Intercepting Love (Second Chances #5)(27)

When I didn’t say anything, he let my hand go and jumped off of the couch to his feet. “Don’t you see what they’re doing, Kate? They’re working against me. How the hell can I compete with that?” Angrily, he ran his hands through his hair and started for the door.

“Where are you going?” I shouted, rushing after him. I stopped him by plastering myself on the front door.

“I’m going to talk to Cooper. He’s not going to come into town and take you away from me when things are just starting to happen for us.”

Exasperated, I lifted my hands in the air and snapped, “Nothing has even happened with us, Luke. We’ve kissed and fooled around some, that’s it. I don’t understand why you’re getting so upset when we don’t even have a commitment. All you have to do is walk down the street and you’d have at least five women jumping all over you.”

Immediately, he tensed and blew out an angry breath. “So is that what you want me to do?” he asked. “Are you saying you want to let me go and run straight to Cooper?”

Taking a deep breath, I slowly walked up to him and looked into his weary green gaze. “I didn’t say I was going to do that,” I hissed, “but at least he didn’t lie to me. It’s because of Cooper that I’m not ripping your head off for doing what you did. This isn’t a competition, and you of all people should know I don’t like playing games. I’m trying not to be angry with you, but I don’t think I can do this right now.”

I opened the door and stood back, my heart pounding out of control. “I need some time to think, Luke.”

I hated turning him away, but after everything that had happened I knew what I wanted, but I also knew what I needed.

“Some time,” he repeated dryly. “I don’t like the sound of that, but it looks like I have no choice.” Taking a deep breath, he put his hands on my waist and bent down to kiss me on the cheek. “I’ll give you what you want, Kate, but all I ask is that you don’t give up on me. I’m sorry for what I did. Please believe me.”

I watched him walk out the door, but before getting into his truck his gaze met Cooper’s across the street. They stared each other down as if in a silent standoff, but then their gazes met mine. Why couldn’t things just be easy?





“How do you feel?” I asked as I got into Cooper’s car.

Everything about him seemed normal, but again it was the first day of his detox and only seven-thirty in the morning. Anything could happen at any given time. It was a gamble with him being around the guys because the last thing we wanted was for anyone on the team to know that he was addicted to pain meds. If Joel found out that I kept this information from him, I didn’t want to imagine the kind of trouble I’d be in, much less Cooper.

With a smile on his face, Cooper shrugged and backed out of my driveway. I loved seeing him smile, especially now that the truth was out and things were better between us. Riding to the field together was going to be interesting, considering that just yesterday I rode in with Luke. My how things have changed.

“I actually feel fine,” Cooper said. He wouldn’t look at me when he said it, so right there I knew he was keeping something from me. However, he did turn to look at me when he asked his next question, his gaze guarded … concerned. “When do the withdrawal symptoms start?”

Sighing, I reached over and rubbed his shoulder soothingly. I knew he was worried, even if he didn’t admit it to me. “That all depends. You might not have any symptoms since you’re taking it slow, but if you do have them it could happen in the next couple of hours or days from now. It’s different with each case. Are you worried about it?” I asked.

Shaking his head, he squeezed my hand that I had lying on his shoulder and smiled. “No, as long as I have you with me I’m not worried. You’ll see me through it, right?”

“I promise,” I murmured wholeheartedly. “I’ll be right by you until it’s over.”

When we got to the field and separated ways, I prayed that he would be okay, knowing very well he was going to have a tough time. As the day went on, I noticed a few changes in him. He didn’t realize I was watching him from the stands, but I wrote down every single thing I noticed that was different with him. Come on, Cooper, you can beat this.





Over the next few days I decided to keep notes on his behavior and symptoms so I could keep track of his progress and get more of an idea on the detox process. In school, I only studied the effects, but I had yet to see it all in person.





Three Days Later




So far, taking one less pill a day hasn’t bothered me too much; or at least that was what I told Kate. Yes, I’ve been a little short-tempered and irritable, but how the hell could I not be when it was so f*cking hot and I had to deal with some of the cocksuckers on my team?

The idiot who asked me if Kate was good in bed shouldn’t have been so goddamned stupid to think I wasn’t going to lay into his ass. I mean, who in their right mind would ask something like that and not expect to get their ass kicked? Even Evan had a hard time keeping his restraint.

Kate wasn’t stupid, though; she knew I was keeping my true feelings and concerns to myself, but didn’t seem to think it was an issue. So for the time being I kept my weaknesses to myself. However, by the end of the day, the exercises she did with my shoulder really seemed to work. By the time she was done with me it was only my cock that was in pain. I respected her and kept my hands to myself even though it took a f*cking miracle. That was another thing that had changed; my whole body had a new craving, and it wasn’t for those damn white pills … it was for her. Each time we were alone and her body would brush up against mine, it took all I had not to rip her clothes off and f*ck her. Needless to say, my right arm got a good workout each night in the shower.