Joker's Wild by Sandra Chastain

by a mass of lines as he struggled to remember.
    “You could have,” Joker agreed. “She was very special. The whole world loved her. After the Olympics, she performed with an ice show, until she was injured again. Now she’s come back home. Because of her health, she wasn’t told about her grandmother’s stroke, and she doesn’t know about my buying the house. I don’t want her to know just yet.”
    King stood up, looked at his watch, and walked toward the door. “Well, bring her over to the springs and let her take the mineral baths with the nursing home patients. You sure won’t run into any traffic jams getting inside.”
    “Interest not picking up?”
    “Interest? What interest? If it weren’t for the home owners who love the golf and tennis facilities, the sports medicine center would be a total loss so far.”
    “Give it time, bro. Word will get around. Just wait until after the grand opening.”
    “Too bad we can’t get somebody like your girlfriend to pass the word, assuming the springs helped her.”
    “That was Harold’s idea too. I don’t want to use Allison, King. The kind of injury Allison has is different. We can’t be sure that the springs can help restore the use of her leg.” Joker followed his brotheroutside. “Besides, she’s still very self-conscious. I’m going to bring her down at night so that she won’t be seen.”
    “Well, it’s your decision. But it’s your pocketbook if we go bust.” King looked at his watch again. Joker could appreciate King’s impatience. He knew it was time for Kaylyn and the nursing home entourage to arrive for their free visits. King always tried to be there when the group arrived. If it were up to him, he’d spend every minute with the woman who was carrying his child.
    King was the first of the brothers to marry, and his joy had made Joker take a long look at his Casanova approach to life. After he’d discovered the Josey estate and the study wall plastered with pictures of a hauntingly beautiful dark-eyed woman, Joker had been content to stay in one place for the first time in his life. He’d made arrangements to buy the estate without realizing that the woman would be a part of the dream, the woman who was waiting for him to teach her how to heal.
    They left the office together. King turned toward the springs, and Joker jogged out the door and over to his motorcycle. He fastened the red helmet beneath his chin and began to grin. Red. The sales clerk hadn’t smiled when he selected the smaller one, but when Joker took the large one and put it on his own head, the clerk had grunted in disbelief. Eric the Red, Allison had called him. Hell, why not? The helmet had made Allison smile and that smile had been worth it all.
    “Hey, Joker!” Kaylyn called out as she drove by in the nursing home van filled with patients. “Loveyour helmet. Come to dinner Saturday night. I’m inviting a friend over for Jack. I’ll ask someone for you, too, if you like.”
    A friend for Jack? Kaylyn never gave up. His lone-wolf brother probably wouldn’t even show up, and if he did, it was doubtful that he’d unbend enough to learn the woman’s name.
    “Maybe,” Joker answered. “I’ll have to let you know. It depends on … well, it depends on the crocs in the moat.”
    Kaylyn looked startled, but didn’t comment. Joker knew that she took his joking in stride just as she did everything else in life. She’d like Allison, and Allison would like Kaylyn if they ever had a chance to get to know each other. Jack? Well, he’d just have to find his own damsel in distress.
    Joker revved the engine and the motorcycle roared out of the parking area. He waved to one of the country’s most famous football players, who was leaving his house and walking toward the golf course. The housing community was almost filled with celebrities and ordinary people living side by side playing tennis and golf. The Sports Medicine Center would eventually bring in world-class