Despite the hurdles to overcome, he felt optimistic. Love conquered all, right? He hoped to God that was another platitude that turned out to be real.
In the meantime, he had less than twenty-four hours to figure out what to say to Jenny tomorrow. Should he ask her out right then? Or was that too much, too soon? He knew Mitch wouldn’t be inviting him over again anytime soon. He couldn’t very well leave anything behind this time. She’d think he was a complete idiot. He had to figure out a plan to keep seeing her.
***
As it turned out, fate dealt him a second winning hand.
He arrived at Jenny’s a little later than he’d planned. After some deliberation, he’d decided on khaki cargo shorts and abutton-down plaid shirt that matched the green in his eyes. His hair was freshly cut, and his truck freshly washed. Walking to the porch, he felt fifteen again, nervous and excited, and about to pick up the girl he liked for a first date.
He knocked tentatively and waited impatiently. When Jenny opened the door, she was saying goodbye to someone on the phone.
“Okay, sure. The boys will be disappointed, but I understand. Thank you for calling.” She hung up and smiled at him. His heart flipped.
“Hey there.” God, she was gorgeous. Dressed in white capris and a billowy, yellow top, her blond hair floating in the breeze, she looked like an angel. Once again, he was speechless.
“I found your jacket on the coatrack but didn’t see your sunglasses anywhere. Do you remember where you put them?”
“I think maybe on the bookcase, but I’m not sure.” He needed to get inside. “What are the boys going to be disappointed about?”
She opened the door to let him in. “Their coach has to leave town for an unexpected work thing and had to cancel tonight’s practice. It was supposed to be their first. They were pretty excited about it.”
“I bet. Don’t they have an assistant coach or some other parent that could run practice?” he asked. Having played a lot of baseball, he knew everything didn’t rely on one person.
“I guess not. They were asking as they were calling around, but no one has stepped up. I was thinking of calling Mitch to see if he’d do it.” She seemed tentative about that.
“I could do it,” he blurted. She looked up, eyes wide with surprise. Realizing this was his way in, he plowed on. “I mean, I played baseball in high school and some in college. I’m sure I could manage one practice for a bunch of ten-year-olds.” He shrugged and smiled.
“Oh my God, would you really do that? Practice issupposed to start in like an hour. Aren’t you busy?”
“I’ve got nowhere to be. Would it be a big deal to un-cancel practice?” This was precisely what he needed—the perfect excuse to spend time with Jenny and her boys.
“Let me call Leslie back and see. The boys will be so excited. You’re sure about this?”
He laughed. “Yeah, I’m sure. Sign me up!”
An hour later, thanking God he’d opted for the extended cab version of his Ford F-150, the boys piled into the back seat, and Jenny hopped up beside him. The equipment the coach had dropped off on his way out of town was in the bed of the truck. They were off to the local high school for their first baseball practice together.
Adam couldn’t help but smile. Instinctively, he knew this was only the beginning. He didn’t know when or how, but someday, some way, this would be his family. He relaxed at the thought and decided to just enjoy the journey.
“Buckle up, boys.” He looked in the rearview mirror at two smiling faces.This is going to be an incredible ride.
CHAPTER NINE
Mitch arrived at the station Monday morning to find Adam surrounded by three officers laughing at something he’d said. Great. He’d been here all of five minutes and already had more friends than Mitch. He was probably telling them about Mitch’s appointment with the shrink later.
He might get some sympathy from those who used to be friends, but those who had met him recently would think he was getting what he deserved. Whatever their opinion, they would all silently judge him. Some of them, not so silently. He braced himself to take shit as soon as he walked in for roll call.
Thirty minutes later, he walked out, and no one had said a word. Did they feel so sorry for him they couldn’t even joke about it? Or did they hate him so much that they didn’t care at all? It was worse having everyone know and not say anything.
After roll call, they headed out and weren’t in the car a full minute before Adam began a cheery play-by-play of his weekend. All his boxes were unpacked, his new furniture had arrived, and he’d finally made it to the grocery store to stock the fridge. Whoopee.
“I discovered this great pizza place around the cornercalled Vinnie’s. Good stuff. So, how was your weekend?” he asked.
“Fine.”
“I had a fantastic time at your friend Jenny’s. I especially enjoyed meeting her niece, Maggie.” Fighting a laugh, he asked, “Didn’t you think she was great?”
“Ha. Ha,” he said. “Took you long enough to bring it up.” He was trying not to smile himself. “What are the fucking odds? I couldn’t believe it when I walked in and saw her. The look on her face was priceless.” The recollection actually did put a smile on his face.
