Page 19 of Coach Me (Boston Blues #2)

Dex

I don’t know what I’m doing here. After this morning, I’m not convinced I’ve ever known what I was doing because I’m a thirty-six-year-old single dad with a job I shouldn’t have taken in the first place.

And I’ve, for some reason, hired the first girl I’ve been attracted to in so damn long who called me “Coach” after getting us breakfast. I’m pretty sure I’ve had a semi ever since.

And now I’ve been keeping a healthy distance from her because of it. I keep thinking that space will help, but it’s been ten days since I found out Lucie was the girl from the coffee shop, and I’m pretty sure she’s surprised me more than Kate ever did in our five-year marriage.

Letting go of this attraction to her feels impossible; each small interaction with her carries with me for hours. Her getting us breakfast and then getting Miles to eat—that’s normally a fight every single day. Starting off the day arguing with my son sucks, but that didn’t happen this morning.

Lucie packed his backpack to take to the stadium.

She helped him brush his teeth so I could work out the hotel issues with Shannon.

Lucie asked questions when she felt they were important, like making sure she fixed Miles’s hair right, but otherwise, she just helped without me having to tell her to.

Getting to the shuttle was a breeze. We were fifteen minutes early with no meltdowns. Then this thoughtful woman turned to me and handed me some coins to give Miles for the fountain while we waited.

For the first time in months—no, probably years—I haven’t had an absolute running wild, stressed to the max pre-game morning. All because of Lucie.

My phone dings in my pocket and I’m really hoping it’s Lucie with another picture of Miles.

Lucie

*picture of Miles sitting next to Beck in the dugout*

She’s sent a couple throughout the day with general updates about what they’re doing. It’s nice, it’s made the low stress of the morning carry throughout the day because I’m not constantly worried about where Miles is or if he’s having a good time.

I know Callie was great with Miles, but it’s different—I’ve been able to focus on my actual job today because of Lucie.

Watching the guys warm up in the bullpen, I look over the hitters on the Astros.

Will’s our starter this game, which is definitely a plus—he’s the most consistent while still being able to have a good variety of throws.

Between the Astros’ lineup and the fact that I know Olsson wants to try Jordan again this game, we’re definitely going to need a leg up in the beginning.

“Anderson,” I call.

Will makes his way over. “What’s up?”

“I know you’ve played this team many times before, but we’ve got to start strong.” I don’t have to explain why to him—as a new trade he hasn’t gone numb to Jordan’s bullshit like some of the other guys.

“I got ya. What are you thinking? I know some of these guys’ weak spots. Hughes hates a low ball and McCormack can’t do an outside corner. My issue is Morales—doesn’t matter how fast or what angle—fucker hits off me every time.”

“Have you tried slowing it down?”

Will gives me a dumbfounded look. “No, can’t say that I have.”

“Don’t be a smartass. I mean, have you tried throwing a circle change on him?

If I couldn’t strike someone out, I’d try throwing one of those.

Morales is a hell of a hitter, so I can’t promise he won’t adjust to it quickly, but since it’s just the grip that changes the speed, it might be enough to trip him up. ”

Will adjusts his ball cap and shrugs. “Fuck, I’ll give it a try. I’ll let some of the other guys throw a few, then I’ll try it out and see how it feels.”

“Alright, I’ll tell you if you need to adjust anywhere.”

Will nods. “So, how’s it going with Lucie?”

His tone doesn’t scream any ill-will or double meaning behind the question, but I think my hands just started sweating.

It’s torture. Your sister is too young, too nice, and too damn pretty. Oh, and she did the impossible of lowering my blood pressure today, so I’m pretty sure she’s some sort of miracle worker .

I clear my throat. “It’s going. Miles is definitely enjoying it.”

“I’m not surprised, Lucie’s always been a natural with kids.

Don’t repeat this back to Callie because I’m still remaining a neutral party in this whole thing but I’m happy you offered her the job.

It really broke her heart to lose her teaching job, and with our other sister moving to Boston, I know it was a lot for her.

She seems excited about this, though—said she thought it would be good for her. ”

“She did?” The response tumbles out of me. While I’m sure she meant the pay and free travel will be good for her, I like hearing it nonetheless.

“Yeah, and for what it's worth, it could be good for you, too. More importantly, it could be good for me because I need Lucie to keep your smooth talker away from my girl.”

“If my son is that big of a threat to you, Anderson, I think you might need to step up your game.” I wave him off, ignoring the first part that he thinks this could also be good for me. After this morning, it’s hard not to see that too.

An even crazier thought enters my brain—if things work out with Lucie, could I actually play again? The way things went today, I can see how much easier it is, and it seems possible. But then again, I’m struggling to see how I can constantly be around Lucie’s sunny personality and not get burned.

“Touché.” Will tosses a ball my way, pulling me from my thoughts. “Come on, Coach, make sure I’m doing your idea right.”

Yeah, this is the only Anderson who needs to call me Coach from here on out.

Starting strong this game, Will manages to throw a damn good first three innings. Specifically, striking out Morales in the bottom of the first. While I figured he would be able to adjust quickly, Will's making him work for each hit now.

Anderson isn’t the only one having a good game either. The entire team is playing like a well-oiled machine now. Beck and Tripp had a killer double play this past inning, and Adam hit a home run right out of the gate.

Olsson’s got the team morale up with him taking over, and it’s a little bittersweet to not be playing when I can see the changes I wished for these past few seasons, but I guess still being a part of it counts in some way.

By the top of the fourth, we’re up by two runs and it’s looking pretty solid. Will says he’s still feeling good to do another couple of innings if possible. I’m not going to argue if that means pushing off bringing in Jordan.

But by the bottom of the inning, the rain starts to fall. It’s been overcast all day, but dammit, couldn’t it have waited another inning? If this rain doesn’t stop in half an hour, then we’ll have to reschedule this game.

Everyone works fast to get the tarp pulled out onto the field, and after about twenty minutes of it not letting up, I nudge Olsson. “I’m going to go to the hall and holler at Lucie. Make sure they’re somewhere dry.”

“Yeah, go for it. I think it’s starting to lighten up a bit, so hopefully we can finish this one.” Olsson gives me a weird smile. “But take your time, there’s no rush here.”

“What’s that look for?” I groan .

“Just seems like Lucie’s working out well. I like her—I think she’s just what you needed.”

Yeah, that seems to be today’s consensus. Unfortunately, so. I think anyone with eyes can see that Lucie is perfect for this job.

Stepping out of the dugout, I pull out my phone as I head toward the guest locker room. Hitting call on Lucie’s contact, she picks up on the third ring.

“Hey, Dex.” Her voice sounds tense over the phone, and I don’t like it.

“Hey, I was checking in to make sure you guys got somewhere dry.”

Lucie lets out a small grunt and I can hear a door close. “We’re actually headed toward you now. Think you could meet us out in the hall?”

“I’m already out here. Is everything okay?”

But my only answer is the click of the phone.

It takes me two seconds to fully register that she just hung up on me, but then I hear her soft voice as she comes around the corner with Miles absolutely clinging to her like a koala bear.

“Hey, Dex, sorry. My hands were full. We had a small incident, but we’re okay. ”

“What? What happened?” My brain only seems to register the word incident and the fact that I wasn’t there with Miles. I knew today was feeling too good to be true.

When Miles turns his little face to meet mine, he looks so sad. Fuck. Stepping next to Lucie, I pull Miles from her arms. “What happened, bud?”

“I fell down and my knee started bleeding.” Miles’s little lip quivers as he kicks one leg out.

Looking down to assess the damage, I fully expect to find the cut for me to take care of but it’s already wrapped up with a bandage.

“You were so brave, though.” Lucie places her hand on Miles’s back. “I took him to the medical tent where we got it all cleaned up. He was a little too excited about dancing in the rain and got tripped up on his feet.”

“I fell in a puddle. I don’t like the rain anymore. I want to go back to the hotel.” Miles’s lip hangs so low; his shorts are wet, but his shirt isn’t too bad.

Lucie, however, looks soaked. Her light blue Blues T-shirt is a shade darker than it was earlier today, and her straight blonde hair now has a wave to it.

I’m not sure what they were doing or why they stayed out in the rain for so long, but with the sad look on Miles’s face, my heart aches.

“Okay, I’ll get you and Lucie a ride back to the hotel.”

“But why can’t you come with us?” Miles cries.

Fuck. I hate this.

“Your dad’s got to finish the game, bud,” Lucie says with her hand softly rubbing his back. “We can watch him on TV, though.”

Miles lays his head on my shoulder as he mumbles, “Okay.”

“Think you can make it to the locker room to change? You have extra clothes in your backpack.”

Miles lifts his head back up. “Yeah, I think so. I’m just sad now.”

“I’ll be there in just a second.”

When I set him down, he does a pitiful, slow walk to the locker room door. Yep, I’m going to go quit my job now.

“Dex…” Lucie starts off so calm, and I’m sure she’s about to say something to try to make me feel better, but when she cr osses her arms over her chest, I see the goosebumps on her arms.

“You’re soaked, Lucie. What were you guys doing?” My tone comes off harsher than expected, but Lucie doesn’t snap back.

Instead, she takes a deep breath. “When the rain started, we were headed to you, thinking we could wait it out in the dugout, but then Miles started dancing while walking. I’m sorry I didn’t text you when it happened.

Once Miles saw it was bleeding, he started panicking, so I took him straight to the medical tent. ”

“And you’re soaked because…”

Lucie looks down at her shirt as if she didn’t even really notice.

“Oh, I’m fine. The tent isn’t exactly large, and some of the older people thought that would be the perfect place to go for cover in the rain.

It was crowded, and where they were treating Miles, my only real option was to stand in the rain. ”

“You stood in the rain?”

Lucie’s eyebrows pull together. “Yes? I told you I’m fine. Miles is the one who hurt himself on my watch. I’m not going to melt. But I am sorry I didn’t let you know right away, I just wanted to give him all my attention—he was so upset.”

Right, and the thing is, I want to be upset that she didn’t tell me right away about it, but I can’t.

This is not the first scraped knee Miles has had, not by a long shot.

The difference is, if it happened on his mom’s watch, he was always brought to me at the first sight of blood—it freaked her out, which is probably where Miles’s panic stems from.

But when it happened with Lucie, she took care of it.

She didn’t text me because I’m pretty sure I wasn’t even a thought to her until Miles was taken care of .

That realization hits me harder than it probably needs to. That’s what I need out of Lucie anyway. Her focus and attention on Miles—even if she has mine.

“It’s okay, letting me know when you can is all I ask.”

Lucie manages a half smile. “I can do that. I still feel bad, though. His sad is making me sad.”

Me fucking too. Her being upset isn’t helping me either.

I sigh. Fucking hell. “I’m going to get his stuff and call you the shuttle to get back to the hotel.”

Lucie nods as she runs her hands up and down her arms. Yeah, her being cold also isn’t helping.

“Actually, come with me.” I don’t give her any time to respond as I step to the locker room door and hold it open for her.

I don’t want to give myself time to change my mind either, so when she walks in, I head straight for my duffle bag and pull out my T-shirt from earlier.

It may not be warm, but at least it’s dry.

“Here. Bathroom’s over there, go put this on.”

“Dex, I’m fine, really.”

Yeah, “fine” isn’t going to work for me right now. I’ve got a sad kid and chills on my sunny nanny. Tossing it at her probably isn’t my smoothest of moves, but she’s cold, and I need her to not be.

Miles giggles when Lucie lets out a yelp in surprise. Well, at least I got a laugh out of him.

“Your shirt’s on backward,” I say to Miles, not wanting to look back to make sure Lucie is actually doing what I told her to do.

He looks down at his shirt and giggles again. “Oops.”

Someone’s recovery is going well.

After helping him turn his shirt around and calling the shuttle, Lucie makes her way out of the bathroom. My shirt is practically down to her knees, and she’s pulled her damp hair back in a braid.

“Better?” I grunt. Fuck, this was a horrible idea. We’re getting real close to getting out of the semi territory to full on hard.

“Better, thank you.” Lucie’s cheeks still have some redness to them from her sunburn, and it intensifies just a little.

“Are we ready to go now?” Miles jumps in between where Lucie and I are standing.

“Yeah, the shuttle said they can take you back.” I kneel in front of Miles. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay?”

Miles launches to wrap his arms around my neck. “Okay, Daddy. I’ll miss you.”

I chuckle at the surprise attack of a hug, but the ache is still there. “I’ll miss you too.”

“I’ll send proof of life when we get there.” Lucie looks down at Miles with a smile, and I already know I’m going to get a picture of Miles in about twenty minutes.