Читать книгу The Perfect Catch - Cassidy Carter - Страница 9

Chapter 6

The next morning, Jessica pulled open the shades in Wesley’s room, letting the early morning light spread across the walls, which were decorated with sports posters. She’d noticed a few of them absent from the whole scheme over the past few weeks, and she wasn’t quite sure what to make of the fact that the posters he had taken down and stashed in his closet had been gifts from his father.

Jessica said, “Morning, kiddo. How’d ya sleep?”

Wes sat up and yawned. “I dreamed I hit a home run.”

Jessica closed her eyes as if she were picturing Wes’s victory. “Mmm. Well, dreaming is the first step to doing. Come on, get up. Get up!” She ruffled his hair, toying with the messy locks until he swatted her hands away and rolled out of bed.

Jessica started making the bed, and Wes grabbed a pillow from the floor, pitching in. He’d sprung from under the covers so quickly that Jess knew his anticipation level was high. Normally, she had a hard time prying him from the tangle of blankets unless she was making chocolate chip pancakes. He’d gone to sleep the previous night psyched to be training with Chase.

“Mom, how do you know Chase anyway?” Wes asked as he grabbed a corner of his comforter and pulled it toward his headboard.

Jessica didn’t think it wise to tell Wesley that she and Chase had been romantically involved. Instead, she said, “Oh, we were in Spring Fling together. Actually, we were the Spring King and Spring Queen.”

Wes scratched at his forehead, which did nothing but further muss his bedhead. “So, it’s like you were married?”

“No! It was decided by a town vote.” Jessica felt her stomach lurch. Would she and Chase have ended up married? He would never have stayed in Parker Falls for her, and she could never have brought herself to leave town all those years ago.

Wesley said, “So, everyone voted you two should be together?” He drew out the word together as if there were something that she was missing.

Jessica did not want to explain to Wes that although she and Chase had been together, neither of them had been mature enough to sustain the relationship. Further, she didn’t want that little revelation to lead to the fact that his father had been Jess’s rebound guy. That was just too much for an eight-year-old, no matter how smart Wes was.

“Ohhh-kay. Enough stalling. It’s time for you to get dressed. I’ll meet you after school and walk you to practice with Chase.” Jess heard the kettle she’d put on the stove start to whistle. She wagged a warning finger at Wes as she scurried toward the door. She was just past the doorjamb when she saw him toss back his covers and vault into his bed.

There was a spring in Wes’s step—a bounce, nearly—as Wesley, Chase, and Jessica approached the baseball diamond. Wesley had been on cloud nine since she’d picked him up—signing him out of school a bit early was definitely a contributing factor.

Jess was a bundle of nerves, but she was glad that Wes was happy. Chase seemed to be excited to be on the field as well, taking in a big breath once they hit the lush infield. He hefted a sports bag full of professional gear that he’d brought with him, insisting that Wes use his equipment for practice.

Chase was a pro baseball player, true, but he had a pretty wild reputation. Would Wes be okay if she left them to train? Could Chase handle a kid?

She said, “All right, I don’t know how much you know about coaching, but—”

Chase interrupted her. “Okay, hey! I’ve been on baseball diamonds like this my entire life. And I’ve had some of the best coaching in the world. I know I can teach Wesley the skills he needs to play this great game.”

Jessica pursed her lips. “I hope so.”

Chase turned to Wes. “Okay, bud. You ready to knock out a home run or two?”

Wesley nodded, game face on. “Definitely!”

Jessica plowed ahead, voicing the concern that had been running around in her head during the whole drive over. “We should probably start by managing expectations and just teaching the basics.”

Chase asked, “Are you just going to be hovering here all day?” His voice carried a little of the haughty attitude that had always managed to rankle her.

Jessica fired back. “Oh, wait. So you can ignore thousands of fans, but I’m a distraction?”

Wes snickered beside Chase. Chase shot Jess a look. She could see the smile barely threatening the corners of his lips. Ooooh. He had always loved to get her riled. He’d told her, all those years ago, that she was pretty when she was mad. She stood her ground, lifting her chin in challenge.

Chase shooed at her. “You, go to the stands.”

She could almost feel her eyebrows hit her hairline.

“Please,” he added, likely out of a strong sense of self-preservation. “Give the kid some space.”

Wes was full-on giggling now. Jess took a deep, calming breath. “Fine. I have work to do anyway.”

She headed up to the stands, stabbing at Chase with her first two fingers as she walked away, mouthing a silent, “I’m watching you.” He returned the gesture, making an exaggerated, incredulous face in return. The silly face diffused her annoyance, but she’d never tell him that.

As she turned away, she couldn’t help but grin. She found a bleacher about midway up the stands and sat, taking out a stack of small-business marketing books.

Chase clapped his hands together. “Okay, Wes, let’s get started with a warm-up.”

Jess got lost in her reading, finding that the ability to sit and focus on the problem of the diner with no distractions was something she’d been missing. She jotted down ideas in a notebook on her lap as she flipped the pages of the book she’d opened on the bleachers beside her. She’d been dying to try out some new menu items, but she needed to consider decent profit margins on anything she might change from the existing menu.

There were other considerations too. Her internet research had yielded suggestions for new table configurations, adding a floor map to help with a seating system if she were ever busy enough to need one, and a dozen other little upgrades that would refresh the diner’s interior, if only she had the money.

Jess glanced up every so often and watched as Chase held a timer and had Wesley do calisthenics on the grass—repeating sprints, bends, and push-ups.

“Eighteen, nineteen, twenty!” Chase barked. “Okay, let’s do some high knees. Go across. Stay focused.”

Wes complied. Jess kept an eye on Wes, starting to fret.