I flushed, though I couldn’t be sure why, and I was damn sure happy my sister couldn’t see it. “Jordan Becker.”
“Becker…” my sister repeated. “I don’t think I knew him.”
“He was in my grade, younger than you,” I explained. “But, his dad is the one who died in the fire at the distillery.”
“Oh, shit…”
I frowned. “Yeah.”
“No, I mean, yes, that’s terrible, but what I said oh, shit to is his headshot.” My sister whistled. “I just Googled him. Hot damn, sis. Your new boss is hotter than a Texas parking lot in July.”
I snorted. “You’re ridiculous. Although, I will say, you’re not the only one who thinks so. You should have seen the Mom Parade at practice.” I rolled my eyes, popping another bite of hamburger in my mouth as I thought back to practice that afternoon. “There’s not even a reason for any of them to be at practice, but they’re all right there in the bleachers, offering coach lemonade and telling him what a great job he’s doing after every drill. One of them even dunked a towel into their ice chest and offered to put it on his neck.”
Gabby laughed. “I don’t blame them. Hell, I don’t even have a kid and I’d find a way to fake it so I could be there to watch that man sweat.”
“Gross.”
“Don’t act like you don’t want to lick his chest.”
“Again, gross,” I said, but my cheeks flushed in betrayal. “He’s my boss, Gab. And not that there are any official rules against it, but it’s a very clear, unwritten rule that the head coach doesn’t date anyone on his staff. Plus…” My voice faded, eyes finding my daughter through the sliding glass door. “You know my feelings on men. One psychopath in my life was enough. I have zero intentions of ever dating again.” My voice faded. “And even if I did…”
Again, words were lost, but I knew Gabby understood. With Randy always around, watching me the way he did, the possibility of me dating anyone again was so close to impossible that I didn’t even consider it.
He still felt like he owned me, and I knew better than anyone that if someone tried to play with his toy, they’d pay the price for it.
Inside, Paige took her own dishes to the sink and rinsed them, putting them in the dishwasher before she went back to continue watching the conference.
I smiled, the only piece of my heart left swelling at the sight. “It’s just me and Paigey now.”
My sister was quiet for a long while, and I knew she wanted to argue with me. She’d wanted me to join a dating website as soon as the divorce between me and Randall had been finalized. But she knew as much as I did that there was no use trying.
I was permanently broken, permanently turned off from love, and permanently happy being single.
“You know, you could go for full custody,” she whispered. “Bring Paige here to be around her awesome aunt and amazing grandparents.”
“In a normal situation like this, maybe,” I conceded. “But, he’s the Police Chief of a tiny map dot, Gab. Everyone loves him — including highly influential people, like Patrick Scooter, and the Mayor. You and I both know the power he has…”
She sighed, though it sounded more like the huff of a bull about to buck a cowboy off at the rodeo. “I hate him.”
“That makes two of us.”
“I have to get going,” she said, a long pause hanging between us. “I love you, sis. Don’t be too hard on the guys on the team. You’re the first woman to be on the staff, in a small southern town, and in a sport dominated by men. Baby steps, okay?”
I smiled. “Okay. I love you, too, sis. Thanks for calling.”
After she hung up, her words echoed in my thoughts, and I glanced once inside at Paige before I pulled up Google on my phone. I typed in my new boss’s name, and when his stern face filled the screen — along with a Wikipedia article populating with all his stats — my stomach tightened.
Those eyes…
“Mom!”
I jumped, exiting out of the browser and shoving my phone in my pocket as my daughter bolted out into the yard.
“Can we go to the park and run drills?” she begged, holding up her football. “Pleeeease?”
“Maybe this weekend, okay? It’s a school night.”
She was tempted to pout, but knew better than to try that with me. Instead, she nodded. “Okay.”
“Why don’t you go run a bath and I’ll braid your hair after.”
Paige nodded, bounding back inside. My phone felt like a hot brick in my pocket, begging me to pick up where I left off, but I ignored it, taking my empty bowl inside to clean up the kitchen, instead.
As I ran the hot water, a pair of stormy eyes still burned in my mind.