Chapter 17
brUCE
“Come here, you little fucker,” I snap at the monster that’s trying to escape the reach of my outstretched arms. As rough and mean as my words are, my hands are sure and gentle.
Shay loves each of these beasts, and they’re the bread and butter of her soap operation.
Well, maybe not bread and butter, but they’re the milk of it, at least.
Baaarbara the goat bleats at me, which I swear sounds like ‘neener, neener, you can’t catch me’ and darts off again. I give chase, cussing a blue streak the whole time as I slide around the dirt and she escapes again. It’s then I hear giggles coming from over by the gate.
I look up and see Shayanne first, her cheeks puffed up by the big grin she’s wearing.
I flip her off before I realize why she’s so amused.
It registers a heartbeat later that right next to her are Allyson and Cooper, who just saw my utter failure at catching the tiny critter. Shit, I must look like a damned fool.
“Uh, hey, guys. Didn’t expect to see you out here. How was practice?” I say, wiping my brow with a bandana and glaring at the black and white fluffball that’s making me look bad.
“Seriously?” Allyson snaps.
I recognize that fire. She’s not just pissed.
She’s furious on the edge of volcanic rupture.
Her eyes are narrowed, she’s damn near bull-snorting through her nose, and her jaw is clenched like she’s holding back a whole litany of curse words.
Probably because of Cooper, because I get the feeling she’d love nothing more than to light into me.
“I take it practice didn’t go so well, then?” I don’t dare smile as I say it, even though seeing her hot and bothered does something to me. I hate to see her upset, but damned if she’s not adorable when she’s ready to give me what-for.
“How could you?” she hisses. “They were counting on you. I was counting on you. And you’re just out here playing with goats. I’m disappointed in you, Bruce Tannen.”
She whirls on her toe, grabbing at Cooper’s hand. His eyes are wide, and I’m betting it’s likely he’s never heard his mom go nuclear on someone. She might not have gone off in a big, spectacular fashion of yelling and foot stomping, but make no mistake, her disappointment cuts deep and wide.
She’s already making headway back toward the house, and her car, I’m guessing, when Shayanne snaps her fingers, breaking me out of my trance. “Holy shit, man! What did you do? Whatever it is, you’d better go fix it. Now!”
I stumble toward the gate, the same fucker that was running from me before now chasing after my feet and getting me tangled up. “Al! What the fuck, woman! Wait a damned minute!”
She glares at me over her shoulder, and I realize that might not’ve been the right thing to say. Or appropriate language in front of Cooper. “Please, wait. What happened?”
I finally just hop over the fence and stride over quickly. I step in front of her and she makes a move like she’s going to go around me, but I’m a defensive lineman and I block her left, and then right, before she stops and huffs heavily. “Let me go. I’ll just do it on my own.”
I look to Cooper for some guidance here because I have no damn idea what’s wrong with his mother. He’s no help, though, just shrugging his bony shoulder.
I put a hand on each of Allyson’s shoulders and bend down to get in her face. From inches away, I keep my voice steady and steely, quietly demanding. “Tell me what’s wrong. What happened?”
The flints of anger in her eyes are as sharp as knives. But before she can answer, Shayanne interrupts.
“Hey, Cooper! Wanna come see my pig so the grown-ups can talk? Her name’s Bacon Seed.” She might as well be playing a flute like the Pied Piper because Cooper’s full attention goes to Shay.
“Did you say you have a pig named Bacon Seed?” He sounds pretty sure my sister is one card short of a deck. He might not be wrong.
“Yep,” Shay answers, examining the tip of her ponytail for split ends like she doesn’t have a care in the world. “Wanna see?”
I raise one brow at Allyson, asking permission. She softens under my hands, looking at her son. “It’s fine, honey. Go with Shayanne for a minute so I can talk to Coach B.”
Not Bruce but Coach B. I’m so fucked. If only I knew why.
Cooper all but runs for Shayanne, already asking questions about Bacon Seed. Though my eyes stay locked on Allyson, I hear him say something about holding the pig and Shayanne’s promise that he can.
Once they’re several yards away, I ask again. “What happened?”
She scoffs, but the hard line of her spine stays softer. “You no-showed and you damn well know it. How could you throw me to the wolves like that? Practice was a total clusterfuck.” She rolls her eyes, looking at the sky, and I swear I think she’s fighting back tears. Just how bad was it?
“Al,” I say, shifting my hand to her jawline.
I’m playing with fire and I know it, but she looks so lost. “I’m so sorry.
I sent you a text message that I had to miss today and included ideas for you to use for practice to keep the guys progressing.
Hell, I even included a damn video of me with one of Shay’s monsters for you to show them to explain my absence. ”
She goes stiff beneath my palms, jerking away. “No, you did not. I’ve been checking my phone all morning and nothing, nada, zip. Don’t try to make me think you did something you didn’t. I’m not that stupid.”
She steps back, putting two feet between us. It feels like a cavernous ravine and I hate every single fucking inch. “Al . . .” I say, following her to close the gap.
“I know we left things ugly the other day, but I never dreamed you’d take out our history on those boys.
You are not the man I thought you were, not then and not now.
” She somehow finds even more distance to put between us, switching to what I imagine is her professional voice.
“We won’t be needing your services at any future practices or games.
I’ll have your name removed from the roster. You’re off the hook, Brutal.”
I pull my phone out and shove it toward her, thinking it’s the only way to stop this merry-go-round from hell. “Look at my damn phone, Allyson. You’ll see the fucking messages.”
She rips it from my hand and presses the home button, gloating like she knows she’s going to trap me in a lie.
There’s no passcode, never needed one, so she can see everything right away.
She clicks into my messages and it’s right there like I said it was .
. . her name at the top, a few messages in a row, and then a video.
She clicks play and my recorded voice fills the air.
“Hey, guys! Sorry I’m missing today’s practice, but I’ve got some extra chores to do today for my sister. You know how sisters can be!”
My eyes brows waggle, and I grin at my own joke on the screen.
“But Coach Allyson has the plan, so do everything she says. I’ll be checking for progress on Tuesday night. Oh, and one more thing . . . GOOOO WILDCATS!”
I finish the video off with a waving goat’s hoof, like she’s saying ‘bye to the team too. I’d felt a little dorky doing it but had thought the boys would get a kick out of it.
Allyson looks up at me, stricken. “I . . . I didn’t get these.
Any of these. And I jumped to conclusions.
I thought . . . I thought you abandoned me.
I mean, abandoned us,” she corrects. She takes a shuddering breath, her blue eyes meeting mine like she’s staring down the executioner’s firing squad. “I’m sorry.”
“Me too,” I say honestly. I don’t know what happened to the messages because they show as sent on my end, but I believe her that she didn’t get them. Technological Karma fucking me over, I guess. “Was it that bad?”
She laughs all the way down to her toes, but it seems to be covering horror.
“Oh, my God, it was awful! There was back-talk and freak-outs and cardio punishments . . . and that was just me! The boys didn’t do so hot either.
” She’s shaking her head, and I can tell she’s replaying her morning over in her mind.
“At first, I was furious. Then I got scared that something had actually happened to you. I drove out here looking in every ditch for that truck of yours, terrified I was going to find it. And then you’re just goofing off with goats!
I might’ve overreacted a smidgen.” She holds her finger and thumb up an inch apart.
I raise a brow and spread her fingers apart several more inches. “More like that size overreaction.”
“Hmm, my memory must be going because I could’ve sworn it was bigger than that.” Her eyes go wide and her hands slap over her mouth as she shakes her head. She says something, but it’s muffled by her palms and I can’t make it out.
I push her hands down, chuckling as her joke hits me. “What was that?”
“I didn’t mean to say that! It just came out.
I didn’t mean that I was thinking about .
. . well, you know . . . or back then . .
. or now.” She’s stammering, cheeks flushing, which makes her freckles stand out in stark relief.
She looks down like she can’t meet my eyes, but I see her quick check of my midsection and can’t help but tease her.
“It’s all right, baby. You can tell me that you were thinking about my cock.
We already discussed that you need dicking.
You know I’m the man for the job.” I’m flirting again, stepping through a minefield with no map and no clue where the IEDs are hidden.
Last time didn’t go so well, so I should be extra cautious this time.
Careful ain’t exactly my strong suit, though.
I’m more a blow shit to smithereens and deal with the aftermath type.