He shook his head. “I’ll try, but I don’t think it’s going to play out like you think it will.”
“As long as you don’t argue with them or start a fight, it’ll be fine. Trust me. The less you engage with the media in a negative way, the better.”
“All I can tell you is I’ll do my best.”
She smiled at him. “That’s good enough. Let’s go build a house.”
Cole walked away and got started on the framing. Watching his body work was like visiting an art museum. He was all fluid motion, the play of muscles in his arms and back as he moved lumber and pounded nails a beautiful sight to behold. He worked alongside his teammates, something Savannah arranged for because this was also a team-building exercise as well as a charitable undertaking.
It worked, too. And looked amazing with the team working together to raise the frame of the house alongside the other volunteers. The media took pictures, which Savannah knew would make the local papers.
Good for the team. She grinned, put down her own hammer, and brought sandwiches and drinks to everyone as they stopped for lunch. She stayed out of Cole’s way because he was hanging out with Grant, Kenny, Jamarcus, and Lon as well as several members of the Traders’ offensive line. She wanted him to have that bonding time, so she ate her lunch with a few of the players’ wives who’d come along to help.
She was deeply engaged in conversation with Missy Sandell, one of the linebackers’ wives, when she saw a couple reporters bearing down on Cole.
“Excuse me, Missy,” she said, pushing back her chair to move closer to where the players were being interviewed as they ate lunch.
“We never saw you doing any charity work while you were with Green Bay,” one of the reporters asked.
“Maybe that’s because you’re a St. Louis reporter,” Cole answered.
Savannah winced.
“It would have made the national wire,” the reporter shot back. “You’re in the news a lot.”
“Only the negative stuff.”
One of the reporters laughed. “Well, face it, Riley. You do give us plenty to report on.”
Cole took a long swallow of water, then caught Savannah’s sharp frown. “But I’m here now, and happy to be working on this house today. The Traders are an amazing organization who put a lot of time, effort, and money into charitable efforts. I’m honored to be a part of this one.”
She exhaled. Good answer.
“Does this mean you’re turning over a new leaf?” one of the national news outlets asked.
Cole stood, wadded up his trash, and tossed it into the nearby bin. “Watch me and find out. In the meantime, we’re all headed back to work. Why don’t all of you drop those microphones, cameras, and recorders and put a little muscle into helping out this family?”
He walked away with the rest of the players. Savannah grinned. The interview started out shaky, but it ended perfectly.
There might be hope for Cole after all.
COLE LOVED WORKING WITH HIS HANDS.
Even in this brutal heat and humidity, sweat pouring down his back and getting in his eyes, he was focused on seeing this house take shape.
Besides hanging out with his teammates off the field today, which made him realize they were all pretty nice guys, he got to spend time with Thomas and Selena Rogers, the soon-to-be owners of this house they were building. They were great people. Enthusiastic, dedicated, and willing to give back to their own community.
They were also huge football fans, so they were ecstatic the Traders had showed up today to help work on their house. When the guys signed a football for them, gave them all jerseys and tickets to one of the games, Selena was touched and Thomas was as excited as their two boys.
It made him realize Savannah was right. He hadn’t spent a lot of—okay, any—time in the communities he’d been a part of all the years he’d been playing. Other than writing checks to a few charities here and there, he hadn’t taken the time to get to know any of the people who were his fans.
That sucked. And needed to change.
He was beginning to see a lot of things needed to change.
“Feel good?”
He turned toward Savannah, who’d come up to stand next to him. She’d worn jeans and a Traders T-shirt today and had pulled her hair up in a ponytail. With her tennis shoes on and very little makeup, she looked fresh and sexy and gorgeous. And she had dirt on her nose. He used his thumb to swipe it away.
“I feel great, though I’m hot and sweaty and I probably stink.”
“I hadn’t noticed. Everyone probably stinks.”
She still smelled like peaches. He had no idea how she managed that.
“I need a shower and a beer. Want to come over for burgers?” he asked.
“Sure. But I need to take a shower, too. I’ll do that and meet you at your place in an hour.”
“Sounds good.”
He stopped at the store, then went home and jumped in the shower, scrubbing off the sweat of the day. He felt a lot better after he changed clothes and downed a couple bottles of water.
Savannah arrived about thirty minutes later. She’d changed into a tank top and very sexy shorts, her hair down and loose around her shoulders. That peach smell made him hard. He wanted to bury his face in her neck and lick the scent from her skin. All her skin.
He took a step back. “How about a beer?”
“Sure.”
He pulled two beers from the fridge and popped the tops off, handed her one and took a couple long swallows from the other. The icy cold brew tasted like heaven after the hellish day. “Now that’s good.”
“I thought you didn’t drink once the season started.”
He set the beer on the counter. “It’s beer. It doesn’t count, and I’m only going to have one or two.” He frowned. “Are you going to monitor my drinking now?”
She laughed. “Not in the least. I was just curious.”
“Good. I’ll go grill the burgers.”
“What would you like me to do?”
“Uh…nothing.”
She frowned and pursed her lips. “I can’t do nothing. How about a salad?”
“Sure. I think there’re salad fixings. See what you can scrounge up out of the fridge.”
He took the burgers out and tossed them on the grill, taking a long swallow of his beer after he’d flipped the meat. He could see Savannah working in his kitchen, mixing up the salad and slicing tomatoes.