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Roughnecks’ staff that she hadn't worked with before. He was the Assistant GM and that would certainly mean something to Richard.
    "You'll have plenty of chances to talk to Tom on our way to meet Wyatt McCoy."
    Jenna gave Aubrey a withering look. She followed Aubrey over to the rest of the group and plastered a great big smile on her face as they finished their conversation.
    "I hope you had a nice time, too?" Tom asked Tea.
    "I did. Thank you again, Tom," Tea answered, honestly looking happy and relaxed in her own skin in a way that filled Jenna's heart with joy.
    "So this little man is your son?" Tom asked, crouching down to be eye to eye with Johnny.
    Tea's son was wired for sound after the game and Jenna was shocked that he had been so obediently waiting through this boring adult conversation without interrupting.
    "Yes," she answered.
    "He's Tea's son with Jack Taylor," Griffen added, looking uneasy for a moment, but quickly returning to his usual confident air.
    Tom stood and looked Tea in the eyes.
    "Um, I wanted to say…I went to high school with Griffen and Jack back in the day. Jack was a hell of a guy. It is such a shame what happened to him."
    "Thank you for saying that. He was," Tea choked out. The sadness flashing suddenly across her previously happy face sent a shot of pain through Jenna.
    She couldn't help but reach out to touch Tea's arm when she heard the catch in her throat. Griffen's love and attention may have brought Tea back to life, but Jenna suspected the ghosts of Tea's grief and pain were still waiting in the wings.
    Jenna understood the power of that constant pain all too well — from the rare times when she indulged herself to reflect on her own tragic memories.
    "I didn't want to upset you. I'm sorry," Tom blurted out, quickly.
    "Oh, no, I'm fine, Tom. Don't be silly," Tea took a deep breath and schooled her face into a smile, "let me introduce you to our friends, Aubrey and Jenna."
    Griffen quickly spoke up, "Jenna's a resident with UPMC's department of orthopedic surgery. She's worked with some of your players. They know her as Dr. Sutherland."
    "That's great! What a small world." Tom said with a smile, shaking her hand, then Aubrey's. Jenna made sure to look over at Griffen and mouth a silent thank you to him.
    "It's a pleasure to meet you Tom," Jenna said, deliberately hiding her exhaustion from the day behind a professional smile. "This has been a great evening. Johnny especially loved it. He plays quarterback."
    "Griffen mentioned it." Tom smiled and glanced at his watch, adding, "In that case, let's get going. I didn't realize so much time has passed. I figure Griffen told you already, that I lined it up so you all can meet a few of the players. They should already be waiting for us. We can use the private elevator over here."
    "Come on Jenna," Aubrey whispered to her deviously, "I can't wait to get this tour started." Jenna could only roll her eyes and fall in line with the rest of them.

CHAPTER TWO

     
    Pressing his large left hand against the cool shower tiles, Wyatt allowed his tired eyes to close and gently bent his head, leaning his warm forehead against the smooth porcelain.
    Warm jets of water sprayed over his chestnut brown hair, down the contours of his face and along the ridges of the screaming muscles in his chest and arms, before finally traversing the length of his legs, only to disappear in a swirl down the drain near his aching feet.
    Every part of his mind and body was suffused with anger and frustration, so intense they rivaled the tangible pain pulsating from his right shoulder. With each new rush of water, he tried to imagine that the last four hours of his life, with all the failures and brutal hits they had entailed, were hitching a ride with that cleansing liquid and leaving him forever.
    Yet, he found no such relief.
    Instead, every time he let his mind wander, it went right back to replaying each of the three bone-crushing sacks he'd taken during the game. No