Chapter Four
Emily was giddy as she got ready to go with Krew to meet Caleb for their nightly lacrosse practice. Their meetings had been happening for almost four weeks now, and they had only missed a few nights for rain or because he had flown to be with his family in Vermont for the weekend. Harley had come with them off and on, but for the most part Mylee tried to keep Harley busy so Emily could be alone with Caleb and Krew.
Since his season ended the first of October, Caleb was mostly focused on attending youth and high school practices as a guest coach. She also understood he exercised and practiced on his own for hours each morning, since it was off-season for his team.
She smiled to herself as she slipped into a fitted jacket, wishing they had more time to talk each night. It was the middle of November; the nights were becoming downright frigid, and it was getting darker earlier and earlier. Caleb mostly focused on Krew as they practiced, but he always made certain to flirt with and talk to Emily as well. He sometimes teased her that his patience was being tested, and she would laugh. But then, when he asked her to pray that he could be patient for her, it sobered her right up. March seemed so far away.
She kept reminding herself that they weren’t dating and it was all for Krew, but her heart disagreed. Caleb was patient and fun with Krew, and he could make her heart race and her palms sweat with one glance of those blue eyes. He also made her laugh and was more fun to tease with than anyone else she’d been around. How was she going to last three and a half more months without going on a date with Caleb?
She rushed down the stairs and to the foyer. Krew was waiting in a T-shirt, shorts, and his cute little lacrosse gloves; he had a lacrosse stick in one hand and a ball in the other. Caleb had given him the gloves during their fifth practice when he’d found out that Krew had no gear of his own. It was so sweet of him. Krew had only become obsessed with lacrosse last spring, and she thought six was too young to sign him up for a team, so she’d only bought him a ball and a stick.
“Sweatshirt,” she said.
He scowled. “I won’t be cold, Mama.”
“Sweatshirt or no Caleb.” She folded her arms across her chest and waited.
“Who’s Caleb?” The voice came from the darkened dining room off the entry.
Emily jumped and cursed, her heart racing. She whirled to face her unwanted guest.
Jeff sauntered out of the room, glaring at her. For a brief second, Emily mourned what was gone. When they’d dated and married, everyone commented on how Jeff could be soft only when he looked at her. That softness disappeared as he went through concussion after concussion, many of which went undiagnosed because he lied to everyone, including her, about not having symptoms. Now any softness he’d had for her was replaced with ugly hatred.
“And why are you looking so pretty?” he asked, as if her attractiveness was an affront to him.
“I always look pretty,” she flung back at him. “What are you doing here?”
“My house,” he grunted.
“The divorce decree says it’s not.” She turned to Krew, who was watching them argue with wide, fearful eyes. Had her son let him in? She’d changed the locks and the codes after their divorce. She didn’t want to have Krew see her fear or be afraid of his dad, but they were already past that point.
“Sorry, Mama,” Krew murmured, looking at the floor to avoid his father’s gaze. “Me and Harley must’ve left the door unlocked.”
“It’s not your fault, love,” she hastened to reassure him.
“Who’s Caleb?” Jeff’s bluish-gray eyes narrowed as he approached. Those eyes used to appeal to her, but now their irate look made her skin crawl with apprehension.
“Did you say hello to your son?” She challenged Jeff with the most impertinent look she could muster. She’d told Caleb the truth that Jeff had never hit her, but he’d become so increasingly unstable that every time she saw him, the fear that he’d come unhinged was always in the back of her mind. Thank heavens he didn’t take Krew away on unsupervised visits.
“Hey.” Jeff raised a hand to Krew. No hug. No getting down on his son’s level. No asking how school or lacrosse was going. She wasn’t surprised, and she was sadly relieved that Jeff kept his distance. Jeff had never been super-involved with Krew, too busy with football even when Krew was small, but now he seemed to dislike his own son. She blamed the concussions, but maybe it stemmed from the aggression of being a professional athlete and pushing himself so hard that he’d lost all natural affection. The final straw was when Krew had chosen lacrosse over football. Since then, Jeff had treated Krew as annoyance at best—definitely unworthy of his attention.
“Hey.” Krew also raised a hand, but he still didn’t look his father in the eye. Emily wanted to teach him to be confident, but she knew it wasn’t just that one custody visit that had changed their relationship. Jeff viewed Krew as a disappointment, and it broke her heart for her son. She was determined to not only keep Krew away from Jeff but build up her son and let him know how special and incredible he was. “Can we go, Mama?”
“Where are you going?” Jeff finally turned to their son.
“To the park to practice with Caleb Jewel. The best lacrosse player in the world!” Krew hefted his lacrosse stick, his eyes alight with happiness and anticipation. He looked confident and not afraid at all. Good for him.
Yet Krew didn’t know that he’d pushed a hot button. Jeff hated lacrosse, thought the sport had stolen his son’s attention from the sport he should be pursuing. Jeff had actually admitted to her shortly before the divorce that there were five reasons he’d married her: her skin color, her beauty, her speed on the track, her sense of humor, and the super-athletic children they’d make together. She’d made a smart-aleck retort, stung that he’d never loved her. He’d told her that he no longer enjoyed her sense of humor.
Jeff slowly rotated back to her as her stomach filled with ice. “Are you cheating on me … with a loser lacrosse player?” he asked in a cold yet incredulous voice, as if any athlete from a different sport was beneath him and nobody could ever replace him.
“Do I have to remind you again that we aren’t married?” She put as much contempt into her voice as possible.
Jeff moved surprisingly fast for such a big guy. He was towering over her with his hands wrapped around her arms before she registered that she should’ve dodged away. “Do I have to remind you of our agreement?” he asked quietly.
“No, but you have to get your hands off of me.” She narrowed her eyes and tilted her chin imperiously, though inside she was quaking. She never knew if he would explode or back down. He was big enough to loom over her like an unstable giant. She knew his strength. If he wanted to, he could easily hurt her. She glanced at Krew, who was watching with an open mouth and fear in his dark eyes.
Jeff also glanced at their son. Thankfully, he uncurled his fingers from around her arms. He didn’t back away, using his intimidating size to his advantage. “So thisisn’ta date?”