Chapter 26
Luke
“Luke?” J.B. calls, and I jut my chin toward Gen and my dad.
“Has he been bothering her?”
His gaze shifts to where I’m looking, and he shakes his head. “No. We had a relatively cold greeting when we first got to hole ten, but that was it. Since then, not one word.”
“Guess he was waiting for you to leave.” My brow furrows as I see the hard expression on my dad’s face. I take a step in their direction when a hand lands on my arm.
“You go to the tee box, I’ll take care of that.”
Heaving out a single exhale, I struggle with doing what he’s telling me to do. Just then, Gen looks at me. She beams and gives me a thumbs up. But there’s a slight edge to her movements, like she’s forcing them.
She turns back to my dad. Whatever she said has him tensing up, and I wish I could hear what it was. I’d love to witness Genevieve Garrett putting Theo Nichols in his place up close.
“Luke Nichols.”
Time to tee off
My fingers stretch before clenching into a fist.
Meeting Gen’s gaze, I groan. Her expression tells me to keep going.
I have no doubt she can take care of herself. Heck, I’ve personally been on the receiving end of her tongue. What I also know is that my father has no problem being a complete moron.
But there’s not much I can do about either of those things right this minute.
Lifting the brim of my hat and lowering it, I give her the slightest nod. My stomach twisted in knots.
Glaring at my dad one last time, I take the driver from my caddie, Jared.
Huffing out a breath, I roll my head from left to right.
“You okay, man?” Jared asks behind me.
Giving him a quick nod, I step in the tee-box and swing a few times before teeing up the ball.
Getting into position, I deeply inhale and slowly blow it out.
Pulling the driver back, I swing. And immediately slam it into the ground, a dull thud sounds, typical of a chunk. The ball falls off the tee peg.
Multiple gasps sound from behind me, and my pulse picks up. Dropping my head to my chest, I slowly stretch my fingers out and grip my driver tighter.
Heat creeps up my neck, at my complete rookie move.
The weight of everyone’s stare.
“Take a deep breath,” Jared says, beside me. “Good. Now blow it out. One more time. Look at where the ball landed.” Following his hand, I see the ball next to the pin. “Best case scenario.”
He’s right. Closing my eyes, I take some more deep breaths, then walk to the tee-box and pick up the ball.
“Take two,” I say to the crowd, and laughter follows.
Catching Gen’s gaze, the lines on her forehead ease, and the corner of her mouth lifts.
My hand trembles as I lean toward the peg. That’s it. No blurred vision, no pounding in my ears.
Just a slight shake.
I got this.
Huffing out a breath, I set myself up. When my body loosens, and my breathing is normal, I take another swing.
This time, a loud ‘thwack’ follows. The ball falls just shy of the short grass. Not perfect, but good, and better than landing in the sandpit.
Progress.
Heading down the fairway, I see a bogey in my future, and not one with crystal blue eyes.
A chuckle escapes, joined with a smile.
Jared’s brows knit together, and my smile widens.
“Looks like I’m getting the second bogey in my life.”
“You’ve never gotten a bogey before,” he says, which only makes me laugh harder.
Five minutes later, and one confirmed bogey down, Jared and I head over to hole 14, but my focus is on the last hole with Gen.
Did J.B. get to her?
Is my dad still harassing her?
“Hey.” Jared taps the side of my arm. “Did you hear what I just said?”
“Sorry, man. I missed it.” I adjust my cap. “Can you go over it again?”
This time, I'm working to concentrate on Jared’s analysis of what I’m coming up against next.
His strategy is sound, but once again I’m only partially paying attention to what he’s saying.
A warm breeze blows, doing nothing to cool my heated skin.
Pulling a towel from my pocket, I wipe my neck, then take a swig of water.
Coming up on the hole, I glance up and see what Jared was talking about with the glare. The sun sits straight behind the pin, turning the fairway into a wash of blinding light and deep shadow.
Sometimes shade helps with the contours of the landscape, but when it’s like it is now, shade and sun, it can be challenging to read correctly.
To solidify just how formidable, the player ahead of me is just finishing up and finally making his way on.
That rarely happens.
Looks like today is a day of firsts.
Taking the extra time I have, I glance over the crowd. My father is hovering near Genevieve, but from this vantage point, I can’t tell how close he is to her, and Gen’s expression isn’t giving anything away.
Just then, Gen reaches out her hand and takes a cup from J.B. My stomach unclenches, and I turn back toward my competitor.
Clapping erupts as he finishes up and makes his way to the next hole. The crowd shifts, and his fans begin to leave, heading to the observation area at the next hole.
One last glance at Gen shows me J.B. leaning in, her nodding and grinning.
Now that I know everything is okay, I turn my full attention to the tee box and fairway in front of me.
Jared pulls out a driver and hands it to me. “Just remember not to pull too far right, and you’re golden. Unless a gust of wind comes your way, then you’ll need that extra pull.”
“Thanks, that wasn’t helpful.”
The smirk on his face says he knows exactly what he’s doing. Making sure I’m loose.
It worked.
One last look down the fairway, and I step into the tee box and put the tee peg down. Swinging a few times, I place the ball on the pin. Just as I connect with the ball, a gust of wind sweeps across the fairway.
THWACK!
Watching the ball fly through the air, all I can do is trust the swing that I hit it with enough force for it to overcome the wind.