Page 13 of A Second Chance At Forever

“Wow. Meet the parents?” I didn’t know what to say. I pushed my plate away from me and leaned back in the booth.

“Mason, it’s not like that. They know we’ve been dating for three months and they would like to meet the guy I’m always gushing about. It’s not like we’re getting married or anything.”

I choked on my beer when she said the word, “married.”

Nicole wrinkled her brow and started wiping up the beer that had spewed from my mouth. “Are you okay?” she asked with a concerned look on her face. She could clearly tell I was distracted.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I managed to get out, even though I was still coughing and choking.

“Why don’t we just talk about this later, huh?”

“Yeah, later.” I took a big bite of my bacon cheeseburger, trying to avoid talking about anything else.

After lunch, I walked Nicole out to her car and kissed her good-bye. Once she was no longer in sight, I made my way back inside the bar because I had to ask Wendy what she and Lennox had talked about. I had to find out what Lennox was doing back.

“Wendy, do you have a minute?” I took a seat at the bar.

“Sure, what’s up?” She stopped and sat down the case of beer she was carrying before giving me her full attention.

“Dane said Lennox was here last night asking about me. Is that true?” I couldn’t keep the excitement and hope out of my voice.

She offered up a grin. “Yeah, she was here.”

“Well, what did she want? What did she say?” I prodded.

She shrugged one shoulder. “She came in and had a few drinks. I asked what she was doing in town and she kind of side-stepped the question, so I don’t know why she’s here or if she intends on staying.”

I leaned in just a bit. “What did she say about me?”

“Not much really,” she shook her head, causing her blonde curls to bounce with the motion. “She just wanted to know if you had been in the bar and asked how you were doing. That was pretty much it.”

That disappointed me a little. I took a long breath. “Okay, thanks.” I stood from the barstool and started for the door.

“Oh, Mason,” Wendy called after me.

I turned back toward her. “Yeah?”

“I don’t know what’s going on,” she looked down at her hands like she wasn’t sure if she should tell me. “but she didn’t look good.”

I closed the distance between us. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged before wiping her hands on a bar rag. “She just didn’t look like herself, you know? She had on a big sweatshirt and her hair was a mess. She looked sick or something.”

“Okay, thanks for talking to me.” I turned back around and pushed through the door.

I sat down in my office and thought about everything Wendy had said to me.

“She looked sick or something.” Was she sick? Surely she wouldn’t be drinking if she was sick, would she? None of this is making any sense. Why is she back? Why is she asking about me? Why hasn’t she came to see me? If she intends on staying she would come see me, right? Maybe she isn’t staying. I always thought the reason she never came to see me before was because it was hard enough to walk away the first time and she didn’t want to do it again. Is that the reason?

All the thinking gave me a headache. I pulled a bottle of Tylenol from my desk drawer and washed it down with a drink of water. I wanted Jack, but I had practice that evening.

It wasn’t time for games to start yet, but we stayed in shape year-round. I decided to push Lennox from my thoughts and get some work done before I drove myself crazy.

I finally finishedwork on the boats by five that evening. I was covered in sweat and grease and still had an hour of practice to get through.

I wasn’t one of those lazy coaches. I wouldn’t stand on the sidelines and run the guys to death. If I made them do it, I joined them.

It seemed to help them understand that if they worked hard on the field, I would work hard for them. We were a team, and I was always by their side. Not to mention, it kept me in good shape.

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