Playing for Keeps (Feeling the Heat Book 6)

by Alison Packard

  Amy hid her smile. “I hate to break it to you, but you’ll still have to get up early. Unlike you, I won’t be on vacation for two weeks. I’ll be dropping you off at the O’Briens on my way to work.”

  Danny’s shoulders sagged and a frown marred his usually cheerful expression. “That’s so not fair, Mom.”

  “Yeah, I know. But look on the bright side, once you get there you can go back to sleep.”

  That information perked him right up. He gave her a smile and grabbed his Baby Groot lunch sack off the counter. “Do I still get to go to the youth center when I’m on vacation?”

  “Yes.” She opened her purse and rummaged through it for her keys. “Lucia will take you over after lunch and I’ll pick you up as usual.”

  “Mom? Can I ask you a question?”

  “You can always ask me a question.”

  “Why were you kissing Mr. Taylor the other day?”

  Amy jerked her head up and stared at him. His question was so unexpected it took her a moment to find her voice. “When I came in you and Jade were watching a movie. When…how did you see me with Mr. Taylor?”

  “I heard voices outside and I looked out the little window by the door.” He glanced away for a second, then looked back at her, his eyes wide and full of contrition. “I didn’t mean to spy on you, I swear. I only peeked for a few seconds.”

  “Honey, I’m not mad. I’m surprised. You didn’t say anything about Mr. Taylor at all until today.”

  “Is he your boyfriend?” he asked in a hopeful voice.

  “No. We went to lunch.”

  “I wouldn’t mind if he was your boyfriend. He’s always nice to me and the other kids.” He lowered his gaze to the counter. “I know you said we’re gonna move to Florida when you save enough money, but…but I like it here.”

  Unexpected tears pricked her eyes. Initially, he’d been excited about Florida, but that was before he’d grown attached to Jade and her family. And before he’d formed friendships with several of his classmates. “I like it here too, but…”

  “But the mean people might find us?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “The mean people won’t find us. They’re too lazy to drive all the way to San Francisco.”

  Apprehension shadowed his eyes. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.” She was sure of that much, at least. The people who’d gossiped and accused her of horrible things, and whose children had bullied Danny in school, wouldn’t physically follow them to San Francisco. And if by some odd chance they did, she’d do whatever she had to do to ensure they couldn’t get close to her son.

  He regarded her silently for several seconds and then a slight frown pulled his eyebrows together. “I don’t think I would like kissing,” he said, flipping the switch on his emotions like kids tended to do.

  “I’ll remind you of that statement in a few years.” She picked up her purse and slung the strap over her shoulder. “Now, let’s get going.”

  After dropping off Danny in front of the school and watching him run inside the main entrance with his friends, Amy drove off to work and managed to clock in right on time. As she headed to the legal department she passed by Jade’s office and stopped short when she saw Jade sitting at her desk staring out the window. An unusual sight since Jade usually came into the office an hour after Amy.

  “Hi. What are you doing here so early?”

  Jade spun her chair around and grimaced. “Girding my loins for a meeting.”

  Amy chuckled. “That doesn’t sound good. Who are you meeting with?”

  “Trey.” She sighed and propped her chin on her hand. “But on a positive note, Rick will be there too.”

  “What’s it about?”

  “No clue. All Adam told me was the meeting was at nine and he wanted me there.”

  “Sounds mysterious.”

  “Yes. It does,” Jade said, the tone of her voice matching her gloomy expression.

  “Well, if you need to talk about it afterward, come find me.”

  “Goes without saying.” Jade gave her a half-hearted smile. “Thanks, friend.”

  “Anytime,” Amy said, then continued down the hallway.

  Once she’d situated herself at her desk, the morning seemed to drag. Carrie had stayed home because her daughter was sick, and without her the office was quiet. So quiet Amy had turned on the small radio she kept on her desk.

  The scanning project she’d been working on was moving along at a snail’s pace, but that was the nature of a project so laborious. The tedious work did give her time to think about her conversation with Danny. He hadn’t said much about Barstow since they’d moved to San Francisco, but it was clear to her now that it was still on his mind, and he was still worried about it. The only thing she could do was keep reassuring him that no one was going to come after them.

  The other thing she would have to do now that Danny had witnessed the kiss between her and Rick was to downplay it. The last thing she wanted was for him to get his hopes up about the man he’d taken an instant liking to. Rick was the kind of role model Danny needed in his life, but she couldn’t let her son get attached to someone who might not be around for long.

  Except for the unfortunate incident with her mother at the diner, Sunday had been a near-perfect day. There was so much to like about Rick, and there was no doubt she was physically attracted to him. Until he’d abruptly pulled away from her, his kiss had burned through her system with an intensity that had surprised her.

  She’d guessed correctly that the memory of his late wife had been the reason why he’d gone from hot to cold in an instant. His reaction was understandable and she hadn’t been offended, but it proved her point that she wasn’t the only one with emotional baggage. Maybe it was too soon for either of them to get involved in a relationship. Not that he’d said he wanted a relationship. All he’d suggested was another date. Something she hadn’t hesitated to accept. But now, in hindsight, was it wise?

  A glance at the clock on the wall told her he could still be in the conference room meeting with Jade, Trey, and Adam. Even though the thought of seeing him again was tempting, she resisted leaving her desk. He hadn’t called her to plan another date and she didn’t expect him to with the holidays fast approaching. Maybe they’d get together after the New Year. Or maybe he’d gone home on Sunday and decided he wasn’t ready to date yet. And as pragmatic as she was trying to be, she had to admit the thought of not seeing him again was disappointing.

  The jangle of Jade’s charm bracelet jolted Amy from her thoughts. She looked up from the file she was working on as Jade halted in front of her desk. “Can you take a break?” Jade asked, and judging by the stiffness of her jaw, her meeting hadn’t gone well.

  After a quick elevator ride to the lobby, Amy sat across from Jade at a table for two in Starbucks, enjoying a latte to the piped-in strains of “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas.”

  Leaning forward, Amy wrapped her fingers around her cup. “So what happened?”

  Jade brushed her hair over her shoulder and let out a long sigh. “Adam assigned me to work with Trey on establishing a charitable foundation. He says working on a non-profit venture will be good experience for me. And he reminded me that if I’m serious about becoming a sports agent, I’ll need to start working more closely with our clients.”

  “Why was Rick at the meeting?”

  “He’s partnering with Trey on the venture. Evidently, they recently met with the director of a similar type of foundation that offers grants to low-income students and also assists students in applying for college and financial aid.”

  “It sounds like a great idea. What’s your role?”

  “Basically, I’m the project manager. Or point person as Adam called it. I can’t believe he’s making me work with that…” Her expression grew as dark as the ominous clouds that had been hovering over the financial district all morning. “…that douchebag.”

  “I’m surprised Trey agreed to it.”

  “I got the impr
ession he didn’t have a choice if he wanted Rick to be involved. Adam said Rick asked for me specifically, and I think it’s because I worked with him when he first signed with us. He trusts me.” She let out another long sigh as she lifted her cup. “If it was only Rick I’d be thrilled to take on the project. Now, I’m dreading it.”

  “You may have to deal with clients you don’t care for when you become an agent.” Amy took a quick sip of her latte. “Think of it as practice.”

  Jade’s eyes narrowed over the rim of her cup. “I think Adam’s testing me.”

  Amy shot her a grin. “You were always good at tests.”

  “True.” Jade flashed a smug smile. “I’m sure Trey was hoping I’d refuse to work on the project, but there’s no way in hell I’d give him the satisfaction. And if he thinks he can get me to quit by acting like a jerk, then he’s got another thing coming. I’m no quitter.”

  Amy frowned. That’s not exactly how she remembered it. “What about the time you quit the cheerleading squad freshman year?”

  “That doesn’t count. I only tried out to prove to that snippy priss Christina Tully that I could make the squad. Remember how she called me an uncoordinated cow?” Jade smirked. “I showed her. And after I dropped out, the alternate moved up to take my spot. Christina hated her more than she hated me. Justice was served,” she said, then grinned. “O’Brien style.”

  Rick watched Danny’s serious expression with a mixture of amusement and impatience. For the past two minutes Amy’s son had studied the pieces on the checkerboard that sat on the table between them like he was plotting a military coup.

  “I may have gray hair by the time you make your next move,” Rick finally said after more seconds ticked by.

  Danny didn’t look up. Instead, his eyes darted over the board, calculating every possible scenario. “If I make the wrong move, you could jump more than one of my men. I have to go over all my options.”

  “Smart thinking,” Rick said and leaned back in his chair to survey the youth center’s game room.

  Although most of the kids had cleared out, earlier in the afternoon the room had been packed due to the heavy rain that had started late morning. The weather had thrown a kink into Rick’s outdoor activity plans so he’d had to improvise. He’d found a slew of different board games in the utility closet and pulled them out in hopes of entertaining what the staff called the after-school crowd—the children who came directly to the center from the nearby elementary and junior high school because their parents worked.

  The tweens hadn’t been too interested, and either worked on their homework or became absorbed with texting and checking social media on their phones. The younger ones, however, had jumped at the chance to participate, so Rick and another volunteer had set up the tables in the room with several of the games. Codenames, a game Rick hadn’t heard of before, was extremely popular, as were the old standbys; Clue, Jenga, and Battleship.

  One of the oldest board games had captured Danny’s attention, and when he’d set up the checkerboard in the corner and challenged his friends to take him on, he’d racked up an impressive winning streak before Rick accepted his challenge and sat down across from him. They’d been playing for almost thirty minutes due to Danny’s penchant for analyzing every single move.

  After what seemed like another two minutes, Danny finally moved one of his men. Rick leaned forward, studied the move and quickly ascertained the only moves he could make left him vulnerable to capture on Danny’s next turn. Damn. The kid was good. Now he had to figure out a move that didn’t give Danny’s man a chance to get to Rick’s side of the board and get crowned. If that happened, he was toast.

  “I told my mom I saw you kissing her on Sunday and she said you guys went out to lunch.”

  Surprised by the unexpected comment, Rick looked up and couldn’t tell by the neutral expression on Danny’s face if he was bothered by either the kiss or the lunch. To give himself time to think, he moved one of his men on the board and then cleared his throat. “Yeah. We went to lunch, and then to Golden Gate Park for a couple of hours. I kissed her goodbye at the door. That’s something you usually do at the end of a date if you had a good time.”

  “You must have had a really good time.” Danny brushed his hair from his forehead, then propped his chin on his hand and stared intently at the board. “Did you go to the science building?”

  “No, but we passed by it. Your mom said it’s on your list of places to visit.”

  “Yep. Right after the Exploratorium. But it’s not on my list anymore. Mom took me there the day after Thanksgiving. It was neat.” He gnawed on his lower lip as he concentrated on his next move. “She doesn’t go out a lot. I think that means she likes you,” he said, still not looking up.

  “You think so?”

  Danny nodded but kept his eyes downcast. “Do you like her?”

  “Very much.”

  A frown creased a line between Danny’s eyebrows. He lifted his head and the wariness in his direct gaze took Rick by surprise and it suddenly dawned on him that maybe Danny didn’t want Amy to be involved with him, or anyone, for that matter. Although he didn’t know for sure, he’d gotten the impression that Amy and Danny had only had each other for the past several years and as such had created a close bond. Having to potentially share his mother could possibly be conceived as a threat. “Do you want to be her boyfriend?” Danny asked.

  “It’s too soon to think about that,” Rick said quickly in the hopes of reassuring Danny. The last thing he wanted was for Danny to worry he was trying to come between them. “We just met last month.”

  The assurance seemed to help. Danny’s expression became less guarded, but his rigid posture indicated he still had reservations. “Mom’s old boyfriend pretended to like me, but when she wasn’t around he’d tell me there was something wrong with me because I didn’t want to watch car racing with him every weekend. It’s boring. The cars just go round and round on a track.” He rolled his eyes in an exaggerated fashion. “What’s fun about that?”

  “Not much,” Rick said, taking an instant dislike to Amy’s former boyfriend.

  “And he was mean to Mom.” Danny’s narrow gaze sharpened on Rick’s face. “You’d never be like that, would you?”

  Rick’s dislike for the old boyfriend intensified. That an eight-year-old boy had to worry about something like that wasn’t right. “I try hard not to be mean to anyone.”

  “Me too. Mean people suck,” Danny said as his attention returned to the checkerboard. A second later he made his move, jumping two of Rick’s men and landing on the first row on Rick’s side of the board. He picked up the two pieces he’d captured, then leaned back with a wide grin that crinkled the corners of his eyes. “King me!”

  That first king was the beginning of the end for Rick. In record time Danny had scored another victory, going undefeated for the afternoon. Danny was thrilled and Rick had been on the receiving end of some good-natured ribbing from the staff after being shellacked by an eight-year-old.

  At five-thirty, Rick pulled on his coat and gave the room a final inspection. Although his shift ended at five, he’d stayed to help clean up. And if he happened to stay late enough to run into Amy when she picked up Danny, then so much the better. He’d hoped to talk to her at Logan-Johnson this morning when he and Trey had met with Adam and Jade, but there had been no sign of her, and his subsequent disappointment only fueled his desire to see her again.

  “The rain stopped,” Danny called out to him from the window at the back of the room. He turned from the droplet-covered glass and half-walked, half-skipped toward him, his mop of sandy hair flopping up and down with each step. “Do you know how fast raindrops fall?” he asked, halting in front of Rick and tipping his head back to look up at him.

  Rick squinted, shaking his head. “No. I don’t recall ever learning that in school.”

  “Between seven and eighteen miles per hour if the air is still.”

  “What about on a windy day like
today?”

  “Then they can fall over eighteen miles per hour.” He adjusted the straps of his backpack and then his eyes lit up and he lifted his arm, gesturing with a wave. “Mom! I’m over here.”

  Rick turned and the moment his gaze met Amy’s, air jammed in this throat and he felt the impact like a sucker punch. Even if he’d wanted to look away, he couldn’t. Standing at the door with her hair teased by the wind and a devastating smile that curved her lips and seemed to be directed solely at him, she looked absolutely breathtaking.

  “Mom. Guess what?” Danny ran toward her, his shoes squeaking on the linoleum, as she crossed the room toward them. “I beat everyone at checkers today. Even Mr. Taylor.”

  Amy lifted a gloved hand and tousled Danny’s hair. “I’m not surprised,” she said, then looked at Rick with undisguised amusement. “We’ve played a lot of checkers. I have a feeling you may have been hustled.”

  “We all were,” he said wryly. “Luckily, no money was involved.”

  “I’m hungry,” Danny said. “Are we still going for pizza?”

  “Yes. Are you ready to go?”

  Danny nodded vigorously. “If we don’t go now I’m gonna starve to death.”

  “I doubt that’s going to happen,” she replied with an indulgent smile.

  “Can Mr. Taylor come with us?”

  Amy’s cheeks turned pink. She looked at Rick, gave him an embarrassed smile, then swung her gaze back at her son. “He may have other plans.”

  Rick silently thanked Danny for his invitation. “Actually, I don’t. And pizza is one of my favorite foods,” he said, flashing his most charming grin.

  Amusement tugged at the corners of her mouth. “All right, then. Let’s go.”

  During the five-minute walk to the pizza parlor a few blocks from the youth center, Rick had remained mostly silent, listening with amusement as Danny gave Amy an animated run-down of his school day. The highlight of which was lunch time. Danny and his friends had witnessed a food fight between several girls at a nearby table who had been arguing over their favorite characters on a Disney television show. According to Danny, the girls were covered with the remnants of their lunches and had been sent to the principal’s office or as Danny had called it, the dungeon.