Maddox's face was anxious, his eyes round and damp.

"No, sweetie. Only if he eats a lot of candy," she rea.s.sured him.

"Oh, that's good. Cuz once I gave Brody some M&M's and I don't want him to die."

Shay kissed the top of the young boy's head. "Nothing you do is going to make Brody die."

"Is he ever going to come see us again?" Maddox's voice was small and Shay's heart squeezed.

"I'm sure he'll come see you soon, Maddox. It's just been a crazy week for him, that's all."

"But he said on TV that you're not his girlfriend anymore. That you never were. You were just helping him with his die beet ease."

The squeezing spread throughout her body now. The commissioner of the NFL had held a press conference the day before saying the source of the blogger's information had been identified. It was Erik Hjelmstad, Brody's trainer. She and everyone else had been stunned to learn the trainer was being blackmailed by the blogger. The details of the blackmail weren't given, but Julianne had stopped by last night to reveal that Erik had apparently given a client HGH and that the blogger had the proof. While the ident.i.ty and purpose of the blogger were still a mystery, the snitch had finally been publically outed. And it wasn't her.

Brody's agent, Mr. Mathis, had followed the commissioner with a brief statement exonerating Shay. He told the media that the relationship between her and Brody was a professional one only. Their supposed romance was only a cover to keep his team from questioning him. Shay nearly lost her lunch when she heard that sound bite. Sadly, it rang true. Mr. Mathis also praised her abilities as a nutritionist saying it was her skills that had Brody in such fine condition.

It was likely the only apology she'd ever see from Brody. It was also the cleanest breakup she'd ever heard of.

"We're friends, Maddox. And I was helping him with diabetes. He's your friend, too. You'll see him again." She made a mental note to ask Julianne if she'd bring Maddox to a game in the future.

"I hope so."

Pathetically, Shay hoped to see Brody again, too. But she wasn't getting her hopes up.

"Come on, little buddy. It's my last day of studying forever. Why don't we make some brownies to help us get through it?"

"Yay!" Maddox cheered.

If Shay decided to write another dissertation, it would be about the healing powers of chocolate.

At two o'clock the following afternoon, Shay walked out of Johns Hopkins University with the piece of paper she'd worked four long years to get. Her dissertation defense had lasted nearly two hours. The room had been packed with her advisors, the faculty committee members, and her colleagues in the department, many of whom she'd taught undergraduates with. Thankfully, the department chair had banned all cell phones and cameras before the meeting began. Given her notoriety and the subject of her defense, it was understandable that a member of the media might sneak in.

"And to think, not a single person mentioned the fact that you'd achieved this honor at the ripe old age of twenty-four," her advisor chuckled as they walked down the corridor to the entrance of the building. "I'm proud of you, Shay. You're going to do great things. When you're financially able, you call my friend at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. They'd love to have you."

"That's my dream job, Dr. Brahm. Hopefully, I'll be there soon."

"If you change your mind about graduation, you let me know. You can always walk through next spring." He held the door for her and the December wind whipped at her skirt.

"My family doesn't travel much with my father's illness, so I doubt it. But thank you for everything, sir. I really appreciate it."

He gave her a fatherly hug. "Well done, my dear. Now go out and be brilliant."

She couldn't help but smile as she walked briskly to her car. Finally, it was over.

"Yay! Is that the great Dr. Everett I see?"

Julianne's voice startled Shay. Her friend was leaning up against the trunk of her car. Her mother-in-law, Annabeth, waved from the driver's seat of her Lexus, parked behind Shay.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm kidnapping you!" Julianne clapped her hands in delight. "You've just accomplished a major feat. It's time to celebrate."

"But-"

"No buts. Your family is far away, so you have to celebrate with your Blaze family instead."

The mention of the Blaze made her knees nearly buckle. "I couldn't."

"Yes, you can. It'll be easy," Julianne said as she steered Shay around to open the car door. "I'll ride with you, and Annabeth will follow in my car. All you have to do is relax and enjoy yourself."

Shay slid into the driver's seat as Julianne sat on the pa.s.senger side of her little Corolla. "Where are we going?"

"To the practice facility," Julianne said, her tone matter-of-fact.

"No! I can't!" Shay's hands started to shake on the steering wheel.

Julianne covered one with one of her own. "Yes you can, sweetie. Emma has been planning this for weeks. She's even gotten little Maddox involved. Please let us do this for you. Brody hasn't been cleared to practice with the team yet, so he won't be there. If he were, I would be tempted to poke his eyes out. Come, Shay. It'll be fun."

Shay hated that her and Brody's disastrous relationship had come between him and Julianne. But a part of her was secretly glad the woman was still her friend. And she didn't want to let Emma down.

"Okay," she said finally and Julianne blew the horn to alert Annabeth to move on.

Roscoe was meeting with the team management and physicians at four. The fact that Brody had been excluded from the meeting could only mean one thing: He was on the IR-or injured reserve-list. His agent had insisted he stay away from the meeting, but there was no way in h.e.l.l he was going to let them decide his future without him. Taking the steps two at a time, he charged up the stairs of the training facility toward Hank Osbourne's office.

"Brody!"

Maddox's squeal stopped him in his tracks. Glancing around, he realized he'd walked into the middle of a party of some sort. Silence fell over the room that was filled with his teammates, their wives, even his own sister. And Shannon. Standing regally among the well-wishers with a mortarboard trimmed out in Blaze colors propped jauntily on her head, she looked stunning in her fitted black suit and high-heeled boots.

Bridgett eyed him warily from across the room, but Julianne didn't bother to hide her displeasure. Marching through the crowd, she hissed at him. "Go away!"

Maddox had a death grip on his leg. "No! Brody don't leave. Shay is a doctor now. We were going to take her to dinner to celebrate. Remember?" The boy looked up at him with his puddle-brown eyes and a familiar squeezing began in Brody's chest.

s.h.i.t, s.h.i.t, s.h.i.t! Today was the day Shannon was defending her dissertation. By the looks of everyone, it had gone well. He felt an enormous swell of pride for her. All her hard work had paid off. He'd never had any doubt that it would.

Maddox was telling the truth, he had planned to take her to a celebration dinner followed by a night of pampering at the Ritz-Carlton. But that was before. When they were still . . . whatever it was that they had been.

"It's okay, Julianne." Shannon's mama would be proud of her perfect Southern manners.

Julianne gave him the evil eye she'd perfected fending off men in Italy before moving away. The rest of the guests began their chatter again, giving him and Shannon a modic.u.m of privacy.

"Congratulations." Brody awkwardly moved forward to shake her hand or kiss her, he wasn't sure which, but her slight recoil had him jerking back.

Her whiskey eyes were anxious and Brody figured it was best to make his way out of there as quickly as possible. Best for both of us. "So, you're still planning on heading to the job in Texas."

"Yes, Brody, I am." There was no resignation in her voice. Just determination. She had a plan, a mission, and she was sticking to it.

His mantra of the last few days slid out of his mouth, but his chest ached as he said the words. "It's better this way." Except he finally believed it was better this way; better that their relationship end here and now because he wouldn't trust again. Ever.

She smiled as if she'd heard and understood his unspoken words. But then, she always had understood him.

"So we're good?" It was a stupid question for him to ask. Her eyes and her posture told him she might splinter into a million pieces at any moment. Not that he was much better.

"Yes," she whispered. "We're good."

He heaved a sigh at her dismissal, patting Maddox on the head. "Little dude, I'm going to have to take a rain check. I have a meeting I've got to go to."

The boy pulled away, his face crestfallen. "But Brody, this is Shay's special day! We have to do it today."

Brody hated himself for what he was doing to the boy. And to Shannon. But he had no choice. It was just too much work to forge a relationship with anyone when he didn't trust a soul.

"Maddox," Shannon said, gently pulling the boy underneath her arm. "Grown-ups don't always get to do what they want. Sometimes they have to make tough choices that aren't always fair."

Brody would have felt that sucker punch even if he were wearing a cup. She'd said the words to Maddox, but they were clearly meant for him. But she didn't understand. She knew who she was and where her life was going-even after her pit stop as a prison matron. Shannon had made it all work. He had no idea about his future and even less control.

"Why don't you go get a piece of cake?" She caressed the boy's cheek gently and Brody's whole body went hard.

Maddox narrowed his eyes at Brody. "Sure. But it's got sugar in it so Brody can't have none." The boy stomped off toward his mother.

"You don't want to miss your meeting." It was costing her to remain calm; her short staccato breaths gave her away.

He stood there drinking her in with his eyes. The conundrum that wasn't his anymore. "Good luck, Shannon."

She gave him a brief nod, but it took him a moment before he could turn and leave the room.

"Brody," she said softly. "You're gonna find who the grown-up Brody is, I promise. And he's going to be awesome." Not giving him a chance to respond, she quickly turned on her heel and slipped back into the crowd of well-wishers.

Brody strode from the building, figuring it was probably better to let Roscoe handle things with management after all.

Shay called the manager of Celtic Charm and told him she wouldn't be working there any longer. It was a crummy thing to do to him on a Friday morning, but she knew there were more than enough bartenders who'd want her shift and she just didn't have the energy to smile and make nice to strangers all night. Besides, she didn't need rent money next month; she'd be back in her old bedroom at Mama's soon enough.

Sorting through her meager belongings, she packed her books into a box to ship home.

"That's gonna cost a fortune you know," Julianne said from her seat on the kitchen floor, where she was stacking Shay's few dishes into a box for Goodwill.

"Probably, but I might need them for something in the future." Shay pulled the packing tape over the box. "Besides, they're kind of like a badge of honor. I can always line my bookshelves with them to intimidate people."

Julianne laughed. "Oh, Shay, you don't need to intimidate anyone. But you could clunk a prisoner over the head with one of those ma.s.sive tomes if he gets out of line."

It was Shay's turn to laugh. "How many times do I have to tell y'all, I'm not going to have any direct interaction with the prisoners. I'll be doing the dietary planning and other things from an office on site, but that's as close as I'll come."

"I know, but it makes you sound tougher my way."

Shay laughed again. Her friendships with Julianne and Bridgett had turned out to be one of the fringe benefits of her relationship with Brody. She figured the friendships would peter out in the months ahead-although both women claimed they were going to visit Shay in Texas-but she was glad for their company now.

Julianne's cell phone buzzed. "Oh my," she said as she scanned the screen.

"Everything okay with Owen?" Shay asked, concerned by the anxious look on her friend's face.

"Actually, this is from Will. It's about Brody."

Shay's breath seized in her lungs and she felt a little light-headed. Surely, he'd been monitoring his blood sugar and watching his diet? Had he been injured? But he wasn't cleared to practice yet. "Is he all right?" she asked.

Julianne looked up from her phone. Her amber eyes softening as she took in Shay's anxiety. "Of course he is. He's Brody." She laughed in amazement. "The team has cleared him to play. Apparently, he is still in the prediabetes stage and may stay that way for the rest of his life. Will says he just has to watch when he exerts himself because he gets something called-"

"Reactive hypoglycemia."

"Yes, that. But, of course, you already knew that." Julianne nodded at the box of books, a wide grin on her face. "Because you're so smart."

Shay slid into a chair. "That's wonderful. I'm so happy for him." And she was. They'd both gotten what they wanted. Their crazy pact had been successful. Yet, her heart was still heavy, weighed down by a sadness she'd never felt the likes of before. All those weeks of holding back her feelings had been for nothing. Because Brody had made her fall in love with him and then he'd walked away.

Julianne snorted, rousting Shay from her musing. "It just puts off the inevitable."

"I don't know," Shay said. "I think he's ready to grow up. He just doesn't know how to take that leap. But he will."

Her friend eyed her shrewdly. "Brody doesn't like doing things that require too much effort."

Shay's lips curved into a smile of agreement. "No, but one day he'll find something that will make him put forth a little effort and take that leap of faith."

"Huh," Julianne said. "I have a feeling that day has already come and gone."

Before Shay had the opportunity to question her friend's cryptic statement, a knock sounded at the door.

"That's probably Mr. Metz with more boxes." Shay stood to get the door.

But it wasn't her neighbor standing at the threshold.

"Teryn!" Shay gasped.

It was her sister.

Twenty-six.

"Mama didn't want you driving all the way back to Texas alone." Teryn picked the croutons out of her salad, neatly piling them to the side.