CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Scott
Now
I was standing outside on a blustery fall afternoon and going back and forth between the twins’ soccer game and Selene’s softball game.
Sutton was working on a homecoming float with the student council.
Sophia was at piano lessons, and Sammy was at soccer practice.
I had timers set on my phone for when each thing ended.
It had been another week or so since ‘doughnut gate’ had occurred, and I’d stared to figure things out. I was still horrible at it, but I was finally starting to get the hang of a few things. I figured once I’d grasped a couple of things well, the rest would come easier.
If that wasn’t how it worked, I didn’t want to know.
Plus, the kids had seemed to have a change of heart and had banded together to help me instead of acting like a pack of hyenas while their mom was out of the house.
I let out a cheer when Spencer dove and saved a goal, then kicked the ball way out in front of him. It landed right in front of Sean, who immediately took charge of it and started dribbling the ball down the pitch.
“They’re doing so well,” a smooth, female voice said behind me.
I turned to see a blonde woman wearing too much makeup standing there.
I would’ve thought she was talking to someone else…
but I recognized her. To my absolute dismay, Scarlett was standing right behind me.
I hadn’t seen her since her failed attempt at a lawsuit years ago.
I knew she’d served a small amount of jail time for the charges I’d filed against her.
After that, I’d assumed she’d left town.
I vaguely remembered now that I thought about it that someone had recently said she was back in Indigo Falls and had a child in pre-K this year.
And here she was, like an old nightmare come back to haunt me.
She was wearing a ridiculous outfit. The other moms all wore jeans or yoga pants and had their hair pulled into messy buns.
Scarlett’s hair flowed over her shoulders in loose, silky waves, her makeup would have looked good on stage in a strip club, perhaps, but at an early morning high school soccer game?
It was garish. And then there was her outfit.
She was wearing three-inch heels. She had on an extremely low-cut top and a tiny miniskirt.
She also had to have a really great bra because it had thrust her tits almost completely out of her top.
I was doing my best not to stare at them; not because I wanted her, because I fucking didn’t, but because it seemed like a gravity-defying feat of nature.
“What are you doing here?”
“Oh, you know. We have to cheer on our boys.” She gave me a seductive smile and stuck out one hip. She fluttered her long eyelashes at me.
“Our boys? Isn’t your child in pre-K?”
She ignored the question and leaned in, purposefully angling her chest to be right in my line of sight. “That’s so sweet. You kept track of me all these years.”
“What?” I made a face at her. “What are you talking about? I didn’t keep track of you. We live in a small town. Everyone knows you have a child in pre-K.”
A look of irritation flashed across her face, but it was gone in an instant. She covered it up with a very toothy smile.
Scarlett was a beautiful woman. I’d always known that.
But that’s all she had going for her. She hadn’t worked on her personality or her grades or anything that would serve her well in life.
Instead, she’d just always fallen back on her looks to get her through everything. And they had up to a point.
But Blair? She was a hundred times what this woman was. She was beautiful, sure. But she was also kind, intelligent, compassionate, and caring. She was so much more than that, too. Blair had it all.
How I had ever given Scarlett a second glance was now beyond me. It seemed impossible.
“So, you’re here for…?” I trailed off and raised my eyebrows. She was going to need to tell me what was going on here. I needed to know if she was following me or something.
“My cousin,” she said gesturing towards the bench. “He’s my second cousin’s child.”
It was then I noticed that almost all the parents were watching what was going on between Scarlett and me. I took a giant step back from her. I didn’t want anyone to think I was standing too close to her.
She stepped closer and put her hand on my chest. When I tried to step back, she protested.
“No, wait,” she laughed, “you’ve got something on your shirt.”
I glanced down but didn’t see anything. “I don’t see what you’re talking about…” I stopped talking and looked at her when she took the opportunity to lean in closer to say something.
“I heard about Blair. It’s sad, but now we can be together.”
I jerked backwards so suddenly, she stumbled a bit before regaining her balance.
“What the hell are you talking about? I don’t want to be with you.” I looked around, aghast. I didn’t want any of these nosy PTO moms to get any ideas and start spreading rumors.
She giggled, her blue eyes sparkling. “Of course you do. The only reason we couldn’t be together a few years ago was because of Blair.” She shrugged. “She’s out of the way now.”
I frowned. “Are you seriously trying to hit on me while me wife is in the hospital in a coma? Fighting for her life?” My voice had become loud unintentionally, but it worked out well.
Once the moms had heard what I said, they stared at Scarlett with contempt. They put their heads together while staring at her and talking about her.
Scarlett opened her mouth to say something, thought better of it, and turned around. I was relieved until she peered back over her shoulder, caught my eye, and smiled. “I’ll see you soon,” she called.
Ugh. Not if I could help it. I turned my attention back to the twins’ game and enjoyed watching my boys doing something they loved.
Why hadn’t I come to their games before?
Had I not noticed how great my kids were?
I shook my head. I’d been incredibly selfish.
And stupid. But no more. Even if I botched things up sometimes, I was going to be a good parent from now on.
A timer went off on my watch, and I glanced down, thoughts interrupted.
It was time to pick up Sammy from practice. The soccer game was over, our team had won, and I caught Sean’s eye. He gave me a head nod and a bright smile. Then I waved at him and Spencer, who was busy talking to the coach.
I couldn’t believe I’d ever missed these things.