Page 222 of The Trouble With Bad Boys

Memories I never wanted to experience again.

I don’t know what this means for me … for us. Her having a kid changes things in a way I’m not sure I can handle, but I shove the thoughts away so I can be present. “So, James wants to play soccer?”

She turns her tear-stained face toward me. “Yeah,” she murmurs with a shaky breath. “He has to wait while I save enough money to buy him a pair of cleats, but as soon as he can, he’ll start playing with some of his friends on Monday afternoon if there’s room on their team.”

Keeping my eyes on the road, I nod. “I can always help him practice. I play in one of the senior teams down here,” I offer as I pull into the parking lot. It’s busier than I expected. I’d forgotten the younger teams were having a special open practice session today to encourage new members.

As soon as I pull to a stop, Sophie climbs out of my car, not waiting for me before taking off toward the field. With her hand shielding her eyes against the afternoon sun, she scans the area, and I move beside her. “Send me a photo of James so we can split up.”

She glances up at me as though she’d forgotten I was with her. “Uh, sure. Thanks.” She quickly sends me a photo and we separate to opposite sides of the field. There are a lot of kids down here; it’ll take time to search for him.

I study the photo closely. He has Sophie’s dark hair, but his eyes are gray blue and he has a galaxy of freckles across his nose and cheeks. He’s a cute kid and I hope he’s here somewhere playing with his friends because I can’t bear the thought of him being stolen and Sophie having to experience what my family had to go through.

I wander from game to game, dropping my eyes to my phone to keep his image fresh. When I look up again, I spot a boy with dark hair who’s wearing the clothes Sophie described to the officers, so I increase my speed to a jog. It’s difficult to tell if it’s him from this distance, but as I get closer, I’m pretty sure it is.

My heart pounds like it’s about to shatter out of my ribcage with excited energy at hopefully finding Sophie’s son. When I get close enough, I call out his name, and the boy turns fully in my direction. My relief is instant and overwhelming, and my knees almost buckle as my shoulders sag. He’s peering at me with acute distrust, which is good. “James? James Chalmers?”

His eyes narrow and his dark brows scrunch together. “Yeah,” he answers, drawing out the word while keeping his distance from me.

“My name’s Lincoln. I work with your mom.” His features relax. “We’ve been looking for you.”

His head swivels around as he searches for his mom. “Damn. Where is she?”

I look up, spotting her on the opposite side of the field, and point in the direction. “Over there. C’mon, I’ll take you to her.”

Suspicion clouds his features again. “How mad is she?” He bites his bottom lip, much the way Sophie does when she’s unsure of something.

“Bud, she’s more worried than mad.” I grip his shoulder and squeeze it in reassurance.

A woman steps behind him, eyeing me as she places her hand on his other shoulder, tugging him out of my hold. “Everything okay here, James?”

“Uh, yeah. My mom’s looking for me. I gotta go.”

Her fingers turn white as she holds him in place, looking at me with distrust. “Look, I don’t know who you are, but I’m not letting James go with you. I’ll call Sophie and let her know where we are.”

My eyebrows shoot up. Pretty sure the woman has James without permission, yet she’s being protective of him. I’m torn as to what to do. The woman seems to know Sophie, and James appears to be comfortable with her, so my gut tells me he’s safe. “If you wait here, I’ll get your mom.”

She nods, and I take off in the direction I saw Sophie. When I reach her, I stop in front of her, panting. “Found him.” I wave my arm in the direction from where I came. Her eyes widen and I grip her hand, engulfing it in mine. “C’mon.”

James is exactly where I left him. Thank fuck.

Sophie disengages from me and bolts the last few yards, dropping to her knees and wrapping her arms around her son, sobbing against him. He stands frozen, his eyes blinking as he scratches his cheek. After a few moments, she pulls back and runs her hands over his body from head to toe. “You’re okay. I’ve been so worried,” she sobs.

The woman standing behind James shifts on her feet and twists her fingers together. “Didn’t he tell you we were bringing him with us today?”

Sophie looks up at the woman, then drops her eyes back to James, shaking her head. “No, he didn’t.”

Twenty

Sophie

My blood pounds through my veins and my heart beats an erratic rhythm. My head is being cleaved open, and I don’t know whether to be mad or relieved as I hold my son. Something I wasn’t sure I’d ever do again.

I’m gonna go with relieved and happy that he’s okay. I’ll be mad later when I can talk to James about pulling stunts like this.

Josh’s mom, Elaine, tuts at James and then turns to me. “I’m so sorry. I thought he’d asked permission. I never would have brought him to the open training if I’d known. I can’t imagine how worried you’ve been.”

I climb to my feet, keeping James close. “It’s not your fault. But I’m gonna take James home. His grandfather is also worried sick.” His body stiffens in my hold.

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