Page 18 of Every Beat of My Heart

We ran through it several more times until l was out of breath, and we stopped to drink some water. Owen sat on the grass, his knees bent, and Jameson sat on the porch steps.

The sun was starting to set.

Jameson stood. “I should probably head home so you can take a shower and get to bed.”

For once, Owen didn’t grumble about someone telling him to shower. “Thanks for playing with me.”

“It was fun,” Jameson said as Owen went inside and closed the door.

“I can’t thank you enough for helping him. I can play catch, but that’s about it. I don’t know much about football.”

Jameson leaned a shoulder on the column of the railing. “I told you I’m happy to help.”

I stiffened when I remembered that Jameson probably had someone to go home to or friends to meet. “I don’t want to keep you any longer. I’m sure you have places to be.”

Jameson’s eyes flashed with amusement. “Where do you think I’d go?”

“A bar. A hot date?” I asked, shifting on my feet.

“I don’t go out to the bars very often unless it’s with my coworkers. And even then, it’s not my favorite thing to do. I enjoy working out and playing basketball with friends at the station.”

“You’re young. I don’t want to occupy all your time.”

“You’re not. I’d tell you if I had something else to do.” Jameson drained his water bottle.

That had me wondering what else he did in his spare time.

“And how young do you think I am?” Jameson set his bottle on the table next to me.

“Younger than me. I’m thirty-one.”

“I’m twenty-seven. I hardly call that young.”

I shouldn’t have been talking about our ages. Because this wasn’t a date. We weren’t getting to know each other. But it felt like something.

“I enjoyed dinner. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” I said softly, my heart thudding.

“I can take Owen to the gym tomorrow to check it out if that’s okay with you.”

I moved to follow him to his truck. “He’d love that, and we don’t have anything scheduled tomorrow.”

“Great. I’ll be by at nine.”

I raised a brow. “I’ll make sure he’s awake.”

“If Owen is serious about playing sports, there’s a certain amount of discipline that comes with it. The determination to work out often, to improve and get better. He’s already interested in practicing, and that’s great. But he needs to get stronger.”

“Are you sure it’s necessary to work out at his age?” I assumed that wouldn’t come until later. Maybe high school.

When we reached his truck, Jameson turned to face me. “It will give him confidence. That’s the best thing you can give a kid his age. And it has the added bonus of being good for his health. You might want to buy more food though. It’s only going to increase his appetite.”

I sighed. “I’m not sure I’ll survive that.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a good night.” He opened his truck and climbed inside.

I tried not to think about how sexy he looked in those jeans or how they hugged his ass. Jameson glanced at me through the window, and as if he’d caught me ogling him, a smile spread over his face, and he winked at me.

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