“But it needs to be dealt with,” Mark concluded.

  “How about we handle it for you?” James asked. “I’m the team captain, so this kind of shit is my job description.”

  Just then, the rest of the team started filing in. Mark scanned each newcomer, desperate to find Pete. He’d almost single-handedly ruined Tessa’s career, and he was supposed to sit back and be okay with that? His jaw ticked and he could feel how hard his heart pounded in his chest.

  “Mark,” James said in a low, controlled voice. “Sit down.”

  “Buddy, we’re gonna handle this,” Maxwell said.

  But he didn’t want to listen to them anymore. Not when Pete had just strolled in, looking smug and carefree. Exactly how Tessa wouldn’t be looking, not anytime soon. Thanks to him.

  “I’m just gonna go talk to him,” Mark said, rising to his feet.

  “Mark.” James stepped in front of him, but Mark brushed past him. He distantly heard his friends calling after him as he headed for Pete and his stupid smirk.

  “Hey, Pete,” Mark said, jogging toward him. Pete swung his gaze toward him as other teammates filed by. Mark didn’t slow down and pushed him by the shoulders toward the nearby wall.

  “Dude, what was that for?” Pete asked.

  “Just want to have a little chat.” Mark’s heart was racing now, fists already forming, his entire body readying to initiate the next phase of the “little chat.”

  Pete snorted. “What about? How fucking salty you are after your stats last game?”

  Mark gripped Pete by the collar of his workout shirt and shoved him against the wall while Pete just sneered. Immediately there was a chorus of “Hey, hey now!” as other teammates noticed the tension and started circling them.

  “Guys, just cool it,” James counseled, though he sounded a million miles away to Mark.

  “Why did you fucking steal my girlfriend’s pictures from my phone?” Mark said through gritted teeth. He could kill him right now—he was that angry.

  Pete scoffed, but nervousness danced across his face. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”

  “You admitted it. You were caught. You fucking did it,” Mark spat.

  “Boys, break it up,” Coach shouted. “We have tape to review, and I’d appreciate it if y’all sat your asses down and got to listenin’.”

  “Yeah, Coleridge, let’s get to listenin’,” Pete said, the sarcasm dripping from his words.

  “Not until you tell me why you did it,” Mark repeated, slamming him against the wall. Anger flashed in Pete’s face and something snapped between them. Now Pete could tell Mark was serious, and it showed. Pete lunged, and Mark hauled his fist back, ready to punch him in the face. Hands grabbed at him before he could swing.

  “Enough!” Coach roared from across the room. Mark struggled against his teammates restraining him, but their hold faltered. Mark freed his arm and landed a punch into Pete’s jaw. Pete howled and fought back, but this time, James and Maxwell dragged Mark away.

  “Don’t fucking touch him again,” Maxwell warned, his chest heaving with the effort of restraining Mark.

  “How can you take his side?” Mark spat.

  “It’s not about his side,” Maxwell warned, shoving him back into a seat. “It’s about the team. It’s about saving your ass from disciplinary action.”

  “What in the hell was that about?” Coach demanded, standing equidistant between the two of them, looking back and forth between them.

  “He’s the one who leaked pictures of my girlfriend to the press,” Mark spat.

  Pete glared at him but said nothing.

  “Is that true?” Coach asked, looking at Pete. Pete rubbed at his jaw but didn’t say anything, and after a few moments had gone by, Coach said, “It doesn’t matter. You’re both benched, and I’ll deal with each of you later. Now let’s review.”

  Benched. The word ricocheted through him, coating his anger with regret. James and Maxwell had stern looks for him as they settled into the seats at his side—almost like making sure he wouldn’t attack again. The room was eerily quiet as Coach went to the front of the room to begin reviewing tapes.

  Mark ground his jaw, staring at the floor in front of him.

  Maybe he’d been a hothead about it. But he felt better knowing who’d been behind the leak. Now he just had to figure out why. And what to do about it.

  Mark knew to give Tessa her space that night, but he still sent plenty of check-in texts. Once she said that she was feeling better the next morning, Mark knew this was his chance.

  I’m off today. Let’s all go to the park or something after school. What do you think?

  Tessa finally wrote back around her lunch break. Sounds good to me. Want to meet at Liberty Park right at 3:30? Angus will be so excited.

  He whiled away his day with plenty of domestic upkeep that he’d been putting off, especially since his family had left last week. He’d gotten used to the ways in which his mama had kept the place immaculate and the kitchen always smelling good. She was a hard act to follow, and with how much time he spent at the training facility or in transit to games, he could barely crank out a home-cooked meal. But today was food prep day, and by the time 3 p.m. rolled around, his fridge was full of meals for the week, and he was feeling marginally better about socking Pete in the face, even though it had gotten him benched.

  Mark headed to Liberty Park feeling more lighthearted than he had for the past week. Finally—he was going to see Tessa and Angus. Not everything was solved in his life, but it was getting there. He just needed his babe and his son in his life…and football. That was it.

  He was doing chin-ups on the monkey bars when he heard Angus shriek with joy. He bolted across the green lawn of the park, practically falling over himself when he came to the wood chips of the playground. Mark let go of the bar and scooped his son up for a big bear hug.

  “Daddy, Daddy, I missed you!” Angus grinned while Mark carried him effortlessly in his arms. He headed toward Tessa who hung back, smiling shyly at him.

  “I missed you too, big guy,” Mark said, ruffling his son’s hair. He nodded at Tessa. “And you too, sicky.”

  She snort-laughed. “Thanks.”

  “You feeling better?”

  “Yeah. But that flu lasted a while. Sheesh.” She sat down on a nearby bench, and Mark let Angus down to the ground. He ran off to the gym equipment and Mark sat down beside Tessa.

  “I don’t know why you didn’t let me take care of you,” he said, nudging her. She squinted out at the playground, and he could tell something was off.

  “You were at an away game, silly,” she said.

  “Yeah, but yesterday, when I got back.”

  She shook her head. “It’s fine. I handled it.”

  Those words alone told him something wasn’t fine. “How was work today?”

  She heaved a big sigh. “It was fine. I think. I can’t really tell.” She started nibbling on her top lip. “I just kind of feel like no matter what I do, it’s the wrong thing, you know?” She met his gaze, her blue eyes shimmering with doubt. “Everyone is nice to my face. But then I’ll turn a corner and find a group of teachers talking and they suddenly stop when they see me.” She shook her head, gaze drifting back out over the playground. “I just feel entirely unwelcome now.”

  “Babe.” He laughed softly, turning toward her. “You are not unwelcome. I told you, they hired you for a reason. And besides, you’re always welcome wherever I am.”

  His declaration of loyalty didn’t do much to shift her mood. “I just wonder what I did wrong.”

  “You did nothing wrong. You were a victim of harassment. And speaking of which, I found out who our culprit is.”

  She turned to him, brows lifted. “You did?”

  “It’s our kicker, Pete.” Mark shook his head, feeling the anger prickling through him again. “I couldn’t believe it. Maxwell overheard Pete talking about it with some of the other guys. I blew up. I fucking punched him.”

  Tessa gasped, concern written across her features. “Are you okay? Is he okay?”

  “Well…we’re both benched.” Mark examined his knuckles. Only one tiny cut betrayed the fact that he’d socked Pete in the jaw hard enough to qualify for an MMA fight. “I’ll pay a fine. But it was worth it.”

  Tessa stiffened, turning slowly toward him. “Wait, what do you mean, benched and a fine?”

  “It’s just what happens for internal shit like this. I’m sitting out the next game and—”

  “Mark.” Her voice held a severe edge, one that made him twist to look at her. “Why would you do that?”

  “I was pissed,” he said. “I couldn’t believe he fucking did that. And for what reason? I’m going to figure it out.”

  “But…but you’re…” She was sputtering now, her cheeks flushed. “You’re going to lose money, and play time, because you wanted to punch a guy? What he did was awful, but aren’t there better ways to handle it?”

  “Babe. He had it coming to him,” Mark said.

  “Trust me, I know. But this is your career. You’re a professional football player now, I—”

  “I know. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to handle problems.”

  “By punching a guy?”

  Mark huffed. “That was step one. And from here, there are other options. I’ve been researching. You could press charges if you want. We can get a lawyer and sue his ass.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t want to cause more ripples. Anything that could potentially show up in the news or some tabloid is off limits. End of story.”

  Angus had started calling for them, perched at the top of a slide, waving to get their attention. Tessa squinted against the sun and waved, smiling brightly at him.

  “Hi, honey,” she called out. Mark waved too, and they fell into a tense silence. Mark wasn’t sure what to say next.

  Instead, Tessa smiled over at him. “He’s having so much fun. Should we do this every Tuesday?”

  That seemed like a good sign—locking down his off-day schedule. But he wondered why there wasn’t more attached to that weekly plan. “Of course. You guys want to come over to my house tonight for dinner and a movie?”

  Tessa sighed, averting her eyes. “I don’t know, Mark. I need to work on tomorrow’s lesson plan.”

  Ouch. That was a punch to the gut he hadn’t been expecting. It felt like he hadn’t seen her in ages, and she was willing to continue that trend.

  “I’m sorry,” she went on, as though sensing his thoughts, “This isn’t about you, though. It’s me. My work situation has been really getting me down. I’m still trying to figure out how to handle everything, and then with the flu on top of that, I…”

  Mark frowned, reaching out to squeeze her shoulder. He hadn’t thought about how much she’d been carrying. “It’s okay, babe. Don’t worry. You’re doing an awesome job at everything.”

  Tessa nodded, looking a little relieved. And even though doubt nagged at him, he repeated to himself the positive truth he wanted to see: We’ve got each other. Everything will fall into place soon.

  17

  Every hour Tessa spent at the school stretched tense and eternal. Even when she was alone in her classroom with the kids, she felt administrative eyes on her. Could imagine potential criticism and complaints. No moment was safe inside Willow Christian Academy, it seemed. Was this what true paranoia felt like?

  By Thursday, she was exhausted. But once the students were gone for the day, Robert showed up at her classroom, rapping lightly on the glass window in her door.

  “Hey. You busy?” he asked.

  “No, just cleaning up,” she said, offering a bright smile even though her heart started racing. “What’s up?”

  “Can we chat?” He jerked his head toward the hallway. “We can go to my office.”

  Her stomach plummeted to the ground, but she tried to reason with herself. Maybe this was just a follow-up. Nothing else had happened since their last chat. Everything was staying in line, orderly, perfectly presentable.

  “Of course.”

  He left, and she shut her classroom door, following about ten steps behind him. The administrative office was full of casual conversation when he entered, but when she followed, it dulled.

  Only once she pulled his office door shut behind her did she realize her stomach felt wobbly.

  “Please, sit down.” He gestured toward the chair she’d gotten her last reaming in, and she slid into it. “So, I just wanted to chat a little bit about your performance. Great job on the effort you’ve been putting in since coming back. It shows. Your students truly love you, and your brief absence was a big deal for them.”

  She cleared her throat, starting to relax slightly. See? You’re not getting fired. “Well, thank you. I really appreciate that. I love them too. Each and every one.”

  “I can see the promise in your future. I can see the passion in your teaching. It just makes me wonder if you’ve truly analyzed where your priorities lie.”

  She choked slightly on a swallow and had to cough to clear her throat. “Excuse me?”

  He shook his head, as though confused why she didn’t see his train of thought. “Do you want to be an effective educator, or do you want to be just some NFL player’s girlfriend?”

  She blinked a few times as his words settled into her. And the deeper they sank, the more outraged she became. “Are you…wow. I can’t believe you just said that to me.”

  “Tessa, you are a gifted educator. You have talent and passion. But without execution, without strategy, your talent means nothing. I see you, even when you don’t think I do. I know what you can become. And I want to help you reach that goal.”

  “But how can you possibly think that building a stable family for my son, one that includes his father, isn’t prioritizing properly?”

  “I know you prioritize your family. But your professional reputation matters. Your future matters. And I want to help you stay on the right track,” Robert said.

  There were so many conflicting thoughts in her head, she didn’t know where to begin. But as it was, she didn’t feel she had much room to respond, other than to ask, “So did I mess up?”

  Robert looked down at his interlaced fingers. “I want you to stay the course. Keep your eyes on the future. And remember to prioritize properly.”

  His tight smile made it clear that this was the end of the conversation. All for the better—the longer she stayed here, the more confused and outraged she’d become. She nodded, excusing herself silently. She couldn’t even bring herself to fake a thank you. She left the office quickly, grabbed her things from her office, and then went to pick up Angus from his teacher’s classroom.

  She was all smiles greeting her son and herding him toward the parking lot. His enthusiasm for school was at least the silver lining of her job here. He was doing extremely well, showing a love for reading and learning that she prayed would continue for his entire academic career. All she wanted for him was to receive the best education possible, have the boost into his future that she hadn’t had, and he was starting out on the right foot.

  Once Angus was buckled into his seat and she was just pulling out of the parking lot, Mark called.

  “Hey, babe,” he said once she greeted him. “I’m on a break right now. And listen, I have an idea for us tonight.”

  “Oh? What is it?” Her excitement spiked despite the confusion still troubling her.

  “I know you’ve been having a rough time; I want to take you someplace fun.”

  Some of her enthusiasm dampened. “Someplace” could involve “the public eye,” which could mean a whole host of things she didn’t want to consider. But she should hear him out. “Is your back sore? You’ve been trying to pick me up an awful lot lately.”

  He laughed. “There’s nothing I’d rather be doing. After all, didn’t you tutor me every night for a month when I was failing algebra? Didn’t you go to summer school with me, even though you didn’t need the credit, simply so I didn’t have to spend the time alone? And did you or did you not give me the greatest gift a man could hope for, a son like Angus?”

  Tears pricked at her eyes, sideswiped by the sentimentality. Mark was always good at stuff like this, and she realized how much she missed him. His away game followed by her sickness and then her distraction…yes, she needed Mark. But she needed to tread carefully, too.

  “I don’t know how I feel about…being in public right now,” she said.

  “We had a great time at the playground the other day. We’ll be discreet. Besides, you can’t cancel your life just because of a tabloid incident. You deserve to live and have fun.”

  She nodded to herself as she pulled up to a stoplight. He was right. And she needed some fun after recent events. Especially after today’s cryptic guidance session with Robert. “All right. Let’s do it. I’ll see if my dad can come over.”

  When they hung up, she tried to reject the paranoia that crept in. She was allowed to have a night out with her boyfriend. Nobody could begrudge her that.

  She just couldn’t shake the feeling that somehow, everyone at school would find out and judge her for it.

  Later that evening, she and Mark had enjoyed a delicious, greasy dinner at a locally famous fifties diner. Between the aesthetic and the music and the great food, she was able to loosen up a bit. Mark had paid the bill, and they were leaving the relative comfort of their high-backed red vinyl booth when Tessa felt eyes settle on them.

  Stop being paranoid. Nobody cares that you’re here.

  She held Mark’s hand, following his athletic swagger through the black-and-white tiled restaurant and out the front door. As soon as the door swung shut behind her, she heard footsteps scuffling off to their side.

  “Mark Coleridge and Tessa!” An unknown man shouted as he ran toward them, holding a camera to his face. Another person trailed him, and Mark’s grip on her hand tightened.

  “Come on, babe,” he muttered, hurrying them toward his car.

  “I just have a few questions,” one of them shouted.