bottom of the contract. Who could this patient possibly be to require this kind of legal work?

  The amount they were offering her to take on this patient was enough for her to look past the odd level of secrecy. In fact, it was enough for Elsie to be able to pay off her school loans and keep the physical therapy clinic up and running with all of the newest gadgets. Both were goals that she had been trying to obtain for years. Because of this unique job offer, they were going to become a reality.

  Elsie pushed the contract back across the desk. Nikki gave it a glance and nodded as she slipped the paper into her briefcase. Elsie turned and pulled up her schedule on the ancient laptop she'd used to get through grad school.

  “For an ACL reconstruction, I have openings here at my clinic on Monday mornings, Wednesday afternoons or any time on Fridays,” she continued. “Of course, since his identity is clearly a secret, I assume that he'll want the place to himself. I can always schedule him over a lunch break, that way I'll be the only one here.”

  “He won't be coming to the clinic,” the other woman replied, matter-of-factually.

  “What do you mean?” Elsie asked, cocking her head to the side. “All of my equipment is here. I can't do my job effectively without my equipment.”

  “His home location will be properly equipped with everything you need,” Nikki replied with a wave of her hand. “I can assure you it will be suitable.”

  “His home is equipped with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of physical therapy equipment?” Elsie crossed her arms as she posed the question.

  “Yes, of course.” The woman answered as though that were an obvious fact and that it was normal for a person to have that kind of expensive equipment at home.

  There is no way that this lady knows what she's talking about, Elsie thought.

  “So you have a massage table, weights, a TRX, a sled...”

  “Yes, yes, yes and yes,” Nikki replied, clearly annoyed that Elsie might think otherwise. “We also purchased an ice wrap machine and bath under the surgeon's recommendation.”

  Whoa. Those machines are expensive, Elsie thought. What does this patient do for a living?

  “Okay, then. We'll meet at his place.” Elsie opened up a new scheduling window on her computer. “When will the patient be arriving?”

  “Monday,” Nikki stated. She peered down at one of her perfectly manicured fingernails. “That's three days.”

  “You want me to clear my schedule and drop everything for a new patient in three days?” Elsie managed to keep her voice level and keep most of the shock out of her tone.

  “Yes, that's what needs to happen,” Nikki replied with a shrug. “You currently only have three patients, and one of them is on their last week of shoulder therapy so it shouldn't be a problem. My client has full priority.”

  How did she know my patient schedule? Elsie's eyes widened. I live in a small town, so I suppose it's not rocket science to figure something like that out. But still. A little disturbing.

  “Don't look so surprised,” the woman said, frowning at one of her nails. “It wasn't that tough to figure out. A little amateur investigating is all it took. Your patients were more than happy to give me that information and more when I was checking your references.”

  “Oh.” Elsie wasn't sure quite what to say to that. She had to wonder just what else her clients had mentioned.

  “You can see why no one can know my client is here.” Nikki looked up from her offending nail. “If your clients found out who you were working with, it would be all over social media in five seconds. I'm afraid they aren't very trustworthy.”

  “Apparently,” Elsie replied. “But what am I supposed to tell them? I can't just cancel on them out of the blue.”

  “Yes, you can. And you will. I don't care what you tell them,” Nikki said with a shrug. “Maybe say that you're trying a new hobby or someth
ing. I don't know. It's up to you. I'm sure you'll think of something.”

  Elsie sighed. In a town as small as hers, gossip was the main food group. As soon as anybody caught wind that she was clearing her schedule, questions would be coming from every direction. They'd want to know where, when, how and why she was canceling those appointments. If she gave them a bone, they'd take it and chew it for a while, but it wouldn't stop them from digging for more.

  I'll figure something out, she thought. Just need to come up with a good excuse. Or maybe I just don't tell them anything at all as to why I'm clearing my schedule. They're going to create whatever stories they want anyway. This town loves nothing more than something to talk about.

  “Okay,” Elsie said, with a polite nod. “I'll make sure that my schedule is cleared for next week then.”

  “Here's the address,” Nikki said, handing Elsie a slip of paper from her briefcase.

  The address didn't look familiar, but then all of the addresses around here had “county road” as the street. It was one of the perks of living in the middle of farming country. I'll either look it up or ask my Uncle, she thought to herself. He knows this town better than anyone.

  “Do you have any questions for me?” The woman stood and picked up her briefcase as she spoke, letting it swing by her side.

  “I actually do,” Elsie said, slowly standing up from her seat. “Is there anything at all that you can tell me about the patient? I'd like to know what to expect when I get there. Things like activity level, time frame, injuries...”

  “The time frame is as quickly as humanly possible,” Nikki said, inching toward the door. “The rest you'll find out tomorrow. After I've cleared the paperwork.”

  “I understand that, but I'm able to offer better care if I have a little bit of background information on the patient. I need to know what kind of injury they had and the type of surgery they went through afterward. If you want me to do my job in the best possible way, then I need some basic medical information so that I can prep everything.”

  The tall blonde crossed her arms. “It's an ACL reconstruction.”

  Elsie put on her best, most polite smile and tried not to grit her teeth.

  “Thank you, but I need just a little bit more. Is the patient a 90-year-old woman or a 16-year-old professional snowboarder? Both can have ACL repairs, but their care plans are going to look incredibly different. If you want the best, I need to know more.”

  With a sigh, Nikki said, “A thirty-two-year-old male.”

  “What's his fitness level?” Elsie asked.

  The woman stared at her for a moment, unblinking. The way she looked at Elsie made her think she was rethinking the decision to hire her.

  “He's in good shape,” Nikki replied.

  Elsie wanted to scream in frustration. She was used to getting patients where she would learn everything she needed to know about them before their first appointment. She felt like she was going into this thing blind. She didn't like it at all. It just wasn't how things were done.

  “How did the injury occur?” Elsie asked, knowing that each question was making her interviewer's eyes narrow.

  “You don't need to know that,” Nikki replied, rolling her eyes. “You just need to get him back up and running. They said you could do that.”

  “But I do need this information,” Elsie said. “I need to make a plan of care for him for our first appointment. If you want this ACL healed fast, I need to start coming up with a plan now.”

  “I've given you more information than you need.” Nikki spoke as she took a few steps toward the door. “You only signed the basic NDA and I'm still waiting on some of your information to clear.”

  “My information to clear?” Elsie frowned, confused. “What do you mean?”

  “You don't think we'd hire you without a through background check, do you?” Nikki scoffed. “I'm still waiting on some more information. Plus, my boss has to officially approve of you.”

  “What information do you need?” Elsie asked. Her life was pretty simple. She went to the state college for undergrad, then earned her physical therapy doctorate in California. She'd interned with an amazing sports rehabilitation program and had been planning on working in professional sports when her uncle suddenly gave her his physical therapy clinic in Iowa. She'd moved back home to help him and her family.

  “Your college roommate, Anastasia, hasn't returned my calls,” Nikki replied.

  “Anastasia?” Elsie had to think of who belonged to that name. “You mean my freshman year roommate I had for three weeks? I don't think she's going to be able to tell you much. I haven't spoken to her since she moved out. And that was over seven years ago.”

  “That may be,” Nikki replied, waving her hand dismissively. “But I'm still waiting for it. Therefore, you don't get any information yet.”

  “I'm not trying to pry into your client's life or get information I'm not entitled to,” Nikki tried to explain. “But, if you want this ACL construction rehab done in the time-frame you quoted, I need to start working on a plan now. I need-”

  “No, you don't need anything,” Nikki cut her off. “With what we're paying you, and how good everyone says you are, you don't need to know anything.” Nikki waved her hand dismissively. “Honestly, it's not like it's brain surgery.”

  It took every professional bone in Elsie's body not to throw the contents of her desk at the woman. Instead, she just took a deep breath and thought about the money that was coming her way for this. The idea that Nikki wasn't her patient was comforting. Hopefully, her client wasn't as obnoxious as she was.

  “You know what? I'll just do my best when I get there,” Elsie said, giving up. “We'll just add an extra appointment in or something.”

  Nikki eyed her critically for a moment before frowning.

  “Elsie, I realize that as a medical professional, you're already very aware of the importance of patient confidentiality. But in this case, it's even more important that the patient's identity, whereabouts, and physical condition are all kept quiet,” Nikki told her for what felt like the millionth time. “Top secret. You don't tell anybody, not even your closest friends or your mother.”

  “Of course.” Elsie nodded. “I keep every single one of my patient's information under lock and key, and this one will be no exception. I follow the law strictly on this.”

  “I understand, but in this case, it's more than just the law.” Nikki frowned despite the botox around her eyes. “We're paying you a very large sum of money to make sure that nobody even knows that my client is even in this town.”

  “I won't breathe a single bit of information.” Elsie leaned forward, bringing her hands to rest on the top of the desk. “You have my word.”

  “Good,” the woman replied. “You can expect a courier with the full contract in a day or two. Given that your background check clears, of course.”

  Elsie did her best to smile. This entire interview had been more about how well she could keep a secret than her medical abilities. Though, Nikki had definitely made sure that Elsie's extensive training in sports medicine was still current. The last time Elsie had this level of questioning had been to pass her boards for her degree.

  Needless to say, it had been a long interview.

  Nikki tossed her hair and turned to walk out the exit. “It was a pleasure doing business with you, Elsie.”

  “Likewise,” Elsie replied, lying through her teeth. The interview had been anything but pleasurable. Unless, of course, one considers things like getting their teeth drilled at the dentist to be a pleasure.

  As the suited woman walked briskly out of the door, Elsie plopped back down in the chair and took a breath. It felt like the first time she had been able to breathe in over an hour. She was nervous and excited about this new patient, and her mind churned with all of the possibilities as to who he was. She considered the possibility that he was a president from another country or maybe some kind of James Bond. He could be anybody, really. The suspense was k
illing her.

  I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings, she thought. I have a feeling this is going to be very interesting.

  Chapter 3

  Elsie

  Elsie double-checked the address, making sure that she was on the correct County Road. As far as she knew, there wasn't anything out this far besides huge amounts of acreage covered in corn fields. It was all coated in white with late winter snow, looking desolate and lonely.

  She drove along for another five minutes until a small wooden farm house with a red thatched roof came into view at the top of the hill.

  “I guess this is it,” she whispered to herself, pulling her car down the snow-packed dirt road that clearly hadn't been maintained in over a decade.

  In fact, the whole farm around the small house looked about as neglected as the road did. Mountains of untouched snow surrounded it and a rundown old tractor was parked out front. It was obviously not a working farm any more, just a house in the middle of nowhere. Still, though, she thought it looked charming and cozy in its own way.

  The tires of her car skid to a halt in the driveway. She put the car in park and then adjusted the rear view mirror so that she could get a good look at herself. Her shoulder-length light brown hair was down, looking frazzled because of the dry winter air. She quickly pulled it back into a tight ponytail.

  Her heart was pounding in the back of her throat as she turned the car off and grabbed the handle of the door. She was nervous.

  Calm down, Elsie, she told herself. You've done home visits plenty of times. There's nothing different about this one. It's just another patient who needs your help.

  But it wasn't the unknown patient that made her nervous. It was the weird circumstances that surrounded all of it. Between the odd interview and the lack of information she had obtained before coming here, she hadn't a single clue as to what to expect. Even the contract had been incredibly vague.

  All she'd been able to glean was that her client had recently undergone ACL repair surgery. She was to get him back up to full use of his knee as quickly and quietly as possible.