Chapter 23
twenty-three
HOLDEN
Once again, I paced the floor. The school board hadn’t just given Christy her job back—correction, Silas’s job—they’d okayed her to coach again.
Seddledowne was hosting the first tournament game and it started in an hour.
Christy still wasn’t here and it had been her idea to arrive early and decorate the cafeteria for an end-of-the-season party.
Mom, Dad, Lemon, and Silas had done their best. But now that the girls were arriving, it was taking all of us just to keep them out.
“Bro, she’ll be here,” Silas said, in his horse-whisperer voice. “Do not take a nosedive down the doom spiral.”
I grunted and gave him a quick scowl. That’s exactly what I’d been doing.
Was Christy dead in a ditch? Run off with Knox Freeman?
Murdered by Amber? My brain was in all those places at once.
The last one wasn’t that far of a stretch.
Jedd thought there was enough evidence to press charges against Amber but sadly, every number he traced back to the burner phones led to Alyssa of all people.
Me: You coming?
Immediately Christy’s text bubbles moved.
Christy: Yeah. Sorry! My truck wouldn’t start. Pulling in now.
I finished sticking a Congratulations! sign against the painted cinder-block wall and forced myself to exhale, releasing some of the tension.
When she pushed through the door, with Mrs. Ross in tow, adrenaline rushed my system.
And not from the relief of seeing her, though there was that too.
Wearing those ridiculously sexy leggings and her Stallions polo, she may as well have been in an evening gown.
She looked that good. Hair in voluminous waves, she’d done her makeup differently.
Her eyeshadow, maybe. Her warm brown eyes glinted with ambers and golds. I could see that from twenty feet away.
Man, she was beautiful.
I gave her a stupid awkward wave and said, in my most suave voice, “Hi.”
Hi?
C’mon moron. Get it together.
My family was even less smooth, all nervously silent, gawking at us. Mrs. Ross too. But then she squeezed Christy’s arm. “I’ll see you at the game. I’m going to grade some papers in my classroom until it starts.”
“Yeah.” Christy glanced over and they shared a look. What was that about? “Thanks for the ride.” My heart dropped to my knees. She’d needed a ride and she hadn’t asked me. Not a good sign.
But then, when Christy looked away, Mrs. Ross gave me a wink and a grin before ducking out the door. What was that about? I didn’t know. But it felt hopeful.
I walked to Christy, even though I wanted to run. “What’s up with your truck?”
Her brows puckered. “I’m not sure. Not the battery though. We tried jumping it and it didn’t work.”
I folded my arms, cooly. “If you want, I can give you a ride home after the game and we can take a look at it. Together.” I gulped the last word, praying she’d take me up on it.
She tucked her hair behind her ear and I swear she blushed.
Either that or it was her expertly placed makeup and I’d just noticed.
But then her doe eyes peeked up at me, lassoed my heart, and yanked me toward her.
Metaphorically. Literally? It took all my willpower not to close the distance between us.
She hugged herself. “Yeah. That would be great.”
Yes!
Her hand ran across her forehead. “Could I possibly borrow your car for a few minutes?” She squirmed like she hated to ask.
“I was in such a tizzy about my truck that I forgot to grab the balloons out of the seat when Beth arrived.” Must be Mrs. Ross’s first name.
“I can run to the store real quick and get some more. I’ll be super careful with Tessie. I promise.”
I could’ve sent my parents. I didn’t want her to leave now that she’d just arrived. Not for a second. But I also didn’t want her to think I didn’t want her driving Tessie. And clearly she felt like it was something she needed to take care of.
I grinned. “Yeah, of course.” I reached into my pocket and slid the keys out.
When I laid them in her hand, her fingers curled around my palm and slid down to my fingertips so quickly that if my nerve endings weren’t on high alert, I wouldn’t have noticed.
But they were, and I did. She didn’t have to say a word because her eyes were saying it all.
Loudly. Hooded and piercing into me, tugging me toward her again.
Her mouth was closed, but curved up at the corners. A “come hither” smile.
Oh man, I hoped I was reading that right. I didn’t know why, but the air between us had changed. Or should I say charged? Yeah. Red hot, crackling. So hot that one spark might blow the entire school up.
She turned and started back through the door. And like a lovesick puppy, I was right there. Too impatient to wait for later.
“I have to grab something from my car,” I said half-heartedly over my shoulder to my family, not caring if they heard or not. I was going with Christy, regardless.
She smiled, eyes ahead, biting her bottom lip.
I squeezed her elbow as we walked into the breezeway dividing the cafeteria from the gym.
That one touch was heaven. Her smile went wider and her gaze flashed over, smoldering.
So I took a chance and slid my palm down her arm until our hands were hanging side by side.
It totally paid off. She hooked her pinky around mine and my hand attacked hers, engulfing it like a rabid raccoon.
She stifled a laugh as our fingers twined together.
Man, how could holding someone’s hand be so hot?
But with Christy, it was all hot. Like set-the-entire-world-on-fire-and-not-even-care hot.
She reached out to pull the gym door open but I placed my hand over hers, stopping it.
I was not going to make it through this game on a five-second handhold. I needed more.
So I slid my arm around her waist and turned her to face me.
Her gaze burned into mine. She slid her hands up around my neck, and then she bit her bottom lip again, waiting.
I wanted to kiss her so badly. But what if someone saw?
The last thing I wanted was to cause her any more trouble.
So I simply squared her hips and rested our foreheads together.
I had to say it. Was going to explode if I didn’t. “I love you.” It came out in a rush. “Please, you have to know that. I was a stupid idiot and I thought I needed to protect you. I’m so sorry. For everything. Can you ever forgive me?” My hands trembled at her waist.
I didn’t know what I was going to do if she was toying with me.
I wanted everything with this woman. Her future and mine—I wanted them so interconnected and tangled, that we couldn’t unwind them if we tried.
I wanted it all with her. And if she didn’t want that now, because I’d messed up, because I’d hurt her…
I squeezed my eyes shut and swallowed, trying to push past the fear.
She removed her left hand from my neck and rested it over my right, calming me. “Hey,” she said softly. “Everything’s okay.” Her nose nuzzled mine. “I forgive you. Of course, I do.” She sighed. “And I love you too. Obviously. Shirtless-kissing, almost-lose-your-job kind of love. We’ll talk later?”
I sunk in relief, practically collapsing against her. “Yes. Definitely.”
Her nose brushed mine again. “You’re all mine, Holden. Your whole heart. I’m taking it.”
“You already did,” I said in a hush. “A long time ago. I didn’t even have a choice. It was gone before I even knew what was happening. Just lassoed it like you lassoed that calf.”
She giggled, shaking gently in my arms. Then she shrugged. “Gotta put my roping skills to use one way or another. I don’t want them to get rusty.”
I tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and just took her in for a moment.
I hadn’t said I love you to anyone other than family since high school.
The relief of having it out there—and of having things fixed with her—took all the weight and heaviness of the last decade and bulldozed it straight off a cliff.
I pressed a kiss to her forehead. Just a promise of later.
“Let’s get you to the car,” I finally said.
We had to cut through the gym to get to the parking lot. When we opened the door, volleyballs were already bouncing as the varsity girls warmed up. Our hands came apart just as heads started turning.
“Coach!” Ming yelled, running headlong toward us. But it was Christy she tackled in a hug, which I appreciated. Because a high-five was all they got from me.
“Hey, Ming.” Christy laughed, squeezing her back.
Jasmine bustled up next. But her expression was sad. “Coach?” she said to Christy. We followed her gaze to Alyssa, sitting in the bleachers, crying. Her mom and dad were on either side, arms around her. What in the world?
I followed Christy over. At the bottom of the bleachers, I noticed two large boxes. Full of our missing volleyballs. Alyssa was gasping out sobs.
Her mom’s expression was pained. My chest clenched as I realized.
She was Amber’s older sister. I didn’t know her.
Only knew of her. She was much older. Maybe ten years.
But the resemblance was clear. But they seemed different too.
She seemed less like a viper and more like an actual human with a heart.
She smoothed Alyssa’s hair. “She’s so worried you’re not going to let her play.”
“I told her that was ridiculous.” Her dad’s tone was a touch threatening. And that mustache made me think he wasn’t bluffing. “It’s not her fault her aunt is a piece of…” He clamped his lips together to refrain from the word he so badly wanted to say. It was evident in every line of his face.
Christy sat on the bleacher directly beneath Alyssa. Then she reached out and took her hand. “Hey.”
Alyssa sniffed, face bright red. “I’m so sorry, Coach Christy. I didn’t know.”
Christy patted her hand. “I know you didn’t. It’s okay. Sometimes people are just…”
“Jackasses,” I said for her.