Page 11 of Lowering His Guard

“Gather round.” Nolan claps his hands. While I’ve been distracted, he’s set up cones on the sand.

“You’re not the boss of me,” Tanner mutters.

I shove him. “Mouth shut. Listen. I don’t want to be here all day.”

“We’re going to do a beach circuit. Soft-sand sprints, push-ups, bear crawls, walking lunges, planks, and finish with burpees,” Nolan explains.

Tanner bounces up and down. “I’m going to win!”

Gage elbows him. “This isn’t a contest.”

“Sounds like loser speak to me.”

Gage glares at him. “I’ll show you loser speak.”

He sprints to the first cone, where he drops and begins doing push-ups. Tanner chases after him. I sigh before following them. Corbin runs next to me.

“Come on, Porter. Push yourself,” Nolan shouts.

“Notice he’s not actually doing the circuit,” Corbin mutters.

We reach the push-up area. I may not be fast, but I can do push-ups. I finish before Corbin and move on to bear crawls. The sand burns into my hands as I crawl forward.

I sigh in relief when I reach the cone to indicate it’s time to switch to walking lunges. My thighs are beginning to burn when I arrive at the plank area.

I try to concentrate on my form, but it’s hard to think when May is sauntering toward me. Her hips swaying. Her smile brighter than the sun. Her shiny black hair gleaming in the sunshine.

Her students trail behind her. Jace is laughing with one of the other students. My kid can make friends anywhere. It’s his super power. No idea where he gets it from. Not me.

May doesn’t bother going around our training area. She strolls straight through it, trailed by kids carrying foam boards.

She smiles. “Morning, boys.”

Tanner moans from where he’s laying face-down in the sand in the push-up area. He’s fast, but his upper body strength needs work. “Send help.”

“Did you do this to them?” May asks Nolan.

Nolan beams. “I call it leadership.”

My arms are shaking from holding this plank. I grunt.

May crouches beside me. “You know people usually come to the beach for fun.”

“People are wrong.”

“Ah,” she coos. “Did someone get up on the grumpy side of the bed?”

Tanner rolls over and barks out a laugh. “Mr. Grumpy always gets up on the wrong side of the bed.”

“How adorable. Your teammates gave you a nickname.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “I’m not adorable.”

She pats my shoulder. “Agree to disagree.”

“Miss May,” one of her students hollers. “Why are the big men crawling on the beach?”

May stands up and scans our workout area. Gage and Tanner are now bear crawling toward me. She giggles as she watches the two men with their asses high in the air awkwardly crawling through the sand.