So it was perfectly safe to roll on her side and have him slide in next to her. She snuggled against his warm body, feeling his strong arms circle her waist and pull her close. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to believe it was all real. At least for tonight. No matter what, she could count on reality to return in the morning.
FOOL’S GOLD HIGH SCHOOL sat above town on the road that led up to the ski resort. The campus was only about five years old, with a state-of-the-art science building, a large stadium and an auditorium that held five hundred.
Raoul stood onstage, facing the students filling every seat. He’d pushed aside the podium, preferring to walk back and forth.
“I didn’t start out rich and famous,” he told the kids. “When I was your age, I was in foster care, fighting the system responsible for feeding and clothing me. I knew no one cared about me. Not as a person. I was a case number to the social worker and steady income for my foster family.”
He paused and met the gaze of several of the younger guys in the audience.
“Some families really do care about the kids they take in, and I applaud them. I’ve heard the stories, but I didn’t see it much in action. The social workers I knew were overworked. They tried their best, but they weren’t given the tools or the resources. So I got involved in some things that I should have avoided.”
He walked to the edge of the stage and stared out at the students. “Gangs can look pretty good from afar. They give you a place to belong. You get status from being with the right crowd. You’re around people who accept you. If they’re crazy enough, you never know what’s going to happen next and that can be fun, too.”
He shrugged. “It can also leave you worse off than you ever thought. Pregnant. In jail. Or dead.” He let the words hang there for a long time.
“When you’re sixteen, the future seems a long way away, but I’m here to tell you the value of thinking long term. Of knowing what you want and going after it, regardless of how many people tell you it’s not possible. I spent the first few months of my senior year homeless, living in an abandoned building. I had friends who helped out, but what made the biggest difference was I found someone who could believe in me. And he taught me to believe in myself. That’s what you have to do. Believe you can make it.”
He crossed to the other side of the stage and looked out at those kids. “The dictionary tells us a mentor is a trusted coach or a guide. Be what you want to see in someone else. Find a younger kid and get involved. It’s like throwing a rock in a lake. The ripples stretch out forever.”
He talked a little more about the importance of doing the right thing, then said he would answer questions.
There were the usual ones about playing for the Cowboys and what it had been like to take his college team through two undefeated seasons.
“I didn’t do it,” he told them honestly. “I was one member of an excellent team. Everyone did his part and that’s why we won. Football isn’t golf. It’s not just you and the ball. It’s everyone around you. Any team is only as strong as its weakest player.”
A small girl in the third row raised her hand.
He pointed to her. “Yes?”
“Have you ever been a Big Brother? My uncle has a boy he’s been helping for a couple of years now.”
“Good for him,” Raoul said. “As for being a Big Brother, it’s hard for a guy like me to help someone one-on-one. The media finds out and it gets messy. So I give back this way—talking to schools, sharing ideas, working with teachers.”
He rattled on for a couple more minutes and was relieved that the students seemed to buy it and the teachers in the room were nodding.
He wanted them to stand up and yell at him. On what planet would a former football player be so damned famous that he couldn’t take a kid bowling? Guys way better known than him had private lives.
The truth was less pretty. He didn’t want to get personally involved. He didn’t want to care. The price was too high. Better to keep things superficial. That way no one got burned, including him.
A philosophy Pia wouldn’t agree with, he thought as he finished the speech. She was the kind who would leap in first and ask questions later. That’s what she was doing with the embryos. Talk about a woman with conviction and courage.
And a way about her, he thought as he finished up and smiled as they applauded. Three nights ago, he’d stayed with her. Ever since his bed had been a little colder, a little more empty.
But he knew the value of going it alone and the danger of making something more than it was. He knew how a heart could be ripped apart and left for dead. No way he was going through that again.
PIA WAITED NERVOUSLY on the padded table.
“It’s okay,” the tech told her. “Ultrasounds don’t hurt.”
Pia eyed the wand. “There has to be a downside.”
“Sorry, no. We even heat the goopy gel we use on your tummy. This is one of the easiest medical tests.”
“It beats a barium enema.”
The other woman, Jenny her name tag said, laughed. “Have you ever had a barium enema?”
“I’ve heard rumors. They can’t be fun.”