Rule Play (Saints of Love Book 1) Read online

  So, when people ask me about my throws, I don’t know whether to give the credit to her, or to myself. Not that anyone would want to hear about her, anyways. People in this industry really don’t give a fuck about the person inside of the jersey. They want to get lost in the pretend part of this gig, the fantasy. Nobody really gives a shit what’s going on in my brain. They care about what’s going on in my bedroom, my personal life and what kind of moves I have on the field.

  I move through the lines of reporters, and the little blond from SN Sports continues to follow me. I have no doubt that she wants to get my attention so that we can schedule a hook up later, but while sometimes I take her up on that offer, today, I’m just not feeling it.

  Another microphone is shoved in my face, but this time, the question is one that I don’t expect at all.

  “Malone, is it true that a woman was arrested on the field last night after proclaiming her love for you? Does that happen often? Do you usually have women arrested for things like that?”

  I stare blankly at the reporter in front of me, and for the first time in years, I’m left speechless. Luckily, Wyatt overhears and steps in.

  “First of all, there are always fans that are over the top. Second, that woman didn’t profess her love for Malone, she just yelled out a bunch of gibberish that no one could make out. Third, we don’t just have people arrested. Security takes control of that. Let’s not forget that the incident in question happened during our annual youth night. Our security officers along with our team make safety for those kids our highest priority.”

  I’m still stunned as Wyatt clasps his hand on my shoulder and starts to move me back into the thick of our team. Once we’re safely out of earshot, he frowns and glances back to the reporters in disgust.

  “Sometimes I can’t stand them.”

  “We won our game with fifteen seconds left last night, and they have the nerve to ask about that?” I don’t know why I’m even letting it bother me. Since going pro, and hell, even in my college days, I’ve been questioned on all kinds of shit. I learned really quickly to keep my business private, and to never let myself get spotted doing my dirty deeds. That’s why whenever I feel like discreetly hooking up, I do it at one of Wyatt’s parties, where pictures and videos aren’t allowed. We play by the rules in that department, always. Because one wrong move, and shit can really get out of hand. The last thing I need is for my mom to know about my hook-ups, and the rest of the guys on my team are in the same boat. We’ve all done shit we aren’t proud of. Every single guy on this team has done some shit that they don’t want to go public. For the most part, those are the married guys, trying to keep their indiscretions away from the media, and hence, away from their wives. But the same goes for the single guys like me. The less the public knows about what goes on behind the scenes, the better. But trust me when I say, they are always prying. And always fucking asking things that they shouldn’t be.

  “That chick was crazy.” Wyatt shakes his head. “Seriously, though, bro. I think she just got out of the looney bin. If she wasn’t so crazy, she might have been cute. But that right there, is why I stay away from red heads. They got a special kind of crazy, all wrapped up inside of them.”

  I don’t respond to him with words. I simply give him a chin lift, which makes him assume that I agree with him. He pats my shoulder and asks me if I want to join him and the rest of the team at the bar tonight to celebrate. I politely decline.

  The last thing that I want to have brought up again was that woman. I’m going to be honest with you, after asking Kat for her help guiding my throw, and then having that red head barrel through the crowd, yelling out my name, stopped me right in my fucking tracks.

  I had been bent down, signing a football for one of the little kids on the field, when the ruckus started. I know that it was just a flash of red hair, but for a split second, I swear to God, I thought that it was Kat in the flesh. I had to do a double take to make sure that I was actually seeing what I thought that I was seeing. Which is crazy, right? Of course, it wasn’t Kat. She’s long since gone. It was in fact just a woman who shared some of her features, out there, acting a fool.

  I saw everything. Her chest that she flashed me, her crown of dark red hair fanning her face, and a set of piercing green eyes that were focused solely on me. I also heard her loud and clear, when she called out my name, and asked me to date her.

  So, yeah. She wasn’t speaking gibberish like Wyatt had said, and she was only there looking for me. But I appreciate him trying to cover that shit up, especially to the media.

  “Either way, man, don’t let that shit wreck your day. You know how it is.” He smirks. “Bitches always be trippin.”

  Ain’t that the truth.

  5

  Mia

  I woke up today with the full intent of looking on the bright side. The sun is shining, it’s Saturday, and I don’t have to work. On the flip side, it’s my first day of community service, so I’ll still be working, but somehow, I really lucked out, and was assigned to a youth center to fulfill my hours. I have no idea what to expect today, since the email I received was very brief on the subject. I tried googling the address, but not much came up. So, I have no idea what today will have in store for me. That’s the part that I’m struggling to stay positive about.

  I’ve always been a planner. I’ve had my entire life mapped out since I was five years old. Early on, I knew that I wanted to do hair. I started cutting my barbies hair when I was around that same age, and no amount of getting yelled at for it stopped me. Finally, my mom realized that and just started buying me off brand dolls from the dollar store. When I was a teen, I realized that I was too strong minded to ever work for someone else, so I got a job and started saving money towards opening my own salon. I knew that I wanted to get married and start a family, which is why I stuck with Brett for as long as I did. I’ve always had a plan. But I didn’t plan for Brett to leave me, and I certainly didn’t plan on getting so drunk that I would end up in jail. So maybe, not knowing what is in store for me today is a good thing.

  I mean, new year, new me, right?

  Ha. So far, the new me isn’t turning out to be so great, but today is my fresh start. As I motor out of the city, and then, head towards the outskirts of town, I continue to try to amp myself up. Today will be good. Today I am going to have a hundred opportunities to have a positive outlook and possibly help someone. Today, I am not in jail, and that is a damn good thing.

  The address is pretty easy to find, even though I was expecting it to be located in some type of brick building. It’s actually not much of a building at all. Instead, it’s an old Victorian style mansion that sits on the river, with what seems to be miles of woods sitting behind it. It doesn’t look to be in the best shape, but it’s beautiful none the less. There are a couple of cars in the driveway, along with two trucks and one van with a Drywall company logo displayed on the side. I quickly recheck the address in my email, just to make sure that I’m in the right place, before finally stepping out of my jeep and heading up the rickety wrap around porch towards the front door.

  For a youth center, I expected there to be things for children littered around the place. Maybe slides out in the front, backpacks strewn on the front porch, and a plethora of shoes scattered by the door. But there are none of those things here. Instead, I hear the sound of a chainsaw, and the echo of men’s voices coming from the inside.

  I pause. This can’t be the right place, but yet, I already verified the address. I shift uncomfortably on my feet and am just about to head back to my car and try to get in touch with the person in charge of my community service, when the screen door swings open, and a cute brunette pops her head out.

  “Hi!” She greets me with a warm smile. “You must be Mia.”

  She kicks the door the rest of the way open, all while trying to juggle some painting supplies that are in her hands. I grab the door from her, and she gives me a relieved sigh.

  “Thanks. I would h
ate to drop this paint on these brand new floors. My boss would definitely lose his mind.” I like her immediately. Her eyes are friendly, and her smile seems genuine. But I’m still very much confused about what my role here will be.

  “Let me just set this stuff down upstairs, and then we can talk about this place, and how you can help.”

  I kind of like the fact that she isn’t treating me like a criminal. I nod my head and watch as she takes off up the staircase. Once she’s out of sight, I scan the inside of the house.

  It’s obviously a construction zone. The hallway that I’m standing in has walls and flooring, but it’s new drywall, that needs to be sanded and painted. The room immediately off of the hallway has no flooring, and two by fours standing where I’m assuming walls will be built. There’s a chill in the air which leads me to believe that there isn’t any heat in this house, or if there is, it’s off because all of the windows and screen doors are open. I must look confused, because as the pretty brunette barrels back down the staircase, she chuckles softly and then extends her hand.

  “I’m sorry. I forgot the most important part. I’m Amy, and I’m in charge of River’s way. I can’t thank you enough for coming out to help us. You must be wondering what is going on here, so let me quickly explain.”

  She goes on to tell me that she runs to youth center on the East side. They were living in a brick industrial building, but then she joined forces with a new partner, and was able to purchase this home for the group. The entire place was gutted, but being an old house, they ran into problem after problem, and now are behind schedule.

  “Basically, we need all hands on deck right now. It’s Minnesota, and it’s almost October. Pretty soon, we aren’t going to be able to get much work done, because it could snow at any time. But that’s Minnesota for you, right?” Totally true. “We still need the exterior of the house painted. The porch has been replaced on the back, but there are a lot of boards that need to be fixed on the front. It still needs to be stained, and that’s just what needs to be done on the outside. There isn’t a single room in this house that is complete, and we literally cannot find enough people to hire for this. Seriously. It’s like people don’t even want to work anymore!” She shakes her head in disgust. “So, forgive me, but I made a plea with the court. Any non-violent offenders who aren’t a risk for children are going to be assigned here. I hope that you don’t mind, but we ran a background check on you, and you seemed like the perfect fit. Our plan is to get these kids in their new home before Christmas, so we desperately need you.”

  I wonder if she has any idea that I in fact flashed a group of children all while trying to score a date with a football player who was obviously out of my league. I think it’s safe to assume that she does not in fact know that little detail, and I don’t feel like mentioning it. Talking about it makes it real, and frankly, I’d really prefer to forget that it ever happened. However, even with me leaving that detail out, this still doesn’t seem like the best fit. I mean, I have literally no experience doing any kind of construction, or manual labor. I style hair for a living. The only toolbelt that I carry is filled with hair products.

  “With all due respect, I have no building experience. I do hair for a living. I don’t…”

  “I’m not expecting you to build anything. But by doing hair, that means that you have an eye for design, right?”

  I pause. I’m not trying to pat myself on the back or anything, but yeah…I most definitely do. But Amy doesn’t let me answer.

  “I need help with sanding, and then painting. I’ll need help decorating this place and making it homey for the kids. I’ll need help caring for all of their animals, maybe sometimes keeping an eye on them so that I can supervise the people that do know how to build things. That’s really all that I’m asking of you. Nothing more, and nothing less. Do you think that you can do that?”

  That doesn’t sound terrible. In fact, it sounds better than any other community service that I could get stuck with. So, I shrug. “Yeah, I can do that.”

  “Good.” She flashes me a brilliant smile. “I’ve got the inside handled for today, so for now, I’ll use you to help outside with the animals. We adopted them all way too early and have gotten a bit over our heads. Do you mind? They’re out in the barn behind the house.”

  Without letting me answer, she squeezes my arm and points out back.

  “Instructions are clearly labeled on the white board! Thanks again, Mia, you really are the best!”

  Or perhaps, the most gullible. Because as I head out the back door, and into the barn, I realize in this moment that I have been had. Amy overtook me with her kindness, and I just might regret being so flexible. Barking is the first thing that hits me, and before I can realize what’s happening, a huge, fluffy white dog leaps onto me, pushing me backwards onto the dirt floor, and then stands on my chest with his big paws, as he licks my face.

  “Jasper!” A tiny voice calls the dog, but Jasper doesn’t seem to want to let me loose. He continues to lick up my face and into my hair, all while pushing so hard on my chest that I literally cannot move.

  “Jasper, bad boy! Let her up. Get down, Jasper. Down!”

  The dog whines but does as she says. He continues to pant in my face however, blasting me with his dog breath while I try to catch my bearings and get back onto my feet.

  “He’s really friendly.” I now realize that the voice belongs to a little girl, probably not any older than twelve or thirteen. “He just thinks that everyone who walks through that door is here to see him.”

  “That’s ok.” I reach down and scratch Jaspers head. “He didn’t hurt me. He just startled me a little bit.”

  “I’m Emily.” The girl extends her hand to me. “It’s my day to take care of the animals. Are you here to help?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” I tell her, making her giggle. “I most definitely am. I’m Mia, by the way. I’ll be coming here on Saturdays to help out for the next few months.”

  “Cool.” She sizes me up with her eyes. “Are you a volunteer or are you from the jail?”

  I shift uncomfortably on my feet, not really wanting to answer her question. “Ah…”

  “It’s cool if you’re from the jail. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad person.”

  I fucking love this kid. But as she continues to speak, my heart aches a little in my chest.

  “My dad’s in prison. He’s bad, but my mom’s been to jail lots of times and she’s not a bad person. She just can’t stop using drugs. Someday though, she’ll get better, and then I’ll get to go home for good.”

  Well, shit. She seems way too young to be so knowledgeable about drugs and jail and having lost both of her parents to those things seems like a shitty hand to be dealt at such a young age. I don’t even know what to say to her about it, since I wasn’t prepared for it, but then, Emily just continues on, as if she wasn’t just talking about something so sad. She takes my hand in hers, and then pulls me further into the barn, pointing things out as we go.

  “We have five dogs, a guinea pig, four cats, one of which is pregnant right now, and there is a chance that we will be getting a horse. Miss Amy said that once we get the house finished and we move in, we can consider a horse or two, because we have enough barn space for them, and AJ said that he will buy them.”

  I have no idea who AJ is, but I just nod my head along with the girl.

  “All of the dogs and cats need to be fed twice a day. The dogs have to get walked twice a day, and the pig needs his stall cleaned out. I know that this sounds like a crappy job but it’s really not bad. We each have to take a turn with the animals, but I guess I got lucky since you’re here and you can help me today. We’ll start with feeding all of them and then we’ll clean out the pig pen. After we get that stuff done, we can walk the dogs. Jasper is one we really need to watch, because he likes to get close to the river, and he can’t swim.”

  Noted. I won’t let that dog out of my sight.

  For the rest of the morning
, I follow Emily’s directions. While she feeds the animals, she directs me into the pig pen and gives me a five minute run through of how to clean it. I realize immediately that Emily is one smart cookie, because she gave me the worst job in here, but she’s cute and chatters away which makes the time go by faster, so I let her get away with it. By the time that the stall is done, every inch of me aches, and I’m completely filthy. Note to self, bring a change of clothes for next time.

  Emily tosses me half of the dogs’ harnesses, and she puts on the others. We attach their leashes to their collars, and then, we trek out of the barn and towards the woods.

  “There’s a little bridge over the river that AJ built.” Emily points to an area further down the property. From this distance, I can just see the outline of the bridge, so I let her lead me across the grass and further away from the barn. She had insisted on walking Jasper since he listens to her the best, but since he’s so naughty, she only took one other dog, leaving me with four. The dogs tug me along behind them, and I struggle to control them. Emily informs me that I need to show them that I’m in control or they will run all over me.

  I do as she instructs, and finally, the dogs slow down a bit. We all cross the bridge, and then follow one of the paths that leads into the woods. As we walk, Emily continues to talk my ear off, but I actually love it. She asks me about myself and what I do when I’m not here, and when she finds out that I have a salon, she squeals, claps her hands, and asks me to do her hair sometime. I wholeheartedly agree, and honestly, start to fall in love with this kid. Some of the details of her life she glosses over, but the further we walk, the more she shares with me. She’s been in foster care since she was six years old. Her mom struggles with a heroin addiction, and pops intermittently in and out of Emily’s life. Her eyes gleam with happiness when she talks about the times her mom has gotten clean and has been able to take her back, but then they darken when she talks about returning to foster care. I can’t imagine what this little girl has gone through, and it honestly makes me feel like a crappy person for not realizing how lucky I was to grow up the way that I did. My parents are still married, still happy, and still doting on me, their only child and center of their universe. While it normally drives me crazy, after listening to what Emily’s life has been like, I really just want to call them and thank them for loving me so much.