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

by Alison Mello

  Grace comes skipping down the stairs, but Jesse stops her. “Did you apologize to your brother?” She bows her head and bashfully replies with no. He instructs her to go apologize and tell Gabe it’s time for lunch. A few minutes later we hear screaming. I look at Jesse with concern. “She’s laughing.” He smiles.

  “Well, that is certainly better than crying.”

  The two of them come down the stairs with smiles on their face. “Daddy, Gabe tickled me.”

  Jesse laughs. “I would guess that means he forgives you.” He ruffles her hair.

  We all take a seat at the table to enjoy lunch. The kids are devouring sandwiches, chips, and fruit salad like they haven’t eaten in months. Jesse and I look at each other in pure shock. “Are you guys hungry?” I ask. They nod and continue to eat. A few minutes later I ask Grace, who has cleared her plate, “How would you like it if we painted your room and got you a new big girl bedroom set?”

  “Really?” she asks her father, totally excited.

  We both chuckle, and he says, “Really. We’ve picked the perfect bedroom set to surprise you with, but you have to promise to act like a big girl. No more acting out.”

  “Can I paint my room pink?” she asks, thrilled.

  “You can, but it has to be a color we agree on too,” Jesse warns.

  “I promise to be a big girl, Daddy. When can we do it?”

  “Karen and I will go to the furniture store Monday after we get Jason registered at school.”

  “Yah!” She claps, excited.

  “Grace, want to play Xbox?” Gabe asks.

  “Yes!” She jumps up, thrilled. “May we be excused, Daddy?” she asks, batting her eyes. We agree, and they head upstairs to play while we clean up from lunch. I think it’s sweet that Gabe offers to play with her. It doesn’t take long for us to hear laughter coming from upstairs showing us that they’re back to getting along.

  A short time later, I jump when my phone begins to ring with Jason’s special ringtone. “Hey, buddy.”

  “Mom.” His voice is uneven.

  “Jason, what’s wrong?”

  “Mom, I need you to come get me, please,” he begs.

  “What’s wrong? Why are you so upset?” My body trembles with worry. Jesse is right by my side as I hit the speaker button.

  “Dad is really drunk, Mom. He threw Melinda against a wall and hit her. She’s bleeding. I tried to help, Mom. I jumped in front of her and told Dad to stop.” He lowers his voice. “He wouldn’t listen. He was so angry. He grabbed me by my shirt.”

  I cut him off, struggling to hear more. “Where are you?”

  “Hiding in my room. Dad hit me and threw me to the floor.” His voice is shaking. I can tell he’s on the verge of tears. “He’s on a rampage, but Melinda sent me in here. I tried to help her Mom, I did, but he was too strong.” I can hear the fear in his voice as he defends his actions.

  Jesse says, “Call 911 from the house phone. Do not hang up with your mother; we are on our way.” Jesse grabs my hand and tells his mom that we have to go.

  My head is rolling a million miles an hour. I don’t know what to think or how to feel. I’m numb, worried about my son. “Mom. Are you there?”

  “Yeah, buddy. I’m here.” It’s hard to speak with so many emotions running through me.

  “Melinda is on the phone with the police. They are coming to the house.”

  “Okay, stay in your room. We are on our way.” I stare out the window struggling to stay in the now. Trees are flashing by as the sun is setting, and all I can do is wonder how we got to this point. I know Brian is no longer the man I married, but I never could have imagined a phone call like this one.

  The robotic voice of the GPS pulls me to the present. I look over to see Jesse focused on the road as he pulls down Brian’s street.

  It’s the longest ride of my life. When we finally pull up to the house there are cop cars everywhere. I jump from the car and bolt toward the house, but a cop snatches me up. “My son is in there,” I scream.

  “Wow, ma’am. Please calm down.”

  I look the cop in the eye. “My son, Jason, is in there. Tell me he’s okay.”

  “Your son told us you were coming, and yes he is. He is a very brave boy. However, I can’t allow you inside. Let me update you folks and then I’ll bring him out to you,” the cop informs me while Jesse and another cop joins me in the driveway. “Your ex is currently inside in handcuffs. We’ve done some questioning of both parties. They both have scratches on them but it was evident that she was in far worse shape and our victim. She has been taken to the hospital and we’re about to bring him out now. That said I want you to know your son was hit and the domestic violence charges will extend to him.” My trembling hands fly to my mouth.

  A second later Brian is brought outside in handcuffs. He’s bucking and fighting, but they’re not letting him go. “This is your fault,” he screams, lurching toward me. The cops grab him tighter.

  “How could you? How could you lay a hand on your son and another woman?”

  “Stupid bitch wouldn’t listen. I told her I needed to see my son, but she didn’t understand. She said I had no business bringing him into our home.”

  “So you hit Jason?”

  He spits blood. “Stupid bastard got between us. Told me I wasn’t going to disrespect a lady,” he growls. “There was no way I was letting my son disrespect me in my home.” His words are still slightly slurred.

  “Take him out of here,” an officer calls out as he escorts Jason from the house.

  I run over and wrap my son in a tight hug. “Are you okay, buddy?” I look him over, examining his body.

  “I’m okay, Mom. Unfortunately, Melinda isn’t. I’m glad her kids aren’t here.”

  “Are they at their father’s?”

  “Yeah, they left shortly after I got here. That’s what started the arguing. Melinda was mad that this was supposed to be their time alone and I was interfering. She apologized to me. Told me she didn’t mean to sound selfish, but with their schedule and the kids they got little time alone. Dad has been drinking since he walked in the door. I don’t know what he was drinking but it was brown, smelled gross, and he was pouring it over ice.”

  “It’s okay, buddy. Let’s get you out of here.”

  “It was scary, Mom. He was downing it and drinking glass after glass. He was meaner and meaner with every drink.” Poor Jason looks devastated, and I can’t say I blame him. It’s the first weekend he’s spent with his father in a long time, and Brian blew up. Jason’s eye is swollen from where his father hit him.

  “Jason, do we need to take you to the hospital?”

  “We need to document his injuries,” a cop standing to my left informs us.

  “Okay, so what do you need us to do?”

  “I don’t think your son needs ambulatory care, so why don’t I escort you and your son in my car and your husband can follow.”

  I smile at the word husband. He isn’t my husband yet, but I can envision us being husband and wife in the future.

  The doctors took forever to see Jason because his injuries weren’t urgent, but they finally called him in. They examined him, documented his injuries, and took pictures of his face. By the time we’re done at the hospital and we manage to get back home, it’s well after dinnertime. We enter the house to find Josephine pacing the living room with anxiety written all over her face.

  “Jason.” She runs over and wraps him in a hug.

  Gabe and Grace come running down the stairs to check on him. You can see anger radiating from Gabe when he sees Jason’s cheek, and poor Grace is on the verge of tears.

  Jason pulls away from Josephine, and Gabe says, “Dude, that was crazy.” Gabe and Jason man hug.

  “Gabe, you knew?” Jesse asks.

  “We were playing Xbox. Jason told me to hold on. I couldn’t hear much other than distant yelling, and you guys were gone before I could say anything.” The concern for his friend is evident in his shaking voice
[33].

  “Okay.” Jesse pats him on the shoulder.

  “I know you all want to see Jason, but we’re all hungry and he needs to relax. It’s been a long and emotional day,” I inform everyone.

  “I’ll heat y’all some soup,” Josephine announces, heading straight for the kitchen.

  “I’ll fill you in after I eat,” Jason says to Gabe who nods and heads back to their room. The room that Jesse set up special for them. Jason hasn’t even gotten to see it yet, and this isn’t exactly the mood we wanted him in when we surprised him, but this is life. The three of us take a seat at the table as Josephine places bowls of chicken orzo soup down.

  “Is this my favorite soup?” Jason asks.

  I smile. “It is. I put it on not knowing we were coming to get you, but I’m glad it’s put a smile on your face.”

  “I love this soup.” He digs in, and so do we.

  Jesse finally breaks the silence with torment on his face. “Jason, you know you have to sit out tomorrow, right?”

  “I figured. I’m not happy about it, but I understand.”

  “Although the doctor said you’re in pretty good shape, I want to make sure you don’t add to your injuries on the field. Your body needs the week to heal.” Jesse pats him on the back.

  Jason’s voice trembles. “I’ve never been so scared in my life. He stood over me screaming at me like I was a stranger. Then something clicked because he turned to Melinda who was creeping up behind him. She yelled for me to run, and I bolted from the room.”

  His body shakes. “Jason, I’m so sorry. Your father has never behaved like that before. If he had, I wouldn’t have agreed to let you go there.” He shrugs, looking unsure of what to say as he empties his bowl. “Did you have enough?” I ask.

  “Yeah. I think I just want to go chill.”

  “Okay, you know where I am if you need me.”

  He leaves the room, and Josephine comes back in. “That poor boy.” She shakes her head and picks up his bowl. “That man is lucky I wasn’t there. I would’ve taught him a lesson or two,” she says with sass.

  Jesse chuckles. “Mom, he’s not a young boy anymore.”

  She turns around and plants her hands on her hips. “You think that scares me? Someone needs to teach that man some manners.”

  “I have a feeling he may learn some while he spends the next two nights in jail,” I remind her.

  “Mom, if you’ll excuse us, I think we both need to go unwind and get ready for tomorrow.”

  “I’ll be turning in soon too. You two have a nice night.”

  Jesse takes my hand and leads me upstairs. We stop in the boys’ room to say good night. They’re lying on their beds with their phones in their hands. “Thanks, Jesse. This is awesome.”

  “You’re welcome, buddy. You boys have a nice night.”

  “Good night,” they say in unison.

  We then stop at Grace’s room. She’s already asleep on her bed with her light on. I chuckle as I tuck her in and kiss her on the head. Jesse does the same, then we shut her light and close her door. We finally get to our room, and I’m exhausted. My emotions from this afternoon are bubbling to the surface. I collapse on the bed and begin to cry. “How could he do this?” Jesse takes a seat beside me and wraps me in his comforting arms.

  “I don’t know, baby, but I can assure you we won’t allow it to happen again.”

  “He has never laid a hand on me. I never saw him to be a vicious person. I mean, he said some pretty horrible things to me but to hit me... not once.” I exhale a slow, steady breath. “I feel awful that he put my son through this.”

  “I wish I knew what to say to make this all better for you, but there are no magic words. We have to wait and see what happens with court. Hopefully, she presses charges and all will be fine.” He kisses me on the head. “Want to take a bath?”

  “Sure. Maybe that will help me unwind.”

  “I’ll get it ready.” He goes to the bathroom leaving me on the bed, but I suddenly miss him. He’s quick. When I join him in the bathroom, he’s already filling the tub. The smell of lavender bubbles takes over the room, and the lit candles creating the relaxing ambiance I need. It’s all very romantic.

  He peels my shirt over my head, unclips my bra, and unbuttons my jeans. I slip them down my legs and he helps me into the tub, following behind me. “I love you so much,” he whispers into my ear, holding me close. I lean my head back on his shoulder while he runs a warm sponge over the front of my body. It’s sweet, romantic, and just what I need right now. It doesn’t take long to feel my body relax, and my breathing starts to even out. I can feel myself starting to fall asleep in the tub, but he gently nudges me. “Baby, let’s go to bed, and I’ll hold you while you sleep.”

  “Mmm, sounds good.” I don’t move a muscle. My body is already asleep even though in my head I know I have to get out.

  He laughs. “Come on.” He pulls the drain on the tub, causing my body to instantly chill.

  “That wasn’t very nice,” I groan in a groggy voice.

  “It was the only way to get you out of the tub.” He kisses me, taking the sting out of his action.

  I quickly jump out, wrap my body in a warm towel, and head to the room to dress. I climb into bed where Jesse joins me, wrapping me in his embrace as promised. It takes me a matter of minutes before I fall asleep again.

  We pull up to the field at 9:45. Grace has been singing her cheer songs the entire ride, and the boys are about to kill her. Karen is trying to calm them down while I pull into a spot that is just emptying out. We all climb out of the car. The boys grab their jerseys and pads from the back, as Grace bounces around. “Grace, hold my hand please.”

  “Okay, Daddy.” She takes my hand, and the five of us walk across the street.

  When we get to the gate, the woman standing there says, “Four dollars please.” Typically it’s two dollars per adult, students are free, but Coaches and team moms don’t pay. You can tell us apart from our polos. I look at Karen, who looks equally as shocked as I do. I pull out my wallet and hand her a five. I’m about to tell her to keep the change when another mom comes over and stops us. “Maryanne, team moms and coaches don’t pay.” She hands me back the five and wishes us luck.

  We thank her and enter the stadium. “I can’t believe she was going to charge us to enter.” Karen rolls her eyes. “You would think they would inform the people working the gate of the rules.”

  “You would think,” I agree. Karen sends out emails to our team every week reminding them who is scheduled to work in their assigned sections, and she informs them of the rules for that section so things like this don’t happen. It’s not very welcoming when a team shows up and they have to pay to play. This is a league-wide rule which is why we were so thrown off by the fee. It was clear she didn’t know what was going on.

  “Hi, Grace,” Julie, one of the cheer coaches, calls over to my daughter who waves back full of excitement. She squats down before her. “Are you ready to take the field?” Grace nods. “Great.” She holds out her hand to Grace. “Mind if I take her over?”

  “Not at all. Thank you so much, Julie.”

  A few minutes later the announcers are talking over the intercom, getting the crowd amped up for the game, so Karen and I walk over to the sidelines while the boys play catch behind us. Grace is in line with her team, but when she spots us she stops paying attention to wave. This kid always brings a smile to my face. I wave back and watch as they warm up.

  The Mighty Mights are losing, but the cheer squad is doing an amazing job. “I have to go take the team for weigh-ins. Will you tell Grace I said she did good?”

  “I sure will.” I give her a chaste kiss and gather the boys.

  I approach the team, and Blake nods toward Jason. “I notice Jason isn’t in uniform. Is everything okay?”

  I pull the three of them in close. “He had an issue at his father’s last night.”

  Trystan’s eyes go wide. “Are you shitting me?” H
e is angry.

  I shake my head. “I wish I was. I need to put him on the DL just for this week to make sure he is good.”

  Derek sighs, “What a dick. If you need anything, you know we have your back.”

  “Thanks, guys. Let’s get going.”

  We walk them down and on the way Blake asks how my mom is doing. “She is okay. We’re taking it one day at a time, but she is better and better every day.”

  “Well, if you need any help, you know how to reach us,” Trystan offers.

  “I appreciate that. Karen is waiting for Grace to get off the field, which is why she isn’t with us, but she’ll meet us on the sidelines after she brings Grace to sit with the mom squad in the bleachers during our game. It’s a bit to juggle, but we’ll manage.”

  We have two players left to weigh-in. Two of their players are already overweight, and I have a feeling by the way he is pacing, Aiden will be too. He steps on the scale and the woman at the table shakes her head no. Aiden looks up at me. “Sorry, Coach. Guess I can’t play this week.” He crosses his hands at his chest. He wasn’t nervous he would be over, he was nervous he would be okay to play. This kid has no desire to be here, but his mother forces him to play. She says he needs an outlet for his frustration.

  The other coach comes up to me and as usual, he wants me to allow his players on the field. He says that Aiden can play too, but when I look down at Aiden he looks hopeful that I’ll bench him. Part of me wants to make him play, but the last thing I need is someone getting hurt because he’s not playing his position properly.

  “Sorry, Coach, no can do. Besides, one of your boys is way over. How is he still playing at this level?” I cross my arms over my chest.

  “He’s not that bad.” He looks over at this kid who is pretty much an entire head bigger than my tallest player and probably at least ten pounds heavier than him.

  “Well today he can be, ‘not that bad,’ on the bench.” I turn my back to walk out of the locker room, and I can hear him cursing under his breath. “Hey, Coach, if you really taught your kids how to play, you wouldn’t need to cheat to win.” I chuckle. “All it takes is a little hustle and a lot of heart.”