by Jody Holford
Dustin stood up and walked the few steps to his backpack. He didn’t look at her when he answered. “My dad. But unless I’m bringing him a six pack, he doesn’t want much to do with me.”
Her jaw went rigid and she watched as he straightened, turned slowly, his eyes wide with worry. “I shouldn’t have said that out loud. I’m sorry. That wasn’t professional.”
Addie pocketed her phone and walked closer. “The questions we asked on that survey? Some of the truths might be hard to hear, but it’s the only way to offer what people need. You’re part of the Slammers family now, Dustin. I’m sorry that’s what it’s like at home for you but you’re not alone. I’ll expect you to fill out the questionnaire too. Okay?”
He nodded and she knew he needed a moment. Gathering her things, she left him in his office. When she returned to her own, what struck her as worrisome was how much she wanted to talk to Sawyer about the conversation. She had a feeling the two of them—Dustin and him—had more in common than they thought. But first, she pulled out her phone. Dialing a familiar number, she packed up her things, telling herself it was okay to be almost thirty and still take comfort in her mom’s voice.
Chapter Fourteen
Sawyer kept his eyes on the road, but it was impossible not to feel Addie’s presence. The number of women he’d introduced to his Grams was exactly zero. The only friends and people in his life she’d met were ones who…mattered. The realization made his shirt collar feel too tight.
He wasn’t entirely sure what prompted him to ask Addie. Bull. You know exactly why. He wanted to know her better; to know if she was as good as she seemed to be. Half the time he was with her, she pushed all of his buttons, even ones he wasn’t aware of below the surface. The other half, he felt like he was drooling with lust. Though he hoped to hell he hid that. The friendship thing felt…good. He liked her, dammit.
Few women in his life—few people—challenged him while still being supportive. That’s it. She won’t take your garbage but she’ll let you lean on her if you need to. He didn’t need to. But the thought of it was enticing.
“You okay?” Addie asked.
He felt her eyes on him. “I’m good. You? How was the rest of your day?”
Addie kicked off her sexy as hell power heels and folded her feet under her. Something he could absolutely never pull off even if he wanted to. He grinned over at her. “Cozy?”
“I am. How far is it to your Grams’?”
“About forty-five minutes,” he replied. “Your day?” Hopefully by the time they talked about her day and his, there’d be no time for her intake questions.
“It was good. Dustin is going to be a great fit. I really like him and that makes me happy. Sort of like validating that I can read people, you know?”
He nodded and gave her another quick look. “Reading people isn’t always easy, but I think with some people you just get a gut feeling.”
She murmured her assent, and he couldn’t help thinking it was a lot more than just his gut feeling things around Addie.
“I think Dustin doesn’t have a lot of support at home. He mentioned his father and I got the impression they aren’t close.”
Sawyer shifted in his seat, keeping his eyes straight ahead. “Not everyone has a great relationship with their parents. You’re lucky that you do.”
“Did you ever?”
He snorted out an unhappy laugh. “Let’s not go there.”
When she leaned over and pulled out a pad of paper, he knew his time was up. Discomfort bubbled and the back of his neck prickled. He hated sharing. Not because he had anything to hide. He didn’t. But his business was damn well his business unless he wanted to make it publicly—or even professionally—known.
To his surprise, she didn’t ask him questions. She jotted down something he couldn’t take the time to read over. He waited and, once again, the quiet between them was strangely comfortable. Unless she was just lulling him. Making him relax and then she’d ask her intrusive questions that could possibly get the management wondering if he was fit to play.
“What do you think of me sponsoring a charity event on my own?”
Pulled out of his own suspicious thoughts, Sawyer switched lanes before answering. “What kind of event? I have no doubt you could pull one off, but I thought you were trying to work with the local MS society.”
“I am, but I hate sitting on my hands. I’m still waiting for the chair to contact me, and I’d rather be doing something. I was thinking about what Alyssa said about helping in ways that make a difference. In ways that matter.”
He loved her passion. “Do you still want it to be specific to MS?”
He caught her nodding from the corner of his eye. His shoulders relaxed.
“I think so. It matters most to me and I feel like we push harder for the things that are personally meaningful.”
“You have access to a lot of people who could help you pull in money.”
She poked him in the shoulder. “Some people don’t like being asked for favors.”
His chuckle loosened the knot that was forming around his nerves. “I think that your time and commitment are valuable, and if people don’t appreciate that, you should find your own path.”
Her quiet hmm touched him for some reason. He liked talking to her. He liked that she listened to him. Wanted his opinion. He liked that maybe he mattered to her as well.
“I’ve been thinking about your brother and your mom,” she said.
The abrupt switch in conversation jolted him. “See, I try to avoid doing that,” he joked.
“Deflection is a great strategy. It usually works well for you, doesn’t it?”
That right there was what drew him to her. “Not with you.”
She laughed, and even the sound of it turned him on, made him want to hear it over and over again.
“Anyway, I’m thinking we draw up an agreement. You said you don’t mind helping them or sharing the wealth but there needs to be firm boundaries. My idea is you settle on a number per month. They sign an agreement that they will not ask for more or they forfeit the monthly payments. In addition to that, the payments don’t start until they take two courses I found. One is for budgeting and the other is for living within a person’s means.”
Sawyer glanced over. “You want me to give my mom and brother an allowance?”
She nodded. “Essentially. People work best with parameters. If they think they can always push yours, squeeze a little more out of you, they will. This makes your expectations and what you’re willing to give very clear. It also makes them accountable for their behavior and actions.”
He couldn’t believe it. He’d thought of giving them a set monthly amount but he’d never imagined making them take a budgeting class to earn it. It was nothing short of brilliant. As soon as he’d signed his first one-million-dollar contract, he’d hired people he trusted to teach him and guide him through the financial pieces.
“It’s an excellent idea. I love it. Thank you.”
“My pleasure. I’m assuming you have your own lawyer, but we can have ours draw it up if you’d like.”
“No. I’ve got my own people. Thank you, Addison.” Going on instinct, he reached across and covered her small hand with his own, squeezed it. He let go before giving in to the urge to link their fingers.
He wouldn’t consider himself a loner; he enjoyed being around friends and his teammates. Sometimes, he even enjoyed a social gathering, depending on the crowd. But never before had he simply enjoyed someone’s presence. Her breathing and her scent filled his truck and he liked just sitting next to Addie. That could mean he was stepping into dangerous territory, but with so many other things on his mind, he didn’t have it in him to care.
He took the exit for his Grams and noticed, as he drove the quieter, more suburban roads, that Addie started to fidget. She played with the pen in her hand, put it away, played with her purse strap, checked her phone before putting it away too.
When he pulled
into the parking lot, she was out of the car by the time he got his seat belt off.
Sawyer rounded the truck with a grin, stopping in front of her. “Are you nervous?”
“Have you introduced your Grams to a lot of your…friends?”
“I’ve never had any female friends, but she’s met some of my teammates.”
The moment—the words—hung between them, and he told himself not to lean in. Not to kiss her again. He didn’t want to mess things up between them, and if they got involved, no doubt, he would.
“We should go in,” she whispered.
At least one of them had logic on their side. “We should.”
They walked side by side through the glass double doors. Sawyer checked in with reception, chatted a moment with one of the nurses. His grandmother was in great health. She lived in the home more to avoid loneliness than anything else. But it comforted him to know that she had access to top quality medical care should she need it. Growing up, she’d pushed him toward his dreams and never let him beat himself up over his failures. She told him that falling down in life was necessary. It forced you to decide if what you were going after was worth getting back up for.
He jutted his chin forward to let Addison know they were heading into the room directly in front of them. Grams’ laugh greeted them before the swinging doors swung all the way back.
“There he is!”
Jolene McBain was a hell of a woman. She’d survived two husbands, her daughter running off with a man, only coming home after that man had left her with their two kids, no money, and no job. She’d stepped up as more than a grandmother. She’d basically been the mom he needed. She’d given Sawyer nothing but love and a firm hand. Expectations and guidance. At seventy-six, she could probably still drink him under the table and if he was playing cards against her, he knew he was likely to lose.
The other women snickered and made inappropriate comments that seemed to be more condonable with age and their ability to pretend they didn’t know what they said.
Grams embraced him. “How are you?”
“I’m good, Grams. How are you? You guys aren’t drinking in here, are you? I could hear you out in the hall.” He pulled back, kissed her cheek and then stepped toward Addie.
“That just means we’re having the right amount of fun. And who is this?”
“This is Addison Carlisle. Addie, this is my Grams, Jolene McBain.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. McBain.”
His grandmother’s lips twitched. “That’s a little formal for my tastes, lovey. You call me Grams. If Sawyer brought you along, I’m guessing it won’t be the last time we see you.”
Addie glanced up at him and he felt a wave of…what the hell was that? Affection? Something more than just straight-up desire. Something warm and sweet in his chest, making his lungs feel tight.
“Grams.” His voice was a little gruffer than he’d intended.
His grandmother reached up and patted his cheek then took Addie’s hand. “You play poker?”
“I have. I don’t know that I’m very good,” Addie said, glancing back at him.
“Wouldn’t matter if you are. Most of us cheat. Ladies, this is Addie, and you guys remember my grandson.” She leaned closer to Addie. “They never forget a good-looking man. Can’t remember where they put their teeth in between meals but they can tell you every stat on his baseball card.”
Sawyer groaned over Addie’s laughter.
“Addie, this is Nora, Susan, Beverly, and Selma.”
The women exchanged greetings, and Sawyer snagged the chair between Grams and Addison. That should keep my ass safe until they ask me to get up for snacks.
“Are you Sawyer’s lover, dear?” Susan asked.
Addie choked back her laugh, and Sawyer was sure his face went brighter than the Texas sun.
“Uh, no. We’re just friends.”
“With benefits? That’s what they call it right? That’s what I call Samuel. He’s new to the facility and I’m not ready to settle down with one man, so I told him it was that or nothing.”
Good lord please save me from older women and their unfiltered conversations.
Addie nudged her knee against his. He forced a smile as he picked up the cards and shuffled. “Addison and I are just friends. Period. She works for the Slammers. Grams, you passing out the chips?”
“Well I sure don’t trust this lot to do it,” his grandmother joked.
They played a few hands, joking back and forth, most of the women oversharing to the point that Sawyer wished he could plug his ears. But Addie fit right in. She was one of the most adaptable and genuine people he’d ever met. Completely comfortable in her own skin with an innate ability to make others feel good about themselves. It felt good to be with her.
“How’s the knee, Sawyer?” Selma asked.
“All good. Ready to play.” He folded his ten and two.
“What do you do for the Slammers?” Grams asked Addie.
Her brows were scrunched as she studied her cards. She glanced up. “Uh…sorry. I’m the director of wellness. Basically I keep tabs on all the players and make sure they have everything they need to live a balanced life. I also work with outside agencies on promotion and charity opportunities.”
“How wonderful,” his Grams exclaimed. She pushed in two more chips.
Addie’s lips pursed and she eyed her cards again. Selma was dealing. She flipped the next card, discarded, then the river. It was down to just Grams and Addie. Grams pushed in a stack of five chips. One hundred dollars. Addie pushed her dwindling stack into the center.
“Show ’em,” Selma said, rubbing her hands together.
When they flipped, Sawyer sucked in a breath. Addie had his Grams beat with a full house to her three aces.
Grams leaned back in her chair, pushed a hand through her thinning grayish-white hair and started to laugh. “Beginner’s luck. And at least now I know he’ll bring you back. I want a rematch.”
Addie’s smile kicked him in the gut. Damn. If winning a round of cards made her grin like that, he’d be willing to lose every time.
“Nice job, shark,” he said, giving her a shoulder bump.
“I know better than to get cocky. I’ll go with the beginner’s luck and be grateful.”
Grams leaned in, pushing the chips toward Addie, but met Sawyer’s gaze. “I like her. Next time you pick me up to take me out for dinner downtown, she comes.”
He shook his head. “Yes, ma’am.”
“See what a good boy he is?” Grams asked Addie, who looked down at her chips to hide her sweet smile. But he saw it. And it pushed through the last of the barriers he was keeping up.
“You made her blush,” Nora said, not hiding her smile. “Life is too short to blush. Two young things like you? You ought to be making each other blush as often as possible.”
Sawyer choked on his own spit, and when Addie looked up and caught his eye, she joined in on their laughter while patting his back.
“If I were twenty years younger, I’d make you blush, Sawyer,” Susan said, winking at him.
“That’s my grandson you’re winking at, you hussy,” his grandmother laughed. “And you’d need to be at least thirty-five years younger.”
Sawyer closed his eyes and pretended they weren’t there. Addie squeezed his hand so he opened one eye.
“We’re totally even. You do not owe me for this,” she whispered.
He leaned in, caught the scent of her hair, and wanted to move closer. “Yes I do. I’ll have to bribe you not to tell anyone what you heard today.”
“That’s right,” Selma said, pushing chips into the middle. “This home is like Vegas. What happens here, stays here.”
“I went to Vegas about twenty years ago,” Nora mused as she eyed her cards. “Met an Elvis impersonator who knew exactly how to move his hips. If you know what I mean.”
Sawyer smacked his head down on the table and all of the women, including Addie, laughed to the poin
t of tears.
When Selma said she had to go have her meds and Susan said she had a meeting, with a very exaggerated wink in their direction, they shut it down and decided to visit in his Grams’ room.
During the season, he didn’t get to visit her nearly enough and he wondered, again, if he should have her living closer. She was only about forty-five minutes from Nashville, but she was the only person he enjoyed in his family, and he wished he could see more of her.
As Grams settled into her chair by the window, Sawyer and Addie sat side by side on the tiny loveseat across from her.
“How’s your mother?”
The question always came up. “Last I checked, she was good.” He didn’t look at Addie but he felt her gaze.
“Your brother called me. Said he’s getting married.”
“He is. Wanna be my date?”
She laughed, as he hoped she would. “Always dear, but I think you can do better than me.” She looked at Addison.
Addie’s eyelids fluttered and she gave a nervous laugh.
“I watched your game. I expect you to win the next one,” Grams said.
“Isla would like that as well,” Addie put in.
Sawyer chuckled. “I’ll see what I can do.”
He started to ask if she wanted to come to the next home game but Addie beat him to the punch.
“Would you like to join me in the owner’s box for the next home game?”
His grandmother straightened, pride and happiness coloring her wrinkled cheeks. Sawyer loved seeing her that happy. “I absolutely would. Are you part owner?”
Addie shook her head. “Oh, no. But my best friend owns the team. She’s like a sister to me.”
Grams smiled. “Do you get along with your family, dear?”
She nodded. “I do. I’m close to my mother and father. They live in Colorado but we speak and text frequently. My dad is a big baseball fan, so he’s pumped that I’m working for the Slammers.”
Grams pulled a blanket over her knees. They should probably be heading out. “It’s important to have people in your life who support you.”
Addison turned and caught Sawyer’s gaze, not letting him look away. She reached out and squeezed his hand and his heart mirrored the contraction. “It sounds like Sawyer had that in you.”
