“You never know,” he said with a shrug. “You’re really okay with it?”
She managed a smile he sensed was forced. “I do. I get why you need to do this.”
“You look like you’re trying your best to be enthusiastic, but I know you. What’s going on?”
She leaned back against the couch and sighed. “I think we’re building something important for players. It’ll be a loss there if you leave, but you can’t stay with one thing when you’d rather be doing something else.”
He narrowed his gaze. He believed their job was part of what was going on in that head of hers, but it wasn’t everything. He also sensed she wouldn’t be admitting anything to him now.
“Look, I still don’t know the details about this gig. It could be football season only. It could be weekends only. Maybe I could do what Strahan does and commute and keep this job too.” There were a ton of variables, none of which he knew. Although he’d put a call in to his agent to get them, right now everything hinged on the test.
He hoped that didn’t include his relationship with Madison as well.
* * *
The ringing of her cell phone jarred Madison out of a deep sleep. She rolled over, knocking the phone off the nightstand before finally picking it up to answer. “Hello?”
“Ms. Evans?”
“Speaking.”
“This is Darla from the Hudson Arms nursing home.”
Completely awake now, Madison sat upright in bed. “Is something wrong?”
Alex stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist. “Who’s on the phone?”
She held up a hand.
“I’m sorry, can you repeat that?”
The woman at the nursing home spoke. “Her son, Eric, came by at an ungodly hour. Since Franny was awake, we let him come in. He upset her terribly. We weren’t able to calm her down and had to call the doctor in to give her a light sedative.”
Madison swallowed hard. “I’ll be right over.”
“Well, she’s sleeping now. We just felt we should notify you.”
“You did the right thing. Where is Eric now?”
“He left but promised he’d be back.”
“I’ll talk to my lawyer and see what I can do. Thanks for calling. And I will be by later.” She disconnected the call and met Alex’s gaze.
“Problem?” He ran a towel over his damp hair.
“I need to call Jon. I think I need a restraining order to keep Eric away from his mother. Can I get that on her behalf?”
“If the doctors are willing to testify he’s a danger to her health, I’m sure you can. Maybe you can get the hearing moved up. Do you want to head over to the nursing home now?”
She nodded, still in shock over the phone call. “I suppose I should check on her. I can’t call Jon till nine a.m. anyway.”
“Well, we could, but you’re right. Let’s wait till he gets to the office. Go jump in the shower. I’ll pour you some coffee, and we can get moving.”
“You don’t need to come with me.”
“I want to. You met my family. I’d like to meet yours.”
“Franny is not my family.” She bit her cheek. “I’m sorry. That came out wrong.”