I couldn’t help but laugh. Like the rest of us, he was covered in shit, dirt, and hay from head to toe. But what had me in stitches was how his white sneakers were now as brown as his hair.
“Shut the fuck up, Maxwell,” Chase said. “You look as bad as the rest of us.”
I brought my hand to my mouth. “Sure. But those pearly whites on your feet are disgusting.”
The rest of the guys snickered.
Coach pocketed his phone. “Listen up.” He surveyed each of us like he was a military commander inspecting his troops. “Any of you learn anything today?”
“I’m not doing this again,” Chase said.
I winced. The asshat was going to get all of us in trouble.
Coach scraped a hand over his chin. “Is that right?” He inched up to Chase and stood toe to toe. “I am sick and tired of your poor attitude. Since Alex died, you have been one cranky player. You don’t listen anymore. Your team skills went out the window, and you feel Maxwell is out to get you.”
A muscle jumped along Chase’s jaw. “Shoveling crap isn’t showing us how to work as a team.”
Coach’s face turned beet red. “See, that’s your problem. How can you learn anything when you’re always mouthing off? You can’t even shovel shit without arguing with Maxwell.”
Chase pushed a thumb at me. “It was his fault.”
“It was an accident,” I mumbled.
“Can it,” Coach said to me as he stepped back. “Miller, what did you learn in the last hour?”
Miller flicked black hair out of his eyes. “Respect, Coach.”
“Woods, how about you?” Coach asked.
“That Liam should get a medal for doing this every day,” Woods said.
Coach turned to me. “Maxwell?”
“Aside from respect for the Thompsons, that I’ll do whatever it takes to get our team on the right track.” I wasn’t going to let Chase get the best of me either.
Coach studied me before he said, “Good to hear. Chase, you want to add anything?”
Chase cast his gaze downward.
Coach began pacing, pinning a look on each player as he did. “Look, colleges aren’t going to be interested in any of you if you can’t show them team skills. You can shoot all the three-pointers or score the most points in a game, but if they don’t see team skills, then they’ll look at someone else. We’re done here. And for Chase being late, we’ll meet here again tomorrow morning, same time.”
Chase stormed off like he always did when he didn’t get his way, or maybe Coach had hit a nerve with him.
Coach certainly had with me. I wanted scouts to notice me. The problem was that they wouldn’t unless all of us were in sync and seamless in our plays—fluid as Coach had said.
I knew what I had to do. Hopefully Chase did as well.
Our legs dangled over the edge of the barn’s loft door as Maiken and I looked out at the rolling hills of the farm. Silence shrouded us as though we were both wrestling with our inner demons.
School had been crazy that day with word bouncing through the halls about Tessa and me competing on the ice. Celia, who was now officially on the school’s newspaper, was writing an article about the big event.
“It will draw more kids in, which means more money,” she’d said.
The more people talked about it, the more I wanted to puke. By the time we had the skate-off, I wouldn’t have any nerves left, let alone be able to skate.
I slid my hand over to Maiken’s, which was warm yet cold. “Are you okay?” I knew he was worried about his aunt Denise, but I hadn’t had a chance to ask him more about her or why he’d returned to Ashford and his siblings hadn’t. “Any more news on your aunt?”
He interlaced his calloused fingers with mine. “Nothing yet.” He released a sigh. “It’s pretty up here.”
This was my peaceful place for sure. Streaks of orange and bluish-purples streaked the horizon as though a painter had taken his brush, dipped it into a mixture of colored paints, and swiped it one way then the other. The beauty of the scene, though, was how the snow-covered hills of the farm made the horizon pop even brighter as dusk set in.
“So why were you the only one to return?” Eleanor and Martin were on vacation, so I suspected that had something to do with his brothers and sisters staying behind.
“My mom didn’t want me to miss basketball, and honestly, I’m failing two classes.”
Yikes! I recalled Emma saying something about how Maiken wanted to go into the NBA, but first he had to get into college, and that meant he had to get good grades.
“Does Coach know?” I knew Carter had been sidelined from football in his junior year because of his grade in history.
Maiken pushed out his shoulders. “Not sure.”
I was sure Coach would find out. “I can help you if you want.” I’d tutored a couple of people in my freshman year when I’d worked in the math lab.
A twinkle lit his eye. “Do you think we would get any studying done?”
Probably not. “Sure.” If it meant he could play basketball, I would do whatever I could to help him.
He laughed. “I’m good. I just need to study more.”
We held hands as silence, uncomfortable in one sense and perfect in another, stretched between us. I itched to say or do something, anything to make him smile. Yet sometimes a person just needed a hand to hold, a hand that said “I’m here for you.”
He began rubbing my finger with his thumb, and a slow grin emerged as he peeked at me.
Suddenly, I had visions of us rolling around on the hay-strewn floor behind us, kissing until we both needed air. “Did you know that the most important m-muscle in kissing is the orbicularis oris? It allows the lips to pucker.”
He gave me his full attention, flashing a bright-white smile that morphed into a belly laugh. “Where do you get all these facts?”
And just like that, the tension-filled air blew away with the cold wind.
I tittered. “I want to be a doctor. So I read a lot about the human anatomy.”
He batted the long lashes framing his yummy blue eyes. “Wow, a doctor.”
“Have you thought about college?” I asked.
Stupid girl. Don’t change the subject from kissing to college.
“Sure. I want to play college ball, but as far as a major, I don’t have one ironed out yet. I’ve thought of going into the military too.” He returned his attention to the waning blue sky. “My mom might not be cool with it.”
I knew my mom wouldn’t be excited about any of us going into the military. I wasn’t sure about Daddy. Then again, Carter hadn’t decided yet if he was going to college. Liam, on the other hand, wanted to play basketball for Georgetown.
For a long minute, an awkward silence took over until a crisp, cold breeze swept in.
Then Maiken flinched before he leaned back on his elbows. “Do you have any advice for me in working with Tessa on Saturday?”
Run. Run. Run.
I had to swivel my neck to look at him. “Is that what’s been bothering you?”
“Partly.”
I shivered when another hard wind blew in, so I scooted back until I was sitting up against a bale of hay.
Maiken popped up, closed the loft door, then blew into his hands.
I picked up a straw of hay. “I have an idea that might help you with Tessa.”
Eager, he sat down facing me. “I’m all ears.” His raspy voice caused my belly to go haywire. Or maybe I had that reaction because his gaze was riveted on my lips.
I looked away as heat crawled up my neck. “First, you have to kiss me.” My mouth got ahead of my brain, but in that one instant, I didn’t scold myself. A kiss for an answer sounded like a good bargain.
He toyed with the laces on my boots. “Are you bribing me, Quinn Thompson?”
My chin angled down and away as I batted my lashes. “Maybe.”
He roughed a hand through his thick sandy-blond hair as he kicked out his long, muscular leg
s on either side of me. Then he took both my hands in his. “Come here.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice. I adjusted my body, crossing my legs underneath me, and got as close to him as I could.
He grinned as big as the Atlantic Ocean.
Oh my! I was in trouble.
Still eyeing my lips as though they were his favorite candy, Maiken asked, “Why are you so pretty?”
I moistened my lips. “Th-that’s not a fair question.”
“That’s not an answer. Try again.”
I playfully swatted at his denim-clad thigh. “Genetics, I guess.”
“Mm. You do look a little like your mom, and she’s sort of hot.”
My face twisted. “You think my mom is hot?” She was pretty, but hearing him say hot and my mom sounded weird on so many levels.
“She’s as pretty as you.”
I knotted my hands in my lap as fire flooded my cheeks. My pulse was all over the place, even more so when he lifted my chin with his fingers.
“You’re beautiful, Quinn,” he said in his Southern drawl.
Goose bumps popped up, quick and fast, all over me. And if he kept looking at me with his eyes hooded and a grin that was all naughty and nice, I might be forward enough to tackle him to the ground and kiss him until I couldn’t breathe.
Slowly, tentatively, he leaned forward so that his lips were a hairbreadth from mine. “Is it okay if I kiss you now?”
I tried to speak, but my tongue was dormant and as dry as a desert. I swished the saliva around in my mouth in an attempt to get my muscles working. But before I could, he stuck his tongue in my mouth. He tasted like lime and mint, and I was in heaven, flying around the stars, the moon, and the planets. This boy had a way of making me forget all my worries and fears. He had a way of bringing me out of my shell. He had a way of touching my heart with such emotion that I was falling hard and fast for him.
We kissed for a long minute, his tongue and mine knotting, dancing, and just plain learning. We were both new at kissing, and I loved the fact that we were learning together. I loved that this was his first relationship and mine, and I hoped that maybe it would turn into more as time went on.
He broke the kiss and squirmed a bit. I didn’t have to look down in between us to know he was adjusting himself. He’d gotten an erection during our first kiss in the boathouse. Boys’ reactions were visible and could be embarrassing, but he grinned, and I smiled. His phallus —or boner, as my brothers would say—didn’t matter . I was having all kinds of reactions too. I was sure my cheeks were as red as a ripe tomato from our vegetable garden.
“So what’s your idea?” His voice was hoarse.
I puffed out my cheeks, trying to get my body, heart, and mind to calm down. As soon as I thought of Tessa, my body instantly cooled. “My grandmother has her monthly poker game at her house with a bunch of her friends on Saturday. They’ll buy the cards, or most of them anyway, then we could sell the rest at the farm store.” That way, he wouldn’t have to spend that much time with Tessa, and I wouldn’t fret about it for the entire day.
“I’m game.”
I didn’t think Tessa would be, but I didn’t care. Maiken was my boyfriend, and she wasn’t getting her grubby little hands on him if I could help it.
He latched on to a few strands of my hair that fell over my chest, his hand coming awfully close to my breasts. “You know she’ll protest.”
“So? It’s about raising money, nothing more.” Maybe the time the three of us spent together would make her see that Maiken didn’t like her or that I wasn’t as terrible as she thought I was.
Maiken shrugged. “Maybe after Chase calling her out yesterday, she might realize the error of her ways.”
I laughed hard. “I doubt that.” I couldn’t imagine anything taking away Tessa’s meanness.
“I can see why she’s jealous of you,” he said.
My breath hitched, and my hair fell over my eye as I tipped my head to one side.
Maiken tucked my hair behind my ear. “Don’t be surprised by that. Did you know that Quinn means wisdom, reason, and intelligence? Add that to your prettiness, and any girl would be envious.”
My jaw came unhinged while my heart bloomed, oozing warmth and so much more.
He’d researched my name.
As quick as the Flash, I tackled him to the floor, adjusting myself so I was sitting on top of him with my hands pressed to his chest. “Now you’re spitting out facts?”
He gripped my hips. “I want to know who my girl really is.”
My heart was galloping faster than my horse, Apple. “Who am I?”
He managed to sit up under my weight. “You’re my girl.”
If he continued to whisper words that made me gooey all over, like the sticky buns Granny made on Christmas, I didn’t need any endorphins to kick-start my self-confidence. I had him.
The car ride to school was quiet as Kade drove. I’d busted my ass at the farm for the second morning in a row. The team had shown up on time, including Chase. Coach had thrown us together again, but Chase had been in his own little world, stewing over something that I didn’t care to ask about.
I’d been in my own head, desperately wanting to know more about my aunt Denise. But I hadn’t talked to Mom. Her text had said that she would call on Thursday night, but it was only Wednesday.
Kade braked at a stop sign and cleared his throat. “What’s bothering you?”
I must have been wearing my feelings on my sleeve because Quinn kept asking me the same thing. I hadn’t told her everything that was bothering me either. I didn’t want to dump all my problems on her. She had enough on her plate with her upcoming competition with Tessa.
Piles of snow lined the streets of Ashford. Lacey and Kade lived close to downtown, and the only way to school was by way of Main Street.
Kade huffed out a breath. “Come on, man. I’m not oblivious. Is it Quinn? Are you having girl problems?”
Just hearing her name made me warm all over. The girl was worming her way into my heart, and while that frightened me, it also gave me a jolt of exhilaration. For some reason, I had a sinking feeling that my mom might not want to return. After all, we weren’t tied down to any house or place, and she wanted to settle somewhere.
An older man entered a coffee shop as Kade navigated at a slow speed, approaching the next stop sign.
One beat then two passed before I said, “No. It’s not Quinn.” I was hesitant to unload on him. He had said I could talk to him, and in part, he reminded me of my dad. But I didn’t know where to begin. So much weighed on me—my dad’s death, my grades, basketball, my mom, Aunt Denise, and I missed my brothers and sisters.
Silence followed us for two blocks.
“How did you handle Karen’s death?” I finally asked. Maybe he could give me some insight on how to work through my feelings.
He kept his gaze on the road. “Man, that is a loaded question.”
“Sorry.”
He grabbed the nape of his neck. “Don’t be sorry. Death is hard to deal with, man. And you can’t just get over the death of a loved one overnight. But I don’t have an easy answer. All of us deal with death differently. For me, I was angry as all get out. Angry at Karen. Angry at her friend for pulling the trigger. Angry at my old man even though he had the gun safe locked down tight.” A muscle ticked in his unshaven jaw. “It was a rough time for all of us.” He rounded a corner down a side street. “One thing that helped me was celebrating her life rather than mourning her death.”
The school loomed in the distance.
“How?”
“There are many ways, but my brothers and I set up a small memorial in the woods across the lake. We had her initials carved into a large stone rock with five hearts etched into it. She loved hearts. She always told us that a beating heart was the mystery behind a person.” His Adam’s apple bobbed. “I miss her so fucking much.” He blew out a breath. “Find something to celebrate your dad.” He touched his chest. “Keep
him here with whatever you do.”
“He loved basketball,” I mumbled.
“Then play the game like you’ve never played it before, Maiken. Don’t lash out in the middle of a game. Don’t take your anger out on those who don’t deserve it. Make your dad proud as though he were watching your game in the stands.”
Kade had been at the game when I’d punched Chase. Regardless, tears were ready to spill. Maybe if I found a way to deal with my dad’s death, then I could concentrate on school and basketball and not be so angry.
“I spoke to your mom last night,” Kade said. “She told me that you’re failing a couple of classes. She asked me to help you. Do you need help?”
I pushed out a shoulder. “Not yet. It’s just a matter of me doing the work.”
“Then until you get your grades up, you’ll come home right after basketball practice and study every day.”
I jerked my head his way, ready to protest. I knew what I had to do.
Then why haven’t you done it?
He pinned me with a hard look that dared me to argue. “While you’re living with Lacey and me, you’re my responsibility. I promised your mom I would make sure you got your grades up and that you stuck with basketball. So are we clear?”
Whoa! I wasn’t expecting that kind of discipline out of Kade, but like Coach, he could be rather intimidating.
“Yes.” As much as I didn’t like someone other than my parents telling me what to do, I was living with him, and I couldn’t disappoint my mom.
Kade wheeled into the school lot and stopped at the curb in front of the main entrance. “Does Coach know about your grades?”
I grasped the handle of the door, ready to bolt. “No. Or if he does, he hasn’t said anything to me.” Report cards came out just before Christmas break, so I suspected Coach would find out soon enough if he didn’t know already.
Kade nodded out the windshield. “You should tell him now.”
Coach Dean was walking toward us. One hand was in his winter coat pocket, and the other was waving at us.
I wasn’t ready to face the music that early in the morning. Nevertheless, I climbed out of the truck. Here goes nothing.
My Heart to Hold: A Maxwell Family Saga - Book Two Page 4