“Well, he’s one of my coaches too, and he could tear it up for you. In fact, Coach Wilder is a policeman also, and he could tear it up.”
Turning into the parking lot at the Baytown ball field, she pulled to a halt, twisted around to look at Jack, and said, “Since we’re here on time and I didn’t get a speeding ticket, I think you can forget all about someone having to tear one up. Now, go!”
Jack hopped out of the car, opened the back door to grab his glove and hat, and with a jaunty wave, ran toward the ballfield.
Sighing in relief, Carrie checked herself in the rearview mirror, glad that she had put on concealer since she had dark circles under her eyes. She pulled out her lip gloss, and with a quick swipe over her lips shoved it back into her purse. Rubbing her lips together as she walked, she tried not to think too hard about the reason behind putting lip gloss on to go to a youth baseball game. It’s not like I’m doing it for any special reason…or for any special person. Oh, Jesus, who am I kidding?
The team of older kids had just finished their game as she made her way past the concession stand. Easily ignoring the scent of popcorn, she tried to ignore the scent of hotdogs grilling. Deciding that maybe some more caffeine would be good, she got in line and bought a soda. Shoving her change back into her purse, she had just taken a step forward when she almost ran into someone. Throwing her hand out to the side to keep the soda from spilling, she said, “Oh, I’m so sorry!”
Looking up, she was surprised to see Colt standing there, smiling down at her. His dimples deepened, and his voice slid over her as he said, “Good morning, Carrie.”
Tilting her head in a nod, she greeted him. “Sheriff Hudson.”
“And I thought we’d made it past the formal greetings,” he said, lifting an eyebrow.
Her lips curved into a smile. “I’m not quite sure we’re there yet.”
“Well, then I’ll just have to make sure we get there on time.”
She glanced to the side, seeing Jack run out onto the field, getting ready for the next game. “I’m sorry if Jack got here late.”
“Was there a problem?” he asked, his gaze never leaving hers.
Shaking her head, she replied, “No. I just had to go in and work the breakfast shift this morning.”
“So, the popcorn party kept you up late last night and then you had to be at work early this morning?”
“You know how it is…bills to pay.”
He leaned forward slightly, holding her gaze. “Listen, Carrie, if you ever need me to pick up Jack and take him somewhere, then I can do it. If you need me to bring him to a game so that you don’t have to rush to get here, that’s fine too.”
“Oh, he would love a ride in the Sheriff’s SUV. He’d be the envy of all his friends,” she said, laughing.
His smile deepened. “Well, good. Then maybe we can arrange that.”
They stared at each other for a moment, then he said, “I want to thank you for letting me crash your party last night.”
At the mention of him crashing the party, the thought of the light kiss had her sucking in a quick breath. Instead of focusing on the kiss, she quipped, “I have a hard time believing that you didn’t have anything better to do than hang with us, watch TV, and eat copious amounts of popcorn.”
His penetrating gaze held her in place as he said, “I didn’t have anything better to do. In fact, I thought it was a perfect evening.” He twisted his head around and looked toward the field. “I’ve got to go. If you need to leave early, I can bring Jack home.”
She shook her head. “No. I’ve got him.” Placing her hand on his arm, she gave a little squeeze, adding, “But thanks.” She watched as Colt jogged over to the field, and she began walking toward the bleachers.
“Hello, Ms. Beaumont,” she heard.
Turning around, she smiled at the man who was walking toward her. “Pastor Hackett, hello.” She watched as the pastor of one of the county churches walked toward her, a big smile on his face. One of Jack’s friends had invited him to visit the church, and he had gone once or twice.
“I haven’t seen Jack in a while but wanted to let you know that this summer, we’ve got a great youth program organized. It’s going to be for middle and high school students, and since he’s going to be in middle school, I wanted to make sure he could come.”
The idea that Jack could spend some time with other youth that he would be going to school with interested her. “I’d love to hear more.”
“We know a lot of parents work during the day, so we’ll be getting together two mornings a week. The middle schoolers will have a program, and the high schoolers will have a separate program, then everybody will be together for certain activities.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pamphlet, saying, “We’ve put all the information here, and you can just call the church office if you have any questions.”
She thanked him, and as he continued on down the path toward the concession stand, she turned and looked up at the bleachers, seeing Belle, who was waving at her. Waving back, she climbed up several rows of metal bleacher seats and sat down next to her friend. She recognized a few of the women that were sitting around them, having a good eye for remembering the faces of people who had come into the diner.
“Hey, y’all, I don’t know if you’ve met my friend, Carrie Beaumont,” Belle said. “She works at Joe’s Place near Easton, and her son is Jack.”
“Jack, the pitcher out there?” one of the dark-haired women asked, bouncing a small boy on her lap.
Nodding, Carrie said, “That’s him.”
“He’s really good! I can’t believe he’s just getting ready to turn eleven. I’m Katelyn, by the way.”
Another beautiful dark-haired woman with green eyes smiled at her, and she remembered seeing her at the elementary school. “Hey, I’m Jade. I’m a first-grade teacher at Baytown Elementary, and I know Jack. I didn’t have him in my class, but I know he’s one smart little boy.”
Carrie laughed, saying, “Thank you,” unable to keep from beaming with pride. “But don’t let him hear you call him a little boy. He just celebrated the end of elementary school last night.”
Belle continued the introductions, and she met Mitch’s wife, Tori, Grant’s wife, Jillian, and the two wives of the McFarlane brothers, Lia and Ginny. She had met Zac many times when he came into Joe’s Place with some of the other rescue workers, and now she had the opportunity to meet his wife, Maddie. Callan, working with the Marine Police, popped in the diner also, and his wife, Sophie, smiled up at her. And last was Rose, who owned the new ice cream shop in town. She had never been there but knew Rose’s husband who owned the town’s auto shop.
Greeting Rose with excitement, she said, “My son has been begging me to bring him into your shop.”
Rose smiled. “Oh, yay! You must come in!”
“Maybe we can come in today after the game. He’d love that.”
The game began, and soon, Carrie was cheering right along with the other women, excited for every good pitch that Jack made and glowing from the compliments she heard from all around about his talent.
Jack was on fire as a pitcher today, and Colt watched with pride as Jack was accurately and effectively shutting the other team down. As excited as he was for Jack, the AL was dedicated to giving all kids a chance to play, so he needed to get the other pitcher on the mound and give some other kids a chance to hit. So, with the signal from the other coaches, he walked over to Jack.
“You’re killing it today, Bud.”
Jack looked up, his smile wide, and said, “I’ve been practicing every chance I get.”
Placing his large hand on Jack's shoulder, he nodded. “It shows.”
Jack cocked his head to the side, still hearing the cheers from the crowd, and said, “It’s time for me to come out though, isn’t it? So someone else can have a chance to pitch.”
Colt knew that he should not be surprised at Jack’s maturity, considering Carrie had raised her son to be just as driven, an
d yet just as compassionate, as she is.
Nodding, he said, “We’re gonna let you come out for a little bit, give a couple of the other kids a chance, but I wanted to make sure you understood that it’s not you.”
Jack also nodded. “Nah, I get it. You all are always telling us that we’re here to learn the sport and the sportsmanship. It’s cool.”
Colt watched as Jack jogged off the field to the dugout, glad that the parents were still cheering, knowing that whoever else came in might not be as talented.
The game continued, but after a moment, he noticed a man by the fence who had engaged Jack in a conversation. A lot of parents and townspeople hung on the fence cheering, but Colt’s antenna shot up because he did not recognize the man. When he cast his eyes toward the bleachers, he saw that Carrie had honed in on her son and the man as well and was already beginning to move down the bleachers toward them. He continued to watch Carrie, glad that he was not having to actively coach on the field at the moment or his attention would have been completely diverted. Carrie had made it to the man and was smiling, along with Jack.
Convincing himself that he was just curious and not the least bit jealous, he made his way over to where they were standing. “Everything okay?”
Carrie looked up at him, and her smile hit him right in the gut, as always. He wanted to crow at the sight because that was certainly not the smile she offered the other man. He also noticed the man’s eyes dropped to Carrie’s chest when she was not looking at him, careful to lift his gaze back to her face when she turned toward him. It pissed Colt off, but then he could hardly call the man out, considering that Carrie had a body that would make any man notice.
“Mr. Jameson is from the middle school,” Jack informed him. “He wants me to come to a middle school camp they’re running this summer.”
“Yeah? What kind of camp?”
The man smiled widely and said, “I’m Tad Jameson, one of the teachers at the middle school. We have a summer science camp that’s for kids a couple of times a week.”
Colt stared into Tad’s eyes, something about the man not settling right with him, but then, he had to admit it could just be that the other man had Carrie’s attention.
“Colt?”
His gaze darted over to Carrie, who was staring at him, her forehead scrunched, and her head tilted slightly to the side. Seeing her confused expression before he looked down at Jack, who was bouncing up and down on his toes in excitement, he said, “Sounds like fun.”
Tad turned his attention back to Carrie. “Can I get your phone number or your email? I’m sending out texts and emails to let parents know when we meet and what our schedule will be.”
Colt watched Carrie hesitate, and he almost stepped in, but then she said, “I’ll give you my email.”
As she rattled it off, Tad scribbled it down. “Great, great.” He patted Jack on the shoulder, then added, “Good game out there. Maybe I can use you to help teach some of the others. I always have my eye out for natural-born leaders.”
As Tad walked away, Colt watched Carrie squeeze Jack’s shoulder, careful not to show too many signs of affection in public for her growing son.
“You’re going to have quite the summer,” she said. “First, Pastor Hackett said that he’s got a new youth group going, and now you’ll have activities at the middle school.”
Jack stood tall and looked up at Colt. “Mom always tries to find things for me to do during the summer, which is really cool, but I often also hang around Joe’s Place a lot, which is cool, too. Especially when Joe teaches me how to make the perfect hamburger.”
He laughed and patted Jack on the shoulder. “Never discount the ability to make a great hamburger. You’ll have to show me sometime.”
With a nod, Jack ran over to be with the other kids, and Colt’s eyes followed Tad as he walked around chatting with the other parents.
“You weren’t overly friendly to him,” Carrie noted aloud.
Turning back to hold her gaze, he said, “I wasn’t overly thrilled with the way he kept staring at your chest.”
Carrie blinked, her mouth opening and closing several times, but nothing came out. Finally, she sputtered, “I don’t even know what to say to that!”
“Nothing to say to it. You’re a gorgeous woman, and you’ve got a great body. Men are going to notice. But that doesn’t mean that I like it when they ogle you right in front of me.”
Her eyebrows lifted, and she repeated, “Ogle?” Then a giggle slipped out between her lips.
Scowling, he said, “Glad you find this funny.”
Her giggle slowed, and she said softly, “Thanks for all you’re doing for Jack.”
He stared at her for a long moment, taking the time to appreciate her up close. Her hair was flowing from her baseball cap, allowing the waves to fall down her back. Her blue eyes could change from hard to soft depending on what she was dealing with, and he was beginning to recognize those changes. Her pants cupped her ass and hips perfectly, and her T-shirt, while not tight, stretched slightly over her breasts. He was able to take in the whole package while his eyes still remained on her blue ones.
“What are you and Jack doing after the game?”
She bit her lip and said, “I thought about taking him to the new ice cream shop, Sweet Rose.”
Nodding, he smiled and said, “Sounds good. I’ll meet you there after the game.”
Her teeth let go of her bottom lip as her smile curved once more, and she said, “Okay,” then turned and walked back toward the bleachers.
His eyes followed her for a moment, then realized the women she was sitting with were smiling back at him. Turning around, he watched some of the other coaches grinning at him, and he shook his head. It had been a long time since he had played the dating game and was no longer sure if it was a game he could win...or if he even knew the rules anymore. Glancing back at Carrie’s sweet ass climbing up the bleachers, then glancing back over at her son who was grinning widely and excited as he talked to his friends, he knew it was a game he was going to give his all.
9
Carrie, with her hand around Jack’s shoulders, walked into Sweet Rose Ice Cream Shop. Jack could not decide which way to look, considering an auto mechanic shop was just across the street, and he was fascinated with the work being done on the cars. But then, the idea of specialty ice cream pulled his attention as well.
Laughing, she said, “I just found out that the lady who runs the shop is married to the man who owns the car shop across the street.”
Jack bounced on the balls of his feet and said, “That’s the best combination ever. Those are the best two jobs in the whole world!”
“And I thought you thought being a sheriff was the best job,” she joked.
His face grew serious, and he nodded, saying, “You’re right. Working on cars is cool, and making ice cream is even better. But being a sheriff, that’s the best job in the world.”
“Glad to hear it,” a deep, familiar voice said.
They both startled, looking behind them to see that Colt was walking into the ice cream shop and had overheard Jack’s comments.
“Coach Hudson! I didn’t know you were going to be here!” Jack said.
Colt smiled, and Carrie found herself staring at his face, mesmerized by how the hard lines were softened when his lips curved.
“Your mom told me that y’all were trying this place out, so I thought I would, too.”
Rose was already behind the counter and greeted Carrie, then told Jack she’d watched the game and thought he was wonderful. Rose looked up at Colt and said, “I think this is the first time you’ve been in.”
It did not miss Carrie’s attention that if this was Colt’s first time in the ice cream shop that he must be there for them. Before she had time to process that, several more people were coming in behind them so they moved up to the counter. After much deliberation, Jack made his selection and then she and Colt decided. As she pulled out her wallet, Colt put his hand on h
ers and said, “My treat.” She watched Rose smile before winking to someone at the side. Glancing over, she saw a table with Tori, holding onto a toddler. Mitch had also walked over to his wife and son.
Once they had their ice cream in hand, Mitch called over to them, and they joined them at the table. Carrie slid into a seat next to Tori, smiling at her son, Eddie, who had ice cream all over his face. Jack grinned at Eddie but moved to sit on the other side of Colt, who had taken the chair next to her. With Jack sitting in between Colt and Mitch, she knew he was thrilled to be in the middle of the Sheriff and the Police Chief.
The ice cream was delicious, and she ate while chatting with Tori. As she finished, she leaned back in her seat, startled to realize that Colt’s arm was resting on the back of her chair. Glancing over, she saw that Jack’s eyes were pinned on the two of them. Inwardly grimacing, she hated for her son to get an idea that might not be interpreted the right way.
So far, Colt was very good to Jack and sweet to her, but in the five years that she had known him, he had never expressed an interest in her. Looking over at Tori, it was easy to see why Mitch chose her for his wife. She was not only sweet but beautiful. There was an elegance about Tori, her clothes and makeup and demeanor screaming of class. She had found out that Tori owned the Sea Glass Inn.
Carrie was not ashamed of who she was or what she did, but she knew that a single mom, working hard to keep a roof over their heads, was not exactly going to be a catch. And if Colt was playing a game she did not want her son caught up in that. Or, even if he was not playing a game and he was interested, she hated the idea that Jack would be devastated if they started something and then it ended.
She felt a light touch of his long fingers on her shoulder, and Colt whispered in her ear, “You okay?”
Her gaze shot over, and she saw his expression, full of concern. “Yeah, I guess I’m a little more tired than I thought I was.”
As soon as she said that, he turned and said, “Jack, your mom is kind of tired. What do you say we pack it up and head home?”
Our Time (Baytown Boys Book 11) Page 7
