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TWELVE

B ryce finished tightening the screw on his mother’s kitchen sink faucet.

“There you go. No more leaky drips.”

“Honey, are you sure you’re okay?” His mother seemed a lot more homey these days with her silver hair pulled back in a low ponytail and an apron on instead of the business suits she always dressed in as a lawyer. She leaned against the counter, her concerned gaze unmistakable.

He barely refrained from rolling his eyes. “Mom, I’m fine. Why do you keep asking?”

“I heard about the case and this task force you’re on. You’re already in a dangerous profession, and now we have to worry about drive-by shootings? Not to mention the woman who broke your heart?—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Penny Mitchell did not break my heart.”

His mother raised one eyebrow and stared him down.

“What?! She didn’t. And no need to get all worked up about my job. I know how to handle myself.”

“I’m your mother. I’m supposed to worry. It’s bad enough we got through all that upheaval with the Sosa craziness, then Logan goes back to being a smokejumper and moves away. Andi has Jude looking after her. Who else do you have to look after you?”

“You make it sound like I need a babysitter, when in reality I’m a grown man. And I have my crew. It’s not like I rush into burning buildings by myself. Besides, Sosa is dead. End of story.”

His mother sighed and pulled a glass out of the cupboard. “I know. But one of my sons jumps out of planes into fires. I don’t need you putting yourself recklessly in danger. We’ve been through more than our fair share of trouble in the last decade.” She filled the glass with cold tap water.

Bryce wasn’t about to change careers or anything, but maybe he could help smooth some of those worry lines he was responsible for.

“I know what I’m doing when it comes to my job.”

“And your love life?” She set the glass on the counter and turned to face him.

“Ma! I’m not gonna go into that with you. Besides, don’t you have a meeting to go to? I thought you were giving the governor’s wife and son a tour of the courthouse.”

“Nice try. That’s tomorrow.” She stepped closer. “You were serious about Penny back then. I saw it. The way you looked at her.”

Bryce tossed the wrench and screwdriver into the open toolbox on the floor. “Then she thought I cheated on her and she left.”

“I thought you explained that to her. The whole Ashlee debacle.”

“I did. It doesn’t change anything. We’re just working together now. Nothing else.”

“Maybe there should be a ‘something else.’ She’s strong. Smart. Beautiful. She challenges you.”

“She doesn’t want to settle down. And I don’t think she wants anything to do with God.”

“And you do?”

“How can you ask me that? I’m going to church with you every Sunday I don’t work. Going to discipleship group. I’m trying.” He slammed the toolbox closed and returned it to its place under the sink.

“I ran into Izan last week when you took Dad to your men’s discipleship group. He thought you were out on date. He made it sound like you went out a lot. Like he had no clue you were actually at a Bible study. Or watching a show with your father most nights.”

Bryce’s neck grew hot. But he knew enough to keep his mouth shut.

His mother folded her arms, a bright red fingernail tapping against her white blouse sleeve. “Why do you let people believe you’re still that guy? Because I don’t think Penny is the only one you need to show who you are now. You’ve changed. So why are you so afraid to show that?”

There was the question. And he didn’t know how to answer it. Maybe it was because everyone at church kept talking about being this new creation now, but he felt very much the same. Struggling with the same temptations and doubts. And the few times he tried to bring the conversation around to something like faith, his buddies gawked at him and thought he was joking.

“People see what they want to see. Penny thought she saw a cheater and left. Izan and the others see what they think I am too. It’s not like I lie to them. They have their assumptions.”

His mother tilted her head, leaned closer. “There’s a lot more to you, Bryce, than the wild-child persona you put out there. There always has been. And I think Penny is one of the few people you let get close. One of the few who might know that.”

“And she still left.” Bryce held her stare and pushed back with his own.

“Maybe it’s not you she’s running from.”

Huh? “What else would it be?”

“I suspect it’s her own past. Losing both parents already couldn’t have been easy. I wonder if always moving, never settling down, is her modus operandi, a way to keep herself from being hurt again.”

Well, that was something he hadn’t thought of. “But what do I do about that? And besides, I thought you wanted me with someone like Sarai Green. A good Christian girl that would help me ‘settle down.’” He made air quotes.

His mother laughed. “Sarai Green? Why would you think that? She would bore you to tears.”

“I thought that’s what you wanted! And for the record, I’m pretty sure I bored her, too, on our one and only date.”

“Of course you did. You two have nothing in common.”

“But she goes to church.”

“Honey, there’s a lot more to a good relationship than that. You need someone you enjoy being with. Can’t get enough of, in fact. You’re a passionate man. You should be passionate about the woman you love too. I don’t see that happening with someone like Sarai. But I could see it with Penny.”

“And what if there’s too much passion? Temptation, even. I thought I was supposed to be a different guy now. But with Penny, all the old feelings are right there.”

“Maybe that’s not a bad thing. Just don’t hide yourself. Be honest with her. See what happens.”

“Don’t expect much, Mom. We’re working together. But at the end of this case, I have a feeling she’ll be gone. I’m only here to keep her safe.”

His mother smirked. “Maybe she just needs a good reason to stay. Give her one.”

Yeah right. Like that was so easy. He’d stick with his decision to keep Penny out of trouble and guard his heart. But why explain?

Instead, Bryce swiped the glass off the counter. “I’ll take this to Dad, but then I’ve gotta go. Community ball tonight.”

He would take all the chaos of coaching third and fourth graders any day over talking about relationships. He popped a quick kiss on his mother’s cheek. “Love ya.”

She sighed as he left the kitchen and went into the living room, where Dad’s favorite fishing show played on the television.

Bryce set the glass of water down by his father’s chair. “Here you go, Pops.”

The man barely acknowledged his presence. His father was nothing like the guy he’d been when Bryce was a kid, but Bryce couldn’t think about that too much. At least Dad was still alive. Sosa’s cartel may have wanted to intimidate Elizabeth Crawford by targeting her husband and running him off the road, causing a traumatic brain injury, but they didn’t know the Crawfords very well. It only fueled their intentions to make sure justice was done. Sosa may have wanted for them to cower in fear, and his cohorts had almost killed Andi, but they’d completely underestimated how far family would go to protect their own.

And yeah, he felt the loss with Logan having left town. But his mother didn’t need to worry. As much as Bryce loved the thrills and adrenaline, he wasn’t going anywhere. They’d gotten too close last time. And even though Sosa had been eliminated and was no longer a threat, the lesson had been learned. Bryce would stay close to his parents and make sure they were protected. Besides, he liked Last Chance. He’d traveled a little, but nothing was quite like his hometown. He could make a difference here. Keep people safe. Prevent tragedies.

And sure, maybe it would be nice to find someone to share life with. Penny was the only person he could see that happening with, but she definitely wasn’t on board. So no matter what his mother thought she saw, he needed to play it easy when it came to Penny.

Bryce drove to the practice fields and pulled out the bases from the storage shed. It was a perfect spring evening—a slight breeze to keep the bugs away and freshly cut grass scenting the air. The mountains in the distance stood guard over the town.

“Need some help?” Izan grabbed one of the bases in his arm before it could fall.

“Hey! You made it. You really gonna help coach these rugrats?”

“Sure. I love baseball. Got nothing better going on Tuesday nights anyway.”

“Right. And that has nothing to do with Olivia Tazwell’s work schedule at all, huh?”

Izan shrugged. “She barely gives me the time of day. But enough about her. What do you need me to do?”

Kids began arriving. Bryce introduced them to Izan as they came up. They split the kids into two groups and had them warm up with light tosses.

“Coach, where do I go again?” A little hand tugged on Bryce’s arm.

“You’re going to go practice with Jadyn.”

“Okay.” The little girl in braids jogged over the grass to her friend.

“You sure you’re okay?” Izan walked up to Bryce.

“Of course.”

Izan narrowed his eyes. “What’s got you brooding?”

“I’m not brooding.”

“Uh, yeah you are. Ever since we showed up at the shootout at the restaurant, you’ve been…quieter.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” Bryce jammed the extra glove he’d picked up back in the bag.

“Sorry I’m late, Coach. My aunt didn’t know where to park.”

Bryce looked up. Harry was running toward them with a familiar blonde walking behind him.

“She’s your aunt?” Bryce asked the little boy with freckles and blond hair.

He nodded. “Uh-huh. And she said after practice we get to go get ice cream!”

What was it with Penny Mitchell showing up everywhere this week?

“I’ll go get Harry set up. Give you some…privacy.” Izan chuckled as he jogged away.

“So, you’re Harry’s coach I’ve heard so much about.” Penny grinned. With her hair pulled back and a ball cap on, she looked like she belonged here on the baseball field. And since when did she wear shorts and sandals? He’d rarely seen her in anything besides jeans and her boots.

And he had to admit, she looked good like this.

“And you’re the aunt. The one who’s taking him out to ice cream.”

“Don’t want to shirk my auntie responsibilities.” She looked down at the equipment. “Need any help? I’ll be here for the whole practice. I promised Harry I would stay and watch.”

“How are you at pitching?”

“I’m decent.”

Which probably meant she was a real ace. “Great. You can work with them on batting. Take it easy on them though. They’re just kids.” He couldn’t help but lean in closer to her, taking in every fleck of blue-green in her eyes.

“I don’t take it easy on anyone.” She lifted her chin as if to say challenge accepted .

And didn’t he know it. A chuckle escaped.

He tried not to sneak too many glances at her as she took seven kids to work on their batting while he had a group in the field catching grounders and pop flies.

Keeping himself from falling right back in love with her was going to be harder than he’d thought.