“Yeah.”
“Now, what do you say we play some ball?”
“Yeah. Let’s do it!”
They walked side by side to the ball park. It was only a few minutes from the house. It was stinking hot so there were only a couple of older people walking their dogs.
“It looks really big,” Zach said. It sure did.
“You got this, buddy.”
By the end of the session, Zach really was hitting the ball a good distance. He seemed to connect pretty consistently.
“I think you’re a natural,” he said as he led the boy to the batting cages. “Let’s see how you do when I’m not the pitcher?”
The truth was the boy wanted to keep going, and Todd was out of practice and his shoulder would be smarting tomorrow. Dave’s police car pulled up and he got out.
“Hey, Todd, how’s it going?”
“Great. This is Zach, Sarah’s boy.”
Dave raised his eyebrows at him as if to say, “Dude, really?” Zach didn’t know that Dave was the coach and no doubt had a say in who made the cut.
“I’m trying out for the team,” Zach informed Dave. “I asked Todd to help me.”
“Good for you, kid.”
Zach swung and missed the first ball, but then found a steady rhythm. Todd watched Dave taking his measure. “He’s got a good arm.”
“Good coaching,” Todd said proudly.
“Please, you didn’t teach him that. He’s just got it,” Dave said.
“True.” Todd felt a sigh of relief. Unless he had an epic fail on the day, it seemed like Zach would probably make the team. He needed a win. “He needs it, the team I mean. New town and all that.”
“Be careful, Todd, this isn’t really your style,” Dave said. “You could get very involved here.”
Todd shook his head at Dave, even though he knew he was already involved. “He’ll be all yours come Friday.”
Dave shook his head and walked back to the car. That’s what Todd should do. Walk away. But he didn’t know how.
Instead, he took Zach for ice cream on the way home. They sat up at the counter and the kid had a smile from ear-to-ear. And then they ran home with a cup each for Livi and Sarah, hoping to get there before they had two cups of milk.
Sarah just shook her head at them. “Zach.”
“It was Todd’s idea, Mom,” he said.
“You are such a con man!” She was half-laughing, half-cranky. All beautiful. “Thank you, Todd.”
She stuck her spoon in her chocolate chip and licked it clean. Watching a woman eat ice cream should not have been erotic and yet it was. “How did he do?”
“Great.” She’d invited him in and he followed her through to the kitchen. “Did you talk to Mike?”
“Yeah. I’m going down to see him tomorrow.” Her face looked worried, though.
He leaned over and patted her hand. “What’s wrong?”
Todd was touching her. That was bad. Electricity and sexual energy thrummed through her and she was already on edge. She didn’t want to pull her hand away because it felt so good but . . . she did.
She ran it through her hair, hopefully she looked casual.
“Nothing. I mean, I guess I haven’t thought it all through. I don’t even have daycare for the interview, let alone to go to work. It’s a catch-twenty-two. I need to work, but I’m not sure how I’m going to even swing it. I can’t even afford daycare, even if I could find some, and seriously I have to get the right person because you may not have noticed but some drunken ass-wipe ran his car over my precious daughter while she was on her scooter on the footpath and so I have to have good daycare. Oh yeah, and I have a million medical bills still owing, and when I checked, I have just under twenty dollars in cash. Yep, nothing’s wrong.”
She was aware that one angry tear had run down her right cheek, so she wiped it off with the back of her hand.
Todd stared open-mouthed at her for a second. “Oh, honey.”
And then he stood up on his feet and hauled her off hers and in for a huge hug.
He felt so good and he was so solid that she just couldn’t help but stand there and be hugged and let the tears come because she’d been bottling them up for a while. She wanted to make her life better for the kids, but damn if she knew how she was going to do it. She knew it was self-indulgent to just soak Todd’s T-shirt with her tears and mascara, but it was better than going through this alone.
He let her cry it out for a while. Her cheek rested against his chest, and she felt it rise and fall gently. It was a long time since a man had held her this way, years, and it felt so, so good.
“I can’t help you solve every one of those problems but we can solve a few.”
“We? Really?” She blinked up at him.
“Sure.”
“Why are you so nice to me?”
“Everyone needs someone. Today, I’m your someone.”
Okay, even if it was just for today that would be fine. She’d take it at this point.
“Come with me.” He held her hand and led her out the back door to the garage. She hadn’t even been in there yet. It was locked, but Todd pulled his keys from his pocket.
“You have a key?”
“Who do you think dusted the house and mowed the lawn before you came? I needed a key for that.”
Of course it was him. She should have guessed.
He unlocked the side door, and they entered the cool dark room. It took a minute for her eyes to adjust. With the tears and the darkness, her poor eyes were getting quite a workout. Then, she noticed a large car or rather a large lump under a car cover.
“Big Blue,” she whispered.
“Big Blue.” It was her aunt’s baby blue, mint-condition Cadillac convertible. Todd slid the cover off. Sarah was not a car person, but she had to concede with her white leather interior and custom styling this car was a thing of beauty. She ran her hand along the side.
“How is Big Blue going to help me?”
“Because I had her valued last year for your aunt and I know what she’s worth. Sell her.”
“I can’t sell Big Blue.” She was shocked.
“Of course you can. It’s a car. It’ll cover daycare and some bills and keep you going for a while.”
“Esme loved Big Blue.”
Todd put a hand on each shoulder and looked into her eyes. “She loved you more. And she would tell you, it’s just a car.”
“But, I mean, she already gave me a house.”
“Sarah, she gave you the house and its contents. If you want to sell off the furniture piece by piece and hock all her jewelry to feed your kids, you can.”
“But that’s not what I want. I just want a leg up to get started. I want to work and build a new life here.”
“I know and Big Blue could give you that.”
She looked at the car and thought about the meager amount in her bank account, this made sense. “I know you’re right.”
“And I was thinking that maybe if there wasn’t a honking great car taking up the garage this might be a good spot for a dance studio down the track.”
“A dance studio.” She almost sighed out the words. She looked around the room again. It had a door on one side and low windows along the back wall looking out onto the garden. There was a wall that would be perfect for a ballet barre. She saw the space in a new light. “I’d have to get special flooring. It’s expensive.”
“I’m sure that’s not impossible. If you offer to teach pole dancing, the men of this town will probably make donations.”
She let out a snarf—half laugh, half snort. “Shall I stand on the corner in town with my can in a burlesque outfit perhaps?”
“Just tell Chloe, that’ll be just as effective.” He gave her a wink. “I think she’s officially now the town crier.”
“Ice cream and information, not a bad combination. So how does one go about selling a car like this I wonder?”
“I know how,” he assured her.
“D
o you know everything?” she asked, looking at him with hands on her hips. Damn, he looked good. He was still hot and sweaty and his T-shirt was grimy from her tears and smudged mascara and still he managed to look good.
“No, but the Internet does. It’s handy little thing you may have heard of.”
“Smart ass.”
“Always. Anyway, the appraiser told me last year he had some keen buyers, so I could start with him. It was basically an open door.”
“Thanks. If you don’t mind finding out if that’s still true.” She sighed. “Thanks, all I seem to do is say thank you to you.”
“I have a feeling you’re going to be on your feet and doing it all for yourself soon enough. You’ve obviously had a really rough time, Sarah. I don’t mind helping.”
“I know but . . . I feel bad. I mean, I’m normally a pretty independent person.” She didn’t add by necessity even if that was true.
“That’s obvious to everyone, especially me.”
#
Todd stared down at Sarah. Even with her tear-stained face, she was beautiful. He couldn’t help but notice how her face altered and how wistful she’d gotten when he’d mentioned the dance studio. She needed to make that happen. That would set her and the kids up for a future of happiness. Todd was sure he could spring for the flooring if need be.
He gave his brain an internal shake. Step back, buddy.
However, his feet took a step forward as they always seemed to do with Sarah. “I’ll have the kids while you do your interview tomorrow.”
“I can’t ask you . . .”
He put a finger to her soft lips. “I’m offering. They will need to come to my place. I have some conference calls and stuff, but I also have some cool video games I think will keep them busy.”
He slowly lowered his hand from her mouth. “Okay.”
Todd knew touching her was a mistake. There was a definite sizzle between them, but it was more than that, they were friends and he cared about her. Layering on the attraction made it harder and better, and well, more confusing. He really wanted to kiss her right now, just to see if it would be as good as he imagined it would be.
“That’s settled then,” he said.
“Settled.”
He felt anything but settled.
“I need a shower,” he declared. He hoped she interpreted that to mean because he was sweaty and not because he needed to cool off before he did something stupid like lean in and claim her mouth with his.
“Okay.”
“Then, I’ll be back later.”
“Back? Why?”
“You’ll see.”
He headed out of her garage and across to his house just as Marissa pulled up.
“Hey, you,” she said, climbing out of the car.
“Hey, yourself,” he said, leaning in to kiss her cheek.
“You stink.”
“Nice to see you, too.” He grinned down at her. “I was about to hit the shower.”
“Cool. I’ll get the drinks. Meet you on the porch.”
Todd took the stairs two at a time and headed in for an icy cold shower. It was good that Marissa was here. He needed the distraction of someone other than Sarah. He was not going to allow himself to give in to his urges. It’s just sex, dude, he reminded himself as he soaped up. People said men and women couldn’t just be friends, but Todd had never subscribed to that theory. He and Marissa had been friends for years and there was nothing sexual about that. He considered Chloe a friend, and while she was definitely attractive and great company, he’d never contemplated going there. He had other examples as well. So surely he could maintain a healthy platonic friendship with Sarah.
Okay, she was pretty and the way she tilted her head slightly to the side when she listened to him talk and the way she licked her lips were very alluring, but he could resist all that.
The truth was she had more baggage than just about any woman he’d ever met. No living relatives, no money, and two kids . . . oh, and a widow to boot. She was every single thing Todd had sworn up, down, and sideways he didn’t want in his life.
He toweled off, slapped on some deodorant and cologne and a white T-shirt and shorts, and went barefoot to see Marissa who he knew would be sitting on the steps of his front porch, even though it was cooler in his house and he had plenty of furniture.
She handed him a cold beer, and he drank a sip like it was manna from heaven.
“Thirsty, huh?” She looked up at him from beneath her dark lashes.
“I guess. So what’s the buzz at the library today?”
“Story time. Apparently, Patty warned Sarah off Jacob.”
“Jacob?” He was truly stunned.
“Didn’t you know she spent all of poker night hitting on him?”
Todd gave his head a shake. “Must have missed that.”
“Yeah, and if you didn’t see it, then we know it didn’t happen because you spent the whole night staring at her.”
“Did not.” He shoved her with his foot.
“Whatever. Patty is losing it.” She took a sip of her gin and tonic. “Apart from that, a normal day. You?”
He told her about taking Zach to hit some balls.
“You’re getting in pretty deep, Mr. No-commitment.”
“They need help, Marissa. Esme would expect me to help.”
She gave a shrug. “You like her, Todd.”
“Yeah, she’s a nice person.”
“Don’t be obtuse. You know what I mean.” She leaned in and looked into his face. “I know you have all those rules for yourself, but it’s okay to like someone. And it’s okay to change the rules up as you go along. You’re not a vulnerable little boy anymore.”
Todd took another sip. “No, but her kids are vulnerable. They need their mom. They don’t need some asshole coming along messing with their life.”
“Two things, first, you’re not as big an asshole as you think you are. Sorry to burst your bubble. And you’re already in their life. And I don’t think they see that as a bad thing.”
“Yeah, but as a friend. We can stay friends forever.”
“Or you can’t because you avoid her because of the attraction.” Marissa raised her eyes at him. Damn, that woman knew him way too well.
“I haven’t been avoiding her.”
“Not yet. But you will.”
“Can we talk about something else?”
“Sure, wouldn’t want to have you dealing with your emotions or anything. Let’s talk about our plans for the lake this weekend. It sure has come around fast.”
That weekend had indeed come around quickly. Back in the winter, Todd had invited Marissa and Mike, Chloe and Moose, Lucy and Chase and her nieces and nephew to come up to the cabin for a weekend of swimming, water-skiing, and cooking out. Way back then it had seemed like the summer would never come but it certainly had shown up.
“I know. So I’ll head up Friday after the baseball trials.”
“Just for the record, organizing your weekend away around the neighbor’s kid’s baseball trial means he’s more than just the neighbor’s kid.” She used air quotes, which Todd despised and she knew it, to emphasize the end of the sentence.
“I’m ignoring you . . .” He took a swig of beer. “So I should be there after lunch, and I can open up and all that stuff. Moose is coming down from Maine, so I’ll see if Chloe wants a ride. Lucy and Chase said they would get the kids on the way through.”
“What should we bring?”
“A decent attitude,” he said.
“Huh, I’m the same as I’ve always been.”
“Marissa, you and I both know that’s not true. Everything is different since you and Mike got together.”
She reached out and patted his leg. “Do you hate it? Us being together?”
“I don’t hate it. I’m a big boy and I can handle it, but to say you haven’t changed or things haven’t changed is just not true. Of course they have, that’s normal. That’s what happens when people get into relations
hips, and you guys know I’m happy for you.”
“I’m sorry if I’ve been a slack friend, which I guess I have.” She gave him a wan smile.
“It’s all good.”
Zach came bounding down the stairs of his house, stopped at the curb, and then raced to a screaming halt at the bottom of the steps.
“Todd, Oliver says the cop who watched me hit today is the coach.”
“I know, dude. He’s my friend.”
“And he saw me and you didn’t tell me.” His little eyes were popping out of his head.
“Yeah, ‘cause you were doing great. I didn’t want to mess with your mojo.”
“My what?” His little nose crinkled.
“It’s like your energy. I didn’t want to make you nervous.”
“Now, I’m nervouser. What if he already thinks I stink?”
Marissa leaned in. “Zach, did you hit those balls?”
“Yeah.”
“Then, you didn’t stink.”
“OH. Okay. Thanks.” Then, he turned on his heel and headed home.
“Crisis averted,” Marissa said with a chuckle.
#
Todd was gone a while, and Sarah couldn’t help but replay the afternoon’s events. Not just the slobbering all over him but the compassion Todd had shown her and how he seemed to swoop in and solve all her problems. Again.
It would be fine if he was a little old lady or a troll-like man but he wasn’t. He was hot and helpful. Kind and kind of hot. It was getting hard to keep her head on straight.
The truth was her libido had come alive again. Todd had woken up dormant parts of her. The parts that wanted to be kissed and touched. That part of her being that really liked men was alert after several years of rest and that was a problem. Todd didn’t want to have any part of either a serious or casual relationship with her beyond friendship, and yet her own body had a very different point of view.
He was a thing of beauty and her body knew it. Then when you layered on how great he was with the kids, how calm he seemed, and all the ways he’d helped her, her mind joined her body in a very dangerous game known as what if.
Any Way You Build It: An Upper Crust Novel, Book 6 (Upper Crust Series) Page 10