Chapter 26
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX
GUNNER
I could easily lean down and kiss Rebel.
Right here. Right now.
And a part of me thinks she’d want that too.
But I stand firm, refusing to slam my lips on hers despite the tension pulling us forward.
There’s a thin line between hate and love and I don’t want Rebel to be confused about which side of the line she’s standing on.
If I thought taking her sweet lips between mine could convince her to give me a chance, I would. But I’m too realistic to let myself get carried away.
Kissing her in the car hadn’t fixed anything or brought any sort of understanding between us. In fact, directly after the kiss, everything fell apart.
So for now, I just hold her.
Rebel’s hair is coming loose out of her ponytail and the strand I just tucked behind her ear comes free again, dancing in the wind. How is it that she smells so good in this heat? How is it that she still looks so good?
I’ve been keeping an eye on her all day. She never sat down, not even for a second. She’s been driving up and down, carrying tools, transporting people, and coordinating with different groups.
Through it all, she kept her bright smile, met the most frustrating of challenges with grace, and made it all seem easy.
“Are you tired?” I ask.
Her eyelids flutter.
I push the stubborn blonde strand behind her ear again. “Have you eaten?”
Her vibrant blue eyes widen in surprise. My gaze searches hers, soaking in every fleck of green and gold trapped in the pools of blue.
She’s truly, truly magnificent to look at. It’s unfortunate that that’s where most people stop. If they inched a little closer, they’d see how brilliant, selfless, and capable she is too.
I take one of the two sandwiches she brought, unwrap half of it and offer it to her.
She glances at it and then back to me.
“If you go back now,” I nod to the main building, “you won’t eat.”
Rebel considers my words, but we both know I’m right. The moment they spot her, someone will come with a problem and she’ll run off to solve it. Battling that much chaos isn’t sustainable. Even the best leaders need a break, just to regroup and catch their breath.
Taking her elbow, I draw her to the other side of the sink where it’s dry. Not convinced that the sink is clean enough for her, I spread my flannel over the edge.
Rebel watches me, a question in her eyes.
I place my hands on her hips and hear her intake of breath when I lift her on top of the counter. Shoving the sandwich in her hand, I nod to it.
At first, I think she’ll argue. But, to my surprise, Rebel nibbles on the sandwich.
“You’re very stubborn,” she says. “Has anyone told you that?”
I shrug and pull my shirt back on, covering up my tattoos.
We stare out over the soccer field, eating together in silence.
“Why are you doing this?” Rebel whispers.
I glance over at her.
She’s not looking at me with the burning desire from a moment ago. This gaze is devoid of her usual hatred too. For the first time, she’s looking at me with curiosity.
I roll up the plastic wrapping and face her, wondering how to tell her what I’m feeling when I’m not quite sure myself.
Rebel’s phone rings.
“It’s my mom,” she says, putting the device to her ear. “Mom, what… what? Okay, I’ll be right there.”
Rebel plants her hands on the sink, intending to jump off. I stop her with a hand to her back. Smoothly, I pick her up as if she weighs nothing and set her on her feet.
“A news station is here,” Rebel says excitedly. “They want to interview us about today’s work.”
Her excitement is contagious but, even better than that, Rebel’s smiling at me.
There it is. In all its glory. The first real smile I’ve received from her today. It’s as stunning as I expected.
She hustles toward the main building and then stops halfway and swivels around. “Gunner!”
I tilt my chin up.
“Thanks!” She points to the plastic wrapping of her sandwich.
My heart beats double time and I watch her sprint away while wondering when the sun turned so bright and the breeze started smelling so sweet.
Rebel smiles prettily at the camera. “ This was a labor of love. I have to thank the community who came out to support and, of course, I have to thank the Lucky Strikers as well. They brought glory to our town last night, but that didn’t stop them from working alongside us in the sun today…”
I rip my eyes away from Rebel and notice that I’m not the only one transfixed. The suit is sitting on a bench nearby. His eyes are locked on her like she’s an angel sent straight from heaven.
A possessive grunt gets caught in my throat. I wish I could rip his eyes out and sew them in backwards.
“Do you want us to drag him to the alley and rough him up a bit?” Theilan asks, swinging the stick of a long paint brush over his shoulder.
I startle and realize that my teammates have noticed my angry stare.
“We’d need masks or something,” Watson mumbles, leaning against the wall and scowling in the city slicker’s direction. “That guy looks like the type who’d snitch. One hundred percent.”
Chance looks astonished. “Are you guys plotting an assault when Gunner’s dad is the sheriff? ”
“Why do you think we’ll wear masks?” Watson spits out of the side of his mouth and a thick glob lands in the dirt.
“You’re one of us now, McLanely. You can’t be so naive.” Theilan shakes his head.
Chance glances at the suit, studying the man’s fixation on Rebel. In a low voice, he leans toward me and says, “Want me to find out where he lives?”
“Now we’re talking.” Watson grins.
Theilan gives Chance a high five.
The captain juts his chin at Rebel. “If some schmuck was openly drooling over April like that, I’d put on a ski mask too.”
“It’s disrespect. Plain and simple,” Theilan agrees.
Watson grins and rubs his hands together. “So we all agree? We’re slashing his tires, dragging him to the field behind the drug store and roughing him up a bit?”
A dark voice grumbles behind us, “ No one is roughing up anyone. Are you guys insane?”
We all whirl around to find Max glaring at us.
Theilan whistles and pumps the paintbrush handle like it’s a barbell. “Oh, hey, team manager.”
“Roughing up?” Watson blinks innocently. “No, you heard wrong. I said… drinking up.”
Max glowers at him, not buying it for a second.
Watson opens his phone. “Oh, I’m getting a call.” I spy him opening his calculator app a second before he puts the phone to his ear and croaks, “Hello? Yeah, this is Watson.”
Theilan doesn’t bother with an excuse. The guy just runs away.
Max takes a seat beside me.
“You’re the captain and vice captain,” he scolds. “You should know better. We can’t afford a scandal in the middle of playoffs.” He points a finger at Chance. “A bar brawl got this guy suspended from the league. You think the minors will play nice?”
“They were just messing around,” I say.
Max snorts. “Those knuckleheads look up to you. They’d attack if you say the word and you know it.” He nods at Rebel. “I don’t mind if you’re using us to win brownie points. The Lucky Strikers are a part of Lucky Falls and putting in time to help people is never a waste. But if you have relationship issues, solve them yourself. Don’t drag the team into it.”
“Who said he has relationship issues?” Chance jumps in, defending me like his life depends on it. “He and Rebel are totally in love! Why would two people who love each other have issues? It’s not like they’re faking a relationship or anything.”
My teeth grind together and I slant Chance a punishing look.
He winces.
Max turns to me, groaning in disappointment. “Come on, man. Not you too.”
Me… too?
“Was this your idea?” Max wields a threatening finger at our captain. “Just because you and April started that way, you want everyone to do the same?”
“It wasn’t me.” Chance lifts both hands.
I scrutinize our team manager. “Did you know about Chance and April?”
“Yeah, I knew.” Max plucks his shirt, trying to whip up more breeze by moving the material back and forth. “I also knew it was only half-pretend. April thought he was leaving Lucky Falls eventually, but I didn’t. From the start, this sap was a goner.”
Chance grins from ear to ear. “Guilty.”
I raise a hand and admit, “Me too.”
Both men freeze, staring at me in shock.
I lower my hand.
Rebel’s laughter carries on the breeze. “You know, it wasn’t easy ,” she says into the microphone. “To tell you the truth, we had a bit of a mishap with a dog and a can of paint. But it worked out. We now have a whimsical paw trail across the basketball court , a fun design for the kids. ”
She glances at me and smiles, her eyes crinkling in the corners.
My heart detaches from my body and floats all the way across the lawn to her feet.
In another lifetime, all those crinkly-eyed smiles would belong to me. In another lifetime, I wouldn’t have abandoned our friendship. I would have joined her in that field of daisies and soaked in the warmth of her like sunshine. I would have kissed her at Buddy White’s birthday party and confessed that I’ve been thinking about her for years. All those times I snuck looks at her in the school hallway, she would have been looking back.
In another lifetime…
Regret winds through my veins and my shoulders slump.
I was lying to myself earlier.
I know exactly what this feeling is.