Page 82 of Dare to Love

The next few seconds were a blur. He faked, ducked, and ran in the opposite direction only to be charged by a massive hulk of a man on his left. He took a hit and was leveled by opposing players on the right. Madison winced at the force of the blow that took him down. As the men heaped one on top of the other, time-out was called.

The dog pile took time to sort as each man slowly rose to his feet. All except the player on the bottom. Number twenty-two, Alex Dare, lay sprawled and unmoving on the field.

***

Alex knew immediately this hit was different than the others. Things went black for a few seconds too long. Enough to have panic setting in before the blue sky above him came back into view.Thank God. But the pain and the nausea were overwhelming and nonstop. And at some point, he must have blacked out. He woke up in an MRI machine, something he was all too familiar with. The enclosed space and loud banging noises didn’t help the pain. Finally, they pulled him out of the tiny capsule, and he answered the requisite questions about day and time, doing his best not to puke or move his head even a fraction of an inch.

Damn, he hurt.

He remembered the start of the game but not the score or the hit. Hell, he didn’t even remember the ambulance ride to the hospital. Not unusual for a concussion, and he’d had enough of them to know.

They sent him for more tests, and his head pounded with the force of a hundred bass drums. Waves of nausea washed over him, threatening to make him lose his lunch. If he’d eaten lunch. He couldn’t recall.

The team doctor and a neurological specialist were waiting when they finally settled him into a private room. Their expressions were grim, and his heart pounded harder in his chest. Physical pain he could endure. What they wanted to tell him? He was deathly afraid that he couldn’t handlethat.

The doctors spoke, sharing the news, their words echoing in his brain. He could not afford another hit to the head. One more concussion could lead to permanent brain damage.

Memory loss.

Depression.

Loss of motor control.

Blindness.

The damned doctors used every worst-case scenario they could think of to make their point:No more professional football.

A career-ending injury—every player’s worst nightmare.

He refused to talk to the doctors and was grateful when they finally left him alone. For the next hour, he stared at the ceiling of the hospital room, the blinding headache and nausea a constant reminder of loss.

He was twenty-six years old, and all he could think was... what now?

***

Six Months Later

Alex woke up in a sweat from the same nightmare he’d had for months after he’d taken the life-altering hit to his head. Not only did he relive the moment of impact, the details of which had eventually returned to him, but he actually experienced the searing pain. Six months had passed since that Thanksgiving weekend, and he’d thought that damned dream was behind him. But he should’ve expected it again now since training had begun for the football season and, along with it, the renewed feeling that his life was over.

He rolled his tight shoulders, the stress of not knowing what to do next eating at his gut. He sat up in bed and stretched. Maybe he just needed to get laid. After all, he hadn’t indulged in his favorite pastime in far too long. Problem was, every time he picked up his phone, none of the names listed there appealed to him.

Okay, one did, but he’d burned that bridge. To the ground, if his best friend and sister-in-law, Riley, was to be believed. Considering the way he’d thrown Madison Evans out of his hospital room, he figured his best friend was right. He winced at the memory, self-loathing filling him for how he’d treated Madison.

He remembered the moment as if it had just happened. After the concussion and the battery of tests, the doctors had insisted on keeping him overnight. Riley, Ian, his brother, Jason, and sister, Sienna, had stopped in to see him. He hadn’t been pleasant, but they were family. They had to forgive him. His parents had come next, and they’d understood his depressed mental state. The revolving door of visitors had made his head spin even more than the injury. He’d assured them all he was just fine and tossed them the hell out. Pity and concern were the last things he needed. He’d been throwing a big enough party all by himself.

Thenshe’dshown up.

He’d looked up to see Madison standing there, blonde hair spilling over her shoulders, covering luscious breasts he’d had in his mouth and hands the night before. He might’ve been down for the count, but he could still appreciate a beautiful woman, and this one did it for him. She had from first sight, which was why he’d kept her around longer than his usual female.

But he’d been getting antsy, especially with how close she was to his family, spending the Thanksgiving holiday with them. How stupid was he, fucking where he lived? He had an old man who’d married one woman while keeping another on the side. Was it any wonder Alex had done something so dumb?

The one and only time he’d let a woman close, she’d cut his heart out without thought. He’d sworn never again and thought he’d meant it. Only Madison had broken through those walls he’d erected, fitting in with his life too well, and it scared the shit out of him.

And now? He had no career, no future, and he sure as hell didn’t need to be worrying about a relationship of any kind.

“What are you doing here?” he’d asked her.

“I’m worried about you. I came to see if you’re okay.” Concern filled her big blue eyes, and she started toward him.