Page 65 of Along Comes Trouble

COLTON

S unday arrivesand I push open David’s front door. “What smells so good?” I ask as I come into the kitchen and find my friends gathered at the table. Six pairs of eyes land on me .

“No shit,” Ty says. “Look who it is .”

Michelle stands and wraps her arms around me. “It’s so good to see you.” Her smile is warm and welcoming and for the first time in a long time I feel like maybe life isn’t all bad all the time .

David throws an arm over the back of his chair. “I almost forgot what you looked like cleanshaven .”

I run a hand over my cheek and up the back of my neck. “I had a thing on Friday. Kind of wanted to make a good impression and figured me showing up looking like Forrest Gump on his three-year run wasn’t the best way to make it .”

“Well come on, sit down.” Michelle waves her hands at the people still sitting. “Make room, people .”

I frown in confusion. “This is Sunday, isn’t it ?”

“Yep. And you’re just in time for poker.” Liam notices my confusion. “Annabelle wanted more time with the kids. It made sense to invite the wives to play poker with us while Granny Carmichael spoils the children rotten for an afternoon .”

David grabs a spare chair from the living room and slides it into place. Bailey stands to make room and I catch a glimpse of the tiniest little baby bump poking through her shirt. “Look at you,” I say, staring down at her .

She wraps her hands over her belly and smiles. “I fought Liam every step of the way on this and now I have no idea why.” She sighs happily and then takes a seat, oblivious to the one, two punch of her words. They hit me so hard, I forget how to breathe .

“So?” David asks me. “Are you going to fill us in on this big, important thing you had on Friday ?”

I sit, take off my hat, and rest it on my knee. “I had a job interview .”

My friends turn to me in surprise, eyes wide, jaws dropped. The silence unsettles me, so I continue. “I put in my resume at the high school back at the beginning of November. For a coaching position. For the football team.” I stumble over my words, uncomfortable sharing this moment with them. “I didn’t expect anything to come of it, but they called me this past week and asked me to come in .”

Lexi leans forward. “And ?”

“And they offered me a job .”

My friends erupt in excitement, and I hold up a hand. “I’m not the coach. At least not yet. But the guy who is the coach wants to retire next year, and apparently my name still has meaning on that team. So, since I have zero coaching experience, I’ll be the assistant while I learn the ropes. The pay sucks and I might be terrible at it.” I shrug. “But it’s something.” I smile, maybe for the first time in three months .

David shuffles a deck of cards. “What on earth made you put in a resume at the high school ?”

I swallow hard and shift in my seat. “It was Tessa’s idea.” Her name still cuts me to the bone and I smile to hide the pain .

“Well, it was a good one.” Everyone shifts uncomfortably and the conversation quickly moves on to something else .

After the relative solitude of life in my trailer with Mario, the energy of my six friends nearly overwhelms me at first. It was hard enough to steel myself to spend the afternoon with David, Ty, and Liam. I was in no way prepared to have the women here as well. I sit quietly and play my hands, listening as they tease each other. My anxiety slowly lessens as I relax into our friendship. The more I unwind, the more I realize this was a good idea, having all of us play together instead of splitting up the group. We should have done it like this months ago .

Liam dotes on Bailey. The moment she finishes her drink, he’s up to refill it. When she needs a trip to the bathroom, he helps her with her chair and waits until she’s back at the table to slide it back into place. He beams at her while she speaks, his face filled with pride and happiness and hope. Whenever he can, he places his hand on her belly, as if he’s telling his unborn child that he’s here. He’s waiting. He’s ready to be everything for the both of them .

He catches me watching and shrugs lightly. “Sorry. Kind of .”

“He’s really not sorry,” says Lexi. “He’s ecstatic .”

Liam nods. “I really am. I didn’t think Bailey would ever let me be a father .”

I frown, the topic hitting too close to a well of pain I’m doing my damndest to ignore .

Bailey runs her hands over her belly. “I’m glad I let you talk me into it, although there are nights when I’m still scared to death to bring a child into this world .”

Our friends bob their heads in agreement and I sit back in my chair. My hands are cold and sweaty. My teeth ache from my clenched jaw. I want to run away. To get out of here before I hear any more, but I’m frozen in place by morbid curiosity. It’s like poking a bruise or staring at a wreck. I don’t want to hear what Bailey has to say, but I couldn’t stop myself if I tried .

“But,” Bailey continues, “for all the nights I lay awake afraid, there are other times when I feel filled to the brim with love for my husband and our child. When I realize that I’ve created a life with the man I love more than anything, that Liam and I are connected in a way I’m not connected to anyone else. There’s something so big…so important…so more. ” She sighs. “I know I’m preaching to the choir here. You guys all know what I’m talking about. Well,” she adds, her eyes on me. “Most of you .”

I attempt to smile but it’s all wrong. I never explained why Tessa and I ended things, just that we did. Bailey’s words hit me like a Mack truck going the wrong way on the highway. Pain explodes inside me. A million jabbering voices call me a fool, a selfish asshole, an immature jerk. I stand so fast my chair tips over .

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