Page 12 of The Interception (Southern Sports Sweethearts #2)

Chapter Nine

Layne

When I enter, I find a woman sitting on the sofa in a dimly lit living room, watching a romantic comedy.

I recognize it immediately, but I don’t recall it being sad enough to make a person cry.

She’s got half a box of tissues sprawled over the sofa, and she’s pulling another from the box when Ender shuts the door behind us.

She looks over the back of the sofa and smiles, then her eyes land on me.

I hesitate, not knowing who the woman might be, and try not to panic that I might have been crushing on a man in a relationship. She’s beautiful, even after crying, and a jealous knot twists in my chest.

“Oh! Ender, I wish you had told me you were bringing someone home. I look awful!” She scrambles to gather the tissues and wipe her face. Judging by the look on Ender’s face, something isn’t quite right. I can’t figure out what it is, exactly, but it borders on possessive and…sad?

“I wasn’t planning on bringing anyone home. I didn’t even know I did until I arrived,” he says, trying to lighten the mood. He points to her and says, “This is my sister, Sarah Beth.”

Holy moly, I can breathe again.

His sister pauses mid clean-up. “What? What do you mean you didn’t mean to?”

I chuckle softly, trying not to worsen my headache. “Long story short, I got a headache, went to lay in my truck, got in the wrong truck, and here I am.”

“This is Layne,” Ender adds.

His sister narrows her eyes a little and stands.

“So it is.” Her smile—a real one this time—spreads wide, showing her beautiful features.

Her strawberry-blonde hair is a stark contrast to Ender’s dark hair, but somehow, they still look like brother and sister despite having no discernible familial features. How odd.

“Sorry you walked in on a drama fest. I cry at romcoms.” She shrugs and rounds the sofa. “I’m Sarah Beth, Ender’s older and wiser sister.”

She’s probably right on that second account. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry I interrupted. I think Ender was just about to take me back to get my truck, and you can get back to your evening.”

Her eyebrows go high and she shakes her head. “What? It’s after midnight and you have a headache. We have a guest room. Why not stay here, get some rest, and Ender can take you back in the morning?”

“I have practice in the morning,” Ender says.

“Yeah, super early. So she can hang around with us girls until you get done, then you can take her back.” Sarah Beth has a motherly tone that I assume amounts to her getting her way no matter what.

I’m not sure how I can tell that by spending all of four minutes in her presence, but somehow, I know I’m about to end up in a guest room.

Ender’s gaze shifts from his sister to me. “My practice starts at six. If your headache is bad and you’d like to just sleep…I mean…she’s right. We have a guest room, and you’re welcome to stay.”

I raise my hands and shake my head. “Oh, no, I don’t want to put you out like that. Really, if you have practice that early, I’ll just call a car to pick me up and take me to get my truck.” At that, even Ender’s jaw sets firmly.

“Not a chance you’re getting a stranger to drive you to an almost empty parking lot at midnight,” he says. “If you want to go back now, I’ll take you. It’s not a problem.”

“But…you have to be at practice in less than six hours. You need sleep,” I say.

“Exactly, which is why it makes the most sense for you to stay,” Sarah Beth says.

“Besides, his kitchen is big enough to work in so you can get right to testing things when he gets home in the morning.” She seems to have it all figured out, and since I’m the one who accidentally got into the wrong vehicle, it makes sense to be flexible for their sakes.

Besides, I can’t deny that I’m interested in getting to know his sister, which might give me a little more insight into the enigma that is Ender.

“You’re probably right. If you’re sure you don’t mind?” I ask, my voice squeaky and high for no reason whatsoever other than the very idea of Ender Langley seeing me in the morning with crazy hair and dirty teeth.

As if reading my mind, Sarah Beth leans in. “I got you covered with the basics. Mom taught us long ago to have an extra one of everything for guests.”

Well, thank goodness for that.

“Now, let’s get you some headache medicine and off to bed,” she adds.

“I think I can handle it from here, sis,” Ender says with an edge to his tone.

“You should take your own advice and get to bed.” He hands her a bag.

“Lula’s medicine. Even sick, you know Lula will be up early, and you’ll regret another late night.

” Frustration edges his tone, putting tension between them even I can feel.

Something else passes between them, a look of understanding, but deeper than that. He raises an eyebrow and she nods.

“Night, Ender,” she whispers. “Night, Layne. I’ll set some things out for you to wear in the morning.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

She’s down the hallway before I even finish my sentence, and I can’t help feeling Ender was a bit of a bully.

Or a stern father. I can’t decide, but it’s also none of my business, so I don’t say anything.

I stand in the entryway and wait for him to do something.

Say something. Anything at all besides staring after his sister until she shuts her bedroom door.

He breathes out a deep sigh and returns his attention to me.

“Listen, I need you to know a little background here before you stay.” Ender ruffles his hair and grasps my elbow, leading me down a hallway in the opposite direction. At this point, I realize how massive his house actually is. It has wings for crying out loud.

“Okay,” I say with some hesitation.

He pauses in the hallway and turns to face me.

“Sarah Beth is grieving. Her husband died a few months ago, and she sometimes stays up way too late watching romcoms and reminiscing. It’s not really my place to say even that much, but she can be…

not clingy but…” He winces as if he’s half apologizing and half defending his sister.

It pains him. It’s easy to see that in his body language.

I brush my fingers over his arm to get his attention.

He freezes and looks down at me, his dark eyes laser-focused on my face.

“Hey, it’s okay. Grief does weird things to people.

It’ll be fine. I can handle a grieving woman who needs attention to distract her from her heartbreak. I promise. It’ll be all good.”

Ender doesn’t say anything. Other than the soft rise and fall of his shoulders when he breathes, he doesn’t move. Something like tension builds between us, something filled with anticipation and nervous energy, but without any sort of clear definition as to why. Or how to soothe it away.

I want to focus on him alone. Give him the attention this moment needs, though I can’t define why I feel this way either.

Maybe things have been hard for him too?

Losing his brother-in-law could be as difficult as losing a blood-related sibling.

And to see his sister in so much pain? Heartbreaking.

A niece? Even more so. Emotion floods my chest and swells until tears prickle in my eyes.

Thank goodness it’s dark in the hallway and he probably can’t tell.

His lips part and a small huff of breath warms my face. “She’s…lost.” His simple admission almost breaks me. All the love he has for his family is packed into those two words. It’s written in the angst on his face, the stiffness in his frame as he speaks.

I nod. “It’s okay. I can handle lost.”

He purses his lips and closes his eyes. “She’s going to ask you a million questions in the morning. Please don’t…don’t think she’s weird or…I don’t know how to explain what I mean.”

“Ender, it’s okay. I mean it. She can talk me half to death, and it will be fine.

We’ll make breakfast, watch a romcom, cry together, and when you get home, we’ll work on stuff for the next round.

Contrary to what you might think about me, I’m pretty weird.

I can handle a woman needing distraction. ”

Ender laughs and the sparkle returns to his eyes. “I wouldn’t say you’re weird. Different, maybe. You have some unusual traits about you, but that’s not weird.”

“I fell asleep in your truck.”

“That isn’t weird. It’s…endearing.” He leans his back against the wall, indicating we might be here talking for a minute.

Despite my headache, which is actually beginning to wane, I find I want to talk with him, so I lean opposite him.

My back barely hits the wall and he grasps my wrist to pull me forward.

He wraps his arms around me in a crushing hug.

There’s no way around it. His hug? World’s absolute best. It’s all-encompassing, warm, safe, and even a little desperate.

He needs this. Needs affection from someone who won’t judge him—a big, strong football player—for wanting to feel safe and secure.

I wrap my arms around his waist and let him draw me in close.

Several breaths pass before he releases me. “I needed that, but I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to grab you that way.”

My arms are still linked around his waist, and his around my shoulders. “You don’t have to apologize for needing to be comforted. I’m sure it’s hard being a safe place for your sister and niece right now, but I’m here for you.”

His eyes soften further and a sneaky smirk tugs at his lips. “Are you? Are we friends now?”

“Don’t push your luck, Langley,” I tease.

“Am I at least forgiven for being a jerk when we met?”

I roll my eyes in mock annoyance. “Sure, why not?” He chuckles and lowers his hands to my waist, still holding fast to me. “But yes, we’re friends.”

Ender’s thumb runs slow circles on my lower back, encouraging me to move in close again. My brain fogs over and a deep need fills my heart for another one of his hugs.

“I’m glad for that,” he says, but his voice catches. It takes me by surprise, so much so, that I yank my head up to make eye contact with him. His eyes glisten. His jaw is clenched. He’s holding back tears, but a stray one slips free. He doesn’t even try to stop it.

“Ender,” I whisper. Without thought, I run my hands up his arms and link them behind his neck to pull him into another hug.

He buries his face in my shoulder and breathes deeply.

The tension leaves his shoulders with each breath until he’s relaxed.

Minutes pass while we hold each other. We hardly know one another, and yet, this feels like something we’ve done before.

It’s so familiar and comfortable, I almost drift off to sleep here in his arms.

But real life invades in the form of a small child calling for her mother.

Ender releases me. “That’s Lula. I should go see if Sarah Beth needs help.”

“Yeah. Yeah, of course.”

“I hope we can stay friends.” Ender clears his throat. “After the cook-off is done, I mean.”

“Oh, for sure. When we win this thing, you have to come see my new restaurant.”

And just like that, the lightness in his eyes disappears. “Yeah, I guess I will.” He drops his hands and stands straight. “You should get some sleep. Rest up, and see if you can dream about something amazing for the next round, okay?”

I tuck my hands in my pockets and nod once. “Yep, will do. Rest yourself. You have an early morning, and I don’t want to be the reason you have to run extra laps.”

“Whew, after this contest and all the good food you make, I might need those extra laps. The sauce you made was a hit here last night. Lula doesn’t usually eat spaghetti, but she asked for seconds.”

“Really? Good to know I have a toddler fan. Maybe Sarah Beth will let me test out some breakfast on her.”

“Oh, I’m sure she will. If you can get Lula to eat something besides pancakes, you’ll be golden around here.” He half-shrugs. “I mean, you already kind of are to me.”

That heaviness surrounds us again and I can’t help hugging him once more. When we part, he brushes loose hair from my face. “Your room for the night is right behind you. Night, Layne. See you tomorrow.”

“Night, Ender.” I watch him head down the hallway with a different perspective. He’s a man in pain, trying hard to help his sister, with no outlet for himself. At least, that’s the feeling I get. He needs a friend, or at least one who is willing to let him show his softer side.

I want to be that for him.

Once his silhouette disappears, I step into the guest room.

They weren’t joking about how nice it is.

There are silk pajamas on the bed in four sizes, two for men and two for women.

I grab a set and change, then head to the attached bathroom.

There are new toothbrushes, travel-sized toothpaste, and a variety of toiletries on the counter in neat little trays.

I’m pretty sure this was Sarah Beth’s doing, but it’s a lifesaver.

Hopefully in the morning, I can repay the favor.