Page 23 of His Last Shot

Oh, my heart. I have a feeling I’ve really disrupted this girl’s day, so I need to remedy this.

“I’m sorry,” Johnny mouths to me.

“It’s okay,” I mouth back.

I shift in my seat. “Mallory, you can play with my hair if you want to. I don’t mind. Truthfully, it might calm me down and make me less nervous for my appointment. We could help each other that way.”

Her eyes light up as she looks at Johnny for permission.

He chuckles. “You heard her.”

Mallory scoots forward in her seat as far as the seatbelt will allow. I fan my ponytail out on the back of the seat, and immediately, her fingers glide through the strands.

An awkwardness hangs in the air as Mallory’s delicate fingers stroke my hair, and honestly, it’s quite relaxing. This unexpected turn of events has somehow eased my anxiety about my appointment. And to make it better, Johnny’s gaze is on me every time we stop at a red light or a stop sign.

Then Mallory breaks the palpable tension. “Cousin Johnny talks about you all the time.”

Johnny coughs out a laugh, which makes me chuckle. “Oh, he does now, does he? What does he say about me, Mallory?”

“That you’re really nice and pretty.” A small, satisfied smile crosses my lips. “And I’m not supposed to listen to other people’s conversations. Mom says it’s rude, but I heard him tell Daddy one day that your butt looks—”

“Okay. That’s enough of this conversation,” Johnny says sternly. “How about some Taylor Swift?” he begs Mallory while he addresses her through the rearview mirror .

Gosh, I wish he hadn't cut Mallory off . I glance over at Johnny, and I kid you not, the man is blushing. Pink cheeks as far as the eye can see. He gives me a fleeting glance, and I can’t help but snicker.

“Yes please. But not too loud.” The playful lilt in her voice heightens my curiosity.

Before Johnny takes off from the stop sign we idle at, he starts Spotify. I peek at his phone, and he has a playlist named Mallory’s music.

Now my heart is officially melting.

Seriously, how has no woman snatched him up yet and made him their baby daddy? Because I know this man would make an amazing father.

Before Johnny hits play, he addresses Mallory. “Are we going to whisper-sing and dance?”

She giggles. “You bet!”

“Whisper sing?” I probe.

With a glint in his eye, he looks like he is about to describe his favorite thing in the universe. Heck, it might be. “Well, Mallory doesn’t like loud noises.”

“It hurts my ears,” Mallory adds.

“So instead of singing loud, we whisper-sing. And we dance,” he says with pride as he warmly smiles at Mallory. “You ready?” he eagerly asks her.

“Ready!” she squeals.

Johnny puts the car in drive and starts down the road while hitting play. “You Belong With Me” begins at a low volume, and sure enough, as soon as Taylor’s voice fills the truck, Johnny and Mallory whisper-sing the lyrics.

The smile on my face is so wide at the sight unfolding in this truck, I’m pretty sure it’s reaching my ears. Johnny is bouncing, swaying, singing, and pointing to himself when the lyrics call for it … like he is the main attraction.

I mean, he kinda is at this point.

Mallory belts out the lyrics in her own way, singing her little heart out even though it’s soft and whispery.

This girl is having the time of her life.

Arms are flailing all over, disregarding my hair, as she dances in the back seat in her own little world.

Her own smile … huge and infectious, full of nothing but joy.

Johnny did that for her. He put that smile there .

There go my ovaries again.

Glancing over at me in between beats, he slaps my arm, probing me. “Come on, Rachel! Join us!”

So I do.

Verse two begins, and the three of us are singing, dancing, laughing as if we don’t have a care in the world.

It’s freeing. Despite my stiff joints, I do the best I can. I’m shaking my head, causing my hair to fly all over the place. My hands wave back and forth in the air. Right here, right now, is probably the most fun I have ever had in my whole life.

The truck comes to a stop at a red light as the song is about to end. Johnny turns, and our eyes lock, hard and firm, as he mouths the last words. Directly to me. Their meaning … loud and clear.

“You belong with me.”

The music fades away, leaving a heavy stillness in the truck as we stare at each other, my chest still heaving from the dancing and singing … and other feelings.

I know what he wants. And he has been so patient with me. So kind. So perfect. So Johnny.

His right hand instinctively leaves the steering wheel and moves across the console, his fingers crawling against the cool leather. My hand creeps to meet his. The moment our fingertips touch, there’s a sense of undeniable connection, our skin grazing, our eyes searching.

Every time he looks at me, I’m weightless, as if I’m floating.

The way he finds me from across the bar while cleaning sends shivers of ecstasy along my spine.

And how his eyes meet mine before he takes a shot on tournament nights fulfills me.

Or the way he always searches for me when the bar is wall-to-wall bodies gives me purpose.

And the way he’s pinning me with a stare right now.

Like to him, no one else matters. I’m the only woman in his whole orbit.

HONK!

We both jump and jerk our hands back. The sudden, jarring blare of a car horn behind us breaks the spell.

“Johnny, the light is green,” Mallory chimes in from the back seat .

He shifts in his seat and refocuses on the road as he rolls the truck forward. “Thanks, Mal Pal.”

I smooth my ponytail down, attempting to clear my head of the lingering effects of too much Johnny, his touch still clinging to me like a second skin.

How does this man have such a powerful hold over me? The question stirs up a mixture of confusion, fascination, and curiosity.

I turn back around to address Mallory, hoping she will help ground me back to reality. “Mal Pal, huh? Is that your nickname?”

“Yep!” she exclaims proudly. “My Daddy calls me that. And so does Cousin Johnny, but only them, so you can call me Mallory.”

Of course, he’s the only one with an adorable nickname for her. So much for the redirection.

“I like you,” she says matter-of-factly. “Can you and Johnny get married?”

I giggle.

Johnny groans.

Well, I was right. The doctor delivered some pretty crappy news. My blood work is a mess, and now he wants to prescribe a steroid to help with my inflammation.

Fantastic.

Something inside gnaws at me. There has to be better care out there, right? My brother keeps urging me to check out the Cleveland Clinic, so maybe it’s time.

All of this weighs heavily on my mind as Johnny pulls into his cousin’s driveway and kills the engine. I scoop the last of my ice cream into my spoon and shove it into my mouth, the coolness helping with my nerves. Because also, once Mallory is gone, it’s only going to be me and Johnny.

Alone in his truck.

Which is causing way more anxiety than my health.

Mallory jumps out, ice cream cone in hand, without a second to spare .

“Mallory, wait!” Johnny hollers as he bolts out of the truck, and she stops halfway up the walk to meet him.

With a gentle hold, he places his hand on her shoulder and squats to get to her eye level.

He’s talking to her in a calm, soothing voice, a low murmur that barely carries as she glances my way, her tongue swiping across the sweet, cold treat.

She nods in agreement as Johnny rises, and she takes his hand, heading in my direction, her mouth still working on the cone.

He opens my door, and I have no idea what is about to happen. “Go ahead, Mal Pal.”

“I forgot to say bye to you, Rachel. I’m sorry.” She makes eye contact with me. Surprise flashes across Johnny’s face. “I hope your doctor appointment went well,” she says with a small, shy smile.

God, she is adorable.

My heart melts, and I can’t help but smile back. I may be halfway in love with Johnny, but I’ve already fallen in love with Mallory. “It was nice to meet you today, Mallory. I hope I see you again soon.”

Johnny whips to me, his smile almost painful in its eagerness at the mention of me seeing his family again. There was something underlying in my words.

Hope.

“Can I go inside now?” she impeaches Johnny. You can tell she is done with this whole excursion.

“Sure.”

Mallory takes off like a rocket and disappears into the house as Johnny turns to me.

A thoughtful expression crosses his features.

Hopeful and unsure. “Would you like to come and meet my family?” he invites.

“They know about you, as Mallory so kindly confirmed in the truck earlier.” He blushes. God, I love it when that happens.

The fact he has told his family about me gives me pause. It’s heartwarming, but I don’t think I am ready to take that step yet since I have no clue what we are to each other.

“Thanks, but I’ll wait here. Take your time, though.”

His shoulders sag. He’s slightly dejected, yet trying not to let it show .

Which I have been making him feel a lot lately. And the thought of that fills me with a heavy, aching sadness.

“I’ll be back in a minute.” He winks, then smirks. “Don’t miss me too much.”

“I’ll do my best.” His gaze holds mine, unwavering, as the door clicks shut, leaving me alone to grapple with the jumble of emotions swirling within me.

Today, his tender treatment of Mallory gave me a moment of clarity.

If Johnny can handle a twelve-year-old with autism so effortlessly, why wouldn’t he be able to handle my issues? And I know these two conditions aren’t the same, but … it’s still compassion. For some people, this comes naturally. And Johnny is one of those people.

While I waited for the doctor today, I tallied all that he has done for me these past few months.