He gave his head a shake. “It makes you human, Minnie. It’s only been a little while.”
“I guess. I’m sick to death of thinking about myself. Tell me, how are the wedding plans going?”
So, for the next half hour he regaled her with wedding details and she sat there taking it all in. This wedding was going to like a fairy tale wedding.
“It is kind of epic,” he conceded. “To me, a wedding is just a big party, but you get my mother involved and everything seems to take on a life of its own. That woman is a devil for the details.”
Minnie had especially liked his mother, CeCe, when they’d met. She’d confided in Minnie that her other son was an addict and that they’d as good as lost him, in fact the older woman was in a wheelchair as result of her son’s behavior. She’d been very kind and so happy that Chase had been able to help her, if not his own brother.
“Well, you guys are only doing this once, right?”
“Yes, ma’am. Anyway, I brought you your old guitar. Lucy said she thought you might like to play again. According to her you have immense talent.”
“I’m not even sure I have immense potential but that was very sweet of her to say. Thanks for bringing it.”
“No problem.” He glanced at his phone as it pinged with a reminder. “It looks like Sophie’s meet starts soon. Shall we go together?”
“Absolutely.” She raced off to apply some lip gloss and grab a jacket. She needed to look presentable in her first official act as a mother in public again. Things weren’t great but she needed to do the work to turn it around.
The kid could run. Mitch had been asked by the high school track coach Drew to see if he thought he could lend a hand to the team. The guy had been in the pub talking it up big when Mike, the newspaper editor, had suggested the team needed an extra boost, and as the town now had a residential professional athlete, maybe he should be recruited to the cause.
So here he was on a sunny Friday afternoon at the local high school watching a track meet. Of course, the kid with the best talent and potential was Minnie’s daughter. He couldn’t get a break. He was trying to avoid the woman who was currently sitting in the stands watching anxiously as the kid got ready for her next event. Apparently, she was a long-distance runner, which Mitch knew more than a little about. She’d won a mid-distance event already, and it was obvious she’d been holding back so she could compete in the next event. That meant she was smart, or at least smart enough to take advice.
She looked up in the stands and gave her mother and Chase and the grandparents a wave. She was a cute kid. She looked like her mother but complete with the long blonde hair. Her little brother was sitting next to his mother. Like her, he was blonde but his face was more angular, sharper. He also noticed that Katie, the eldest, who was always polite and friendly at the ice-cream shop or around town, was at the far end of the group away from her mother and nestled in beside the grandmother. She was a mix of both parents, but she wore the same serious expression as her mother. If he’d known Minnie or any of her kids were involved in this situation, he would not be here.
Since Tuesday, he’d avoided her. Not that it had been hard. He rode or ran in the mornings and worked late into the night at the bar. He was very happy she hadn’t turned up there. That didn’t mean he hadn’t thought about her, and the thoughts had all been lustful or at least inspired by lust.
He could not have lustful thoughts here, even if she did look cute in her denim shorts and stripy T-shirt. He knew she was in her thirties, but she could have passed for twenty-five.
The gun fired, and he focused his attention on the race. He didn’t need to watch for long to know the kid had it. She was the youngest on the team. They’d recruited her from the middle school and she was running against older kids. She had form and she had pace. She looked like she would be a good kid to train. Obviously from the little he knew about her life, he knew she was resilient and that was an important quality in an athlete.
He was outside the chain-link fence, leaning on top of it, on the opposite side of the field from Minnie the moment he saw her notice him. There was something about the way her body shifted. He gave her a nod of the head, a tip of the chin as acknowledgement, and she gave hers a slight tilt. She no doubt had no idea why he was here and was probably curious. He wondered if she thought it was odd. Maybe.
Then, Dave came up beside him. He was a local cop and coach of the local little league team so no stranger to children’s sporting events. The truth was Mitch hadn’t attended any since he was a kid himself.
“I hear you might be coaching some of these kids.”
“Maybe mentoring a couple.”
“That’s a good thing for you to do.”
“I was asked, and I guess I’m a soft-touch when it comes to these things. I had a couple of amazing mentors back in the day.”
“Also, it’s fun.” Dave laughed. “Not when they get pummeled, but when they have a win it’s awesome. It’s like you won, you know?”
“I can imagine.”
“Sophie’s fast,” Dave commented. “She helps me when we’re down at training and runs the bases for me at little league training. The poor little boys on my team never get her out.”
“That seems a bit mean.”
“Yeah, well, they think they’re bulletproof, and a couple thought she’d be hopeless because she was a girl. You need to train that crap out of them young.”
Mitch was impressed. He hadn’t thought Dave would be so concerned about things like that. “You got sisters, Dave?”
“No, I had one but she died a while back.”
Wow, how had Mitch not known that? He’d spent quite a lot of time with Dave but he guessed they never really talked about anything below the surface. “Wow, I’m so sorry man.”
“It’s fine.” He bit out the words. “You got sisters?”
“Ah, yeah, three.”
“You know what I’m talking about, then.”
They stood there and watched the race end. Sophie won. Her face was beaming even though she was clearly spent. She bent over and put her hands on her thighs. He could work on that stamina and her form. Her family was cheering in the stands, all on their feet, including Minnie, and all smiling. It was nice to see her smile.
“The mom is pretty. She was a looker back in the day, too. Nice to see her back.”
“Good for the kids.”
“Rumor is you two are friends.”
There was a rumor about them. That wasn’t good. “She’s my neighbor. I’ve given her a couple of rides.”
“I can see why you would want to go there, but you probably shouldn’t.”
Was Dave seriously warning him off? “Thanks for the advice.”
Dave turned and eyeballed him. “It’s a small town and people talk. She has a bad reputation that needs fixing. You have a good reputation that needs maintaining. You’d be doing both of you a service by giving her space.”
“Again, thanks for the advice.” He was furious, but he kept his voice even.
“Hey, man, don’t shoot the messenger. I like you, I like her kids . . .”
He got it, and the man wasn’t saying anything he hadn’t said to himself a zillion times but that didn’t mean he liked it.
“Okay, noted.” They had plans to ride the next day. “See you tomorrow.”
He turned and headed to the coach. He was pretty sure he could avoid Minnie and coach her kid. Well, maybe not avoid her exactly, but he was pretty sure he could coach the kid without fueling any rumors. None of this had been his idea, and he wasn’t not going to coach the girl because of some dumb-ass rumor. Sophie could go all the way with the right help, and he was the guy to provide it.
Sophie had won. Minnie was so proud of her that she couldn’t help but lean in and hug her.
“You were amazing,” she whispered into her ear. Then, her daughter hugged her back and smiled at her. Minnie couldn’t help but feel like that was a win for her, too.
“Thanks, Mom.”
“Thanks, Uncle Chase.”
The coach came to interrupt, and he had Mitch with him. Why was Mitch here?
“Fantastic job, Sophie. Fantastic effort.” She thanked the coach politely, clearly embarrassed by the praise. “This is Mitch. He was a professional triathlete and he came along to watch you run.”
Her little eyes bugged out of her head. “Oh.”
“You did so well,” Mitch reassured her daughter. She’d won, of course she did well.
“Mitch is going to be mentoring a couple of students, and I thought you might be interested.”
She gave a small nod.
“It would just be some personal attention at training and on race day. Nothing too crazy,” Mitch assured her. “Only if you want to. You can think about it.”
“No, that sounds really great, thank you.”
“She’s already winning.” It was Minnie’s mother who spoke. “Does she really need more training?”
“With the right push, she can go further,” Mitch explained. “She’ll keep winning, and she’ll win in bigger competitions, maybe, if she wants to.”
The grandmother looked skeptical.
“I do.” He rewarded her with that smile.
“Plus, it will help down the track with college applications,” the coach explained. College was a long way off, but everything would help.
“You just think about it, Sophie,” Mitch said, giving them all time to process.
Minnie wanted to jump in and say she thought that was a great idea as Sophie’s mother, but she wasn’t sure if her opinion was wanted. She couldn’t help but notice Mitch looking at her as if he expected her to input. Well, he didn’t know that she was lucky to be here. Or maybe he did.
The group broke up, and Chase offered to drive her home.
“No, you go. Get on the road to Boston before it’s too late. I’m fine to walk.”
Kevin seemed to lag behind with her as they headed off. He looked down at her and smiled. “You did good today, honey.”
“It’s hard. Getting the balance right.”
She was aware the coach had left, and Mitch had followed but he was still within earshot, too. “I know.”
“Your mom and I are heading out to my cabin for the weekend seein’ as we’re kid free. You want to come with?”
What a sweet man he was. “That’s okay, you don’t want me cramping your style. I really am fine. I need to work on my résumé anyway.”
He gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Well, you can call me any time you know. Day or night and I’ll answer. I’m only an hour away.”
“Thanks.”
She watched him walk away after the group. That was everyone she loved walking away, leaving her behind. It was hard to watch, but in that moment, it was clear to her that they were all doing well, despite what she’d put them through. They were a tight-knit family group, extended family maybe, and an odd one at that if you added CeCe into the mix, but nevertheless they were a family and she was happy that they had that. Lucy hadn’t had that growing up and yet she’d managed to put aside her own hurt and disappointment to create a good family for her kids. She was extremely grateful that her kids were being given the love and stability they needed.
She took out her phone and messaged Lucy. Have a great weekend with the kids. Thank you for all you do for them. I haven’t said it often enough but I’m so very grateful.
Just sending that text made her feel lighter. She decided to brave the ice-cream shop again because she was craving a caramel latte. She heard her name called and turned to see Mitch jogging toward her.
As his head said, “Bad idea, Mitch,” his voice yelled her name and his feet began moving in her direction. He was a mess.
“Hold up.”
“Hey, Mitch, thanks for offering to help the team. That’s really generous of you,” she said as he came to a stop in front of her.
“No problem. I didn’t know any of your kids were on the team, not that it would have changed my offer. I would have told you, though.”
“It’s fine. Sophie has talent, right?”
“She does. I think her grandparents are worried I’m going to push her too hard, but I won’t. She won’t stick with it if she’s not having fun.”
“They’re trying to do the right thing. I wouldn’t worry about that, Sophie is the kind of kid who smiles and nods and is completely agreeable but she doesn’t do a thing she doesn’t want to do. She won’t be railroaded.”
“Good qualities.”
“Yep, everyone always likes Sophie.” She was shading her face to keep out the sun. She was so pretty.
“Good, I’m sure I will too.”
She gave him a slight head tilt, as if to say, “I guess we’ll see.”
“Okay, well, I’m off, I’ll see you round.”
“You need a ride?”
“No thanks, I’m going to the ice-cream parlor. It’s coffee o’clock.”
“You need company?” He held his breath. He wanted her to say no. He wanted her to say yes more, even though he knew that what Dave had said was right and it would be best that he wasn’t seen with her.
She paused and he could tell that she was thinking the same thing as him. It was the moment he realized that he wasn’t the only one fighting this. She could feel the same thing he could, that inextricable thing that drew two people together. She could feel the attraction and it made him feel ridiculously pleased. He relaxed a little then, even if she said no, he knew why.
“Sure, okay. My shout. And I can ask you a few questions about the training so that if my opinion happens to be sought, then at least I’ll be knowledgeable?”
“Great.” He placed his hand in the small of her back to guide her to his car. It was probably a mistake to touch her, but he couldn’t help it. That was innocent enough. Surely, that wouldn’t raise suspicion.
It was only two blocks to the ice-cream parlor, it took him longer to find a parking spot than to drive over because it seemed like the whole town was out today. He hoped the bar was hopping, too. It was only five and his shift started in an hour. Normally he’d go in early when he felt it would be busy, but coffee with Minnie was a very fine reason to be late.
Chloe smiled up at them from behind her big espresso machine as they entered.
“Grab a seat, guys. I think someone just cleared out of the back booth, but I’d be quick.”
He hustled to the back of the store while Minnie stayed to order. He nodded at a couple of his regulars who were here with their families. Patty and Jacob were among them. He liked Jacob well enough from poker; his wife left him cold.
“Hey, guys,” he said as he slid into the booth behind theirs.
“You here alone?” Jacob asked.
“No.” Just then, Minnie approached. He saw her pause at the sight of Patty.
“Hey, guys, we have to stop meeting like this.” It was clear she was making light of it, but he had a feeling she’d rather not see them anywhere.
“I heard Sophie just ran her heart out at the meet,” Jacob said amicably.
“Wow, news travels fast,” Mitch said.
“Literally, Mike was just here.” Everyone laughed, well not Patty.
“Yes, she did very well.” That was all Minnie said. No bragging or embellishment.
Patty had remained silent, but her steely stare told Mitch that she had plenty to say on the topic of Sophie and Minnie and several other things as well.
“We’ll let you guys get back to it. See you at poker night, Jacob.”
He turned in the booth to face Minnie, who was rubbing her thumb and forefinger together in small circles. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen her do that, it was like her tell that she was anxious.
“Chloe said she would be pretty quick with the coffee. So, tell me about the sort of training you’d be doing with Sophie, beyond what she already gets?”
; He started to talk her through it when he heard Patty stage-whispering from the booth behind.
“Can you believe her? She’s only been in town five minutes and she’s already hitting on every single man in town.”
“Patty.” Her husband was making a feeble attempt to silence her.
“She’s just like her mother was.”
Mitch was well aware that Minnie heard her because she gave her head a small shake that said he should stay out of it.
“I mean, she’s barely seen her kids and she’s been seen all over town with him, and he owns a bar, I mean, seriously, she hasn’t changed at all?”
Chloe came across with the hot coffees, and he saw Minnie shake her head at her, too. He knew Chloe well enough to know she wouldn’t be happy to hear what Patty was saying.
“Here you two go.” She gave them a sympathetic smile.
“So, you think the training will help her?” Minnie was looking down at her coffee, not making eye contact with anyone.
“I mean, it’s bad enough she ran off, but this . . .” Mitch didn’t want to create a scene, but he didn’t want to let this go either.
He needn’t have worried. Chloe stopped just behind him. “See that sign, Patty, it says people who don’t have anything nice to say need to get their ice-cream elsewhere, so I’m going to ask you to talk about something else or take those cones to go.”
“How dare you.” Patty rose, clearly spoiling for a fight.
“It’s my business, Patty, I can do what I like, so how about you sit down and eat your cone, be the example you claim to be, and don’t embarrass your own kids and your husband any further.”
With that, she walked off.
Minnie was still looking down at her drink, but she wasn’t rubbing her fingers together. That was something.
Mitch spent the next five or so minutes talking training until Patty and her family were done and left the joint only to be replaced by a table of teens.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
He knew she wasn’t, so he insisted on driving her home rather than going straight into work.
Chapter 8
Any Way You Spin It: An Upper Crust Novel (The Upper Crust Series Book 7) Page 7