Page 76 of Silver Spoon Falls, Vol. I

FIFTY-FOUR

GARRETT

"Pick your feet up, Sharp! Hustle it up, Banks!" I shout as the boys drag ass through the tires set up at the side of the field. "My grandma moves faster than you."

"Isn't your grandmama dead?" Reid Lawless snorts, tossing a football into the air.

"Yeah, but they don't know that," I mutter, grinning at him.

He laughs, shaking his head. "You're a cruel man, Garrett Marsh."

"Not my fault they decided to waste the first half hour of practice dicking around." I shrug and then lean down to snag my whistle off the bench. "We could have been done here already. Why are you here anyway? Shouldn't you be at home bugging your wife?"

"She's on her way home from Houston. She had a case there today." He tosses the ball in the air again, fumbling it for the third time. "Dammit."

"For a professional athlete, you're crap at that."

He discretely flips me the bird.

I chuckle and turn to check on the boys again.

They've made it through the tires and are headed toward the agility cones.

Once they survive those, I'll take mercy on them and let them hit the showers.

I've got shit to do. Actually, Ciara has shit to do.

It's her first night at Razor's bar. Since she's down a car, I promised to drop her off.

Not that there will be any dropping involved. I fully intend to plant my ass on a barstool and make a nuisance of myself. She's mine. I'm making that shit clear here and now. If anyone messes with her, they'll answer to me. If they hit on her, they'll answer to me.

She's in love with me. I'm still floating on cloud nine after last night.

Hearing her say those words… Fuck . Every one of my dreams came true with her in my arms. It took everything I had to let her leave my bed.

But she's not ready to let Todd know about us yet.

I think she's worried that he'll freak out.

I'm a little concerned myself. I've never been in this situation before, and the last thing I want to do is hurt the kid or make him feel like I'm trying to take his sister away from him.

They're a package deal as far as I'm concerned. I worship the ground Ciara walks on, and Todd is a great kid. I wouldn't dream of trying to come between them. I'm just kind of hoping he has a place in his life for me, too.

We'll cross that bridge when Ciara is ready, though.

Until then, I'm just going to enjoy every damn second with my little Cherry. I hate feeling like we have to sneak and steal moments, but I'll steal them every fucking day if that's what it takes. Whatever makes her happy.

"What are you smiling about?" Reid tosses the ball, hitting me in the stomach with it. "You look like a jackass. What do you know that I don't know?"

"Most things," I mutter, glaring at him.

"Touché, fucker." He scrutinizes my expression, his eyes narrowed. "You look different. Less like you have a giant stick up your… Holy shit! You finally slept with your girl."

"Shh!" I hiss like a fucking schoolgirl, cutting my eyes in the direction of the boys. "Will you shut the fuck up before someone hears you?"

"Holy shit," Reid whispers. "You did sleep with her, didn't you?"

"I'm not gossiping with you about my sex life, Lawless."

"Fuck that noise. I don't give a shit about your sex life," he says. "But you've been in love with this chick since you moved here. If you finally made a move, I want to know it."

"It's complicated." I scrub a hand through my hair and then bring the whistle to my lips, issuing a sharp blast to halt the team.

They jog over to us, drenched in sweat and exhausted.

"Good job today," I say. "You guys hit the showers and be ready to work just as hard tomorrow if you want to beat Mills on Friday."

"Yes, Coach!"

"We're going to stomp them!" Grady boasts, earning high-fives from some of his teammates.

"You said that last time, too," Todd mutters. "They murdered us on the field."

"What? You think we can't beat them or something, Sharp?"

"I didn't say that," Todd protests. "I'm just saying that focus goes a lot further than trash talk."

"He's not wrong," Reid pipes up, drawing the eyes of everyone on the team.

It's not the first time that he's stopped by practice.

Since he plays for the AHL, the boys respect the hell out of him and what he has to say.

"You can talk all the shit you want, but unless you put in the work to back it up, at the end of the day, it's just talk.

And talk hasn't ever won a game on any field. "

Several of the boys nod.

Grady hunches his shoulders, scowling.

"Alright, hit the showers." I send them off before Grady thinks up a smart-ass response. With him, it usually doesn't take long. Once they're out of earshot, I turn back to Reid. "Thanks for that. Todd's a smart kid."

"Seems like he knows what he's doing on the field, too."

I incline my head in a nod. "He has a chance at a scholarship if he doesn't fuck it up."

"You think he will?"

"I hope not. He borrowed his older sister's car without asking the other day and wrecked it. She's worried she'll lose custody of him over it. Their parents died a few years ago."

"Jesus."

"She's the one. My one." I cut my eyes at Reid. "He doesn't know."

Reid whistles. "Goddamn. You were not lying when you said it's complicated. No wonder you've been a crabby asshole. Does the school board know?"

"Not yet, but they will soon enough. I plan to have a ring on her finger as soon as I can make it happen."

A broad smile stretches across his face. He slaps me on the back. "Fuck yeah! That's what I'm talking about."

"I need a favor though."

"Name it."

"It's from your wife, actually."

His smile slips. "What the fuck is with you assholes always wanting favors from my wife?" he growls. "It's always, 'I need your wife'. 'I want your wife.' 'Hey, Reid, let me talk to Wren.'"

"Jealous much?"

"Uh, yeah. There are too many people with dicks asking for favors from my wife," he complains. "I don't like it."

"Jealous bastard." I laugh, not in the least bit sorry for him.

Wren is an incredible lawyer. People ask for her help because they trust her.

"I just need a good, affordable family law attorney.

Ciara lives in fear of Todd being taken away.

It'd help ease her mind to know she has someone in her corner, willing to go to bat for her and Todd with CPS if it ever comes down to it. "

"Oh, shit, yeah," he says, instantly sobering. "I'll have her touch base with you as soon as she gets a minute."

"Thanks, brother."

I'm not sure what's worse: watching Ciara work and knowing I can't touch her or seeing other men watching her work. They've been staring at her all damn night. It's pissing me off. Every time I turn around, one of the assholes is at the bar, smiling at her, asking for something.

"You're growling again," Razor says through laughter.

"You need to shut this place down," I complain. "There are too many men in here."

"I'm not shutting my bar down because you're a jealous asshole, Garrett."

"I'm not jealous," I lie. I'm totally fucking jealous.

I want to pick Ciara up, spread her out on the bar, and eat her.

She looks edible in her skin-tight jeans and a tiny work shirt with her hair piled up on top of her head.

She did something to her eyes, making them appear dark and smoky. She looks like sex on legs.

"Liar." My brother-in-law laughs again, nudging me with his shoulder. "If you grip the edge of that table any harder, you're going to snap it in half."

I grunt, ignoring him. He's having way too much fun fucking with me.

It's probably payback for all the hell I gave him when he married Adalynn.

I'm still not thrilled with him for that, but he makes her happy, so I guess I have to accept it sooner or later.

I just don't know why any of my sisters needs to get married.

They're too young, and men are assholes.

At least they've picked decent men so far. I worry like crazy about Gemma, especially. She’s so innocent and sees the best in everyone. God only knows what kind of bastard she’ll end up with.

"You sure you want her working here?" Razor asks, his laughter fading as he pulls me back to the conversation at hand.

"Hell no," I mutter and then sigh. "But she'll kick my ass if you cut her loose because I'm a jealous asshole. She needs this job, and it's a helluva lot safer here than it was at Leone's place."

"Prick," Razor mutters. "Speaking of Leone, I heard a rumor."

"What rumor?" I ask, my eyes tracking Ciara as she stops to chat with her friend, Carlie. She seems happy. She's been smiling all night.

"Rumor is that he and his brothers are out for blood, and they're looking to spill your blood, specifically. He blames you for the bar."

"Tell the fucker to bring it on," I growl, not worried about Leone or his bitch brothers. "He lost the bar because he's a greedy, self-serving prick. If he wanted to keep it, he shouldn't have stiffed his people out of their money."

"Just be careful," Razor warns me, his voice soft. "I don't want to have to tell your sister that they found your body in a ditch somewhere because you didn't take this seriously enough. The Bellotti brothers are trouble."

"I know, and I'll keep my eyes peeled," I promise. Too many people depend on me to let Leone Bellotti try to take me out over his piece of shit bar. It's laughable to me that he'd even try. The place wasn't exactly a cash cow for him.

"Good man." Razor nods at Ciara. "It's time for her break."

I'm on my feet before he even finishes the sentence.

"Twenty minutes, Garrett. My office is in the back. You two can catch some privacy inside," he says, and then narrows his eyes on me. "And don't even think about fucking her on my desk or I will kill you."

I flip him off behind my back, already striding across the room toward her.

"Hey!" Her eyes light up when she sees me coming.

"Break time, Cherry." I hold my hand out, desperate to get her alone for five minutes.

Carlie giggles as Ciara slips her hand into mine, allowing me to pull her away from the bar.

"I missed you," I growl, pinning her up against the door as soon as we step inside Razor's office.

"You've been here all night," she says, smiling brightly.

"Not the same. I couldn't do this." I slant my mouth over hers, kissing her breathless as she clings to my shoulders. By the time I let her up for air, her legs are around my waist and she's grinding that perfect cunt against me.

"Garrett," she moans, her head thrown back against the door.

"Told you it wasn't the same," I mutter.

"Less talking, more kissing."

I chuckle, more than happy to oblige.