Page 31 of Cheap Shot
Instead of jumping on him and demanding an explanation, I wait. No matter how hurt I am by his words, or whatever he may or may not have been implying, I know that Kyle loves me like his own sister. He’d never do or say anything to intentionally hurt me. If anything, although his words sound harsh, he’s probably trying to protect me.
“Cooper is getting married, and Beau… “ His voice trails off as if he’s trying to find the right words. “I love you, girl, but my entire family knows Beau and Alise are a done deal. If he was flirting with you, it was to either get in your pants, which means I’m going to kill him next time I see him, or to make Alise jealous. Okay, scratch that, I'm going to kill him either way.”
I only know his brothers’ names, but I doubt Kyle would lie to me about something so big. However, the bigger question at the moment is how the hell did he forget he has another brother? There is a pretty decent age gap between Kyle and all his brothers, but I’m sure they at least email and chat on the phone from time to time, much better than my sisters and me. There’s no way his brothers are all going to be playing for the same team, and he has no idea.
“Your brother, Cole, is the hottie from the hospital.”
“That’s a good one, Mish. Now, seriously, was it Beau?”
Now I’m starting to lose my patience. “No, it was Cole. Dark hair, a small scar above his left eyebrow, and now that I think of it, the same exact hazel colored eyes as you.”
“Holy fucking shit. You got hit on by Cole.” Kyle gasps dramatically, my words finally hitting home.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”
“How the hell are you just now learning this? Did he use a fake name or something at the therapy center?”
Now that’s a valid question, one I didn’t even think of until right this moment. “I wasn’t really looking for background information the day we met. I checked his name and looked over the file for Stacey’s exercise plan, but that’s it.”
“Fair. But when the fuck did he get traded?” Kyle questions as if I might have any answers for him.
I knew that Kyle and his brothers weren't close, but I never would’ve imagined it was this bad. I’m not close with my sisters at all. We rarely speak to each other, but when something major happens in one of our lives, we’ve always let each other know what’s going on. But his older brother is being traded, and no one bothered to tell him.
“When was the last time you talked to one of your brothers?”
“Hmm, I talked to Cooper for a few minutes before the conference championship game last season, and I’ve shared a few random texts with Beau, but that’s it. Neither one of them said a damn thing to me.”
Now that doesn’t seem too out of the ordinary. I’m sure neither one of them would have known that Cole was being traded to the Timberwolves. It’s not like they’d have anything to do with it.
“And Cole didn’t tell you?”
Kyle chuckles darkly. “I can’t remember the last time I spoke to Cole.”
I hum, not sure how to respond. I don’t have the best relationship with either of my sisters, so who am I to judge?
“Either way, I almost shit my pants when I saw his scowling face staring back at me from the profile the human resources manager gave me.”
“A profile?”
“Yeah. Parker and I are going to be his personal physio team. The owner has taken a special interest in his recovery.”
“Ah, now that makes more sense,” Kyle huffs, but doesn’t say anything else.
“Are you planning on sharing with the class?”
“Nope, but the important question is, what are you going to do about it?”
“About what?”
“The fact that you and my older brother have the hots for each other.”
I’ve spent every day since Cole walked out of the therapy center dreaming of how I would act when he came back and asked me out again. But the time for something to happen between Cole and me has passed. Sure, he asked me out, but he had more than enough chances to find me at the therapy center, but he didn’t. Sure, he probably thinks I’m pretty, but he’s more than likely already moved on to the next woman. I bet that if we ran into each other right now, he wouldn’t even remember my name.
“We do not—okay, maybe we did, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. I don’t date my patients.” I scoff, wishing that things were different.
“He isn’t your patient, per se.”
Kyle may be right, but I’m not about to tell him that. No matter what I may or may not still be feeling for Cole Hendix, it doesn’t matter. It can’t happen. Won’t happen.
