“If this was anyone else, you’d at least suspend them—”
I knew she had a point, and suddenly I sucked in a breath, expecting the worse.
But all Dallas said was, “You’re right. But I’m not going to. You’ve been starting this mess with them, Christy, and we all know it. You and I already talked about this, didn’t we? I don’t want to suspend anyone, but if I do, it isn’t going to be them.”
Yeah, I could tell from the look on her face, she liked Dallas. And she liked Dallas a lot. “But you’re playing favorites!”
“I’m always going to be fair with the boys, but I will play favorites with everyone else who isn’t an active member of the team. Don’t put me into that position, because I know she”—he tipped his head toward me—“only bites when she has to, and I will always take her side. Are we clear on that?”
He would?
Christy’s cheeks puffed up with so much indignation, she literally squawked. Everything from her forehead down was red. “This is unbelievable. Fine! But don’t think Jonathan is going to be on this team much longer.” Her gaze stayed on Dallas for a moment, a dozen emotions flashing across her face before, just like that, she turned on her heel and disappeared into the crowd.
Why did I suddenly feel bad for her?
It wasn’t until then that I noticed half the parents of the team were sitting on the tables around the concession stand. What was probably half the parents of every other team playing in the tournament that weekend were, too. Great.
I cleared my throat and popped my lips. “Well, that was awkward.”
“I’m not a brat.” Louie was still hung up and outraged.
I pointed my finger at him. “You’re a tattletale, that’s what you are. Nosey Rosie. What did I tell you about snitches?”
“You love them?”
It was Dallas who laughed first, one of his hands already sliding into his back pocket where he pulled out his wallet and a bill. “Lou, go buy another hot chocolate.”
Louie nodded and took the five, heading back into the line as Josh, who was at my side, said, “I’m gonna go find my friends.”
“All right,” I said. “Careful.”
Josh nodded and disappeared.
Dallas looked down at me with a serious expression on his face, and I raised my eyebrows back at him. A sense of being overwhelmed filled my chest as I snuggled in deeper into the warm jacket, the backs of my fingers brushed against the Post-it notes in the pocket.
What exactly was going on?
“You’re always going to take my side, Professor?” I pretty much whispered the question.
He took a step toward me, his gaze still centered directly on my face. And he nodded.
“What did you guys talk about?” I asked him, still so low only he could hear.
Dallas took another step forward, the tips of his tennis shoes touching the tips of my boots. His chin was down to his collar as he took me in. And in a voice that was a lot louder than mine had been, he said, “I suspended her for two weeks after what happened, you know.”
I didn’t know. I was actually pretty damn shocked no one had told me.
The surprise must have been apparent on my face—or maybe he knew me too well, because he dipped his chin down even further in a partial nod. “I did. And I apologized to her if I’d given her the wrong impression that I was interested in her, informing her that I wasn’t and we needed to keep things professional.”
“I thought she liked you.”
He shrugged, the corners of his mouth indenting just slightly. “It isn’t the first time it’s happened.”
“What? Getting hit on by moms on the team?”
“Yeah.”
I snickered. “Are you sure you weren’t imagining it?”
Dallas made a face before this giant, beaming grin took over his mouth, so potent I could have taken his jacket off and been warm the rest of the day. “I’m sure, baby.”
Baby again? All I could say was “Uh-huh,” so that I wouldn’t sound like an idiot.
“I wanna ask if you really said you’d pepper spray her, but I already know the answer.”
Pressing my lips together, I shrugged.
He reached up toward me and brushed the backs of his fingers over my cheek, still smiling wide, and pinched my chin. “You’re fucking nuts.”
All I did was shrug again. “You know that, but you’re still here, aren’t you?”
His smile melted into a smaller one, and the deep breath he let out made it seem like it had weighed a thousand pounds. Then his fingers brushed over my cheek again, and Dallas moved to tuck a strand of her behind my ear. His voice was soft. “I’m still here, Peach.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
I never thought the day would come where I would be excited to go to work, but after almost three weeks of taking time off, my body was so ready. I had tried picking up shears twice in the last week, and it was a little iffy and painful, but I couldn’t take being home any longer. My bank account couldn’t either. So, hand hurting or not, that Wednesday morning, I was pumped beyond belief.
So pumped Josh was steadily scowling at me through the reflection in the rearview mirror.
“Why are you so happy?” grumpy britches muttered his question.
“Because I’m going back to work,” I sang back to him, earning a bigger scowl. I really enjoyed my job on a normal basis, but after so long, I was ready to love it again in a way that only time and space was capable of.
“I’ll be happy next week when we get off from school for Thanksgiving,” the grump muttered.
Shit. I’d forgotten about Thanksgiving. “Did you guys decide what you want to do?” The Larsens were going to Louisiana and my family was staying in San Antonio, so I’d given the boys the option to choose whom they wanted to spend it with. Last year, we’d all stayed together at my parents, but I couldn’t be greedy and keep them if they wanted to see the other side of the family. Either way, I had to work the day before, half the day of, and the following day, too.
“No,” was the same reply they’d given me when I first brought up them going to Louisiana.
I sighed. “Well, you better decide soon or,” I sang, “you’re stuck with me.”
“Stop, please,” Josh pleaded.
“I like the way you sing,” Louie piped up, earning a dirty look from his brother. “You sound like a cute kitty.”
I didn’t think that was as much of a compliment as he meant for it to be, but I’d take it.
“If we stay, will Mr. Dallas eat turkey with us?” the five-year-old asked.
I glanced at him through the rearview mirror, letting myself think about how nice he’d been this past weekend at Josh’s game and how he’d given me a hug while he walked us to our car that night at the end of the tournament. He’d even apologized for having to skip dinner, but he’d left Miss Pearl alone at home all day and thought he should spend some time with her since she was staying with him and all.