19. Beckett
BECKETT
To Do:
- Pick up requested supplies
- Track cravings
Sawyer:
Saturday. 9:00 am. Jones Field, right off Frey Street. Drive past the Dairy Queen, take a left at the stoplight, then go down until you see Lucy’s Diner. There will be a bunch of cars in the parking lot, so it should be easy to find.
Sawyer:
Bring a chair
Sawyer:
And donuts
Sawyer:
And a cold cherry 7up
Me:
Anything else? A catered lunch, perhaps?
Sawyer:
…
Sawyer:
Just the donuts and soda
When I told Sawyer to text me a time and a place, I didn’t realize she was going to send me on a wild-goose chase first thing on a Saturday morning, but I was more than happy to oblige. If that was what it took to get back in my girl’s good graces, that was precisely what I was going to do.
She wanted donuts? I brought her a variety dozen.
An ice-cold Cherry 7UP? I had three in an insulated travel cooler.
The chair was an initial problem, but after a quick internet search and one trip to the only hardware store in thirty miles, I solved that little issue. I walked out with two beneath my arms, including one with a pop-up sun visor on top, just in case Sawyer wanted to sit in the shade.
I might not have known what we were doing, but I damn sure wasn’t going to show up unprepared. It was important to show Sawyer that not only was I capable of following directions, but I also exceeded expectations in a gold star fashion.
The field was easy enough to find once I got used to Sawyer’s directions.
I’d never gotten somewhere strictly using landmarks as map markers.
It was definitely efficient, adding to Pinecrest’s small town charm.
It was nothing like back home in NYC. Things changed so quickly in big cities.
One day, you’d be driving to work and pass a new sub shop with a line out the door, and two months later, it’d be something else entirely.
It kind of seemed like a gift to know a place so intimately.
Just like she said, the parking lot was packed to the brim with minivans, diesel trucks, and parents running toward the field with their kids.
I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I didn’t care if it meant spending time with Sawyer.
When she asked me for a do-over, it had taken everything I had not to pump my fist in the air like I was in a John Hughes movie.
I thought I’d ruined everything by letting her walk out.
I’d be damned if I was going to fuck this up, too.
Even if this wasn’t the best place to work through the predicament we found ourselves in, a few hours with her were worth more than all the words in the English language. I’d take what I could get and say thank you when we were done.
After driving down countless rows of cars, I finally found a spot in the next lot over.
There’d been no sign of Sawyer’s gold Camry, though.
I glanced at the clock on the dashboard.
It was nearly nine. She should be here by now, shouldn’t she?
I pulled out my phone, ready to send a message and make sure she was okay, when her name flashed across the screen.
“Hey, sorry. I know I’m running a few minutes behind.” I climbed out, cradling the phone between my ear and my shoulder as I popped the trunk of my SUV. “It took me a minute to find a parking spot, but I finally got one. Where are you?”
“It’s about time. I was about to send out a search party,” Sawyer murmured, her amusement evident.
I liked the sound of that for all the wrong reasons.
The thought of her being concerned enough to look for me shouldn’t have had me feeling so elated, but it did.
“On second thought…” I said, leaning against the side of the vehicle.
“I could use a hand for all the things I brought. I was very thorough.”
“Is that right?” The smile in her voice was evident as she said, “That can be arranged. Where are you?”
“Great question.” I scanned the area, looking for anything I could use as a marker. There wasn’t much around me other than tall trees and vehicles, but I could make out a rusting white pipe fence just ahead. “Oh. There’s a pavilion to my left, and I can see the entrance.”
Muffled voices sounded in the background, including a high-pitched whistle I could hear from my car. “Perfect. Stay right there.”
Sawyer disconnected the call before I could tell her I was just joking. My car was a decent walk from the entrance. I didn’t want her to come all the way out here when I could handle it by myself.
Well, sort of. I would definitely need to make two trips in order to bring all of this out to the field. It seemed like a fantastic idea to go above and beyond what Sawyer had asked for at the time, but I hadn’t really thought about how I was supposed to transport everything.
I should’ve taken the man at the store’s advice and gotten the travel wagon he suggested. Maybe I’d go back.
Damn, wishful thinking already had me planning for the next time she asked me for anything.
By the time I managed to get both chairs under one arm, the cooler strap slung over my shoulder, and the donut box perched precariously on top, I realized I’d made a horrible mistake in not closing the trunk. My keys were stuck in my pocket, and I’d have to let something go in order to get them.
Fuck.
Just as the chairs fell to the ground, I heard a sharp whistle that had my head snapping up. I recognized it from earlier, though I was not met with the sight I expected.
Duke Bennett was flanked by two men I’d never seen before.
They were tall and lean in comparison to Duke’s bulky frame.
Each wore a shit-eating grin, whispering behind Duke’s back like two children who were up to no good.
Clearly, their friend didn’t find their jokes amusing as he turned around and glowered at them before stopping in front of me.
“If I had known she meant you, I would’ve declined her offer for an escort,” I called, crossing my arms.
Duke scoffed. “It wasn’t my first choice, either, but you clearly can’t carry this shit by yourself,” he said, grabbing the box of donuts and the cooler from my arms. “Plus, these two idiots didn’t want to wait.
Beckett, meet Lukas, Liv’s brother.” He gestured toward the taller of the two men. “And this is Grady, Liv’s ex-husband.”
Her ex-husband? That was interesting. I wasn’t a stranger to complicated family dynamics, though. As weird as it might have seemed to some, I respected that both men could not only stand to be around one another but seemed to have a good attitude about it.
Grady waved before bending down to pick up both chairs. He tossed one to Lukas before shutting the hatch to my SUV. “Nice to meet you. Don’t worry about this old grump. He didn’t have his fancy coffee this morning.”
Duke looked like he’d rather be anywhere else in the world than where he was. “Yeah, and you’re wasting time yapping about shit that doesn’t matter when the biggest game of my kid’s life is about to start. Pack up and let’s go.”
Without a backward glance, Duke did exactly that. He stalked off toward the field with the cooler in one hand and the donuts in the other. Lukas and Grady fell into step next to me.
“Don’t mind him. He gets really worked up at Harper’s games,” Lukas said.
Grady nodded. “I thought he’d quit being such a dick when he and Liv got together, but no luck so far. He’s still an impatient ass to the rest of us.”
I had no idea who Harper was, but I assumed it was Duke’s kid.
He may have been an ass, but he clearly loved the people he surrounded himself with.
Hell, he came out here to help me just because Sawyer asked him to.
“Yeah, I’m gathering that,” I said, and sighed.
“Don’t suppose you gentlemen might know how to get on his good side? I could use some pointers.”
The two men shared a look before laughing. “Nope. It’s like a rite of passage. You have to flounder in the deep end first,” Grady said.
“Ah, great. That’s helpful,” I deadpanned.
It was imperative that I get his approval.
It was important that I get his approval.
Not just because of the work we had ahead of us for Frank's, but also because he was important to Sawyer.
It was clear that she held his opinion in high regard, and he genuinely cared for her.
He watched her and worried about my proximity to her.
Did he have any idea that I was the father of her child?
Or did he think I was just some creep trying to hit on someone who wanted nothing to do with me?
“Take it as a good sign you were invited to Harper’s game,” Lukas said as we passed under the white pipe entrance. “Baby steps.”
I snorted. Lukas didn’t understand how accurate that statement was. “Alright. I’ll take your word for it.”
We walked the rest of the way in relative silence.
There were a handful of games happening across the massive fields.
Younger kids stumbled awkwardly over one another as they fought to steal the ball away from their opponents.
Half of them looked like they’d rather be in bed than fighting their classmates on the field.
I was pretty sure one was on all fours, meowing like a cat near the goal.
It wasn’t until we were at the edge of the farthest field that I saw the familiar face I’d been unknowingly searching for. Sawyer sat beside Liv with her arms wrapped around her middle, one knee bouncing wildly as she shouted in unison with the crowd.
When she swung her head toward me, a tentative smile on her face, I nearly stopped breathing.
God. She really was beautiful. Her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail with tendrils of copper and gold framing her sun-reddened face.
A constellation of freckles dotted the skin across her nose and cheeks.
She was wearing a hoodie that swallowed her petite frame and leggings that clung to every single curve.