“It’s one I’m ready to take. You?”
“Don’t buy this house for me. Buy it for you, because you love it.”
“Does that mean you don’t want to live here with me?” I asked, trying to keep the edge from my voice. I had no right to be upset. Though we had a long history together, we hadn’t been a couple in a long time, and she had valid reasons for wanting to take it slow.
“I didn’t say that,” she said, shaking her head. “I just think you need to sort out the job thing before we decide anything.”
“I called Dean earlier. I’m meeting with him first thing in the morning.”
Looking surprised, she said, “Oh. You didn’t waste any time, did you?”
“Why should I?” If it looked as if I were dragging my feet, she would think I was having second thoughts about us, which couldn’t be further from the truth. “If he makes me a good offer and I feel it’s a good fit, I’m thinking I’ll bow out of the next event.”
Narrowing her eyes, she said, “It sounds like you’re leaving that door open though, just in case you change your mind?”
I’d worked hard to earn respect and recognition in that world. I was considered one of the best, the fiercest and shrewdest competitor. I was feared. I was revered. And while Riley didn’t understand it, I was proud of that.
“I’d be lying if I said it’ll be easy to walk away, Ri. It won’t be. I loved that life for a long time, even when it wasn’t good for me anymore.” Even when it cost me you. “But I can’t go on living in denial either. While there are aspects of it I love, it’s hurt me more than it’s helped me. That lifestyle…” I shook my head. “It’ll kill me eventually. I know that.”
“So coming back home, to me, is a safe bet?” she asked, cocking her head as she studied me. “Is that what you’re saying?”
I got the feeling this was one of those questions with no right answer. Thankfully the realtor returned, saving me.
“So what do we think of this one?” the attractive brunette asked, looking from me to Riley. “I don’t expect it to last long, given the area. If you really like it, we should probably talk about preparing an offer.”
“I like it.” I glanced at Riley, who’d visibly shut down. “Babe, what do you think?”
“Um, I…” Her phone rang, and she looked relieved as she fished it out of her purse. She barely looked at the screen before she said, “I’m sorry, I have to take this.”
As I watched Riley walk out the door, I said to the agent, “I’m sorry. It looks like we’re going to need a little more time.”
***
Riley had asked me to drop her off at the office, claiming she had a crisis to deal with. Since I didn’t feel like going back to her place without her, I headed over to Kane’s, hoping to catch him at home.
I couldn’t believe it when I pulled into his drive and had to park next to Macy’s Jeep Wrangler. I knew it was hers because of the vanity plates that read CRZYGRL. Last I heard, she still had a boyfriend, so what the hell was she doing at my older brother’s place?
I threw my car in park and jumped out before bounding up the steps. I glanced in the window flanking the door, half expecting to see them doing something that would make me want to kill him. But she was sitting on a stool at the breakfast bar while he broke eggs into a skillet at the stove. Macy jumped when I rang the doorbell, and Kane shot me a dirty look over his shoulder. He was probably going to let me have it for not calling or texting to give him a heads-up. Too damn bad.
They exchanged a few words before Macy got up to answer the door. Kane kept playing amateur chef, obviously trying to impress his guest.
“Hey,” I said, brushing past Macy. “I’m surprised to see you here.”
“Well, hello to you too,” she muttered, following me into the kitchen. “Where’s my sister?”
“She had to go into the office for a bit,” I said, heading to Kane’s fridge. Since I’d sold my house, my brothers got to share me, and Kane’s house had become one of my favorite resting spots.
“Gee, help yourself,” Kane said when I poured a glass of juice from the container in the fridge. “Would you like to order an omelet while you’re at it?” He gestured to the eggs simmering in the skillet.
“Depends what kind.”
“Ham and cheese,” Macy said. “My fav.”
“Sure, count me in.” I chugged the glass.
Kane rolled his eyes. “Great. If you’re staying, at least make yourself useful.” Pointing at the bag of bread on the counter, he barked, “Toast. Make it.”
“So you didn’t answer my question, Mace,” I said, dropping four slices of bread into the toaster. “What are you doing here for… brunch?” I glanced at the clock. It was technically lunch time, but my brother rarely rolled out of bed before eleven on his day off, so I assumed this was breakfast for him.
“Never mind what she’s doing here,” Kane said, shooting me a warning glare. “What’re you doing here?”
Ignoring his pissy attitude, I sat on a stool beside Macy. “How would your boyfriend feel about you being here, having breakfast with my mean-ass brother?”
“Would you mind your own goddamn business?” Kane shouted, turning on me. “We’re friends, okay? Is that against the law?”
I shrugged. “You’re the cop. You tell me. If it’s not against the law, it should be.”
“Why?” Kane asked, frowning.
“Isn’t there a law against corrupting the young and innocent?”
Macy back-handed me in the chest. “I’m thirty next month, not seventeen, dumbass!”
“You may be thirty,” I said, rubbing the sore spot between my pecs, “but you’ll always be a baby to me. And waaaaaay too young for this old man.” I gestured to Kane. “Speaking of birthdays, he has one coming up too. Thirty-nine.” I shuddered. “What is it they say about a guy’s sex drive when he hits forty?”
Kane picked up an egg, curling his hand around it. “Keep talking, and you’re going to be wearing this, shithead.”
I chuckled, putting my arm around Macy’s neck. “Seriously, girl, what’s up with you and Brendan?”
“It’s complicated,” she said, resting her head against my shoulder. “That’s what I was just telling Kane. I don’t know what to do about him.”
“You still love him?” I asked.
Kane set the egg he’d been threatening me with back in the container and turned off the gas stove before plating an omelet and handing it to Macy.
“Thanks,” she said, offering him a weak smile. “I don’t know how I feel, Brody. I’m all messed up right now.”
“And you come talk to this guy about it instead of coming to me and your sister?” That didn’t make any sense. Unless there was a lot more going on between Riley’s sister and my brother than I realized.
“I’ve already talked to Riley about it.” She pulled a fork from the stack Kane had set in a basket in the middle of the island. “Wanna share?”
“He’s getting his own,” Kane grumbled. “That one’s yours.”
Ignoring my brother, I took her up on her invitation and dug in. Hmmm, not bad. “And what did big sister have to say about it?” I was a little hurt that Riley hadn’t talked to me about Macy’s dilemma. Used to be she’d tell me everything.
“She’s encouraging me to take a little time to figure things out.”
“Smart girl,” Kane said, setting the toast and butter on the counter before he started on the second omelet. “This is your life, Macy. Don’t let some jerkoff railroad you into doing something you don’t want to do.”
“You don’t even know the guy,” I said, jumping to Brendan’s defense. I’d only met him a few times, but he seemed like a decent guy who loved Macy, and that was the most important thing to me. “How can you offer an opinion?”
“Anyone can see she’s not happy.” Kane’s jaw tensed when he turned his head. “And if anyone’s sticking their nose in where it doesn’t belong, it’s you. She came here to talk to me, to get my advice
, not yours.”
“Too bad,” I said, buttering a piece of toast. “I’ve known her longer. I know her better.” Unless he knew her intimately, which I couldn’t imagine. Macy liked to have a good time, but when she was in a relationship, she remained faithful. As far as I knew…
“Would you guys stop?” Macy asked, sliding off her stool. “I don’t want you fighting over me. I really just came over to see if Kane needed to bend my ear after what happened at Riley’s place last night.”
“That was sweet of you,” I said, when she leaned in to kiss my cheek. “But Kane can take care of himself. You don’t need to worry about him.” I grabbed her arm when she reached for her purse. “I’m more worried about you. If you’re having problems with Brendan and you need a guy’s input, you know you can always come to me, right?”
A slow smile spread across her face before she gave me a quick hug. “You’re still a pain in the ass, but I’ve missed you.”
I grinned before taking a bite of my toast. “I’ve missed you too, kid. And remember what I said. You need to talk, call me.”
“I will, thanks.” She rounded the breakfast bar, slinging her purse over her shoulder. She stood beside Kane, facing me. “Hey, weren’t you and Riley supposed to go house hunting today? How’d that go?”
“We saw a few nice ones. I guess we’ll talk about it tonight, figure out whether or not to put in an offer.”
“Together?” Macy asked, raising an eyebrow. “Are you there yet?”
“I don’t know.” I polished off her omelet. “I think she’s still playing it safe.”
“Can you blame the girl?” Kane asked. “Given all the years you’ve been jerking her around?”
“Hey, I—”
“I hate to say it, but he’s right,” Macy said, crossing her arms. “You want her to believe you’re serious, put your money where your mouth is.”
“So you think I should make an offer on the house we liked?” Since Riley couldn’t contain her excitement over the last house we saw, I assumed that was her favorite. It happened to be mine too.
“Among other things.” Macy snagged a square of cheese Kane hadn’t yet shredded. “She told me about your conversation in Vegas. Are you serious about wanting to marry her?”
Kane whipped around to face me, splattering the front of my white button-down shirt with egg.
“Hey!” I reached for a tea towel to dab it. “Watch what you’re doing.”
“You asked Riley to marry you and I’m just hearing about this? What the hell, bro?”
“I told her I wanted to marry her,” I said, brushing the front of my shirt. “I didn’t have a ring or anything.”
“Maybe you should have,” Macy said. “It would have proved you were serious, that you weren’t just talking to hear the sound of your own voice again.”
She was trying to break my balls, but she might have a point. “You think I should buy her a ring?”
“That’s what a guy usually does when he wants to propose, Einstein,” Kane said, sliding another omelet in front of me while removing Macy’s empty plate. “And for the record, I think Macy’s right. If you’re serious about marrying Riley, for Christ’s sake, quit talking about it and do something about it.”
I’d love nothing more than to see my ring on Riley’s finger, to reassure her that I loved her and wanted to be with her for the rest of my life.
“You wanna come ring shopping with me tomorrow afternoon?” I asked Macy. “Maybe we can even pass by that house Ri and I saw today. I’d like another opinion before I put an offer on it.”
“Are you saying you intend to surprise her with a house?” Macy looked thrilled at the prospect.
“Like you said, it’s time for me to put up or shut up. I’m ready to put up.” The money, the ring, the house. Everything.
“Eeee! This is so exciting!” Macy squealed, flying around the island to hug me.
I laughed as she hauled me off the stool. One thing was suddenly clear to me—I should have done this a long time ago.
Chapter Twelve
Brody
After twenty minutes of small talk, catching up on old times and sharing stories about old friends we’d kept in touch with, Dean finally said, “So you looking for a job or what, Steele?”
“I don’t know. I just might be.” Being back in the hallowed halls of high school, where I’d once been a reigning king, felt weird and kind of exhilarating.
“Sure would be great to have someone like you on board,” Dean said, tilting his swivel chair back.
I was still trying to reconcile the image of the man in front of me, with a slight paunch and in a tailored suit, with the fit athlete I used to beat at beer pong. “What’d you have in mind?”
“Well, I don’t know if your nephew told you, but we recently lost our head football coach.”
“Yeah, he mentioned something about it. Sorry to hear that.”
“He was a good man,” Dean said somberly as he shook his head. “I haven’t been at this school long, but I know he meant a hell of a lot to these kids.”
I nodded, unsure how I felt about being the guy to step in and fill those shoes. “Cole said something about the assistant coach being your interim?”
“Yeah, but he’s retiring in the next year or two, and we need to be building a team for the future. We’ve got some talented players. They’ve got scholarship dreams. Hell, one or two might even have a shot at going all the way.”
“Sounds exciting.” And it did. The last time I’d been more excited about a prospect was the first time I was sat down at a table, knowing I could walk away a million dollars richer.
“Who better to help them realize those dreams than a guy who’s lived it, right? You know how hard it can be to get a football scholarship, what you have to give of yourself.”
“Yeah, but I’m not so sure I’d be the best role model. Who wants their kids to have a coach who was a professional poker player in his past life, right?”
“Then that is in the past?” Dean asked, running a hand over his receding blond hair. “I wasn’t sure, but I figured asking was worth a shot. The way I see it, if you still had a foot in that world, you wouldn’t be interested in this one.”
“You’re right about that.” I smiled. “Tampa’s always been home to me. I knew I’d end up back here eventually. This is where my family is, and you know we’ve always been tight.”
“Yeah.” Dean leaned forward, running a hand over his mouth. “So I’ve seen Ryker around a bit since I started working here. You know, when he comes to his boys’ sporting events and stuff. He said you were going through a bit of a rough time. Something about you and Riley breaking up?”
I wasn’t surprised Ryker had confided in Dean about my problems. He knew Dean had been one of my closest friends in college. “We did break up, but I think we’re back on track now.” I’d know for sure when I presented her with that ring Macy was going to help me pick out.
“Glad to hear it,” he said, grinning. “She’s a great girl. Always thought she was too good for you though.”
I laughed. “Can’t say I disagree, my friend.” I pointed at the photo on the console behind him. “That your family?”
He reached for the framed photo and smiled as he passed it to me. “Yeah. They’re my life, bro. I love what I do, it gives me a lot of satisfaction, but I do it all for them.”
I looked at the smiling faces of two little boys and a beautiful dark-haired woman whose pride shone in her bright blue eyes as she held them, one on each side. “You’re a lucky man.”
“That I am,” he said, studying the picture when I handed it back to him. “You mind if I ask you a question? This is personal, as a friend.”
“Sure.”
“Why didn’t you marry Riley when you had the chance? You used to talk about it when we were in college. What happened?”
“Those poker games we used to play happened.”
Dean threw his head back and laughed. “Damn near lost my
car to you one night. I remember them well.”
“For me, the stakes kept getting higher and higher,” I said, the amusement dying. “I made money; I wanted more. I achieved one milestone and kept raising the bar higher. It wasn’t enough that I was good. I wanted to be the best.”
Our eyes locked before Dean snapped his fingers and pointed at me. “And that right there is why I want you to be our head football coach. It’s that drive to be the best. You understand what these kids are going through. You’ve been there.”
I had been there and had the physical and mental scars to prove it. When we were winning, I was a hero. When we were losing, I was a zero, carrying a team and essentially the hopes of a school on my shoulders. Everyone wanted to win, to claim their school was the best.
“You’re sure I’m the right guy for the job?” I shook my head, still sort of stunned this was happening. “You haven’t even seen my resume. Isn’t that how you usually hire people: resumes, first and second interviews, references and criminal checks?”
“We’ll need to do the criminal check, of course, but I know you. I know your family. That’s all the character reference I need, Brody. I know you were a great athlete, a good student. That’s a hell of a lot more than I know about most of the people I hire.”
“I guess,” I said, trying to convince myself he wasn’t offering me this job out of pity.
“Obviously your salary will pale in comparison to what you’re used to making—”
“I don’t care about that,” I said, shaking my head. “I don’t need the money anymore. I’ve made enough of that to last the rest of my life.”
He grinned. “I envy you.”
“No, you don’t.” I gestured around his office. “Even if you won the lottery tomorrow, you’d still show up at work, ‘cause what you’re doing here is making a difference. It gives you a purpose. I guess that’s what I’ve been looking for too, man. A purpose.”
“Does that mean you’ll accept my offer?” he asked, looking cautiously optimistic. “Before you say yes, I should also mention it would also include being a gym teacher.”
Brody Page 13