Hustle and Heart (A Coach's Love Book 2)

by Alison Mello

  “Coaches, please move over this way so I don’t have to yell and they can hear Jodi.” I sigh but get up and move. I need to stay focused. I’m the head coach and as much as I want to stare at Karen the way I used to in high school, I can’t right now. Mike continues rambling on about the rules, pointing out the videos we need to watch, and the online tests we have to take to be a Pop Warner coach. Growing up in this league, I’m aware of most of the rules, but I’m sure things have changed and I need to take the time to make sure I’m up to speed.

  There are certain things that Pop Warner Football is very strict on, like no tackling for the first two weeks. All we are allowed to do during those two weeks is conditioning and throwing a ball around. It gives us a chance to see who’s in shape and who can catch. We’ll also work on speed and trying to figure out who’s best for each position. “Please remember that you’ll have kids who may play better than others, but each kid has to play a minimum of ten plays. That is a Pop Warner rule and an important one. These kids will work hard for you, but if they don’t get play time they get frustrated; not to mention what it does to the ego.” I remember exactly how that feels. I wasn’t a very big kid and had to work hard to get my play time. I have quite a few boys that we call older lighters. They are old enough to play Pee Wee, but they’re not quite big enough so they play Junior Pee Wee. The league started to enforce that rule because some of the smaller kids were getting hurt. They were practicing and then only getting one or two plays. That’s not enough play time for kids to learn how to tackle and take hits. Plus, in all honesty, it’s not fair. I busted my tail and was lucky if I got four plays in a game, but I didn’t give up because I wanted to play so bad. Coach used to tell me all the time to keep it up, that I had the heart for it.

  The moms come back over to join us and when they do, Karen takes a seat next to me again. [5]When Mike asks if anyone has questions, Karen looks completely overwhelmed. I lean in to whisper, “Don’t worry, I’ll help you through this. My mom was team mom for years, so I know all the stuff she did.”

  “Thank you,” she whispers back. I wink at her, and we both continue to listen as Mike wraps up the meeting.

  When the meeting finally adjourns, we walk out together and I follow her to her car. “Where would you like to go?”

  She shrugs. “Wherever, I’m not fussy.[6][7]”

  “There’s a small spot not too far from here. It’s a new place, but it’s good. Wanna follow me?”

  “Sure.” I pull her car door open for her. “Thanks,” she says and climbs inside.

  Once she’s settled, I jog off to my truck. I climb in, pull up next to her car, and roll down my window. “Ready?” She nods and I pull away, waiting for her to pull out behind me. There’s a little coffee shop a few blocks away. It only takes us a few minutes to get there, but when we pull up, it’s a bit busier than I thought it would be. I find a spot and climb down from my truck to wait for her by the door, pulling it open for her when she comes over.

  “This is a cute little place.” She scans the room looking for a place to sit.

  “Over there.” I point to a corner booth that just emptied out. “Yeah, they serve food all day, but it’s typically busier for breakfast.” We slide into the booth, and I hand her one of the menus. “Did you talk to Stella about keeping Jason?” I’m hoping we don’t have to rush out of here because I’m really looking forward to catching up with her, but I have to respect that she’s a single mom and needs to be there for him.

  She chuckles. “Yeah. I called her on my way over here, and she told me to take my time. She was making the boys lunch.”

  My smile can’t get any bigger. “That’s good to hear.”

  “What about you?” she asks.

  “Nope. My mom has the kids, and she told me to take some time to myself.”

  Her brows shoot up. “Kids? You have more than one?”

  “I do. I have a son and a daughter. They’re my world.” I pull my phone from the clip and bring up some pictures. “This is Grace.” I scan through a few pictures of my angel.

  “She’s adorable.”

  “Thanks. You met Gabe the other night. He’s obviously my oldest.”

  “I didn’t realize you had kids. I thought you enlisted and went away after school.”

  I’m about to answer her when the waitress comes over. We both order coffee and a muffin, and as soon as she’s out of earshot I tell her my story. “Remember Della?”

  “She was the girl on the cheer squad that you were dating, right[8]?”

  “Yup. We were dating and things were going great. She was incredibly supportive of my choice to join the Army. I promised her when I got through boot camp we’d get married. Then decide if she was going to stay here or travel with me.”

  The waitress delivers our coffee and tells us she’ll be back with our muffins in a minute. “Thank you,” Karen says.

  “Anyway, she traveled with me for a very short time, but when she got pregnant with Gabe she said she wanted to raise our children in our hometown. She wanted them to have one home and not move all over. Mom had offered to help her with the kids, obviously wanting to be part of their lives.” I let out a steady breath. “I’m lucky Mom was here. I hadn’t realized it, but Della got involved with drugs shortly after he was born. Della said she was depressed. Mom got her help, and she cleaned herself up. We thought we were in the clear, but she started up again after having Grace and this time it was much worse. It was so bad that she was using all our money to support her habit, and I had no idea.”

  Her eyes go wide. “I’m so sorry, Jesse.”

  I sigh. “I tried to help her, but she was too far gone. She bolted and left the kids with my mother.”

  “Where’s Della now?”

  “About three years later Mom called me and told me I needed to come home. She had gone to check on Della and found her on the floor of her room with lines of cocaine on the floor next to her.” I glance out the window. “She’s buried in the cemetery on Bolton Street.” When I look back her eyes are closed, taking in my words. “She overdosed while she was with her dealer. There was a rumor going around that he killed her, but there was no proof.”

  “Your poor kids.”

  “They’re okay. Mom would bring her food and show her pictures hoping she would turn herself around but she never did. Gabe was old enough for us to explain, but Grace not so much. We told Grace that her mom was sick and wouldn’t be able to come home. When she passed away, we told her she was in Heaven and we helped them through it. They hadn’t seen her in awhile which made it a little easier on them.” I look down into my coffee. “Giving up on her was one of the hardest things I ever did, but I couldn’t trust her, and I had to do what was best for the kids.”[9][10]

  “I hear you there.” She stops when the waitress comes back with our muffins.

  “What happened between you and Brian?” I ask as if I don’t know.

  She chuckles. “You were right. He was a cheater. He couldn’t even tell me he wasn’t happy. He started banging his secretary. He gave me the satisfaction of throwing him out, but he was already planning to leave.” She breaks off a piece of her blueberry muffin and plops it into her mouth.

  “I’m sorry, Karen.”

  “Are you? You were right.”

  I can see the hurt in her eyes. It makes me want to hunt Brian down and fuck his shit up. “It was never about being right. It was about believing you deserved better than that.” I shake my head. “You do deserve better than that.”

  She sighs. “Yeah, I’m finally starting to believe that. Unfortunately, I’m still fighting him in court.”

  My eyes go wide. “Are you serious? He left you and he’s fighting you in court?”

  “He’s saying he doesn’t get to see Jason enough so he shouldn’t have to pay as much child support, but he’s the one making excuses as to why he can’t see him. Poor Jason would love to see his father.” She rolls her eyes. “He’s making stupid demands. Like if I rema
rry I agree to stop child support. The mediator told him he can’t do that.”

  “What did Brian say?”

  “He said that he can if I sign something saying I don’t want child support, but I refuse to do that. He is Jason’s father and therefore Jason is his responsibility too. I already gave up any alimony trying to get this over with, but he still won’t agree.”

  “What an asshole,” I growl, pissed. I can’t believe I was once friends with this dick.

  “My lawyer says that we’re going to have to go before a judge. He’s going to explain that we’ve been going through mediation for well over a year now and we can’t come to an agreement, but it’s a long shot. The judge is probably going to say we need to go back and try again.”

  “Maybe I can talk some sense into him,” I offer.

  “It’ll do no good. I imagine it will only piss him off more. I’ll figure it all out. It’s not like I’m in a new relationship and I need to resolve this now.”

  A smile spreads across my lips.

  “What?” she asks, sounding totally confused.

  “I can’t believe no one has scooped you up yet.”

  She laughs, a cute blush taking over her cheeks. “Nope, very single. I really haven’t been interested.” She bites her lips.

  Thank fuck she’s single. I’m not sure I could handle an entire football season watching her sit with another man. I spent three years in high school watching her with Brian, and it drove me insane. “Are you still not interested?”

  “I guess that would depend on who’s asking.” The glow in her eyes is coming back.

  I slip out of my side of the booth and slide in next to her. I look into her big chocolate brown eyes and whisper, “Me.”

  She’s trembles slightly. “Well, in that case I may be interested.”

  Thank fuck! “That makes me a very happy man.”

  The waitress breaks our moment. “Can I get y’all anything else?” She pours more coffee into our cups.

  “I’m all set, thank you.” Karen thanks her with a smile, and I do the same.

  “I’ll leave this here. Y’all take your time now.”

  Karen pours more cream into her coffee. “Where you working these days?”

  I grab my coffee but stay close by. I like being next to her. I can smell her soft coconut scent. “I work as an engineer for Century Homes. They have a brand new community going up two towns over, and I manage the build.”

  “Good for you. That sounds like a good job.”

  “It is, but I work hard. I have other engineers below me that I have to deal with on top of my own builds, but they’re a good crew for the most part.” I sip my coffee.

  “How about you?”

  “I’m working part-time as a legal secretary.” She sighs. “The hours are right, and the two attorneys I work for are nice and very understanding if I have a situation with Jason.”

  “Where’s Brian that he can’t help with Jason?”

  She looks at me with humor. “He and his new girlfriend were supposed to stick around, but they didn’t. They moved to Essex County. He acts like it’s a three-hour drive. He said it was closer to his office.”

  “Is it?”

  “Yeah, technically it is, but he moved twenty minutes from work on the other side of his office, so he’s like an hour and a half from us with traffic.”

  “I can’t believe him. It killed me to be away from my kids, and now that I’m back there’s no way I’m moving away from them again.”

  “I hear ya. He knows damn well there’s no way I would give up custody of Jason and, to be honest, I don’t think he even wants it. It’s like he regrets us and wants nothing to do with us.”

  I’m seeing red at this point. Brian was my boy, but the more I hear about what’s been going on the angrier I get. I thought we would always be friends, but he’s changed so much and there’s not much to like about him anymore.

  I pull my wallet from my back pocket, slip my card out, and lay it on top of the check. She takes that opportunity to look away, but I’m not letting her off that easily. I take her chin, forcing her to look at me. “We should probably get going, but I want to take you out.” I know it’s more of a demand, but I can’t help myself. I let her slip through my fingers once and now that we’ve both been through hell, it’s time we see where this goes.

  She sighs. “Didn’t you do that this morning?” she says with humor.

  I chuckle. “Okay, I’d like to take you out again.”

  “I’d like that, but shouldn’t we see how the kids feel about it?”

  I stop to think about it for a second. “Why don’t you come to my house for dinner? We can explain to the kids that we’re friends from high school and just see where it goes.”

  She smiles. “That sounds like a good plan.”

  “Good. How’s Monday? Practice starts on Tuesday, and things are going to get a bit crazy after that.”

  “I’ll have to check my calendar. You know I’m a very busy woman.”

  I laugh. “Is that so?”

  She pulls her phone from her purse, pretending to flip through her calendar. “What do you know, my schedule is wide open.”

  “Thank God.” I chuckle, and now she’s laughing.

  The waitress comes back with my card, but again tells us to take our time.

  “I really should get going. I need to get back home so I can set up our team Facebook page and email all the parents. I’m supposed to introduce myself and inform them of the page so they have multiple ways of contacting me.”

  I slip from the booth and take her hand, leading her back to her car. “Is the number I have for you your cell?”

  “It is.”

  “Good. I’ll text you.”

  “Sounds good. Thanks for the coffee and muffin.”

  “It was my pleasure.” I look into her eyes. “I’ll see you Monday?” She nods, but never breaks eye contact. She’s beautiful and her full, luscious lips are begging to be kissed, but I can’t do it—not yet. I don’t want to chance screwing this up. I step back and open her door for her. “You have my number, text or call me anytime.”

  Looking slightly disappointed, she gets into her car and drives away. Little does she know I’m equally as disappointed and so is my hard cock.

  I’ve had a hard time focusing all day. Both lawyers I work for are out of the office, and I’ve already finished everything they left for me to do. I’ve spent my day bouncing between beta reading a book and rereading my text messages from Jesse. Our texts started on Saturday night and have kept going from there.

  Jesse: Hey, beautiful, what are you up to?

  Karen: Five-feet-four...you?

  Jesse: LOL, I’ve always loved your sense of humor.

  Karen: That’s good because it hasn’t changed much. I’m lying in bed beta reading a book. How about you?

  Jesse: What in the world is beta reading?

  Karen: I read books for authors to help them catch mistakes.

  Jesse: Sounds interesting.

  Karen: It can be, but you didn’t answer my question. What are you doing?

  Jesse: LOL, I’m lying in bed as well, but I’m not doing any interesting reading. I have the news on.

  Karen: That sounds boring. What do you do for fun these days?

  Jesse: Who has time for fun? Actually, I consider spending time with my kids fun. I guess you can say that’s what I do.

  That is so sweet. I love that he’s such a family man. I wish I could say the same about Brian. He’s such an ass. He hasn’t been involved in Jason’s activities for a few years now. He’s been playing baseball for two years and his dad’s never gone to a single game. It’s always been me alone at the field cheering him on.

  Karen: I wish Brian was half the family man you are.

  Jesse: It blows me away that he’s behaving the way he is. He had the most amazing woman, and he completely blew it.

  Karen: Blushing...I’m going to turn in. I’ll talk to you soon.

>   Jesse: Good night.

  Karen: Good night.

  I sigh when I finish reading through the conversation. He’s still just as sweet as he had been when we were in high school, and it makes me sad I didn’t give him a chance. I take that back because if I had then I wouldn’t have Jason, and I wouldn’t trade him for the world. He’s the one good thing that came from my marriage. He’s sweet and understanding, unlike his piece of shit father. My phone pings. I know it’s Jason because he has to text me when he gets home from school every day.

  Jason: I’m home.

  Mom: Thank you. I’m leaving here soon. Get your homework done because we’re going to Jesse’s for dinner tonight.

  Jason: On it.

  I turn my attention back to my computer to continue working on the book I’m beta reading. I’ve only got a little bit of time left before I can close the office, and it’s been a long, slow day. When I finish the chapter I’m editing, I send a quick message out to the lawyers letting them know I’m closing up, and then shut down my computer. I don’t bother waiting for a response because if she needs me, I’ll see it on my phone. I grab my purse and run out of the office, locking the door behind me. As soon as I’m in the car I dial Brian’s number, but, as usual, it goes to voicemail. “Hi Brian, it’s me, your ex, calling again. You see, the night you left you told me to tell your son he could call you on your cell and he has, but yet you never call him back. Why is that? All the kid wants is for you to be part of his life, is that too much to ask?” I cut the call and continue my drive home.

  I haven’t been this excited about getting home in a long time. I’m lucky the office is only thirty minutes from home. When I pull into the driveway, I cut the engine and hurry inside so I can change out of my work clothes. “Jason, I’m home.”