Page 8 of Coach Me (Boston Blues #2)

Lucie

Well, Dex Larsen sure is a prickly man. I could feel tension radiating off him at the coffee shop, but I just assumed it was because of the obvious cleat chaser and being in a hurry.

But now I think I just got a little bit of the same attitude he gave that barista. Surely he doesn’t think that was my intention…yeah, he’s hot, but I wasn’t trying to hit on him. I really wanted to help.

Maybe it isn’t me, per se. Will being traded to the Blues was a little bittersweet, considering the only reason the trade even happened was because of Dex’s retirement after last season.

As happy as it makes me to have my brother close and playing on my favorite team, I’m not entirely convinced that Dex’s retirement was the choice he wanted to make.

Maybe that’s the reason for his prickliness—finding out I’m Will’s sister. I probably should have told him at the coffee shop who I was, but I mean, cut me a little slack. I may not have been hitting on him, but I was definitely fangirling in my head .

“Lucie, I have a question.” Miles’s inquisitive tone is so sweet.

“Shoot,” I say, angling my body toward him. The announcer starts introducing the first pitch, but Miles deserves all of my attention.

“Do you like being a teacher?”

Oof, it’s a little salt in the unhealed wound, but Miles doesn’t know that, nor does he need to.

“I do. Being a teacher is what I’m meant to do.”

Miles cocks his head to the side. “It is? What am I meant to do?”

“Well, that’s up to you. You get to decide what you want to be when you grow up. As you get older, you’ll learn more about yourself and that decision will be much easier.”

Miles looks out to the field, his eyes searching. “Do you think I’m meant to be a pitcher like my dad?”

“Maybe. Trying is really the only way to find out.” I follow Miles’s gaze just to see Dex walk onto the field. He pulls his ball cap on his head and crosses his muscular arms over his chest as the general manager starts talking to him.

It feels a tad wrong to ogle him after our interaction. I’m a weird mixture of trying to decide how to feel about what just happened and how I really can’t blame a single cleat chaser when the player is as good looking as Dex—when they’re single…which Dex is.

I blink rapidly, pulling myself out of that twisting haze. I’m watching his son, and his fun energy could be exactly what I need to perk up my sour mood—not lusting over his hot dad.

“So, you think you want to be a pitcher? What about the other positions?”

Miles wiggles in his seat, then looks up at me. “No, pitcher only. That way I can be just like my dad, and then Callie will love me too.”

Ah yes, I’ve heard all about this little crush Miles has from Callie and my brother.

“Is that so? You know…Callie really loves homemade gifts. That might help too.”

“She does?” Miles’s eyes light up and he quickly leans over to give me a hug. “Thank you, Lucie!

Invisible strings pull at my heart as I place an arm around Miles. “You’re welcome. If I think of anything else, I’ll let you know.”

Miles sits back up as the crowd cheers at the first pitch. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell Will you told me.”

Now I chuckle. I probably shouldn’t be aiding in this crush of Miles’s, but he’s so precious about it. I’ll let my brother be the bad guy because I know there’s no way he’s letting Callie go, no matter who tries.

“If that’s the deal, then I’ve got some stuff on Will too.”

“Oh yeah, like what?” Miles gives me a mischievous smile.

“Has he ever mentioned why he rides a motorcycle?”

For the entirety of the game, Miles talks to me about everything under the sun. We talk about Will and Callie for a bit—my childhood stories about Will definitely put me at the top of Miles’s favorite list.

But then it changes into questions about the sky and why the clouds always look different. Commentary on the plays that Miles actually pays attention to comes in very heavy detail, and when he doesn’t know something, he makes an elaborate story up anyway.

He tells me jokes, and I follow up with funny stories that my siblings got me caught up in growing up. With each inning, I forget all about the past week. There’s no loss of job mentioned or the abandonment by my sister. I don’t think I even check my phone, I’m having such a great time.

Now, with the game ending, a small pit forms in my stomach at the idea of talking to Dex again. Maybe Callie will meet me instead.

I walk Miles to the team's family waiting room. He skips along happily until we spot Dex coming down the hall. Welp, there goes that hope.

I assumed I’d have Miles hanging out with me for at least a few minutes before Dex made his way out and I could prepare myself more, but I guess not. Based on the speed he’s walking toward us, I can't decide if it’s spurred by missing his kid or not trusting me to bring him back.

“Dad!” Miles takes off down the hall, meeting Dex halfway, and it’s just as bad for my kid-loving heart as it is for my ovaries when Dex scoops him up. Maybe it will be less awkward this time…

“Hey, buddy, did you have a good time?” Dex asks.

“The best time.” Miles beams and my heart nearly explodes.

“I had a really great time with you too, Miles,” I say as I reach them. Dex looks my way for a moment, but I do what I did earlier—focus on Miles. “Thank you for keeping me company.”

“Can you come to tomorrow’s game?” Miles asks. “Maybe you could sit with me and Callie in the photo cave.”

Goodness, my heart. “Oh, I would love to, but unfortunately, I have plans tomorrow. Rain check?”

Miles purses his lips. “I don’t think it’s supposed to rain tomorrow, Lucie. Remember we talked about the clouds.”

“She means she’ll sit with you another time.” Dex lets out a low, amused chuckle that immediately puts some of my anxieties to rest.

That’s a good sign, right? Even though it’s a very contained laugh, it’s enough to make me want to hear it again.

“Oh.” Miles’s face drops and he wiggles out of his dad’s hold. “That’s okay.”

Ow, now that hurts.

I kneel in front of Miles so we’re eye level. “No sad faces. How about I come to the game on Friday? I promise to have some new embarrassing Will stories for you to use against him.”

“Yes!” Miles flings himself at me, his arms tightening around my neck. I nearly fall back on my butt when I feel two strong hands on my back.

“Whoa, easy Miles,” Dex grunts out as his hands guide me back up and linger for a moment as I steady myself.

I flash him a grateful look as he continues to hold me firm, but I don’t hold his eyes for long, or else I swear my face will turn ten shades of red.

Miles relents his grasp and takes a step back with a giggle. “Sorry, Lucie. I didn’t mean to.”

Dex’s hands leave my back the moment Miles lets go as well. It’s both disappointing and relieving at the same time.

I stand up quickly and tuck my hair behind my ears. “It’s okay, Miles. I’m excited to sit with you, too.”

“Hey, Miles!” Callie calls, walking down the hallway to join our little party. “I was just coming to check on you and Lucie.”

“Callie!” Miles hollers, and I know we have now completely lost his interest. He bounces off to meet her halfway.

“And just like that, I’m chopped liver,” I mumble with amusement.

An annoyed grunt comes from Dex that I don’t know how to take.

I rock on my feet for a moment, unsure of what to do next.

Miles is fully consumed by Callie’s presence right now and, really, watching him talk to her is just as enjoyable, but this weird vibe is radiating off Dex.

I don’t know if I’m just supposed to slowly walk away, go talk to Callie, or stay put.

Is this one of those weird things that comes with meeting your favorite player? They always say never meet your heroes, but I didn’t expect it to be this awkward. I’ve only ever heard good things about Dex’s fan interactions.

“Well, I guess—” I start.

“If you aren’t going to come to the game Friday, go ahead and let me know so I can prepare Miles,” Dex snaps in a hushed tone.

This time I have to face him, because what the heck does that mean? “I said I would come, so I’ll be there. I wouldn’t tell Miles I’m going to do something and not do it.”

Dex’s words ruminate in my head and it rubs me the wrong way. I may have forgotten my bad week for a moment, but I’m not about to let someone insinuate that I would purposefully do something to make a child upset. Even if they are a super hot baseball player I’ve always enjoyed watching.

I stare into Dex’s eyes. I know the irritation is showing on my face, but I still keep my voice low so Miles doesn’t hear. “If you have a problem with us sitting together, then I’ll tell him I can’t make it, but otherwise, the only plan I have on Friday is to come to the game and sit with Miles. ”

A weird expression comes over Dex’s face. It’s just as unreadable as everything else about him right now.

“You’d tell him you couldn’t make it even though I said no?”

Didn’t I just say that? “Yeah, I’m not going to villainize you as a father. What good would blaming you do?”

Dex raises his eyebrows in what I can’t decide is surprise or admiration —maybe both— but it quickly disappears. “You didn’t mention you were Will’s sister at the coffee shop.”

Ah, so it is about me being Will’s sister.

“It didn’t seem relevant. You were in a hurry—I wanted to help. Me being Will’s sister didn’t change that.”

Dex grunts an aggravated humph .

“What’s going on here?” Callie asks as she and Miles come back over to us.

“Nothing.” Dex takes a small step back as if the two feet between us weren’t enough. “I have to get back to the locker room. Miles, are you coming with me for the team meeting or hanging out with Callie?”

Callie, not me.

Miles looks back and forth between us all before jumping closer to his dad. “I want to do the meeting, but Callie, are you leaving with Lucie?”

“Nope, I still have some stuff to sort out here.” Aka, she’s waiting on Will but doesn’t want to rub it in Miles’s face. “How about you go with your dad, and you come say bye before you leave?”

“Okie!” Miles dashes to me for a quick hug, but then yells, “Bye, Lucie, I’ll see you Friday” as he runs down the hall.

I chuckle and call after him, “Bye, Miles.” I don’t mention anything about Friday because of Dex’s weird reaction, but when I force a glance his way, he just gives a small nod and walks off.

Callie watches as Dex walks down the hall and whips to me when he gets out of earshot. “What was that about? Did he offer you the job?”

What is this job? Dex said something snarky about it earlier too.

“I don't know anything about a job. I just said I would hang out with Miles at the game on Friday, and he got all weird, acting like I was just getting Miles’s hopes up to just crush him by not showing up.”

Callie snorts a laugh. “Christ, no wonder he can’t find a nanny. He’s scaring them all away.”

“Nanny? Callie, please tell me you didn’t tell him I wanted to be his nanny!” Oh my gosh, no wonder he got all weird when I told him my qualifications.

I cringe at the memory…I was just trying to make him feel better, but ended up coming off as a show-off.

“Not just nanny…traveling homeschool teacher as well.”

I smack her arm like I would my own sister. “Callie!”

“What? It’s a good idea! I stand by that.” Callie crosses her arms. “Tell me, how’s applying for other teaching jobs going?”

Crap. I should have known Reagan would tell Will about my complete and utter lack of motivation to apply to other schools this week.

“I haven’t started yet.”

“Exactly. I’m not sorry because it’s a win-win situation. You get a great job that involves hanging out with and eventually teaching an adorable kid. And Dex can finally stop stressing about finding someone who knows how demanding this schedule is.”

I chew on my bottom lip. She’s not wrong. I haven’t ever thought about homeschooling before; the idea of a classroom full of kids and learning seemed the most exciting. But Miles is so cute and polite, curious too. When I think back on the game, he asked so many questions.

Miles is a smart kid. He’s both inquisitive and observant—being his teacher does feel like it would be just as fulfilling as a classroom full of kids. Maybe even more considering I can give him 100 percent of my effort and attention.

The nanny part doesn’t turn me off of the idea either. I have spent countless hours working at the daycare at our local gym over the summers through college.

“Okay, I’m not saying you’re wrong. I can’t say I would necessarily turn down the job, but I don’t think Dex is too keen on your idea either.”

Callie places her hand over her heart. “I think we both know I can be rather convincing.”

“You’re going to bring it up to him until he caves, aren’t you?”

“Yep,” Callie says, popping the p .

“I can’t change your mind either?”

“Nope!”