Line of Scrimmage Read Online Free PDF Page B

were, it was Scott, and he was a realist. It was his job to look out for Jake’s future if indeed his playing days were over, although that was the last thing Jake wanted to discuss right now.
    He appreciated all of it, but it still didn’t change things. One bad break—pun intended—and he was out for the season. He just hoped whoever they socked into the lineup in his place wasn’t such a standout that he, Jake, ended up playing backup when he returned. For one brief moment, he felt a tiny sliver of guilt for wishing the team bad luck. Then he forced the thought away. He was more honorable than that. At least he liked to think so. He knew his playing career was nudging the finish line, but he truly believed he had at least two excellent years left to give the Mustangs. He didn’t want this injury to cheat him out of them.
    Football is who I am . It kept echoing in his brain. It’s all I am.
    He heaved a sigh. His life was in the toilet and being pleasant was a real chore. Still, he shouldn’t keep taking this out on his sister. She’d been more than great, taking time off from work, spending it here listening to him bitch, soothing him when the frustration became too intense.
    “Sorry, Ivy. I know I’m being a pain in the ass, but try putting yourself in my place.” He took her hand and squeezed it. Sometimes he wondered how he’d ever have made it this far without her. “Half a game and my season is over.”
    “I do understand,” she told him, “and I’m really trying to cut you some slack.”
    “I know, I know,” he said. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. You’re all I’ve got to get me through this, you know.”
    “And isn’t that a sad commentary on your life. That the only person you can lean on is your sister.”
    “I don’t—”
    “Too bad you shy away from relationships.” She sighed. “Right now you could use the attention of someone special.”
    Like a bolt of lightning striking from the sky an image of Erin Bass flashed across his brain. She was pretty damn special.
    What the hell had gone on in her life that she had such a bitter, jaded opinion of football players? She’d never given him the chance to tell her who he really was. What kind of person he was. He’d never really wanted to do that with another woman before. Too much garbage from his past always got in the way.
    Only she’d dumped him like yesterday’s trash, and that still burned him. He hadn’t been able to erase the memories, and that made him even angrier.
    Why the hell was he thinking of her, anyway? She was in the past and she’d stay there. Had to. Period.
    “I don’t need anyone.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t expect my life to change so drastically, and no woman’s going to fix that. Trust me.” He dug up a semblance of a smile. “Anyway, I’ll try to behave. For you.”
    “Ha! That’ll be the day.” But she gave him an answering smile before she pulled a chair up to the bed. “So. I hear they’re letting you out of here Sunday.”
    “Yeah. That ought to be a barrel of laughs.” And just like that depression crept over him. “I still haven’t figured out how I’m going to get around with crutches while sporting a cast on my left hand.” Hadn’t that thought just given him nightmares.
    “No crutches at first,” she told him. “I spoke with Dr. Moline this morning. They’re going to send you home with one of those foldout walkers. That way you can grip with your right hand and—”
    “And hop like some deformed creature because they won’t give me a walking cast,” he growled. “I’ll be lucky if I don’t fall down and this time break my damn neck.”
    “No, they won’t give you a walking cast yet. It’s too soon. Dr. Moline and Coach Raymond said they explained all of this to you, in great detail. Did you listen to them?”
    “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He scraped his hand over his jaw. “But they aren’t the ones stuck in this situation while