Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Hayes
“It’s Leighton’s mom, and I just made a piss-poor impression,” I mumble, hopping out of the car. I weave through the parked cars to the front steps, holding my hands up, hoping she’ll hear me out. “Mrs. Sinclair, I am so sorry. The game ran a little late.”
“Miz,” she clarifies.
“Right. Ms. Sinclair.”
She looks past me, and I’m really regretting allowing Easton and Decker to join me.
Lincoln jumps off the stairs and walks right by me. No high-five. No great game. Reason number two I should’ve come alone. Look how easily I’ve been replaced.
“Easton Bailey? Decker Davis?” Lincoln’s voice reflects his awe.
Monroe comes down the stairs and tugs on my hand. “Can we go?”
“In a minute.” I give her a smile.
“You’re late, and the ladies are waiting for me. Try to pay attention and not lose one.” Ms. Sinclair walks down the stairs. “Are these your reinforcements because you can’t actually handle two kids by yourself but want Leighton to think you can?”
“No, no—I can handle them. They’re just clingy.” I laugh. She doesn’t. She’s already walking down the sidewalk. “I apologize again.”
“Another disappointing man. Nothing I’m not used to,” she mumbles as she walks toward the sidewalk. “Stay with them, Lincoln and Monroe. One pair of long legs and they’ll forget all about you.” She waves then disappears around the corner.
“She’s fun,” Decker says.
“Yeah, I guess you’re not on the Mommy-Approved list,” Easton says and laughs.
I’ve never spent any real time with Lillian Sinclair, but from what Callie said, the divorce and the cheating scorned her to the point that she’ll never trust another man, and she’s seen to it that Leighton sides with her.
I hate that Leighton has never found a man she could trust. But maybe I’d hate it more if she had.
Lincoln jumps up and down next to us. “Can we all play catch?”
“No, we’re going to get my nails done,” Monroe says. “We have to get there before it closes.”
“All right, first—where is Lake?” I head up the porch stairs and into the house, everyone following. I need to walk Lake to the party.
“She already left. Aunt Lil got her ready, and we walked her to her friend’s house.” Lincoln walks into the family room and grabs his glove. “Now can we play catch?” He tosses the ball, and Decker catches it, tossing it back to him.
“Then I guess it’s off to the nail salon,” I say.
I spot a note on the table, in Leighton’s girlish handwriting, along with a key secured on a silver half-heart keychain.
“Did you break her heart already?” Easton eyes the keychain as I shove it in my pocket.
“Stop meddling.” I shoo him away with my hand.
“He’s good at meddling. Says he learned from his Grandma Dori,” Decker says.
I laugh, remembering Easton taking credit for getting Tweetie from the Falcons back together with his ex.
Monroe and Lincoln stare at us since they don’t understand what we’re talking about.
I clap my hands. “All right, let’s go!”
“Are you guys going to the nail salon too?” Lincoln asks.
“Thinking about it.” Easton holds up his hands and wiggles his fingers. “We’re playing Texas, so what do you think about Fu—”
Decker swats him in the back of the head. “Easton!”
“Shut up,” I whisper.
Easton recovers quickly. “Right. I’m gonna get them to paint Boo, Texas.”
“That’s so cool. Can I get the same thing?” Lincoln looks at me, excitement glimmering in his eyes.
“Sure, nails for everyone I guess.” I shrug.
“You’ll love the massage,” Monroe says to Decker.
She’s ditching me too? I guess he really was babysitter of the year.
“I’m gonna be just like Easton Bailey. And I’m gonna tell everybody that I knew Easton Bailey was getting his nails done before the game,” Lincoln says proudly.
It’s official. I’ve been replaced. I was like a rock star, and now he’s all over Easton. But Easton is a favorite of the Colts’ fanbase since he’s played here longer than Decker and me.
When we reach the salon, we head inside and it takes me a minute to get used to the overpowering chemical smell.
They take Monroe first, then Easton somehow finagles a spot for him and Lincoln, using his charm to get the same thing done to both of their nails.
Decker sits in the corner on his phone, not really talking to any of us, so I slide in next to him.
“So be straight with me.”
“Straight with what?” He doesn’t look away from his phone, continuing to scroll.
“Was he right? Like… that I’m doing this to get in Leighton’s pants? Is it gonna come off that way? Because I do like her,” I whisper.
He turns away from his phone and quirks an eyebrow at me. “Easton owes me fifty. Thanks for that.”
I frown. “What?”
“He was baiting you. You know… reverse psychology. Make you do what you’re doing now, convincing yourself you shouldn’t be into her.”
“I just want to make sure I’m not doing it because I like her.”
But he doesn’t clarify why he and Easton are betting on whether I like Leighton or not. They’ve never even seen us together except at the hospital six months ago.
“I wouldn’t say you’re doing this because you want to get in her pants. You’re the kind of guy who helps a lot of people out,” Decker says.
“Who do I help out?”
“I’m not going to boost your ego by saying I think you could be captain material by next year.”
“Captain material?” I’ve never thought of myself as a captain. He’s just being a nice guy—per usual.
“You help all the guys on the team. I mean, you’re even nice to Drew. And Drew is a complete asshat.”
I shrug. “He’s young. He’s new in the league. You know how it was.”
“Yeah, I do know how it was, and we all earned our stripes the hard way. Drew needs to get knocked down a couple of pegs if he’s ever gonna get respect from the team.”
I don’t really want to get into the rookies with him, but I’ve always had a soft spot for the underdog, because I can relate to them.
“It sucks that you actually like her, though, because you’re never gonna do anything about it. She’s your sister’s best friend, so that makes her off-limits.”
Decker is such an admirable guy. I could leave him in a dark room with Callie giving him a lap dance, and he’d still lock his hands behind his back. Not so sure I could say the same about his brother, even if Foster is my best friend.
Decker will think less of me if I tell him about the kiss, so I keep it to myself. First, for going behind Callie’s back, and second, it’s embarrassing. I’m sure none of them have ever had a girl kiss them and literally run away.
“She’s a family friend of yours. I’d be doing the same thing.”
“Yeah, but I want to make sure my intentions are honorable,” I say.
I don’t know why it’s important to me. I don’t want Leighton to ever think I was doing all this just to sleep with her. It’d make me yet another man who has failed her, and I can’t stomach the idea of that.
“You can still want someone even if you’re helping them. If you feel like your intentions are honorable, then I’d say they are,” he says.
“Yeah, I guess.”
I lean back in the chair and think about it.
When Callie first called to tell me what was going on, I wanted to get to the house to see how Leighton was holding up.
Sure, I care about Leighton, but I’m not expecting any payback or even trying to get her in bed.
Once she gets herself in a good routine and Callie comes back to town, I’ll step back, and we’ll move on like we used to, occasionally seeing each other.
The thought of it hurts my chest though.
I look over at where Monroe’s legs swing under the chair, back and forth, and she smiles. God, she looks so happy. It was totally worth the hassle of getting here.
Decker isn’t one for conversation right now it seems, so I go to Monroe and lean over her to see her nails. “What color did you end up picking?”
“Purple, pink, and blue—three colors.”
I can see the nail tech doing every other nail a different color. “That’s pretty cool.”
“I know! Can we put diamonds on?” Her eyes are so big and expectant.
“Diamonds?”
“They’re rhinestones,” the tech says.
Then I see the little container of jewels sitting off to the side. “Yeah, anything you want.”
“Can I get nail art?” Monroe asks.
“Sure.”
“I love daisies, can you do daisies with the diamonds?” Monroe tells the woman exactly what she wants.
The woman nods, looks up at me, looks back down, then peeks up at me again. If she recognizes me, she doesn’t say anything.
I’m not a guy who flashes around the fact that I’m a professional baseball player. I’ll leave that to Easton.
By the time we’re done at the nail salon, Easton and Lincoln have the same nails, and Monroe is skipping along the sidewalk as though she’s hopping over clouds in the sky. She keeps putting her hands in the sunlight to stare at them. Her happiness is kind of contagious.
“All right, where are we going for dinner?” Easton asks. “I’m starving.”
I thought for sure he and Decker would be making some excuse to leave by now.
Having them here for my first time alone with the kids has been comforting though.
Since they’re opposites of one another, it evens things out.
I mean, sure, I can throw a ball with Lincoln, but how do I manage Lincoln and Monroe at the same time?
It’s kind of nice to have reinforcements. Hopefully this is how Leighton feels when I’m around.
“What does everyone want?” I ask.
“I haven’t cooked out in ages,” Decker says.
“Yeah, let’s cook out,” Easton agrees.
“Grocery store it is.”
We stop at the grocery store on the walk back to the house and pick up some meat, hot dogs, buns, and Decker adds a couple of premade salads to the mix. When Monroe picks up a package of cookies, Decker and Easton turn into the Bickersons.
“Is she supposed to have that much sugar?” Decker looks at me, and I shrug.
“She’s a kid. Don’t all kids live off sugar?” Easton looks at me too.
“How the hell am I supposed to know?” I point at Decker. “You’re the babysitter.” Then I shift my pointed finger to Easton. “And you have, like, twenty-five nieces and nephews.”
“Yeah, true.” Easton looks at the ceiling, thinking.
“All right, let me see… I have one pretty strict cousin. Her kids have to eat like rabbits. Another cousin lives on fast food. My sister is really easy, and her kid puts a whole new meaning to swinging from the rafters. So, I’d say one package of cookies isn’t gonna hurt. ”
Decker, not wanting to argue with Easton anymore, says, “Put them in the cart.”
I leave the four of them to get the rest of what we need while they play rock, paper, scissors in order to decide who gets to choose what flavor of cookie to buy. I have no idea what Skylar—I mean, Leighton—has in her fridge.
I’m excited to see Leighton’s reaction when she comes home to see that we have dinner ready. Jeez, when Callie’s back, and it’s my time to leave, I’m going to miss all of them—but Leighton the most.