Jerrold Read online

  *****

  “So what do you think of my Noelle?” Robert Buckner’s voice dripped with pride as he looked at Jerrold who was standing at the bar with him and waiting for his drink.

  “She is quite lovely,” Jerrold said seriously. “Not the party type though.”

  “She is something of a loner,” Robert admitted as he accepted the beer from the bartender. “I am hoping that will change as soon as she settles back here.”

  “She was born here?”

  Robert nodded. “Born and bred until she left for college.”

  “I find it hard to believe that a beautiful woman like her does not like the social scene,” Jerrold murmured as he sipped his scotch and looked around the room. His interest had gone out of the evening and he had come over to the bar to avoid the advances of several single women who had gathered at the party with the intention of trying to snag the single members of the team of which he was the most eligible one of them, with his money and looks. He was weary of women trying to show him how good it could be between them!

  “She did not have an easy time growing up.” Without explaining what that meant, the man excused himself and went to talk to some of the other members. Jerrold sat at the bar and sipped his drink slowly, his mind going back to what Noelle Buckner looked like. She had been skittish and aloof, something that he had noticed from the beginning. And very beautiful and untouched! And for some reason he wanted to get to know her better!

  Chapter 2

  “Are these guys bothering you?” Jerrold asked as he wandered into the room reserved for the two physiotherapists. She had been there a week now and seemed to fit in very well. He also noticed that his team members feigned all kinds of bruises to get the chance to be in the room with her and they were requesting that she be the one to take care of them. It was amusingly obvious that they were trying to get her attention and her coolness and aloof and untouchable attitude made them try even harder. Jermaine seemed to be the most determined of them all. Jerrold had stayed away because he did not want to be grouped in with his other team members.

  She looked up as she finished massaging the team member’s ankle and stepped back to snap off her gloves. Her father was busy attending to another team member who had come in with a dislocated wrist. A number of the men were gathered around her and she knew that they were not necessarily injured but found ways to try and get the chance to strike up a conversation with her. She was always professional and handled their persistence with a cool smile and stuck to her job. “I can handle them.” She did not smile at him and he wondered what he could do to change that. He had seen her from a distance coming onto the field several times to led assistance to the players as they lay there on the gurney and had watched as she attended to them. Injuries were a part of the game and he had gotten a few scrapes and bruises but never serious enough to seek her help. He did not want to play the game his other team members were playing to get her to notice them and besides he realized that she was not impressed by what they were doing.

  He nodded as he watched her walked over to a desk to make notes on her device. He had outfitted the room with all the modern conveniences there were and aside from a very serious injury, his team members could be treated here. He walked over to her desk and without even glancing in her dad’s direction he spoke to her softly. “I did not get a chance to come and welcome you officially to the team.”

  She looked up at him and nodded. “I quite understand.”

  His eyes searched her face. Her thick dark hair was caught back into a very neat ponytail and she did not have makeup on. Gold knobs glittered at her lobes and her uniform, a shirt with the team’s logo on it, and her badge with her name and her profession were pinned onto it. She was wearing denims and looked very young and very professional. “The winter ball is coming up. I hope you will be there.”

  “I heard about that. Is it a requirement?”

  “I am afraid so,” he told her with a smile. “It is usually a fun event and the entire town turns out for it. We put it on every winter this time of the year to involve the community into what we are doing, making them a part of the team effort.”

  She nodded. “I will be there.”

  He stood there feeling awkward, not knowing what else to say to her but not wanting to leave. There was something about her that drew him to her and he could not put a finger on it.

  She looked up at him. “Was there anything else?” Her tone was polite and distant and he knew he was being dismissed.

  “I will see you later.” With a smile, he walked away from her, summarily dismissed.

  On the other side of the room, Robert Buckner watched the scene, his expression thoughtful. He had noticed the owner of the team watching her whenever he thought she was not looking, he had also noticed how the team members gathered around his daughter but had noticed it and had been amused by how much they tried to get her to notice them. But with Jerrold it was a different matter altogether. Jerrold stood at a distance and watched her, he did not pretend to be injured like the rest of them, but whenever she was not looking he would stare at her. Today was the first time he had approached her. Robert hid a smile as he leveled a look at his too serious daughter. He wanted her to open up and be with someone who could love her and who will be able to make her forget the cruelty of her high school years. He had no idea that she had been damaged so badly, but each time he had suggested that she get professional help and each time he had tried to get her to open up to him, she had changed the subject. His daughter was stubborn and willful and did not take kindly to people interfering in her life. Robert looked over to where Jerrold stood talking to a member and noticed how often his gaze strayed to where Noelle was sitting. His expression became thoughtful and with a smile he went back to what he was doing.

  *****

  “Dad, I will be fine, I just want to finish up my report on what I did today,” Noelle reassured him as he picked up his bag to leave. It was Thursday and he had a standing dinner with a friend of his that he was running late for, but he had not wanted to leave her alone. The team members were still practicing in the covered area they used in winter and he had no doubt that she would be okay with them around. Besides, Lakeside was a place that was completely safe.

  “Okay, my dear.” He bent over to kiss her on the head and stepped back. “I will ask Jerrold to keep an eye on you.”

  She looked up at him. “You really don’t have to do that.”

  “It will ease my mind,” he averred. “Don’t stay too long.” He waved at her and was gone.

  Noelle went back to her report and after a time she became absorbed on what she was doing. He came into the large area quietly and stood there watching her head bent over her device, a frown on her forehead. Jerrold walked quietly towards her and stopped just at her desk. “I hope it is nothing life threatening.”

  Her head lifted and for a moment he wondered if she recognized him before her expression cleared. “No.” She shook her head and her eyes went to the package in his hands.

  “I grabbed something in the kitchen for us. I figured you would be hungry and wondered if you wouldn’t mind sharing a meal with me.”

  “Dad should not have-“

  “I don’t mind in the least.” Before she could voice further objection, he pulled up a chair and placed the bag onto her desk. “Can you take a break?”

  She put away the device with reluctance and made room on her desk. Jerrold removed the food cartons from the bag and she smelled the delicious aroma coming from them, realizing that aside from a hurried sandwich at lunch she had had nothing else to eat.

  “Shrimp salad,” he told her as her eyes strayed to the cartons. “Our resident chef, Manuel, is a genius in the kitchen.” He handed her a carton and a fork. “As you have probably discovered.”

  “Thank you.” She eyed him as he sat back against the chair and stretched his legs out. “I hope I am not keeping you from practice.”

  “Not at all,” he told her quietly as h
e dug into his meal. “We have a game coming up on Saturday, but I think I have what I need to play a fair game.”

  “You are being modest,” she commented. “I happen to know that you are an excellent player.”

  “So you have seen some our games.”

  She shrugged. “This is my hometown and I was proud when the team made it to the playoffs.”

  “Have you ever been to any of our games?”

  “No,” she admitted as she dug the fork into the shrimp and studied it for a moment. “I watched it on TV.”

  “Played any sports in high school?”

  “Volleyball, but I was never good at it.”

  “How about cheerleading? I bet you nailed that,” he teased.

  She stiffened and put the fork down. “I was never accepted on the squad and no one in their right mind would have put me on the team.” Her voice was cold and he had a feeling that he had somehow touched a very raw nerve.

  “I bet you did not want to be a cheerleader anyway.” He tried to make up for his gaffe, but somehow made it even worse!

  “Oh, I did actually,” she said with a short laugh, her dark brown eyes glittering. “I prayed every single day that God would somehow find it in him to change the way I looked so that I could be accepted and be part of the squad but it never happened.” She met his puzzled look as his eyes roamed over her face. “I was a very late bloomer.”

  “High school has a way of bringing out the mean spirit in us.” He tried to sound casual but failed.

  “How was your high school experience? Were you bullied for looking different or were you one of the popular guys?”

  He wanted to lie so that he could form some sort of bond with, her but he knew that she would not respect him for doing so and he needed her respect among other things. “I was,” he admitted reluctantly.

  “Let me guess?” she injected a note of amusement in her cultured voice. “Captain of the basketball team and the one who dated the head cheerleader, both of you becoming king and queen of the homecoming dance. Am I right?”

  Somehow Jerrold knew that the answer he gave her would have him dropping a notch in her belt and he wondered how to get out of answering. “That was so long ago-“

  “So the answer is yes?”

  “It is.” He saw the look on her beautiful face and wanted to change the subject, but he wanted to find out what was it that still had such an impact on her after all this time! “I was never a bully, as a matter of fact I hated even the thought of it and when I was in high school I did my best to stop it.”

  “So you were one of the good jocks?” Her tone was amused. “How unusual.”

  “I am pretty unusual,” he told her lightly. “And I hate that word.”

  “Jock? But that’s what you are, and still are by the way.”

  “I would like to think that I am more than that.” He kept his tone level, trying not to make her see how important her opinion of him was! “Basketball has been my passion since I was a child and grew into a way of life for me. It became my career, but I branched out to other things as well.” He put the carton onto the desk and realized that he had lost his appetite. “I would like you to believe that.”

  “It’s none of my concern.” The shutter had been dropped over her face and the coolly beautiful professional woman was back. Jerrold had a feeling that he was not going to get anything else out of her for the rest of the evening. As a matter of fact, she was packing up. “Thanks for the meal and the company.”

  “You are most welcome,” he told her casually as he got to his feet. “If there is anything you need, please let me know.”

  “Thank you.” She nodded as she grabbed her laptop bag and walked over to the coat hanger to get her coat. “I will see you tomorrow.”

  He nodded and watched as she left the room, closing the door behind her. He stood where he was, shoving his hands inside his pockets as he stared at the closed door. He had watched her talking and had seen the expression on her beautiful face. Someone had hurt her and it had been during high school, and not only that but the hurt had cut pretty deep. She had said that no one in their right mind would have picked her to be on the cheerleading squad which meant that she had been very plain in high school. His mind drifted to the girl he used to date in high school: Sylvia Perkin, a bouncy and very pretty blonde with dark blue eyes and flawless complexion. He remembered how mean she had been to those who were not as beautiful as she was and how he had hated her behavior. He had spoken to her about it several times, but she had tossed her thick blonde hair and told him that they deserved to be treated like that because they did not make the beautiful cut. He had broken up with her shortly after that and she had started spreading rumors that he was gay. But he had been too popular and had had too many loyal followers and friends for her lies to take credence. But he had a feeling that it had been the opposite for Noelle and he felt his heart breaking for what she had endured during those years.

  “Hey, man! We are going to Sal’s to get a drink. Coming?”

  Jerrold turned to look at the tall African American man walking into the room and nodded.

  “The doc just left?” Jermaine asked him.

  “She did.” He picked up the cartons with the half-finished meals and put them back into the bag.

  “What do you think my chances are with her?”

  Jerrold looked up at the taller man startled, careful not to let his irritation of the subject matter showed. “I don’t think she is interested in any sort of relationship.”

  “Maybe you are right,” Jermaine said with a careless grin. “But I am still going to try.”

  “Don’t you have enough women vying for your attention?” Jerrold asked him mildly.

  “Yes, but the doc is not only beautiful but she is not impressed by my looks and my money, which makes it all the more interesting.”

  Jerrold gave him a dry look and did not respond to that. “Let’s go.”

  *****

  Noelle felt like beating herself for her loss of control when she was talking to Jerrold Littman. She had unwittingly admitted that her high school experience had been so terrible. Usually she did not reveal that to anyone, but there had been something about him that had pulled it out of her! She shook her head and she made her way into the kitchen to make some hot chocolate. He was right about something though – high school was years behind her and she should be able to put it behind her, but years of trying to do so had proven to be a complete failure!

  She put the kettle on and picking up a book she had left on the counter this morning she turned the pages and very soon forgot her annoyance.

  *****

  “You are asking me out on a date?” Noelle wrapped the bandage around the man’s ankle before looking at him in amusement.

  “I guess you could call it that,” Jermaine said with a grin. “It’s this bar where the team members hang out on Fridays to blow off steam and get rowdy.”

  “And you want me to go to somewhere like that?”

  He tested out his ankle by stretching his long leg out before responding. “I will be there to protect you.”

  “Protect me from what exactly?”

  “The lecherous gazes of the other men there,” he said with a teasing grin.

  “I am going to have to pass.”

  “Oh, come on, doc! Give a guy a break.”

  “I am sure there are other more willing females who are just dying to go out with you,” she pointed out.

  “You are right, but I have bestowed the honor on you,” he told her with a cheeky grin as he followed her over to her desk.

  She actually laughed at that, the movement transforming an already beautiful face into an exquisite one and that was what Jerrold saw when he walked into the room, his gaze arrested. He also noticed that Jermaine had been the one to make her laugh like that! He could not hear what was being said because he was too far away, but he saw the man leaning over her desk with an intimate smile on his face and felt his body tighten with re
sentment. He wanted to walk over there and tell him to back off, but he could not very well do that so he did the next best thing.

  “You are needed for the lineup, Jermaine,” he said as he came over to them. “I trust that your injury is not too bad?”

  Jermaine straightened and looked at him and then rotated his ankle experimentally. “The doc here fixed me up good so I guess I am okay. I was trying to invite her to Sal’s later, but so far she has refused my offer.”

  “I see.” Jerrold felt relieved that she had not said yes to the man. “You need to go now.”

  Jermaine nodded and sent a wide smile to Noelle. “If you change your mind, let me know.”

  Jerrold lingered and watched her as she sat down. “Are you going to change your mind?”

  She looked up at him. “Should I?”