2. Dolly
DOLLY
From the moment I pulled into the parking lot, I spotted Tucker.
When I saw him sitting on the bleachers, surrounded by all the single and not so single moms, I was clenching my teeth together.
I shouldn’t be like this. I don’t have any claim on Tucker.
He can talk to whoever he wants. But seeing all those women fawn over him makes me feel things that I have been trying to bury since I first met him all those years ago.
The first time I saw him was at the baby shower I threw for Karla, and he was nothing like I expected.
He is nothing like the men that she usually dated, and I’ve been surprised by him ever since.
Probably the biggest surprise of all was what a good dad he is.
His number one priority has always been Ace.
He asks me again as if he’s wanting to clarify. “So you’re not dating a guy named Trevor?”
“Nope.”
His voice gets lower. “Are you dating anyone?”
I turn in my seat to look at him. There’s something in his voice, and I’m wondering if it’s jealousy.
It sure sounds like it, but I push that thought far away.
There is no way Tucker Yates, the number one bull rider in the state, is jealous.
I’m nothing like my namesake. I mean, yeah, I’m a good person, but that’s about where the similarities stop.
I’m flat-chested, overweight, shy, and can’t carry a tune to save my life. Nope, there’s no way Tucker is jealous.
He is not mine, nor will he ever be. The quicker I come to that conclusion, the better off I’ll be.
“Why are you asking? Need me to watch Ace for you while you go out or something? I’m happy to do it.”
He grunts. “I was just wondering if you were dating someone, that’s all. You never tell me anything about your personal life, and I?—”
I can’t help it, I interrupt him. “My personal life? You want to know about my personal life?” I wrack my brain trying to figure out where he’s going with this.
Tucker is a straightforward kind of guy, and it’s not like him to beat around the bush.
I sit up a little taller. “Are you worried about me dating someone while Ace is around? I would never have him around some man you didn’t know.
” I sit up a little taller. “Tucker, you have to know that I would never put Ace in a bad situation.”
He nods, and for the first time, he seems flustered. “So you are dating someone?”
I rear back. “What? No, I’m not dating anyone.”
He nods firmly. “Good.”
My forehead creases as I try to make sense of all this. “Good? What do you mean, good?”
He lifts his shoulders in a shrug. “I mean, good. That’s all. It’s good.”
I laugh because he’s being ridiculous. “It’s good that I’m not dating?”
He nods. “Yeah. I mean, of course, you can date. I mean, you should be dating, but not just some random guy or anything. You should date someone you know and like. Someone that respects you and knows your worth.”
I scrunch my nose up like I’m smelling something bad. “You’re starting to sound like my mom.”
He groans. “I’m messing this all up. Look, I was just wondering if you were dating, that’s all.”
I don’t know why, but I can’t stop. I’ve never seen him so uncomfortable before, and even though I should probably let it go, I can’t. “Okay, so let’s just say, hypothetically, I am dating someone. What would you think then?”
He growls. He literally growls, and it sounds as if it comes from his chest. His nostrils are flared, and he peers at me as if I’ve just betrayed him or something. His voice is husky. “Then I would say I want to meet this asshole.”
I start to laugh, thinking he’s being funny, but when his face gets red, I stop. “Wait. Are you serious?”
“Fuckin’ A, I’m serious.”
My eyes bulge out of my head. “What? Why would you want to meet him?”
He puts a hand on my shoulder. “Because I don’t even know this guy and I know he’s not good enough for you. Hell, there’s not a man on this earth good enough for you, but I just need two minutes with the guy to make sure he realizes what he’s got and he doesn’t fuck it up.”
I can tell how passionately he feels about this by the number of f-bombs he keeps dropping.
Before he can get all riled up, even more than he is now, I hold my hands up.
“Okay, but I’m not dating anyone, and it’s not likely I’m going to be dating anyone soon, so this is a moot point.
Now simmer down, cowboy. Let’s enjoy this pretty day and watch your son hit some dingers. ”
He takes a deep breath and lets it out. “Dingers, huh?”
I roll my eyes. “I knew nothing about baseball until this year. I’m learning all the slang. I’ve had my students helping me.”
He looks at me like I’ve said something crazy, but I just turn back to the field.
Now I have to sit here with Tucker hovering over me and act like I’m not affected by him. I need to get focused on why I’m here in the first place. I clap my hands together. “Let’s go, Ace.”
He waves at me from third base, and I can’t help but smile. “You know, I probably won’t be able to do that much longer. It’s going to embarrass him.”
I can’t believe he’s nine years old already. Tucker squats down next to me, and the scent of him surrounds me. He’s smiling. “I think you’ll always be able to get away with it. I don’t think you could embarrass him if you tried.”
I could get lost staring into his eyes. I have to jerk my gaze away from him and back to the field. “So Ace was pretty excited to make this summer team.”
He nods. “Yeah, he’s excited, all right. He was not happy when I told him I was going to hire a babysitter, though.”
My mouth falls open, and then I snap it closed. “A babysitter?”
He nods, looking out at Ace on third. I take the time to really look at Tucker.
He’s tan from working outside on his ranch most days.
His hair is brown, but it’s been kissed by the sun, and he wears it short.
He has the most perfect lips, and I’ve always wondered what it would be like if he ever kissed me.
I would probably have a heart attack or die right then.
I don’t think I can handle a man like Tucker Yates.
It’s then, while I’ve been daydreaming, that I realize he’s been talking this whole time. “Yeah, so you know I don’t like to ask Karla’s parents to watch him. They get to see him one night a month, and they’ve never asked for more, so I don’t want to ask them to watch him.”
“Tucker, you’re not hiring a babysitter.”
He blows out a breath and rolls his eyes.
“Are you going to tell me he’s too old to need a babysitter?
He has to be able to get back and forth to practice, and our ranch is a good twenty minutes from town.
If I was only going to be gone a few hours, that would be one thing, but the fact that I’ll be in Jasper or?—”
“I’ll watch him.”
The crack of a bat has us both turning to the field. Ace runs home, and I cheer as he crosses the home plate. Once I realize I’m making a spectacle of myself, I sit down. “I really should tone it down. I need to remember this is practice.”
Tucker is laughing next to me. “I like this competitive side of you.”
I turn in my seat to look at him. “I’ll help out with Ace this summer.”
He’s shaking his head. “I was going to ask you if you would help me with the interviews.”
I wave my hand in his face. “Hello. Earth to Tucker. You don’t need to hire someone to watch Ace. I’ll do it.”