17. Melanie
melanie
As soon as the door opens, we hear a raised voice. “—not open that door, Jacob! We’ve talked about this!”
The nine-year-old standing in front of us rolls his eyes dramatically. “If I waited for you,” he shouts back, “they’d leave before you even got off the couch.”
At my side, Oakley’s mouth drops open, and he leans forward. “Jacob,” he whispers. “Why are you and your dad yelling at each other?”
Jacob shrugs, not bothering to lower his voice. “Dad says being stuck at home like this makes him feel like a hen in a fox house.” His mouth pulls down into a bemused frown. “Not sure what that means, except”—he looks over his shoulder, shouting into the house—“he won’t stop being grumpy!”
I roll my lips inward to hide the smile that wants to peek out, especially when Jacob turns back to us, looking mighty pleased with himself.
It’s Saturday morning, and another Slugger game has been cancelled with no head coach to take over.
As soon as Oakley heard the news, he moped around the house, a furious scowl set on his face, so I’d suggested that we visit the Greer household to check in on Harrison and Jacob, hoping it would cheer him up.
Looking down at him now, watching as he grins at Jacob, I know it was the right move. I can’t fix everything for him—something I struggle to accept—but I can provide a distraction, at least.
“Jacob Greer, you are sorely tempting me to box your ears,” Harrison threatens as he appears, a crutch under each arm and one of his legs wrapped in a white cast. He’s wearing navy sweats, but the left leg has been jaggedly cut off to accommodate the plaster that runs from his foot to mid-thigh.
“No way,” Jacob retorts with a cheeky smile. “You do that, I tell Grandma, and then she boxes your ears.”
Oakley’s watching Harrison’s slow approach, his blue-gray eyes twinkling. “It’s fine,” he tells Jacob. “I don’t think he’d be able to catch you, anyway.”
Harrison narrows his eyes at Oakley, even as his mouth twitches, giving him away.
“He’s so slow. It’s only been a week. I don’t know if I can handle him being broken for months,” Jacob complains dramatically, reaching out to grab Oakley’s arm and dragging him into the house. “Come on. I got a new Ninja Turtle game. It’s badass!”
Harrison’s face flushes, wide eyes landing on me before he pins a stern glower on his son. “Jacob.” He groans. “We talked about this.”
“What?” Jacob throws him an uncomprehending look. “What’d I do?”
Harrison lifts a hand, finger pointed upwards.
“One, no cussing around Grandma.” He raises a second finger.
“Two, no teaching your friends to cuss. Three, we do not cuss in front of ladies.” Two more fingers flick up as he throws a pointed look in my direction.
“And four, you don’t get me in trouble with other parents!
” Jacob’s eyes flash defiantly as Harrison leans in.
“I might not be able to catch you, but you can bet I’ll confiscate your Xbox. ”
Jacob’s shoulders slump in defeat. “Fine.”
“Now apologize to Melanie.”
Jacob turns, his chin tucked to his chest as he peers up at me through his lashes. “Sorry, Melanie.”
“It’s okay,” I tell him with a smile. “You guys go play.”
They don’t hesitate, their voices echoing back to us as they disappear into the house. I turn to look at Harrison, who grimaces with chagrin.
“Sorry about that,” he mutters. “My language is shocking, and he hears enough of it down at the fire station, so we came up with a system that seemed better than ‘do as I say, not as I do’.” He pauses, furrowing his brow. “Well, it seemed better until today.”
I laugh. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve been known to drop a few f-bombs when I stub my toe. Jacob’s a good kid, potty mouth or not.”
He smiles at that and tips his head toward the kitchen. “Come on. I just put coffee on.”
I follow him in, checking out the many photos of Jacob and Harrison littering the walls of the hallway. One catches my eye just before we reach the kitchen, the two of them with an older couple, their matching smiles telling me easily that they must be Harrison’s parents.
“They’re the reason we moved back.” He hobbles back toward me when he realizes I’ve stopped.
“I never expected to be a single father, and we stumbled along for a while, just the two of us. But a kid needs family, I think.” He looks at me, the smile falling away.
“I wanted to give him the life I had, even if I couldn’t give him a mom.
” He gives the photo one last glance before we head into the kitchen.
I watch as he rests one crutch against the counter, leaning against the other as he uses one hand to pull two mugs out.
“Let me—”
He shakes his head before I can get the words out. “No. Absolutely not. You’re a guest.”
“Harrison.” My voice is firm. “Sit down. Let me get the coffee.”
He grumbles gracelessly, even as he takes a seat at the kitchen island, telling me how he likes his coffee and pointing out where everything is. When we’re both sitting down with our hot drinks, he eyes me, his eyes gleaming with amusement.
“You can ask, you know.”
My lips quirk. “Am I that obvious?”
“Yes.” He deadpans before a rough chuckle escapes. “I’m actually surprised you don’t already know the gist. I know how much people talk around here.”
“I’m not much for gossip.”
He tips his chin back, an assessing look in his green eyes. “Yeah, I can see that.” He sips his coffee. “I heard a rumor that I asked you out.”
“Huh. I heard the same one.” My cheeks heat as I smile at him.
He’d asked me the night he took me and Oakley home after the game, giving me his number and an open-ended offer.
I still wasn’t sure what the right move was, but it wasn’t fair to go out with him when I was still messed up over someone else.
He doesn’t push, telling me, “Jacob’s mom isn’t in the picture.
Not really. And she hasn’t been since he was about three weeks old.
” His lips twitch, almost like he wants to smile but can’t quite force it.
“It was a surprise for both of us. The kind that involved a lot of alcohol and two strangers who didn’t know each other’s last names. ”
I wince. “That sounds messy.”
He doesn’t disagree. “We tried to make it work. Got to know each other while she was pregnant, and even moved in together right before the baby was due. She…” He looks over his shoulder, checking to see that the kids haven’t snuck up on us. “She decided that motherhood wasn’t for her.”
“You’re kidding…” I whisper, unable to comprehend a world where I would just walk away from Oakley. My love for that small human is all-encompassing, and a world that doesn’t include him isn’t a world I want a part of. “She just walked away?”
He looks down at his coffee. “Didn’t even look back once,” he says grimly.
“She turns up a couple of times of year. A whirlwind of chaos, giving Jacob the time of his life and then disappearing again when she’s had enough.
” He pauses. “Sometimes, I think it would be better for everyone if she just…stopped. But that’s still my boy’s mother, y’know?
And he’s never known her as anyone else. ”
“It doesn’t bother him?”
Harrison looks troubled, even as he shakes his head. “Not that he’s ever said or shown me. He enjoys spending time with her, and he’s never really asked questions about the way things are.” His throat bobs on a swallow. “He is the greatest damn kid. I’ll never get why she can’t see that.”
I reach out to touch his arm. “I can’t imagine what that’s like. I mean, I have a terrible ex who I wish terrible things on. But he’s still here, even if he’s useless.”
He eyes me, his eyes creasing at the corners. “What kind of terrible things are you wishing for?”
“If I say it out loud, it might not come true,” I say primly, hiding my smile behind my mug as I sip my drink. He shakes his head, amusement chasing away the darkness that crept in.
Deciding to change the subject to something lighter, I gesture at his leg. “How long are you stuck like this for?”
He grimaces. “Another five weeks, at least.” He looks down at his leg, eyes narrowed.
“Two breaks in my shin. A segmental tibial fracture, they called it. It didn’t need surgery, so here’s to looking at the bright side.
” He lifts his mug in a cheers gesture, and I tap mine against his.
“I’m off work for at least four weeks, and then the chief reckons he’ll put me on light duties and admin.
” His tone is grousing, leaving me with no doubts about how he feels about that.
After a beat, he looks at me. “Hope Oakley hasn’t been too disappointed about baseball. ”
I hum. “He’s not thrilled.” To put it lightly. “They haven’t found anyone to take the shoes of the head coach, but I’m hoping they will soon.”
Harrison pauses with his mug halfway to his mouth. “You haven’t heard?”
I lift my eyebrows. “Heard what?”
His smile is a little tighter, unsure. “They found someone. Practice is back on this week, and the game is scheduled to go ahead next weekend.” His eyes bounce between mine, and I stare back at him, carefully setting my mug down on the counter, trying to ignore the flutter of nerves in my stomach. “Who is it?”
“Cale Evans.” His tone is gentle, his eyes catching every twitch of my expression, every reaction I try to shut down.
“He met with the school last week. Onyx Protections have helped the district in the past, as well as being involved in some mentorship thing at the high school, so”—he lifts a shoulder—“all his clearances were already on file.”
I knew it was coming. As soon as he started talking, I knew. But it still lands hard, forcing a rough breath out past my lips. Anger simmers just underneath my skin, remembering the way Oakley completely iced Cale out, acting like he wasn’t even there.
I pull in a sharp breath through my nose, protesting stiffly. “He’s not a parent. He’s got nothing to do with the school or the team.”