Chapter 5
CHAPTER
FIVE
Markie
“That was one hell of a firefight,” Adam says, his hands clutching his knees as he struggles to catch his breath. It’s apparent that he exaggerated his current physical prowess. “You weren’t joking when you said you were good.”
I snatch the ball from the court and place it and my paddle on the bench.
The evening sky casts a golden glow over the park.
Trees sway in the perfect summer breeze, and birds sing their final song of the day.
Pop used to call it the dusk chorus. He’d often sneak me a piece of candy, and we’d sit outside on the picnic table and listen to it until sunset, when Lolly made us come inside.
Those are some of my fondest memories.
“How’d I do?” Adam asks, crossing the court. “Did I make the cut?”
I laugh. “Yes. I mean, we have some work to do, but I think we can iron out the wrinkles.”
“Great.” He grins. “It’ll be much easier to go to work tomorrow saying I made it rather than telling the guys that you thought I was a chump.”
Men and their fragile egos.
The last hour has been the best hour I’ve spent on the court in weeks. I wouldn’t say that Adam is the best partner I’ve ever had. Not by a long shot. But he’s not exactly a chump, either, and at this point, that has to be good enough. I’ll make up the difference.
“As I said, we have a lot of work to do,” I say, grabbing a towel from my bag. “We have to get on the same page stylistically, but and I mean this nicely, your cardio is crap. We’ll have two games a day—sometimes three. I need to know you have the endurance to stay with me.”
“Endurance is my middle name.”
Oh please. I struggle not to roll my eyes at his innuendo. “Glad to hear it. Let’s just make sure it’s spelled out in capital letters.”
“You have nothing to worry about.” He tosses his gear into a backpack. “I work late this week, but I get off around five starting Friday. It’ll take me about thirty minutes to get here.”
“Where are you coming from?”
He slings his backpack over his shoulder. “I live on the far side of Colfax County. Just past Laveen.”
I hesitate before taking a drink of water. Colfax County is where Courtney, Jasper’s new girlfriend and pickleball partner, is from. I don’t know much about her because I haven’t bothered to look her up. She wasn’t the one breaking promises to me, and my problem has never been with her.
But now that an opportunity to inquire about her sits in my lap, I’d be silly not to take it.
“Do you happen to know Courtney Fitz?” I ask. “She’s from somewhere over there.”
“Oh yeah. My sisters played volleyball and softball with her. Why do you ask?”
“She entered the tournament. I’m just trying to see who we’re up against. That’s all.”
He nods as if that makes perfect sense. “She’s a great athlete. Went to Oak Grove for college and played a sport there, I think. I haven’t seen her in years.”
I sigh. The sound is a bit harsher than I expect or intend. Adam picks up on it but doesn’t comment. Unfortunately for him, his face speaks for itself.
“Looks like you’ll be seeing her soon,” I say, forcing a smile. “Welcome to the team. Let’s shoot for Saturday at noon?”
“Sounds great. I’ll see you then.” He heads for the parking lot. “And if I get a break at work tomorrow, I’ll run some wind sprints.”
“You do that.”
His laughter trails him as I begin to pack my gear.
A weight has been lifted off my shoulders as I slide my paddle into my bag.
I was starting to believe that I’d never find anyone good enough to help me beat Jasper.
Adam isn’t the best thing I’ve ever seen on the court, but he’s undoubtedly the best I’ve seen this year. Together, we’ll win. Hands down.
I turn to grab my bottle when something catches my attention. Oh shit.
Jory jogs toward me with an effortless, smooth stride. A smile tugs against his lips. A gold chain with a cross on it bounces against his bare chest, and a sprinkling of small, thin tattoos are spread across his skin.
My breath hitches as I take in his long, lean, professional-athlete body. He’s shirtless, sweaty, and so freaking sexy.
“Don’t let this go to your head,” he says, stopping at the fence. He rests his thick forearms casually across the top of it, not breathing hard or panting. His cardio, and endurance, are probably elite. “But that guy you were playing with is nowhere near as good as you.”
I fight a grin. “Story of my life.”
He laughs, running a hand through his damp hair. “I bet it is. So who was he? Is that your teammate?”
The hint of mischief in his tone tells me that he saw Adam and me practicing … and he’s not that impressed.
“Yup,” I say. “It’s me and Adam versus the world.”
“Chemistry looked a little weak to me.”
“Thanks for your unsolicited opinion,” I say, shaking my head and grabbing my bottle. “Did Gus suggest that you run shirtless to try to nab a date? I don’t know him that well, but it feels like something he’d suggest.”
Jory laughs. “No, but you’re right. It’s something he’d do, especially because he thinks I have no game. By the way, his latest theory is that you turned me down because you think I’m cheap. He’s sure that if I had bought two jars of jam, you would’ve gone out with me.”
“I’m thrilled your son thinks I’m a gold digger.” I laugh, too. “I saw him playing basketball when I got here. He seems to have found friends.”
“Glad one of us did.”
I roll my eyes, turning to him at the exact moment a breeze ripples across the court. My senses fill with notes of his cologne and fresh, post-run sweat. The scent lingers in the air, flirting with me and making me wonder what he smells like after sex.
Focus, Markie. “I’m sure you have no trouble finding friends, Mr. Plath.”
“Oh,” he says, grinning from ear to ear. “You know my last name. Been digging around, have we?”
“Or my brother told me. I mean, there’s one obvious answer, but I’ll let you decide what to think.”
He shifts his weight and the sun’s rays make the perspiration on his shoulders shimmer.
“I was shocked when Miles told me you were his sister,” Jory says. “We’ve been friends for almost a decade now, and he’s never said your name.”
“Yeah, that’s not shocking at all.”
He laughs. “True. Miles isn’t that …”
“Interested in anyone’s life but his own?” I offer, shrugging.
“I was going to say forthcoming.”
“You’re nicer than I am.” I chuckle. “I love him. We have a good relationship. But once our father died, we didn’t see him much since he lived with his mother.
My sister and I are sort of Miles’s peripheral siblings, if that makes sense.
We’re closer than strangers but still on a need-to-know basis, and I think he’d show up to our funerals. ”
He presses off the fence and stands tall. He towers over me, his shadow extending onto the court. Everything about him screams testosterone and bad decisions.
“I always hated being an only child,” he says. “Always wanted a sibling. I hope I can give Gus a brother or sister.”
Something Gus said last weekend pops into my mind. I’ve thought a few times about him saying he’s only known his dad for a couple of years. No matter how I wrestle with it, I can’t make sense of it.
“Can I ask you something that’s none of my business?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Sure. Ask away.”
“I don’t know how he said it,” I say, “but Gus said something along the lines that he’s only known you for a couple of years.”
Jory watches me, grinning. “That wasn’t a question.”
I sigh as my cheeks flush, picking up my bag. “I just wondered why. Or maybe I misunderstood him. That’s all.”
“So, you really just want to know if I’m a deadbeat dad.” He winks as I nibble my bottom lip nervously. “I’m kidding. I know how it sounds.”
“I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m sorry.”
“No, I’ll explain. It’s a fair question.” He waits for me to come through the gate and then walks beside me toward my car. “I dated his mother, Deidre, off and on in college. We were never anything serious, and we certainly weren’t monogamous.”
I kick a rock with my toe. “I’ve had a few of those relationships myself.”
“We stopped seeing each other because she met a guy she really liked and they got serious pretty quickly. She didn’t realize she was pregnant until she was pretty far along, and she just assumed it was his.
They got married, and that was that. It wasn’t until Gus had a medical issue a couple of years ago that she realized the truth. ”
Oh wow. In all of the scenarios I came up with, this was not one of them.
I glance at Jory out of the corner of my eye. His forehead is wrinkled, and he licks his bottom lip. I kind of wish that I hadn’t asked.
“That’s … something,” I say, grimacing. “I’m not really sure what to say. Gus is okay, right?”
“Yup. He’s fine. We got through all of that.
” He smiles down at me. “It sucks. I missed out on so much, and it took me a long time to make peace with that. But what am I going to do? Be pissed about it forever? I can’t turn back time.
And it’s not like Deidre set out to screw me over. I can’t blame her.”
“That’s incredibly mature of you. I think I’d carry a chip on my shoulder.”
He chuckles. “I don’t know you that well, but that feels like something you’d do.”
“Touché.” I unlock my car and toss my bag into the back seat. “Thank you for answering my very impolite question. I can hear my grandma Lolly in my head chastising me for being rude.”
“It’s fine. I’d rather you ask than assume.”
He leans against my car as if he expects me to stick around and talk to him.
And while I should climb in and take off, I don’t reach for the handle.
There’s something about being in his presence that I don’t hate.
I even kind of like it. That’s not a good thing, but I’d be lying to myself if I said otherwise.
“Anything else you wanna know?” he asks, crossing his arms over his barrel chest.
“Well, since you asked,” I say, batting my lashes. He chuckles. “What’s your relationship like with Gus’s mom and her husband? How does that situation play out? I can only imagine there are a hundred emotions involved that could go so many different ways.”
“We’re good. Her husband passed away five or six years ago.
But, yeah, Deidre and I get along just fine.
She’s a fantastic mom. I mean, look at Gus.
That’s all her doing. I can’t take credit for that.
” The smile on his lips softens. “She’s been great at facilitating a relationship between Gus and me.
I mean, she has let me have him this summer and last, and I’ve either seen him or had him with me for just about every holiday.
” He runs a hand through his hair again.
“I really appreciate her in a lot of ways, you know?”
“That’s nice.”
He sighs. “I just have to figure out how life will look once I retire next year.” He peeks at me out of the corner of his eye. “But that’s a problem for another day.”
The sun creeps along the edge of the distant treetops, lighting the sky in a cascade of beautiful pinks and purples. It feels like the world has formed a little cocoon around us.
I stare up at Jory, processing how respectfully he speaks about Deidre.
Despite everything that happened, he’s so kind.
And maybe it’s a ruse—maybe it’s just another handsome, disarming man using his charm to fleece me.
Surely, he’s working an angle. But if that’s true, I don’t want to find out.
I want to keep him far enough away that I don’t ever have to know.
“What about you, Miss Markie St. James?” he asks. “What else is there to know about you?”
I snort. If he thinks I’m filleting myself for a shirtless hottie that I’ve known for two whole minutes, he’s mistaken.
“I’m just a small-town girl,” I say, shrugging. “There’s not a lot to know about me.”
His eyes narrow playfully. “Somehow, I don’t believe that.”
“Suit yourself.” I reach for the door handle and pull it open. “But I need to get going. I have to run by my sister’s house tonight, and I desperately need a shower first.”
He steps away from my car, giving me plenty of room to maneuver. What a gentleman.
“Guess you know where to find me if your pickleball boy flakes out on you,” he says, teasing me.
“Thanks, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.” I drop into the driver’s seat and start the engine. “Tell Gus that I said hi. And tell him that the jam had nothing to do with it.”
“I will. See ya around.”
“Bye, Jory.”
I shut the door and leave the park before I can change my mind.