The best candidate for the team mom position might be the person in front of him. Used to being recognized by name if not by sight, Eric could gauge someone’s reaction to him with reliable accuracy. He knew instinctively that Miss Evans didn’t know who he was. It wasn’t arrogance that made him find this somewhat difficult to believe. Given the small size of St. Marys and the fact that he grew up here, it was a natural assumption. However, if she didn’t know or care who he was, she would leave him alone. This was too good an opportunity to pass up.
“I don’t suppose I could talk you into being the team mom, could I?” he said into the silence that had fallen between them.
Julie looked up from the card in front of her, her expression a mixture of pique and humor. Doing a quick mental review, he supposed his choice of words hadn’t been the best. He hoped she didn’t think he doubted her ability to organize a few activities for a baseball team.
“I’ll be glad to, but you’ll have to tell me what to do and when to do it. I’ve never been involved in anything like this before.”
Eric smiled. “It’s mostly dealing with the parents so I can deal with the kids.”
“Do you have a son on the team?”
He’d been asked this at the parent meeting, too. Apparently, everyone liked the idea of a coach with no son on the team. Was it because they thought he’d be more impartial?
“No, I don’t.” Eric took the card she held out to him. “I see some of the players have arrived. It’s never a good idea to let them stand around. They always manage to get into some kind of trouble. If you have any other questions, you can see me after practice.” With a friendly nod, he got up and strode in the direction of the boys waiting impatiently nearby.
******
The practice that followed varied little from the day before. Julie spent the time reading and doing lesson plans. She wasn’t the only parent who stayed around to watch. Several dads, looking overdressed in their tailored suits, stood along the fence, their attention hardly ever leaving the boys on the field. In contrast, most of the moms sat together and spent the time socializing or chasing their younger children. Julie couldn’t help feeling a little out of place.
When Jordan joined her, she removed the baseball cap from his damp head. “You’re getting better already. You only dropped a few balls out there today.”
“Coach Gibson says my glove is wrong.”
“Oh, really? I didn’t know there were different types of gloves. I suppose we can return this one and get another.”
“Coach Gibson says he’ll take care of it.”
Julie smiled at what she guessed was going to be a familiar refrain. “Well, let’s not worry about it now. How do you feel about pizza for dinner?”
“That sounds great, Aunt Julie, but it’s my job to carry the ball bucket. I’ll meet you at the car.”
“Give me your bag. I don’t think you can carry that bulky thing and a bucket of balls, too.”
He handed it to her and ran off. Julie took down her portable chair and headed to the parking lot. She was waiting in the car when Jordan came running up to the open window.
“We can’t leave yet. Coach Gibson wants to talk to you.”
“Well, where is he? I’m starving.”
“He’s right here, Miss Evans.”
Biting her lip, Julie turned in the direction of that deep voice and met his faint smile.
“The glove Jordan is using is a first baseman’s mitt. If it’s okay with you, I’ll pick up an outfielder’s glove. He can try it out and see if he likes it.”
“That’s very kind of you. I had no idea what glove to get. The only sport I ever played was tennis.”
“It was a natural mistake.” Eric turned to Jordan. “With the right glove, we’ll have you catching everything that comes out there. We don’t have to worry about you getting to the ball; you’re fast. Probably one of the fastest kids on the team from what I’ve seen.”
“My dad ran track in high school.”
Eric laughed. “Now I know where you get your speed.”
“I never thought about it, but it’s true. Devon always outran everyone,” added Julie.
“Well, I’ll let you get two going. You mentioned being hungry.”
“We’re getting pizza. Do you want to come with us?” Jordan asked.
There was a moment of awkward silence. Julie recovered first. “I’m sure Coach Gibson has other things to do, Jordan.”
“Do you have other things to do, Coach Gibson?”
Eric’s eyes went from Jordan to Julie and back again. “Nothing that can’t wait. Do you want to ride with me?”
Jordan looked at her imploringly. Forcing a smile to her face, she said, “I’m sure Jordan would love that. We’re going to Dom’s Pizza. Do you know it?”
“I should. I worked there in high school.”
Julie fumed all the way to the restaurant. Drat the man! Why couldn’t he have said no? Things were complicated enough between her and Jordan. Did they need a stranger along, too? One thing was clear: her nephew had taken to Coach Gibson in a big way. At this point, she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.
******
Eric saw the smile Julie gave Jordan as she approached the table. It was warm and affectionate, very different from the one he received. He might have found the one female in St. Marys who didn’t want to spend time with him. On a personal level, this attitude didn’t bother him at all. It was a novel and not at all disagreeable experience to be treated as if he wasn’t anyone special.
He knew she’d wanted and expected him to refuse Jordan’s invitation to dinner. He’d been ready to do just that until he looked in Jordan’s eyes. Then Eric knew he couldn’t do it. When had he become sentimental? Was it because Jordan reminded him so much of himself? An undersized kid with an absentee father.
A vision of a little boy looking vainly in the stands flashed into his mind. His father hadn’t been interested in him until he got drafted.
Eric could only hope that in trying not to disappoint Jordan, he hadn’t alienated his team mom forever. Surely they could put up with each other for an hour.
When Julie sat down, the light fixture over the table illuminated the windblown curls framing her heart-shaped face. They reminded him of the fuzzy dandelions that grew in the vacant lot behind his parents’ house. To his experienced and somewhat cynical eyes, she looked untouched by the harshness of the world. She also looked too young to have a son Jordan’s age.
“Coach Gibson?” Jordan asked tentatively.
His eyes reluctantly left Julie. “Yes, Jordan?”
“What do you like on pizza?”
“Anything except mushrooms. What about you?”
“I like it with pepperoni and sausage and lots of cheese.”
A harassed-looking young man skidded to a halt at their table. “Sorry about the wait. If you’re ready, I’ll take your order.”
Once the waiter departed, Jordan turned to Eric. “Is that you on the wall behind the register?”
Eric nodded. “Yes, it is.”
“You made it to the bigs? Wow!” Jordan turned to Julie. “Did you hear that? Coach Gibson played in the majors!”
“That’s wonderful, Jordan.” She looked at Eric. “I didn’t realize we had a local celebrity for a coach.”
She didn’t make it sound like a compliment. Eric wished his brother was here. Matt would enjoy this assault on what he called Eric’s ‘inflated’ ego. “My celebrity days are over.”
“What position did you play, Coach Gibson?” Jordan asked.
“I was a pitcher – what they call a southpaw because I was left-handed.”
“Did you throw really fast?”
“Mid-nineties, but I got most of my strikeouts with my curveball.”
“Why did you stop playing?”
“I tore some tendons in my arm. They tried to fix them with surgery, but when I came back, my speed was way down.”
“What do retired base
ball players do?” Julie asked with a fixed smile. ‘Besides coach little league, of course.”
He wondered what she would say if he told her the truth: that he came home to lick his wounds and try to forget. “My brother and I own a landscape company.”
“Are you from St. Marys, Coach Gibson?”
Eric took his drink from the waiter before answering. “I sure am, Jordan. I was born at the hospital right around the corner.”
“I’m from Columbus.”
“I know Columbus well. I played in quite a few baseball tournaments at Golden Park. What brought you here?”
Jordan’s face clouded over. “My dad had to go to Iraq.”
Eric shot a quick glance at Julie. “My brother served in Iraq.”
The pizza arrived and with it the conversation was more about how good it was and who was going to eat the most pieces.
******
Though Julie would have preferred it otherwise, she knew Jordan had more or less forced Eric to come with them to Dom’s. His willingness to do so spoke volumes about his kindness. She was less impressed by Eric’s admission that he’d played professional baseball. Her opinion of sports figures wasn’t great. Most of them were terrible role models. However, in watching him interact with Jordan, she had to admit he was great with kids. She hadn’t seen her nephew laugh or smile this much since Devon left.
What was most surprising was her own enjoyment of an evening she’d thought she would have to force herself to endure. She even managed a fleeting moment of regret when the waiter approached and handed Eric the check.
Reaching into her purse, she pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and slid it across the table. “That should cover me and Jordan as well as the tip.”
Eric made no move to take the money. “This is my treat.”
Julie shook her head. “We invited you to come. If anything, we should be paying for your meal, not the other way around.”
His eyes lit with a teasing gleam. “I don’t let ladies pay for my meals.”
“Why is that?” she asked, trying not to smile.
“It’s the way I was brought up.”
“But this isn’t a da…what I mean is, this was just a spur of the moment thing.”
Eric reached for his wallet. “What does that have to do with letting me pay?”
“I don’t know; it just doesn’t feel right.”
“Let’s compromise. I’ll pay tonight, and you can pay next time.”
Julie gave up. It was like jamming her head against a brick wall. An extremely attractive brick wall, but a wall nevertheless. If he wanted to pay for the pizza, then he could pay for the pizza. It wasn’t worth getting upset about. “Are you always this stubborn?”
“Pretty much,” he admitted with a heart-stopping grin.
She quickly turned to Jordan. “Tell Coach Gibson ‘thank you’ and then we need to get going. This is a school night for both of us.”
“Thanks for the pizza, Coach Gibson.”
“You’re welcome.”
Jordan scooted out of the booth. “I need to go to the bathroom.”
Julie laughed. “I wondered where all that soda was going. I’ll wait for you here.”
As he walked away, Eric asked, “Are you a student, too?”
“I’m a preschool teacher.”
“That makes sense. With that smile and soft voice, I imagine you have them eating out of your hand.”
What did that mean? Before she could decide, Jordan returned, and they were walking out of the restaurant. Long after she should have been asleep, Julie was still mulling over that comment.
Chapter Two
Eric gazed out the window and let the customary complaints flow over his head. How could his accountant be more upset over the results of his divorce settlement than he was? None of this was new information so what was the use in getting agitated over something that couldn’t be changed. No one knew better than Eric what an idiot he’d been for not signing a prenuptial agreement. A mocking smile formed on his lips. He hadn’t thought he needed one. He’d been in love, and the farthest thing from his mind was trying to protect his assets.
As he watched a young mother and a toddler walk hand-in-hand into the building, he sighed inwardly. He was almost thirty years old. By now he should have had children of his own. Or at least a wife. Instead, he had an ex-wife who would never have to work another day in her life.
Why was he thinking about the woman who did her best to destroy every idea about love he ever had? Not content with almost breaking him emotionally, she came close to ruining him financially. All that exotic beauty hid a cold-hearted, mercenary woman.
Eric shifted his body carefully, hoping the fragile-looking chair wouldn’t collapse to the ground. He needed to think about something else – something pleasant. His mind went back to that impromptu but enjoyable outing with Jordan and Julie at Dom’s. There was a woman who didn’t even want him to pay for a pizza. The situations weren’t similar, but the principle still applied. His knowledge of Jordan’s mother might be lacking, but she struck him as someone who didn’t take the easy way out.
At their first meeting, she barely registered in his consciousness. There was nothing surprising in that. Since his experience with Sydney, Eric made it a point not to notice women. He hadn’t been prepared to have this resolve tested by something as simple as a smile. How could the mere curving of lips transform a face from mere prettiness to something memorable, something that lingered in his mind?
Whatever it was, he needed to forget about it. He had enough problems already.
******
Julie sank down on the couch and eased her feet out of her shoes – the ones she bought to replace the pair she ruined at the ballpark. These weren’t nearly as comfortable. Against her better judgement, she’d gone with a higher heel. It had been a mistake. The shoes might make her legs look longer, but they weren’t suitable for someone who spent most of the day standing. Teachers didn’t have the luxury of sitting down very often.
She reached over and ruffled Jordan’s hair. He was watching Sports Center, a show that had never been viewed in her apartment until his arrival. “How was your day?”
“Okay. I’ve got a book report to write this weekend. Can you help me?”
“Sure. What’s the book?”
“The Secret Garden.”
“I love that one. Have you finished reading it?”
“Almost.”
She noticed a plastic bag sitting on the floor. “What’s that?”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. Coach Gibson brought me a glove today.”
“He came by here?” Julie felt a stab of disappointment. Why did she care that she missed seeing Jordan’s coach?
“He was waiting in his truck when I got off the school bus.”
“Well, don’t keep me in suspense. Let me see this awesome glove.”
Jordan pulled it out of the bag. To Julie’s eyes, it looked enormous – much too large for Jordan’s little hand. She touched the light beige leather. Even she could see the difference in quality from the one she’d bought. “It’s so soft.”
“Coach Gibson said he did something to make it less stiff. He also said I should start using it right away.”
“You have practice tomorrow.”
Jordan pulled on the black lacing. “I was wondering if we could go to the field tonight. You could hit me some pop flies and let me get used to it.”
Julie laughed. “Me hit fly balls? Now that’s funny.”
“Please, Aunt Julie. It’s not that hard. I know you can do it.”
Like someone else, she found it hard to refuse him. “I’ll give it a try, but don’t expect miracles. Let’s eat something first. I’m going to need all the energy I can get.”
******
Eric wiped the sweat from his forehead and reached into the cooler for a water bottle. He and his brother had just finished installing a sprinkler system. Matt was talking to the homeowner, demonstrating how everything work
ed, or to be strictly accurate, how it was supposed to work.
This wasn’t what Eric thought he’d be doing when he walked off the baseball field a year ago. At that time, all he wanted to do was escape the bad publicity. His career was over, and he’d lost the woman he loved. For weeks after his return to St. Marys, he sat around feeling sorry for himself. Without the game he’d played since he was eight years old, life didn’t seem to have much purpose. What was he going to do?
His glance moved across the yard to where Matt stood. He was twice the man Eric would ever be. When he returned from Iraq missing a leg, he hadn’t camped out in his living room and refused to face the world. He started a landscape business and in his usual managing way, bullied Eric into helping him.
Matt had been right about one thing. Working again, even if it wasn’t on a baseball diamond, had cleared the cobwebs from his mind and given him new goals to strive for. His heart might be broken and his pride hurt, but life had to go on. If Eric could help make this business a success, it would enable Matt to marry and have a family.
Eric had thought he was well on the way to having his own family. All of that ended on the day Sydney served him with divorce papers. And gave the first of many painful interviews to the press. Matt’s voice broke abruptly into his thoughts.
“Am I keeping you from a hot date or something?”
“Hot date? Does bathing Delilah count?”
“You actually bathe that thing you call a dog?”
Eric retrieved another water bottle and tossed it to Matt. “You’re just jealous that you didn’t find her first.”
“What is she anyway? Did the vet ever tell you?”
“She’s a poodle/terrier mix, and much more obedient than that overpriced Rottweiler you wanted me to get.”
“A Rottweiler is a man’s dog. Delilah is a lap dog. I hope you don’t walk her in public.”
“Every chance I get.”
Matt opened the tool box and threw in a pair of pliers. “I’ll need those sunglasses you borrowed. Unlike you, I don’t have twenty pairs of Oakley’s lying around.”
“For the record, I only have five. I got them as part of a promotion, and I’ve offered to give you any or all of them.”
Team Mom: A Sweet Contemporary Romance (Finding Love Book 1) Page 2