Defending Hayden (Second Chances #7)(23)

I walked over to her car and scratched behind Bear’s ears. “It’s good to see you, boy. Welcome home.” He licked my hand and barked.

Hayden pulled out Bear’s walker and sat it on the ground. “I brought everything for him. We should probably carry him inside; he’ll have a hard time getting up the steps if not.”

I opened the door. “We could take him out back and let him run around,” I suggested. “Maybe play fetch.”

She smiled wide. “Sounds like fun. He could use the exercise.” We helped Bear into his walker, and he followed me to the back of the house. My yard was fenced in with a brick wall, so I didn’t have to worry about him running away. The only concern would be the lake. I didn’t want him running into the water in the walker.

“He won’t try to go swimming, will he?” I asked.

She burst out laughing. “I doubt it. Dogs are pretty smart. Bear knows what he can and can’t do with his legs broken. When he’s healed, he’ll probably be out there a lot, especially in the summer, when the heat feels like the desert. Oh, and before I forget”—she reached into the brown bag she had slung over her shoulder—“I have his pain meds and antibiotics in here. He’s pretty good at opening his mouth and taking them. The instructions are inside the plastic bag with the bottles.” She pulled out the bag and handed it to me.

Bear hobbled around the yard as fast as he could, marking his territory. “How in the hell can he piss that much?” I asked.

Hayden snickered. “He’s laying claim to your yard. I guess he knows he’s home.”

I had a basket full of toys on the table, and I reached in and pulled out a small football. Whistling, I grabbed Bear’s attention. “Here you go, boy!” I threw it across the yard and he wobbled toward it, snatching it up and bringing it back to me. “Good,” I praised him.

“I guess I should go so you two can get acquainted,” Hayden murmured.

I wasn’t letting her run off so fast, not like she had last night. “What’s your hurry? Why don’t you stay for a while?” Her eyes were guarded, not open and hopeful. “We’re supposed to be friends, right?”

She crossed her arms over her chest, lifting her breasts. Fuck me. The last thing I needed to do was stare at her tits. It’d been a while since I’d had sex, and my body could feel that; it hated me for depriving it. The corners of her lips lifted, and I could sense her coming around to me.

“I guess I could stay for a little while. What do you suppose we do?”

I picked up one of my footballs and walked to the middle of the yard. “What all do you know about football?”

She pursed her lips. “Hmm…I know what a touchdown is. Other than that, I’m lost. I don’t even know how to throw one.”

My fingers ached to touch her, and I knew exactly how to do it. “I’ll teach you,” I offered. “Come here.” I beckoned her closer, and when she got near, I gently grabbed her arm and turned her so I could stand behind her. I reached around her body, placing the football in her hands. Her skin broke out in goose bumps and she shivered. Little did she know she had the same effect on me. It killed me to admit it, but I couldn’t deny how good her skin felt next to mine.

“All right, you’ll hold it this way,” I instructed, showing her where to place her fingers. Once her hand was in place, I pulled her arm back and put my other hand at her waist. She didn’t object, so I kept it there, wishing like hell I knew what the f*ck I was doing. One minute I wanted to touch her and the next I wanted to push her away. Clearing my throat, I moved in closer. “Now that you have the ball ready, all you have to do is let her fly.”

I stepped back and waited for her to throw the ball. She glanced back at me, her gaze narrowed. “Don’t you dare laugh if it only goes three feet.”

I chuckled. “I have faith in you.”

Taking a deep breath, she threw it in the air and it sailed across the yard. I stood there with my mouth agape. “Holy shit, that was amazing. You have one hell of an arm on you.”

She turned around and brushed off her shoulders. “I might not know how to throw a football, but I was a pitcher for my softball team in high school.”

“You don’t look like you’d play softball.”

“Maybe that’s why I was so good at it. I was a hidden danger.”

That was for damn sure. “Well, let’s see how you catch the ball,” I said, grabbing another one out of the basket. I ran across the yard and threw it at her. She tried to catch it, and it slipped past her fingers.

She stamped the ground, and I laughed as she raced after it. She threw it back perfectly and jumped up and down. “Throw it again. I won’t be satisfied unless I catch one.” I tossed it back to her and she caught it, squealing the entire time. We passed the ball back and forth while Bear hobbled along between us, thinking he was going to catch it. Hayden and I laughed as we watched him.

“When you catch it this time, I want you to try and get it past me.” I threw it again and she caught it.

“What?” she screamed, eyes wild. I charged after her and she screamed again, running away with the ball in her hands.

“You have to run faster than that,” I hollered.

She wasn’t running past me but away from me, laughing and fumbling about. I was almost to her, and she was slowly losing her breath. “Derek, stop!” she pleaded.