Page 20 of The Interception (Southern Sports Sweethearts #2)

Chapter Fifteen

Ender

“Why didn’t you kiss her then?” Leo asks. It’s our first day off in weeks, and Leo needed my help working on one of his cars. I hadn’t anticipated it turning into a chat about my partner and my newfound interest in her. Okay, maybe not newfound but still out of the blue for me and my track record.

“Did you miss the part where I said I couldn’t figure out if she wanted me to or not?” I shove the wrench in his hand and encourage him to get back to work. I only have a couple of hours before I’m supposed to meet Layne to work on our next dish.

“But you wanted to kiss her, right?” he asks and rolls under his car.

“I guess.”

He rolls back out and glares at me. “Kind of jerky to think about kissing her if you’re not even sure what it would mean to you if you do.”

I scowl. “It’s not like that. I mean, yeah, of course I wanted to kiss her. I’ve wanted to kiss her since I walked in on her dancing with Sarah Beth and Lula, but that doesn’t matter if she’s not interested in kissing me.”

Leo’s eyes shift between the car and me for a bit, then he finally sighs and rolls back under it. “How is Sarah Beth doing?” He shoves his hand out from under the car and wiggles his fingers. I hand him another wrench.

“She’s surviving, but she wants to be back out on her own. I can tell. She’s not content, you know?”

“Anything I can do to help?”

“Nah, we just need to find her a place she can afford and get everything settled with the estate. You know how it is.”

Leo’s sister and father passed away in a car accident a couple years ago.

I didn’t know him then, but we’ve talked about it a time or two.

He’s never met his mother. At least, not his biological mother.

His stepmother is still around, and he visits her from time to time, mows her lawn, and helps her with odds and ends around the house, but for the most part, Leo is a lone wolf.

“Yeah,” he whispers. “I think you should go for it.”

“For what? Finding her a house?”

Leo rolls out from under the car again. “No, I mean go for the kiss. She seemed interested last night. She kept giving you the eyes, you know.”

“I’m going to pretend I do so you don’t explain it to me like I’m a teenage boy.” I stand and rummage through his toolbox to kill time.

“Listen, God’s timing is everything. I don’t need to tell you what you already know, but sometimes we forget when we’re running for our lives.

It might not feel like it right now, but things will get better for your sister.

And in the meantime, life goes on. You can see what this is between you and Layne. ”

“Feels like this whole situation might be too much baggage for her though. I’m not sure it’s fair to drag her into the sadness and ups and downs of the Langley lifestyle right now.”

“Think maybe she should get to decide that?” Leo stands and drops his wrenches into his tool chest. “You are allowed to be happy and fall in love. I hope you know that.”

I narrow my eyes and glance at him. “Who made you the expert on love and life?”

He grins and shoves me aside. “You know I’m wiser than you, and you know I’m right. The real reason you held back from kissing Layne Rossi is because you felt guilty that you might find love and happiness while Sarah Beth is grieving the loss of hers.”

We’re stepping all in that puddle of feelings I didn’t want to talk about, but since we’re already in the middle of it, I decide Leo is probably the safest person to talk to about them. Outside of my sister, of course.

“So what if that is how I feel? I don’t want to go rubbing a new relationship in my sister’s face. I need to focus on her and Lula right now.”

“Do you think that’s what your sister would want?

” He’s not posing this as a rhetorical question.

He genuinely wants to know what I would expect Sarah Beth to think of all of this, and the truth is, I don’t know.

Before her husband died, she was a sap for love and constantly tried to set me up with women she thought were perfect for me.

I don’t know how she’d feel about it now.

I shrug and flop back onto the bench beside his work area.

Leo fidgets with his tools for a while, staring down into his tool chest. Who knows what he’s thinking about, but his silence gives me some time to work through my predicament.

In all honesty, I really don’t know how Layne feels.

She hasn’t given me any indication she’s interested in me, at least, not outright.

Assuming I’m reading her correctly…which again, I don’t know.

“I still think you should go for it with her. She’s sweet. I happen to think she’s clearly into you, and you like her. Everything else will work itself out. Pray about it, put in the work.”

I’m about to counter with a pathetic excuse as to why that’s a ridiculous idea when my phone dings. I pull it from my pocket in case it’s my sister and discover it’s a mass message from the organizers of the competition.

“That’s odd. They want us to meet this afternoon for a surprise twist in the competition. I’m not sure I like that idea very much.” Worry settles in my chest. We are sitting nicely in second place, and a wrench in the game could make us drop out or down in the rankings.

“Guess you better pick up that partner of yours and go see what it’s about then.” Leo grins.

“I think she can meet me there like always.”

“Hey, that would be a terrible missed opportunity, but whatever you say, End. Call me later. Let me know how it goes.” He genuinely cares about this competition.

I’m beginning to value his friendship more and more with each passing day, which is a blessing.

He’s sticking around. That’s a lot to say when you factor in that my former friends ditched Sarah Beth and me when her husband died.

It was as if he was the one that held it all together, and when he passed, it took less than a month for them to drift away from us.

Then Leo stepped up, and he’s been here ever since.

“I will. See you later.” I jog to my truck so I can call Layne, see if she got the message, and…okay, to see if she wants me to pick her up.

“Hey, I’m guessing you got the message.” Layne’s voice indicates her level of worry probably matches mine. As much as I want to spend time with her, I’m not so sure this twist in the game is how I want to do it.

“I did. Want me to pick you up so we can pick apart what it might mean on the way to the stadium?” I’m not sure how I want her to respond, but when she declines, my heart deflates.

“Actually, I’m already out and about picking up a few things. I can meet you there.”

“Sure, sounds good.” With a hurried goodbye, I toss my phone on the seat and head to the meeting.

When I arrive, the parking lot is practically empty.

There are only a few teams left in the challenge, but it’s possible the organizers decided it’s still too many and want to chop a few with this surprise.

Uneasiness digs deeper into my chest, and I realize I’ve become someone who almost always expects the worst-case scenario to be reality.

I’m pulled from this thought when a cheery, sweet voice catches up to my ears. “Ender Langley, don’t you ignore me.” Layne links her arm with mine and climbs the stairs alongside me.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.”

“What’s got your face so sour?” She doesn’t wait for a response. “It’s going to be fine. Put a smile on, wipe that worry off, and trust me. God’s got us, right?”

“What if it’s God’s will for us to lose, Layne?” It’s not like the thought hadn’t crossed my mind a hundred times already.

“Then we’ll figure out another way for me to open a restaurant and to help Sarah Beth with a house. He really could close this door, but He’s got one open for us somewhere, right?”

Her logic is difficult to argue against.

Inside, there are signs directing us to the conference room.

I already know where it is, so I lead the way.

We manage to arrive before most of the other contestants and score seats close to the main organizer’s seat.

She’s just settling in as the rest of the competitors file in and make themselves comfortable.

“Welcome everyone. I’m sure by now you’re all a little worried about what we have in store for you, but rest assured when I say no one is getting cut.

Since there are so many tied for several places with the points scale, we’ve decided to switch things up a little.

There will be a bonus round for more points.

The dishes will be judged by local chefs, ordered from the most to least favorite, and each of you will receive an additional number of points based on your position. ”

The room fills with murmurs, but I already have questions.

“Will this be live as well?”

“No, this round will be private and held here at the stadium.”

“When will it be held?” another contestant asks.

“Today.” The response shakes everyone a little. “If you choose to accept the bonus round, you’ll have the afternoon to meet and compile a list of needs. Our judges will procure the items, for delivery here, you’ll make the meal and wait for scoring.”

Layne’s gaze shifts to me. “Um, am I correct in assuming you want to do this?”

I take a deep breath. “I think we have to. If we don’t, we will definitely lose our place.

Thank goodness I don’t have practice or a game today.

” Layne is just about to speak when I realize that Sarah Beth has a job interview today.

She needs my truck. “Oh no, my sister needs my truck to go to an interview. I hate having her call a car service.” I tug out my phone while trying to solve this problem in my mind.

“She could borrow…Oh, I guess she can’t borrow mine either.” Layne smacks her forehead, then says, “Oh, what about Leo?”

Leo. Good old, trusty Leo. I feel bad asking him to pick up the slack again, but he’s my only choice. I hammer out a text and hope he’s not under the hood of his car still. Within minutes, he responds.

Leo