Glancing back down to Ari, I saw she was now sitting cross-legged, with both dogs’ heads in her lap as she talked to them both.
“Because it means something to her, so it means something to me. I do it for her.”
“Yet she don’t know.”
I nodded.
“This generation don’t make a lick of sense. Neither do your damn T-shirts. What does that mean, you get paid by the hour?”
I glanced down to my shirt. “It’s a joke, Ralph.”
“It’s stupid. Go talk to the girl before I call you out.”
Not moving, I replied, “You wouldn’t.”
He laughed and looked at me like he was fixin’ to call my bluff. “Why do you think I wouldn’t?”
With a half shrug, I replied, “Because I have a feeling, once upon a time, you felt the same way about a girl. You cared so much about her that you’d rather sit on the sidelines and watch her be happy than make her smile disappear. If I walk down there, she won’t be happy. So I sit up here. And watch.”
“Shit! Flag football is tonight! Come on, Milo, Lucy Lou. Let’s get you a treat and some water!” Ari cried out.
I watched Ari walk off with the two dogs. Under my breath I mumbled, “I watch and fall more for her each time.”
An hour later I was walking back in with two dogs, Beef and Hank. I purposely picked those two dogs because they had badass names. Every time I was stopped on the trail and asked their names, I got laughs and smiles.
“All right, you two, let’s get you some treats, and back into your crates you go.”
“Jeff?”
My heart seized the moment I heard her voice.
Fuck.
I turned to see Ari standing there. She was glancing between me and the dogs. I had to push down the urge to walk up to her and kiss her. She was so beautiful. So I did what I always did. Called her the nickname she hated more than anything.
“Hey, Squirt. How’s it going?”
Her eye twitched, but this time she didn’t lash out at me like normal. “It’s going. What are you doing here?”
I opened Hank’s crate and ushered him in. “I’m putting a dog in a crate—what does it look like?”
She closed her eyes and shook her head. “No, I mean why are you here?”
I shrugged. “I volunteer here every now and then.”
“You do?” she asked, shocked as hell. “I didn’t know you liked dogs.”
Not responding, I started over for the hose. Might as well fill up everyone’s water while I’m here trying to avoid telling Ari she looked hot as fucking hell.
“I already did that, like an hour ago.”
“Well, I’m doing it again.”
Ari opened her mouth to protest but stopped herself. That was a new one. Usually she would go on and on about how she had already taken care of this or that and how I could be doing something better with my time. Maybe she wasn’t in the mood to argue with me.
“How long have you been volunteering here?”
“A few months.”
She followed behind me. “Did you know I volunteered here too?”
I stopped and glanced at her from over my shoulder. “No kidding. I didn’t know.”
Her brow raised. “Ellie didn’t tell you?”
I laughed. “What, do you think I’m stalking you, Ari?”
Her shoulders slumped slightly, and I felt like a total jerk. “No, no, of course not. I’ll let you go.”
When she turned to walk away, I cursed under my breath. I was fucking stalking her, and I must have made her feel like a fool. “Ari?”
She looked back at me. “I did know you volunteered here. Ellie mentioned it not too long ago.”
Liar, liar. She told me the very same day you signed up, and I rushed to sign up as well.
Her eyes widened slightly, and she nibbled on her lower lip for a few seconds before letting out a small chuckle. “That’s crazy we both volunteer here. When do you normally come?”
“Depends. Lately it’s been Tuesdays, sometimes Fridays.”
There went that goddamn smile of hers. “That’s when I come!” She quickly shrugged her excitement away. “I mean, those two days. I can’t believe we haven’t seen each other before.”
I was going to make sure at least twice a month I would show up a little early so we would accidentally run into each other.
“Yeah. Hard to believe.” Not really. I’m actually stalking you, Ari, because I secretly want to kiss you and drag you back to my truck and do things to you I shouldn’t want to do to you.
She hooked her thumb in the direction behind her. “I um, I have to go. Meeting some friends for a game of flag football.”
Grinning, I replied, “Sounds like fun.”
For a moment I was pretty sure she was about to invite me, but she stopped herself. “It is. I mean, I’m sure it will be. I’ll see you around, I guess.”
“Yep. See ya around.”
I went to call out her name . . . ask her to have dinner with me. But I didn’t. I stood there like an idiot and watched as she walked away from me. Why did I have a feeling that was going to be happening a lot to me once she and Ellie got out of high school?
Chapter Four – Gunner
Mrs. Williams hung back after practice talking to Coach Adams. When I saw Jeff walking up, I smiled. I knew the bastard would show up. I knew he wanted to check out the mom.
“Coach Gunner, what are we going to do?”
I glanced down to Bryce and ruffled his hair with my hand. “We’re gonna practice a bit more, buddy.”
He smiled. “That means I’m gonna be really good with you helping me.”
Laughing, I pointed to the approaching Jeff. “You see him? That’s Coach Jeff. He played baseball in high school and even won a scholarship to play at a really big college.”
Bryce’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. No need to tell him Jeff turned it down to play football instead.
“Wow! He’s gonna teach me some stuff too?”
“You bet he is.”
I couldn’t help but notice how Mrs. Williams watched Jeff as he walked up to us. Shit, I should have mentioned bringing Jeff in on this. She’s probably wondering who the hell he is.
“Hey, hope I’m not late,” Jeff said with a smile as he looked from me down to Bryce.
“Nope, perfect timing. Let me introduce you first to Bryce, then his mom.” Mrs. Williams was now making her way over to us.
“Bryce, this is Jeff Johnson. He’s gonna be helping me.”
Turning my attention to the mom, I smiled bigger, hoping like hell she wasn’t pissed. “Mrs. Williams, this is my best friend and roommate, Jeff Johnson. I asked him to join me since he actually played baseball in high school and won a scholarship to Duke University to play for them.”
Her eyes widened. “Really? How nice of you to help out Gunner, Mr. Johnson.”
Jeff reached out to shake her hand. “Please call me Jeff.”
“Jeff it is. Now I’ll need y’all to call me Macey, not Mrs. Williams.” Peeking down to her son, she placed her hand on his shoulder and then looked back at us. “Thank you both for taking the time out of your busy schedules to help Bryce. Baseball is his dream, and there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to help him get better at it. Even if that means I’m out there at night pitching him the balls.”
With a chuckle, I replied, “I’m sure his dad loves doing that with him.”
Her smile faded.
Aw, shit. I didn’t like that look. What did she tell me on the phone? The dad traveled a lot.
“Bryce’s father isn’t really around much. He spends more time with his girlfriend.”
Jeff and I both nodded.
“Well!” Jeff said as he slapped his hands together and caused Macey to jump and cover her chest. “Let’s get started, little buddy.”
As Jeff and I walked out to the field, he turned to me when Bryce got ahead of us and couldn’t hear us talking. “She’s hot. She can’t
be but twenty-six, maybe twenty-seven.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, she’s close to our age, that’s for sure.”
We spent the next thirty minutes working on Bryce’s batting and throwing. Jeff was a natural at this, and I couldn’t help but wonder why he was out walking dogs and shoveling shit when he could be helping coach a Little League team.
“I’m going to go put this bag of balls up. Why don’t y’all do some postworkout stretches? Bryce here doesn’t seem to think they are important,” I said with a wink to Bryce. His face turned red, and he looked down to the ground. He was the one kid on the team who never seemed to want to stretch with the other kids.
“What? Dude! Stretching is the best part,” Jeff announced as he dropped to the ground and motioned for Bryce to join him. I took a quick glance around for Macey and couldn’t find her. She must have gone out to her car.
Rounding the corner, I walked into the large storage room and headed toward the back. I dropped the bag of balls and turned around, only to stop in my tracks when I saw Bryce’s mom standing there.
“Christ, you scared me, Mrs. . .”
She lifted her brows.
“Um, Macey. You scared me.”
Her teeth sank into her bottom lip as she moved toward me. “I didn’t mean to scare you, Gunner. I was hoping we might be able to talk in private.”
“Yeah, sure. Were you not happy with what we did with Bryce today?”
“Oh no, I’m very pleased. I like the added touch of your friend as well. I was wanting to talk about something a little different.”
I took a step back. Fuck. I knew exactly what she wanted to talk about.
“Macey, listen.”
Before I could even finish my sentence, she crossed the distance between us and pressed her lips to mine. Lifting my hands, I pushed her back.
“What are you doing?” I asked, wiping my mouth off and taking a few steps back.
She stood there with a stunned expression on her face. “I’m sorry . . . I just thought when you said not to let any of the other mothers know, I figured that was your way of telling me . . .”
Her voice trailed off.
“My way of telling you what?”
Macey shrugged. “Well, Lynn said that you . . . you know . . . do things for her.”
My eyes widened in shock. “What do you mean?”
Now Macey’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh no. You haven’t slept with any of the mothers, have you?”
“No!” I nearly shouted.
She began to pace. “Lynn said you have come over to her house a few times and . . . well . . . you helped her feel good about herself by having sex with her in ways her husband didn’t.”
“Well, Lynn is fucking lying. I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, but Macey . . . Mrs. Williams . . . you approached me about helping your son. I’m not a fucking service to keep bored housewives occupied.”
Her cheeks flamed red, and she shook her head. “I’m really not married—I was lying about that—and it’s just been so long and you’re so gosh darn good-looking. I’m so sorry; I’m very, very sorry.”
I rubbed my hands down my face. “Did Bryce even really want extra help, or did you plant that in his head?”
Her eyes welled up. “No, I didn’t plant anything. He really wanted the extra help, and well, when Coach Adams suggested you, I sort of thought I might be able to kill two birds, and now I’m so embarrassed I can’t even think straight. Please forgive me, and let’s just pretend this never happened.”
Macey rushed out the door before I could even say anything.
“Jesus, what in the hell is in the air?” I mumbled as I walked out of the storage room.
I locked the door and headed toward Jeff. He looked confused.
“What happened? Macey started calling Bryce’s name and telling him it was time to go. I thought she was going to bite his head off when he asked for another minute.”
Sighing, I glanced out toward the parking lot. Bryce waved to me as he got into the car.
“Macey seemed to think I was going to help her like I was going to help her son.”
Jeff lost it laughing. “I fucking knew it. What in the hell, man? What did you tell her? I mean, she is hot, young, and has a rocking body.”
“I told her no! Christ, Jeff. I’m not sleeping with a parent from the Little League team I coach. It’s bad enough they all eye fuck the hell out of me. Now there’s a rumor going around that one of them started about me, and that’s how Macey got the wrong idea.”
“Let me guess, you slept with a mom.”
“You guessed it. Hopefully Macey will get it straightened out; otherwise, I won’t be coaching anymore.”
Shaking his head, Jeff and I headed to our trucks. He said, “What’s in the water lately? I don’t know if more women are coming on to me or if I’m just getting sick of the game.”
I nodded in agreement. “I’m right there with you. I think it’s the latter to be honest. I’m tired of this whole dating bullshit.”
Jeff stopped at his truck first. “Yeah. Tell me about it.” Laughing, he added, “You could always give Macey Josh’s number.”
This time I did laugh along with him. “Yeah, he’d take care of what she wanted, no doubt.”
“I guess I’ll meet ya back at the house. I’ve got a few errands to run, and then I’ll be heading that way. You want to call up Josh and Brad and see if they want to hit the town tonight? I feel like I could stand to get drunk.”
I knew that was exactly what I needed. A good night out on the town. Maybe a little harmless flirting while dancing . . . that might get this dark cloud over my head to leave.
“Sounds good to me. I’ll give those guys a call and tell them to meet us at our place.”
Hitting the top of his truck, Jeff smiled. “Sounds like a plan. See ya around.”
“See ya.”
After getting into my truck, I let out the frustrated groan I’d been holding in since the whole Macey incident.
A night out on the town was long overdue, and I was going to make damn sure I didn’t pull the designated driver straw tonight.
Josh held up the shortest straw and cursed. “Motherfucker. It figures I’d be the one to draw it.”
“Thank fuck. I need a good night of getting hammered,” Brad stated as he grabbed his cowboy hat and headed toward our front door.
“Your dad hounding you again?” Jeff asked.
“When the hell isn’t he?” Brad answered.
Josh slapped him on the back. “Pile into the Dodge, gentlemen. Since I can’t drink tonight, I plan on at least picking up a girl to ease the pain.”
Jeff laughed. “Give him Macey’s number, Gunner.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Who is this Macey you speak of?” Josh asked, his interest piqued.
“A mom from the Little League team I coach, and she’s off-limits. You’ll find plenty of opportunities to hook up with someone tonight, Josh.”
Brad chuckled. “Josh could walk into a room full of nuns, and they would all be ripping off their habits and lining up with their dresses gathered around their hips.”
We all laughed.
“Did I ever tell you about the time I fucked that one girl . . . damn, what was her name? She was wanting to be a nun,” Josh said.
“You did not fuck a nun, you asshole,” Jeff said, slapping Josh on the back of the head.
“She wasn’t a nun, at least not yet; she was in nun school or whatever you call it. AnnMarie was her name.”
“Sister AnnMarie,” I corrected. “Josh met her at his cousin’s wedding.”
Brad started laughing as he said, “Dude, please tell me you didn’t.”
Jeff was staring at Josh from the passenger side of the truck.
“Oh, I did. In the basement of the church. Hey, in my defense, she was coming on to me hot and heavy, wasn’t she, Gunner?”
“I have to agree with Josh on this one. Sister AnnMarie was hot for Josh
.”
Slowly shaking his head, Jeff spoke. “Let me get this straight. You were at your cousin’s wedding. At a church?”
“Yep.”
“And a nun came on to you.”
“A sister . . . there is a difference, dude, and yes. She was hot as hell, young, and horny as fuck.”
Clearing his throat, Jeff went on. “So you took her in the basement of the church and screwed her?”
“No, my cousin’s mom asked me to go to the basement to find some extra chairs, and the sister followed me. She came on to me and begged me. I asked if she had ever had sex before, and she said yes. So I gave what she asked for.”
Brad and Jeff were both shaking their heads.
I knew Josh wouldn’t tell the whole story, so I filled in the missing part. “What he doesn’t mention is that Sister AnnMarie joined the sisterhood because she was a bit promiscuous and was trying to change her life around.”
Both Jeff and Brad let out roars of laughter. “Oh, dude! You are going straight to hell for tempting a poor innocent sister!”
Josh chuckled. “Trust me, she wasn’t innocent. Girl did things with her tongue that I didn’t know were possible.”
“Too much information, dude!” I cried out as we all fell into another round of laughs.
By the time we got to Fado’s, it was packed. It didn’t take long for us to catch the attention of a group of women there on a girls’ night out. We drank, talked, flirted a bit, and called it a night. Josh dropped Brad off at home first and then me and Jeff.
“All right, get out of the truck, ladies. I’ve got a pretty little lady waiting for me to swing back by Fado’s to pick her up.”
I turned and looked at Josh before I shut the door. “Seriously, dude? You’re gonna hook up with her? Just go home.”
“I plan on going home, Gunner, with the hot brunette who couldn’t keep her hands off me.”
Rolling my eyes, I let out a sigh. “Be careful and wrap your stick, dude.”
He laughed. “You know me, Gunner. I’m not going to do something stupid.”
As I shook my head and took a step away from his truck, I disagreed. “You’re about to do something stupid, and you and I both know it.”
Shutting the door, he flashed me a smile and pulled out of the driveway.