“Come on, Cuz, we’ll explain on the way over to the school,” Teddy told her and they headed down from the bleachers.
* * * *
Gia was a nervous wreck as she pulled her car into the parking lot at Casper’s. She knew damn well that both Garrett and Wes would be there. Most of the players and their parents joined the party sponsored by the McCallister family. She was pleasantly surprised to see an outdoor area behind Casper’s set up for all the players. She walked in with Teddy since Deanna and Jim took Julia home to rest. As they made their way through the crowd to get to Dale, she caught sight of Wes talking with Garrett. Both of them happened to turn and look at her and she paused where she was. Boy, were these men lethal. She couldn’t move, she could hardly breathe. All she could do was think about making a run for the door. But strong arms wrapped around her from behind and she gasped as two of the seniors she had helped study for their math exams carried her toward the other players.
Wes and Garrett looked pissed off until the boys set her down near Dale. They had parted the crowd so she could congratulate him.
“Thanks for the help with the math, Gia. My parents are so happy. I thought I might miss today’s opening game,” one told her and then the others added similar remarks and thank-yous. The coaches heard and gave her smiles and then Dale hugged her.
“You’re the best.”
“Like a big sister right? And cool, too?” she teased him.
“Big sister sounds cool,” he replied and she laughed.
“You were amazing out there. All of you were,” she told him and his friends.
“Will you be at all our games, Gia?” one of them asked. As the boys joked, making fun of him, she realized that he might have a bit of a crush on her.
“I’ll try to,” she said then they started joking around with one another as the waitresses brought platters of appetizers and sandwiches out to them. Gia stepped back and turned to look for Teddy, but instead was greeted by a hand on her waist and a tall, very appealing Wes McCallister.
“Do I get a congratulations, too, Gia?” he asked in a very flirtatious manner. She was a bit shell shocked feeling the warmth of his hand on her waist and the close proximity of his body to hers. Muscles, muscles, and more muscles, the way Wes had them, should be illegal. Gia’s cheeks warmed at his teasing, and surprisingly, she didn’t pull away from him. On the contrary, the scent of his cologne, the magnitude of his size and charisma seemed to wrap around her.
“Congratulations, Coach McCallister,” she said, tilting her head way back to look up at him. She realized he was way over six feet tall and with her only wearing a pair of white tennis shoes, she felt like a shrimp in comparison.
His eyes seemed to darken at her response and then he guided her toward the sidewall and out of the crowd of parents and kids.
“Coach McCallister? No way, darling. You call me Wes.”
He held her gaze and boy did this man pack a hell of a punch. She could hardly find her voice and every damn nerve ending in her body roared to absorb as much of him as she could, because her sensible pessimistic side was itching to make her run far, far away.
“That was a fantastic game, Wes.” She heard the deep voice and felt the even larger presence behind her. A quick turn and she nearly smacked into the tower of muscle wearing a navy-blue button-down shirt. Her eyes absorbed it all very quickly. Holster, gun, handcuffs, and a military stance and gold star on his shirt. Her eyes moved up his body to his shoulders and face and she gulped, stepping backward right into Wes, who placed his hands on her hips and his chest against her back.
If she could fan herself without making a scene she would. Her breath hitched and she forced herself to remain still instead of bolt for the nearest exit. Holy shit.
She was greeted with a very serious, yet teasing expression as her eyes locked gazes on the gold star with the words Texas Ranger and then an absolutely fine-looking cowboy. He wasn’t traditional good-looking. No, uh uh, no way. In fact, he was not what she would call gorgeous, but he was a hard-looking man. He reeked of power, control, and authority and would still have those assets even without the badge.
“Hey, Gunny, thanks. This is Gia.” Wes introduced them and she said a quick hello then placed her hands on Wes’s to remove them from her waist. When she did, she felt the immediate loss of his hold and the warmth of his very large hands. She was far from average in her size and height. Petite was more like it and standing here between these two Goliaths made her body shake and her palms sweaty.
“The name is Gunner, but my friends and family call me Gunny, darling,” he said then offered his hand. She froze in place. She couldn’t touch his hand, shake his hand, or whatever. She just knew that she would feel an even greater attraction than she already did. She needed to vacate the area quickly.
“Hi, Gunner. Nice to meet you. If you’ll please excuse me, I need to find my cousin,” she began to say when she noticed Teddy with a concerned expression and then Garrett standing next to him. Both men approached and she avoided Teddy’s gaze.
“Hey, Gia, so nice to see you again. I didn’t know you were cousins with Teddy,” Garrett said as he approached and she immediately stepped away from the three McCallister brothers and closer to Teddy. Teddy seemed to understand her move as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and hugged her to him.
“You sure did a great job with the players, Gia. The coaches are very happy that all their starters could play today,” Garrett said as he appeared to sense her uneasiness.
She felt a lot more comfortable with Teddy so close, but the darn Texas Ranger looked at her as if he were examining her. He was older. Way older than her and probably the oldest of the three brothers. With the three brothers standing around her, the testosterone was threatening to kill her resolve. My God, it should be illegal to have three brothers look so damn sexy.
“Well, I’m glad I could help. They’re a great bunch of young men. That was an exciting game to watch,” Gia added and Teddy released his hold.
“Do you want to grab a table and have a beer?” he asked her.
“Whatever you want to do. I can only stay for a little while.”
Teddy took her hand. “You have to have lunch at least.”
“Take the table over there in the corner where the coaches are,” Wes told them and Teddy smiled then walked Gia over toward it.