The loud huff echoed in his ear.
“You were right about my family. Financially, I’m fine. I can afford to take care of Andy and any and all bills that come with him. But I remember what it was like to struggle, and I’m only where I am because of the help of someone else.” He cleared his throat and absently picked up the photo of Andy and his mom. “You said you know my family’s story. I refer to Beth as my sister, but you probably know that she was one of my mother’s gymnasts who was there for us. And she’s never let me pay her back for all she did; financially, emotionally, physically, I can’t pay her back. But I can pay it forward. Let me help your family the way she helped mine.”
Aly said nothing. Will couldn’t even hear her breathing on the other end of the line, so he continued.
“And the truth is that Andy’s talented. If he had come into swim tryouts saying he couldn’t pay, I’d have put him on the team on Flip’s dime to begin with.”
She still said nothing, and he could almost picture her frowning at him from wherever she was. Which was strange, because he didn’t really remember what she looked like. He’d attended her mother’s funeral but hadn’t stayed long because of Genni, so he had only a vague recollection of a young woman with dark hair. He searched the room, his attention finally landing on a photo of a young woman. Seeing her in the frame felt like a hard kick in the chest.
Damn, she was gorgeous.
Thick golden-brown curls floated down her back. Her eyes, flocked by long lashes, danced with joy as she smiled. Killer curves, the kind a man should be enjoying, were wrapped in a tight black dress with a deep neckline. This was the exact type of woman he’d spent his life avoiding—the kind he could get lost in.
“I have no other option at this point.” Her answer shocked him out of his daze.
Her lack of gratitude should have annoyed him, but all he could do was smirk.
“You’re on TV, right?” Will asked as he put the picture down and forced himself to put Aly back in the Andy’s-sister box.
“Yes, it’s a home reno show. Although I pretend not to hate my costar, I’m not an actress. I work in construction.”
Shit, she was funny too.
“We’re taping in California right now, but we should wrap this house before Thanksgiving, and we’ll be on break until after Christmas.” There was a long pause. “I hope.”
Her uncertainty wasn’t all that comforting. But it didn’t matter.
“I’m not going anywhere. Andy can stay with me for however long you need. Do you want to talk to him? He ran to his room and slammed the door before I called, but I can get him for you.”
She sighed a long sigh. “I can try to get him again, but he’s been ignoring my calls all day because he didn’t turn in his project on Georgia.”
“Sounds like we’re going to have a busy weekend.” Will chuckled. “But I’ll have him call you after he and I have a heart-to-heart.”
“Okay.”
“We’ll talk later.”
“Will—” she said quickly before he could hang up.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
He smiled as he hung up the phone. How hard could this be?
CHAPTER5
“I’ve lost my mind.”Aly paced the front porch.
“I find that hard to believe.”
Her head snapped up, and she came face to face with a bleached blonde standing in the doorway.
“I just agreed to let a random guy be my brother’s babysitter, and he won’t even let me pay him.”
“Hmm.” Lily tilted her head, one black nail tapping her chin.
“But I’ve exhausted all my other options. And Logan is going to get me fired if I don’t stop obsessing about Andy and get back to work. So when his swim coach volunteered, what else could I say?” Aly didn’t stop. “Will’s nephew, Steve, is Andy’s best friend, and the entire family is amazing. It’s highly unlikely the guy’s crazy, right? But then again, I never knew I was either.”