She drew in a long, unsteady breath. “I wish it was that easy for me to think that way, Chance. But after I got pregnant with Tiffany, my parents made sure that all their friends knew they had nothing to do with the way I turned out. I heard them call me a bad seed once. Since then I’ve tried so hard to be good and to raise Tiffany the right way.”
He reached over and pulled her into his arms, hugging her close. “Oh, baby, you have. You’re being too hard on yourself. No one is perfect, not even your parents. And they had no right to lay something that heavy on you. We all make mistakes. I bet if you were to clean out their closets you’ll find something they’d rather leave hidden.”
She shook her head. “I doubt it. You don’t know my parents.”
“Yes, I think I do. They aren’t one of a kind, you know. There are others out there just like them.”
A smile she couldn’t contain curved her lips. “Yes, I know.”
“Then remember that. Always keep that thought in mind.”
He released her and Kylie thought she fell in love with him even more at that moment. “You’re good at that, you know.”
He glanced over at her as he began backing the car out the driveway. “Good at what?”
“Soothing my ruffled feathers.”
He smiled. “Glad I could help.”
“HEY, MAN, DID YOU HAVE to bring your own personal cheerleader?” Bas whispered as he set a screen for Chance to shoot.
Chance laughed as he made yet another shot and Kylie stood and cheered again. “Jealousy won’t get you any points, Bas. You could have brought Cassandra.”
Bas frowned. “Are you kidding? Can any of you imagine her sitting over there on the bleachers watching me get hot and sweaty?”
Donovan chuckled. “No, I don’t think we can.”
“Hey, will the three of you cut the crap and let’s get some playtime?” Morgan growled, pushing Bas out of the way and getting the ball from Chance.
“Hey, that’s a foul, Morgan,” Chance called out, watching Morgan dribble the ball down the court to make a shot. He then turned to Bas. “What’s his problem?”
“Seems like some lady he was interested in last night at the ball wasn’t all that receptive,” Bas said as they ran down the court to retrieve the stolen ball. “Who?”
“The woman who could be Queen Latifah’s twin, Helena Spears. He asked her out and she declined. She’s probably the first woman who’s ever turned down a dinner date with him. He evidently doesn’t handle rejection well.”
Chance grinned. “Evidently.”
The game ended an hour or so later with Bas and Chance winning. Morgan, who’d made six fouls, would have gotten thrown out of the game had they been playing by real basketball rules.
Kylie sat patiently on the bleachers waiting for the men to come out of the locker room, where they had gone to shower and change. When Bas came out first, he crossed the gym to come over to talk to her.
“So,” he asked dropping in the seat next to her, “what did you think of our game?”
She couldn’t help but smile. “Interesting. A lot of rules were broken.”
Bas chuckled. “Yeah, better broken rules than broken noses. We need this game every week to work off frustrations. Otherwise, we’d be at each other’s throats at some point during the week.”
“So I heard.”
After a few moments of silence, Bas, who had a habit of shooting straight from the hip, said, “Chance has never brought a woman to watch us play before, so I figure you must be special.”
Kylie gave him a wry glance. “Do you?”
“Yes, I do.”
“That’s good to know because I think he’s special, too.”
Bas shook his head and chuckled softly. “You don’t seem too happy about it.”
Kylie let out a sigh. “We should be concentrating on our kids.”
“Hey, Marcus is a smart guy and from what I hear your Tiffany is a smart girl.”
“Yes, but trouble has a way of finding even smart people.”
“You’re talking to someone who knows. Trouble used to be my middle name.”
Kylie caught her bottom lip between her teeth. “Chance is a nice guy,” she said quietly. “Marcus is lucky to have him for a father.”
“That’s the same thing Chance said about you.”