Suzanne Cox - One Man To Protect Them

“Coach was about to get an order to go, but I told him he should eat with us.”

“If that’s okay?” Luke towered above her and she wished she didn’t like the sound of his voice quite so much.

She glanced at the boys, who were thoroughly excited at the idea of eating with the baseball coach.

“It’s fine if you want to.”

He nodded, still pinning her with a look she couldn’t quite read. His eyes seemed to lighten and he smiled. Unable to stop, she smiled back. She could’ve kicked herself for giving in to his charm. His yellow shirt was rolled up at the sleeves and the collar was unbuttoned as if he’d recently pulled loose a tie. The shirt stretched across his chest when he moved, and he seemed to take over their table with his presence.

“Coach Taylor’s a lawyer,” Elliot announced as Luke settled into a chair.

“Yes, I know.”

Elliot launched into a discussion of baseball, which he clearly deemed much more important than being a lawyer. Having his coach sit at the table and give him his undivided attention turned the boy into a chatterbox. Throughout their meal they discussed the teams they would play and whether or not they would do well against them. Not that she minded. It kept her from having to join in and also gave her plenty of time to study the man who made her angry and nervous at the same time. She wasn’t oblivious to the interested looks they got from the other diners, either.

“We’re through. Can we go play the games?”

Discouraged, Jayden glanced to the machines across the room. And she thought she’d get away without having a conversation with Luke. She nodded and began digging in her purse for coins, but before she could produce any Luke had pulled several dollars from his pocket.

“Let me, mine’s easier to get to.”

She dropped her purse between her feet and didn’t argue. The boys raced away, and her stomach instantly tightened.

“Thanks for letting me eat with you.”

She wiped her hands on a napkin. “The boys enjoyed it. They like you.”

“Why do I feel like there’s a lecture coming about being a role model and how if I get this Swayze guy off I won’t be a good one?”

She didn’t like it that he could already read her so well. “Let’s not discuss your job right now.”

Luke nodded. “So, we’ll discuss something else.”

“Right. How’s your horse?”

He smiled. “Thor’s fine, and hopefully I’ve gotten a latch on the gate he can’t get open.”

“That’s good.”

She fell silent and wondered what to say next.

“How’s being home compared to…where you were?”

She turned back to Luke. “Very different. I was working in Beverly Hills the past two years.”

“I guess this was a change. Vet to the stars, huh?”

“Actually, we were.”

He paused with the glass of iced tea halfway to his mouth. “You’re joking.”

“Nope. More than half of our clients were in the film or music industry, and quite a few were famous.”

“No cows and horses for you to deal with there.”

“That’s right, and I don’t mind telling you it’s been an adjustment.”

Luke focused his attention on Garrett and Elliot for a few seconds and she studied his profile, the way his lashes curled long and thick and his lips were smooth and not too full.

He faced her, and she tried to look away but she knew he’d caught her staring.

“I’ll bet the job hasn’t been the only difficult situation since you’ve been back.”

She pushed away the remnants of the fried catfish she couldn’t eat. “It’s been very hard, but they’re special kids. I hadn’t expected to be a parent this soon, though.”

“You could have let someone else do the job or sent the boys back to foster care.”

“Don’t think it didn’t cross my mind.” She stopped short and took a drink of her tea then wiped her mouth with the napkin. “I can’t believe I said that out loud. And to you. A person I barely know.”

He reached out to stop her from shredding the napkin she held. His grip was firm and warm and didn’t make her uncomfortable as she would have imagined.

“Anyone would have thought that. Two boys are a big responsibility. You had to uproot yourself and leave behind your friends and your job. If it hadn’t crossed your mind, I’d be surprised.”

“My sister has had Elliot and Garrett since they were babies. They couldn’t go anywhere else. Besides, if they’d been her birth children instead of adopted, I wonder if I’d have had such a thought. Anyway, they’re as much hers as if she’d delivered them herself, so that makes them family and mine to raise.”

“They seem to be adjusting well.”

She twisted so she could see the boys playing. “It gets a little better every day. They’ll be fine.”

They sat quietly, while the two boys remained across the room. She wondered what Luke might be thinking.

“Has anyone assigned you a day to be dugout mom?”

The change of subject surprised her. “I’d say no, since I don’t know what a dugout mom is.”

“All the parents get assigned a game to bring water and sports drinks for the dugout. You sit in with the boys during the game. It helps keep them in order while we’re on the field coaching. You know, make sure they’re ready for their turn at bat, that kind of thing.”

“Oh, okay. I can do that. Where do I sign up?”

“I’ll have Leigh Fontenot call you. She makes the list.”

Jayden became conscious of Luke’s hand still covering hers, his thumb making a path back and forth on her skin. She was mesmerized by its motion and when it stopped she found Luke watching her, his eyes almost violet. He trailed his fingertips over her palm then glanced across the room and waved.

She turned to see who’d caught his attention and stiffened.

“Kent Raynor.” Jayden bit her lip, not sure if she’d said the name aloud.

Luke’s hand had covered hers again. “He works for me. It’s an internship he’s doing for school.”

Obviously she had said the name aloud. “I heard he was studying to be a lawyer. I’d never have expected it.”

“Why not?” he asked. She pushed her napkin around on the table with her free hand as she avoided answering him. “Jayden, I’d like you to answer that question since he’s working in my office. If you know a terrible secret about him, I’d like to be in on it.”

She took an unexpectedly shaky breath. Terrible memories, but they weren’t secret. Luke simply didn’t know. “No, I’ve never known him to do anything wrong. Kent had it tough when he was young, that’s all. His father was very hard on him and his mom. Then his dad was killed by the police in a raid to break up an illegal weapons ring. It was a big story in town. I’m sure you’ve heard of it, even though it was a long time ago.”

“I know about that. Kent seems to be fine, though.”

She nodded. “I’m sure he is.”

Luke gave her hand a final squeeze and stood. “I better go. I enjoyed the meal, and the conversation.”

He left and Jayden rubbed her skin, still warm from his touch. The table rocked slightly as the boys dropped into their seats.

“Are we ready to go?” Elliot asked.

She nodded, closing and opening her hand. What was wrong with her? At the cash register she discovered that Luke had already paid for their meal and she wanted to kick herself for not being more attentive so she could have stopped him.

They were nearly home when the boys’ brought up Luke.

“Coach Taylor is nice. I like him, don’t you?”

Jayden tried to see Elliot’s face in the rearview mirror, but it was too dark. “Yeah, he seems like a good coach.”

“I’m glad he stayed to eat with us.”