The Sidelined Wife

by Jennifer Peel

  He cocked his head, just like his father. “What are we celebrating?”

  “Life.”

  Chapter Ten

  I was dying to read all the comments on my blog and on Autumn Moone’s page, but dinner with my kid first. I could read those posts anytime, and believe me, I would be devouring them along with that sneak peek after I went to bed. But I knew my time with Cody was precious, and I intended not to waste a moment with him. And hey, the kid was still willing to be seen in public with me, so I was counting that as a huge parenting win.

  I let Cody choose, which meant we were going to Portillo’s. It had been his favorite since he learned how to say “hot dog.” I had to admit, they made the best burgers on the planet. And I had a few pounds I could gain, so I was ordering one of those. Fries, too.

  The restaurant was always crowded, no matter the day. But I didn’t mind waiting in line to order because they had fabulous old movie posters and memorabilia throughout the entire place.

  It was all going great, my brooding teenager had his earbuds in, but at least he stood close to me and I felt better than I had in a long time. That is, until Reed walked in. I still felt like an idiot about our interaction yesterday. I didn’t think he saw me, so I tried to camouflage myself between Cody and the wall. Which was a dumb plan. He was going to recognize Cody, regardless, and he did.

  Reed walked straight up to Cody on the other side of the red rope that directed the line. “Cody, my man.” Reed did what I could never do: get Cody’s attention right away. Reed put his hand up for a high five. Cody met it with a loud smack.

  “Coach, what are you doing here?”

  Reed peeked around Cody and grinned at me like he knew I was avoiding him. “Just grabbing dinner,” he answered Cody.

  Cody nodded his approval.

  “How are you, Sam?” Reed apparently wasn’t getting my please move on vibe.

  “Good. Great, really.” I stared forward, avoiding eye contact, making a bigger fool of myself.

  “I’m glad to hear that.”

  I kept hugging the wall as we moved forward in the line.

  Cody and Reed talked about the team and their first game the following weekend against the Spartans. I listened as Reed praised Cody.

  “I’m impressed with the way you always find an open window, and your aim is spot on. I think we’ll keep running the down the line drill. It seems to be helping.”

  “Yeah, it’s helped me focus on my target,” Cody agreed. “Do you think I might get some playing time in the game?”

  I turned toward Reed, wanting to see his reaction and response to Cody’s plea.

  Reed looked torn. He pressed his lips together and thought. “You have a bright future, and someday you’ll lead this team. We’ll see how the game goes.”

  Cody’s shoulders dropped, but he tried to act unaffected by the news by changing the subject. “Maybe we could run some more setup drills tomorrow. I want to improve my time getting back after the snap.”

  I was proud of Cody. I knew what a blow he had been handed.

  “I’ll let Coach Parsons know.” Reed gave Cody a manly pat on the back. “You’re doing great.”

  We were almost to the front of the line, so I figured our time with Reed would be coming to an end. But life was full of surprises for me that night.

  Reed grinned at me. “Do you mind if I join you for dinner?”

  I looked behind us at the long line. “You don’t want to wait in line?”

  Reed faked a stab to his chest. “I’m hurt you would think that. I just wanted to catch up with an old friend.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “Friends don’t dump dead fish on your bed.”

  “You put dead fish in my mom’s bed?” Cody bent over laughing as if that was the funniest thing he had ever heard.

  Reed’s reaction wasn’t what I expected. I thought he would join Cody in his hysterical laugh, but instead I could see the muscles in his face tighten. And if I wasn’t mistaken, I saw traces of regret in his eyes.

  “I was hoping you had forgotten about that.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

  “That’s not a smell you easily forget.”

  He went from rubbing his neck to running his fingers through his thick, dark hair. “Let me buy you dinner to make up for it.”

  I was taken aback by his offer. “That’s not necessary. Besides it’s my mom you really should apologize to. I think she washed my sheets ten times before she finally gave up and bought new ones.”

  Reed was undeterred. He pulled up the red rope and slid under it, taking his place in line by us. “I insist.”

  I was going to vehemently decline until I noticed the way Cody smiled and did that weird man-hand-clasp thing with Reed. Cody seemed at ease with him and happier when he was around. For the love of my son, I allowed Reed to stay, but under one condition.

  “You’re more than welcome to eat with us, but it’s my treat.” Maybe that would assuage some of the guilt I felt for basically emasculating him yesterday. But it only seemed to make him feel worse.

  Reed let out this heavy sigh of what sounded a lot like disappointment. His blue eyes hit me. “I am more than capable of buying you dinner.”

  I had never noticed before, but he had pretty eyes. Why did I think that? I had more pressing matters. Did he take my offer as a slight? I wasn’t sure how to respond, so I blathered like an idiot, which was apparently my new status quo around him. “I’m sure you are. I just thought, you know, since I said some stupid things to you yesterday, I could make up for it by buying you dinner.”

  Cody cringed upon hearing I said something stupid to his coach yesterday. Each crinkle in his brow said please tell me it wasn’t about me.

  Before Reed could respond, we were called up to order. He took matters into his own hands. He informed the kid taking orders we were all on one ticket and he was paying. His debit card was out, ready to go. Reed turned toward me. “Ladies first.”

  I hesitated. The whole scenario was weird to me.

  “Don’t be shy.” Reed gave me a sly grin. It wasn’t the same mischievous grin from his younger years. There was something different about it that I couldn’t quite place. It was disconcerting. I ignored how off it made me feel and ordered.

  While Cody ordered half the menu, I took the opportunity to give Reed an out.

  “Are you sure I can’t pay? Cody is serious about his food.”

  Reed didn’t bat an eye at the growing total. “It’s my pleasure.”

  “Thank you for the grown-up gesture,” I teased, hoping he would take it the way I meant it. I thought maybe if we could laugh about my awkward behavior from the day before we could move on from it.

  He didn’t exactly laugh, but he smiled at me before he ordered.

  Reed did laugh, though, when Cody grimaced at me. “Did you just call Coach a grown-up?”

  “That’s what she called me yesterday.” Reed rubbed salt in my wound with a smile.

  Cody shook his head at me. “Mom.”

  “I’m going to go get my drink and find a place to sit.” The cashier set some cups on the counter, and I grabbed one to the tune of the two guys laughing at me. I might have been annoyed, but Cody’s laughter filled me with hope. Hope would get us through the ugly gift life had handed us.

  While I was dropping lemon wedges in my ice water near the beverage dispensers, Reed slid up next to me. “Cody’s going to wait for the food and bring it to our table.”

  I nodded.

  “Sam, please don’t be mad at me.”

  His plea surprised me. “I’m not. I’m embarrassed.”

  “Hey.” He rested his hand on my shoulder. My bare shoulder, I might add. His hand was warm and definitely grown-up.

  I found myself looking into his eyes. Again, there was something different in them. I couldn’t put my finger on it.

  His hand stayed steady on my shoulder. “The last thing I want to do is embarrass you.”

  “You didn’t do anything.
It’s all me. I’m sorry, I’m just having a hard time wrapping my head around you being, well, you know, older.”

  “I guess older is better than grown-up.” His hand dropped. He started filling his and Cody’s cup with ice.

  My cheeks flushed. “I’ve done it again, haven’t I?”

  His mouth twitched. “Maybe we should start over.” He set the ice-filled cups on the counter near my water. He held his hand out to me. “Hi, I’m Reed Cassidy. I think your son is on my football team.”

  I stared at his hand and maybe smiled.

  “That’s your cue to shake my hand.”

  I brought my hand up slowly and clasped his.

  His hand enveloped mine and held firm. “And your name is?”

  I took a breath and remembered my new name, my old name. “I’m Samantha Decker, Cody’s mom.”

  He still kept my hand in his. “Do you like to be called Sam?”

  “By my friends.”

  “Okay, Samantha, you tell me when I can call you Sam.”

  “You’ve always called me Sam.”

  “We’ve never met before, remember?”

  I felt so foolish, standing there shaking his hand in the middle of the busy restaurant while people maneuvered around us to get straws and lids for their cups, but I also felt something else. Light. Was that a weird feeling?

  “Okay. What should I call you?”

  “Well, Samantha,” he emphasized my name, “since we just met and I’m your son’s coach and possibly teacher, we should probably go the formal route upfront. What do you think of Mr. Cassidy?”

  My eyebrows raised. “I think you should try again.”

  He chuckled. “How does Reed sound?”

  “Much better.” I pulled my hand away. I swore I felt a tug, like he hesitated letting go. I must have been imagining things.

  He went back to filling the cups of ice with soda. I noticed he got Cody’s favorite. And he kept looking at me from the corner of his eye. “Since we just met, I think you are obligated to forget anything you think you may know or remember about me from twenty years ago until the present day.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him, not sure where all this was coming from. “I’m not sure that’s possible. I still flinch every time I open a door, thinking a firecracker might go off.”

  “Hmm. That’s odd.” He placed lids on the cups. “I can’t imagine why you have that condition.”

  “Yeah. It’s almost as if someone—or someones—booby trapped my room on a regular basis.”

  “I’m sure whoever it was or wasn’t only did or didn’t do it to show how much they cared.”

  “Right.” I took my drink and headed for an empty table toward the outskirts of the main area of the restaurant.

  Reed followed. “Or maybe they did it because you got them grounded and they weren’t allowed to watch their favorite TV show for a month.”

  “The Simpsons is so juvenile.” I took a seat at a window table.

  Reed sat down across from me. His face was a tad red. “I’m not saying that was the show or how I know this, but I think the perpetrators in question were juveniles at the time, so maybe you could forget it ever happened and that one of them had a Bart Simpson pillowcase.”

  I grinned. “I forgot about how much you loved him. Your impersonation of him was spot on.”

  Reed cleared his throat. “I don’t know who you are talking about. And I hate to remind you of this again, but we just met.”

  “Yes, sorry.” I took a sip of my water. “I have a question for you.”

  “Shoot.”

  “Do you frequently have dinner with random strangers?”

  A smile played on his face. “This is a special circumstance.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  His grin grew.

  “Thank you for dinner.” I leaned forward. “And especially for making Cody laugh.”

  “I’m pretty sure he was laughing at you.”

  I sighed and sat back. “I’m sorry again about what I said. I’m not myself lately.”

  “You don’t need to apologize. I know this has been a tough time for you and Cody.”

  “And how would you know that, stranger?”

  “I mean, I’m guessing. But I should mention I know your brother, Peter, and he’s concerned about you and Cody.”

  That piece of news shocked me. “Peter’s discussing my family with you?”

  “Did I say that?” He took a long drink of his soda and avoided my gaze.

  “Peter has a good heart.” I tried to put Reed at ease. Even though I would probably give Peter a hard time about it.

  “He always has. He kept me out of a lot of trouble.”

  “And let me guess, you did your best to get him into some.”

  He smirked. “I’m going to plead the Fifth.”

  “That’s probably a good idea, Reed Cassidy.”

  Chapter Eleven

  What a very odd night it had turned out to be. Cody confirmed my suspicions, and maybe one of my worst fears. There was a girl or two or three that liked him, and he reciprocated. Those girls stole my baby away during dinner, leaving me to converse with Reed. After the initial weirdness, it turned out to be pleasant. Not one trace came out of the annoying kid I used to know. My mouth behaved and didn’t emasculate him again. And I may have taken Avery’s advice and checked out his butt when he took the trash from the table to dispose of it. I could report that Avery, and apparently James, were right about it. It still felt somewhat wrong looking at him like that. The fact he was Cody’s coach only added to the uneasiness of it. I had never checked out Cody’s teachers before. But I had never been a single mom before either.

  On that depressing note, I pulled out my laptop while propped up with pillows on my four-poster bed. I had been anxious to read more comments and that sneak peek. When I logged into my laptop, I was inundated with emails informing me I had new subscribers to my blog. There were so many, I couldn’t count them. I was tempted to head to my blog first, but Hunter Black was calling to me. It was sad how in love I was with a fictional character.

  I did make a note of how many more comments there were on the post about me on Autumn Moone’s page before I dug into the sneak peek. It was mind boggling. So surreal. But not enough to deter me from getting my Hunter fix. I read and savored each morsel of heart-pounding goodness from the two-page excerpt. I couldn’t believe it; Hunter and his best friend, Laine, were stranded at his family’s mountain cabin, and it looked like things were going to finally come to a head with them. He was holding her near the fireplace to keep her warm. It was their only source of heat, well, that and each other. His lips hovered above hers, teasing them, but they never touched. She relaxed in his arms as if begging him to finally do what they both wanted. His mouth was ready to consume hers, I could feel it, and then that’s where it ended.

  “No!” I groaned. I’d been waiting for that kiss for two years.

  Weird side note I would never admit to, but Reed reminded me of Hunter. They both had dark hair, stunning blue eyes, and a nice backside. I needed to get that out of my head. How was I going to picture myself now as Laine—or any of Hunter’s other women—if I was picturing Reed as Hunter? That could get awkward. It’d be a whole other type of book, like Naughty Babysitters or The Cougar and the Teacher.

  Reed had asked me tonight what I would think of him if this was the first time we had met. It wasn’t an easy question, but I tried to be objective—and then I kept my answer to myself. Honestly, if it was our first meeting, I would have thought the school made a mistake hiring him. Not because he wasn’t a good coach or teacher, which I really didn’t know one way or the other for sure, but because he was quite pretty. With how the girls who stole my son away had snuck a peek at Reed, I had a feeling he would be the fantasy of many teenage girls, and probably a lot of the teachers at the high school.

  When Reed pressed for an answer, all I offered was that he seemed capable and Cody liked him, so that was a plus in my book. I�
�m not sure that answer satisfied him, but at least he didn’t look demoralized like he had yesterday and earlier in the evening.

  The burning question on my mind tonight wasn’t what I would have thought of Reed if we had just met, but did I know someone who knew the elusive Autumn Moone? Who gave her my blog? Was it a friend of a friend of a friend sort of thing? Did Autumn Moone live in the Chicagoland area? If she did, she should be best friends with Avery and me. We obviously had a lot in common. Or at least we all loved Hunter Black. Who knows, I could have walked by her in the market today when I took Gelaire shopping. Or maybe at the fancy boutique Gelaire took me to. Surely Autumn Moone could afford those kind of price tags. She sold millions of books. How I ever got on her radar was amazing to me.

  But not as amazing as all the new followers on my blog and the comments.

  After twenty-five years of marriage and three kids, my husband left us to pursue his dreams. I thought we were his dream. Now, while he’s off exploring the world with his girlfriend, I’m working two jobs to make ends meet. He even missed our son’s college graduation. We were high school sweethearts. I saw him through cancer treatments and job losses, only to be tossed to the side. Thanks for writing so eloquently how I’m feeling and for giving me courage to make it one more day.

  I placed my hand over my heart. Wow. That was heartbreaking. And there were more.

  I knew when his hours started getting longer at the office and his business trips became more frequent, something was wrong. But I kept thinking we’d had children together and I’d followed him around the country for his work, setting my career to the side to raise our children. Then he forgot his phone one day and she called. We had a nice little chat. She had no idea he was married. That didn’t stop her from seeing my now ex-husband. They didn’t last. Now he admits what a mistake it was. But I refuse to take him back. I’d rather be a sidelined wife than someone’s afterthought or consolation prize. Hang in there, from one sidelined wife to another.

  The Sidelined Wife? I scrolled through more comments to find that’s what several people were referring to me as, just like Autumn Moone had. Not a title I ever thought I would have, but it was exactly how I felt. I wanted to respond individually to everyone that had commented, but it would have taken hours. I couldn’t believe the response. I hated that we were all part of this club of cheated on and tossed aside wives.