When I Need You (Need You #4)

Two dozen girls spread out on the mat. Dallas stood at the front, leading the group, while Rowan and another woman walked along opposite sides of the competitors, holding clipboards.

The entire routine lasted a little over two minutes. It surprised me to see how well the competitors synced with each other, given their random number assignments. According to the signage I’d seen, they weren’t allowed to try out with a predetermined group, for either the choreographed numbers or the stunting portion. When they performed a move I didn’t know the official name for, I Googled it. I didn’t want to come across like an idiot not knowing anything about cheerleading.

For the next hour, I watched twelve flights enact the same routine. A few competitors stood out, but I hadn’t seen anyone on par with Dallas and especially not close to Rowan’s performance level. I’d stuck around to see the stunt groups, but the people behind me said those tryouts weren’t until tomorrow.

Before I could bail, a dark-haired sprite bounded up the bleacher steps.

“Fancy meeting you here, JB.” She plopped down next to me. “And FFR? You can’t pull off Walker’s lumbersexual look.”

“Nice to see you too, baby cuz. What the hell is FFR?”

“For future reference.” She bumped me with her shoulder. “Dude, keep up with the current lingo. Totes ages you when you have to ask for an explanation.”

“Gimme a break. You totes make up your own lingo,” I pointed out. “Besides, I’m sure my aura registered confusion so you should’ve known. Or did you miss that reading, Miss Woo-Woo?”

She snorted. “Woo-woo. One of these days I’ll take offense to that. But for now, I’m chalking it up to your unenlightened attitude. So what brings you here? In disguise, no less?”

“I’m here for enlightenment. I’m avoiding being recognized so not to detract from the competition Rowan is running.” Not an egotistical statement, just fact. Pro football players were treated like celebrities—regardless of whether we deserved it.

“Rowan?” she repeated. “You mean Coach Michaels?”

“Yes.”

“What’s going on between you two?” Dallas demanded. “How do you even know her?”

“She and her son are subleasing Martin’s apartment.”

“Oh. Right. Now I remember that Axl’s former neighbor was her brother. He stopped by practice a few times to pick up Calder.”

I looked at her. “You know Calder?”

Dallas said, “Yep. I used to babysit him once in a while when Coach’s regular sitters had a conflict. Sweet kid.”

“I’m surprised to see you here on campus. You swore you were done with all of this after graduation.”

“I was. I mean, I am.” She started fiddling with the bracelets lining her forearm. “You probably don’t remember, but I quit the cheer team for a while last year.”

“Of course I remember. That was when you were involved with Iron Man.”

Her gaze met mine. “Quitting the team had nothing to do with me doing a hot Russian hockey dude. Back then I’d had some other issues. Rather than create more problems for myself, I quit the team.”

Why hadn’t I heard of any of the other issues?

Maybe you had heard about it, you just chose to ignore it. Or you figured someone else in the family would take care of it.

“Coach Michaels let me sit out for the rest of the football season,” she continued. “When I told her I still wanted to quit the squad when basketball season started, she refused to accept my resignation.” She paused. “She understood I needed a focal point. And she was right. It was the only thing that got me through it. So when I heard she needed help with cheer camp, I volunteered.”

I inhaled a deep breath. “Does anyone in the family know . . . ?”

“No. I’m already seen as the baby. Plus, everyone thinks I’m a freakazoid from being born with secondary perceptions. ‘Oh, Dallas, honey, you’re probably making things seem worse than they are.’ Last year was mass chaos with the Lund Collective. Jax quit drinking. You were injured. Annika was in a secret relationship. Walker and Brady were trying to figure out how to balance their careers with being newly married. Nolan was picking up the slack at LI. Then my world collapsed when Ig—” She shook her head. “Then there’s my brother.”

“What’s going on with Ash?” I said sharply. Of all my cousins, Ash always held it together.

“He’s joyless. He has pulled so far into his shell that I can’t even see his aura let alone read it.” Dallas violated my space to warn, “Don’t you dare tell anyone what I said about Ash, JB. I’m not kidding. You asked why I didn’t confide in the Lund Collective, and there’s your answer.”

“Fine.” I lightly flicked her nose, knowing she hated it. But we needed some levity.

“Don’t do that, jerkwad.” She harrumphed when she tried to shove me and I didn’t budge.

“Maybe I didn’t know any of this before, but I know it now. If your aura starts closing in on you and you need to talk, call me, okay?”

“Dude. Your aura can’t close in on you like a cloak of doom . . .” She frowned. “Although, when I think about it, that is kind of what it feels like. Suffocating darkness.”

“See? I’m not totally clueless with the woo-woo stuff.”

“But you are avoiding my question on what’s going on between you and Coach Michaels.”

“Nothing. We’re neighbors. I’m here supporting her since her brother is on vacay.”

“Uh-huh. It has nothing to do with her bein’ totes adorbs, right?”

Jesus. Totes adorbs? Who seriously says that? And besides, totes adorbs didn’t accurately describe the hot and sexy and so very, very . . . limber Coach Michaels.

Dallas bumped me with her shoulder. “It’s okay to crush on her, JB.”

“It’s not like that.”

That earned me an exaggerated wink. “Whatever you say.” She leapt to her feet. “Gotta go. Coach is giving me the stink-eye.”

I noticed Rowan staring at me.

So I gave her a double thumbs-up and a stupid, goofy grin. Not something Jensen Lund would do.

I decided to stick around a little longer and see what shook out. I snickered to myself . . . and wished I’d come up with that pompom pun in time to share it with Dallas.





Six


ROWAN




Seeing Jensen Lund at the U of M cheerleading tryouts should’ve been shock enough.

But knowing he’d gone to the trouble to disguise himself so his presence wouldn’t disrupt the athletes had really shocked me. And driven home the point that there was more to the man than I’d given him credit for.

I wouldn’t have known he was here if his cousin Dallas hadn’t told me. Somewhere along the line I’d forgotten that he and Dallas were related.

After the last group session ended, I packed up my belongings and said good-bye to the staff who were leaving for the ice arena to work with the hockey cheerleaders.

I scaled the bleacher steps and sat next to Jensen on the bench seat. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“Dallas spilled the beans.”

“She was pretty nosy asking why you were here. I’m wondering too.”