Chapter 46
FORTY-SIX
nate
I avoided my mother’s call for far longer than I normally would. Her attempts were more than a little half-hearted, a sure sign of her avoidance. I conveniently picked up the call as I pulled into the stadium players’ lot, knowing I would have the perfect excuse to end it early.
“Nate—”
“Mom. Hi, I don’t have long to talk.”
She sighed. “Of course, you’ve been avoiding me.”
“Yeah. A little. Sorry, I’m not sure what to say.”
“Are you mad?”
“Ma, I would never get mad at you for being happy. I’m shocked. I’m upset you hid it from me, and I’m wondering how long you both hid this from me. But I’m also painfully aware that none of these questions are my business.”
“I promise it hasn’t been long. We haven’t been hiding this from you the entire time. Donnie—”
“Donnie?” I had never used Coach’s first name; it had always been Coach or Coach Dobbs.
“Yes, that’s his name. He and I weren’t sure that it was going to be anything worth telling anyone. But now we are. We’re happy.”
Fuck. If anyone deserved to be happy, it was my mother. She’d spent years being strung along by my father, always responsible for everyone else. If there was one thing I knew about Coach, it was that he wouldn’t stand for that bullshit.
“Well, that’s all I want for you. You deserve to be happy. I hated finding out through a text message.”
“I know. That was wrong of me, but the last two times we talked, I chickened out. And it became more important to tell you—because not telling you was hurting Donnie.”
I thought about how it felt to sneak around with Olivia, how she and I could be in each other’s lives publicly, but that involvement had limits. Austin’s limits. Jason’s limits. Shit, even the vipers at the Little League park imposed their limits on our relationship.
“I understand.”
“Are you saying that to make me feel better?”
“No, I’m saying that because I’m seeing someone and we have to hide it from everyone around us. It fucking sucks.”
“Why would you—” she interrupted herself. “Oh, it’s Olivia. You knew the moment you met her, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. But right now neither of us is ready to open ourselves up to the judgment of the rest of the world.”
“How old is she?”
“29.”
“And her boy?”
“10.”
“Oof. Ten years seems like a lot, but 29 is still so young—”
“Try telling that to her,” I said with a laugh.
“And the boy’s father?”
“He’s a dick. Sorry for the language, but that’s what he is.”
“Are you ready to be involved with someone who has a child? Do you understand what that means? You can’t just bounce in and out of their lives.”
“I know that. And right now, he only knows that I’m his uncle’s teammate. I don’t see that changing anytime soon. I’m not even sure she wants anything more permanent.”
“Have you told her that you do?”
I’d been thinking about the changes in Olivia over the last few days. Yes, she admitted that she felt something for me, but that didn’t mean she would be willing to blow up her life to make something work between us. That was exactly what would happen.
“There are too many moving parts, too many influences. And her son is her priority. She won’t do anything if he’s going to end up hurt.”
“She’s a good mom?”
“One of the best.” I smiled as I said it because my mother was also one of the best.
“And you care about the boy?”
“I do. Enough to put his needs ahead of my own.”
“Hmph.”
There was a lot behind that huff. “What? What are you thinking?”
“It’s not what I wanted for you. I hoped you would have time to live, to make mistakes. Date lots of women and find someone to settle down with in several years—and then have kids.”
“I’m not sure where this is heading, but I’m going to give it a chance for us to work that out.”
“Should I plan a hotel for when we’re in town?”
I tried to think about where they could stay at Olivia’s house. The bedrooms were full, but I could sleep in the finished basement while they took my bed.
“No. There is room here.”
“Do you need to check with Olivia?”
“I’ll confirm with her, but I think she’ll be happy to have you.
If there’s an issue, I’ll find a hotel close by and send you the details.
” While Coach had more stable finances than my mother, he certainly wasn’t rolling in it.
Either way, they weren’t paying for this visit; it would be easier to convince them of that if they stayed in Olivia’s house.
“Okay. I sent you an email with our flight details. I’m really looking forward to seeing you.”
“Me too, Mom.”
As I ended the call, I noticed Austin’s car had pulled in next to mine.
“Hey, I thought you were getting here early?”
“I did. But Ashley manufactured a goddamn emergency at the house. I wanted to ignore it, but I still own the place, even if she’s the one living there.”
“And? Was it a genuine emergency?”
“What do you think? You know her well enough to predict what happened.”
“Yeah.” Enough to know I didn’t want the details.
“Why were you running this morning?”
“I needed to clear my head. My mother is coming to town for my birthday. She’s bringing her new boyfriend—I’ve told you about Coach Dobbs, right?”
“For real? She’s dating your coach?”
“Yup. I just got off the phone with her. Basically told her it’s none of my business. But I needed to get in the right headspace before I could handle the call.”
“Sorry, kid. I assumed you were over-training.”
Austin loved making assumptions about my actions. Calling me kid, and I was painfully aware that it would take something big for him to see me as an equal partner with his sister. I had to get Olivia there first, but then we’d both need to work on her brother.