Page 4 of Bump and Run

“Just Junior,” I answer.

“Your parents named you second best?” she asks, giving a short smirk.

“My big sister used to say that,” I chuckle. “I proved them wrong.”

Her eyes jut up and down with skepticism. “Have you?”

“Junior!” I spin around as Cary Pierce walks inside. “I see you’ve met my daughter, Eliza.”

Eliza.

“You interrupted the introductions, actually,” she quips. Her eyes move from his to mine. “I’m Eliza.”

She holds out her hand but his thick palm slaps my shoulder again.

“How about we head on back outside, Junior?” he says, not really asking. “I’ve got a few more motivational speeches in me and I’d hate for you to miss them.”

I nod. “All right.”

He tilts his head at Eliza. “I thought we agreed that you would stay upstairs tonight…”

She gives a quick smile. “Relax, Dad. I’m just getting us some water.”

“You have a sink upstairs.”

I glance up at him, jarred but the sudden hardness in his tone but it doesn’t seem to faze her at all.

“Whoops. My bad,” she says, spinning on her pointed toes. “It was nice to meet you, justJunior.”

“You, too,” I add, feeling another tight squeeze on my shoulder.

As she leaves, the coach guides me away from the counter towards the back door. I crane my neck until it hurts just to watch her leave, aching to see more of that tight body but it disappears into the shadowed hall before I can memorize another detail of her.

“Junior…” He clears his throat. “I’m going to expect three very specific, yet simple, things from you guys this season.” He holds up a hand and counts on his fingers as he talks. “Hit the gym hard five times a week. Don’t fuel your body with crap. And…” He shifts around to stand in front of me and drops his hands from my shoulders. “Stay away from my daughter.”

I blink. “Excuse me?”

His eyes keep a hard edge. “Does that sound simple enough?”

I glance over my shoulder into the kitchen again, stunned and confused. “I’m sorry, Coach. You’ve got the wrong idea. I was just being polite.”

“Good.” His lips curl into a forced, almost menacing, grin. “It’s nothing personal. Don’t think I’m singling you out — it goes for the entire team. I’d rather not have my work life mixing with my family life.”

“I understand completely, Coach.”

“Excellent.”

He turns away and marches back into the yard, leaving me with a very annoying chill racing down my spine. In any other situation, if a person of authority spoke to me like that, I’d be all about getting them back for it but this is Cary Pierce. The term childhood hero doesn’t quite cover the admiration I feel for the man. He could have told me to drop and lick his shoes and I’d immediately ask whether he preferred the laces or the soles.

And yet, there’s a magnet on the back of my head, drawing my eyes into the kitchen, hoping for just one more glance at Eliza Pierce.

Ty hops out in front of me. “I fucking told you, man!” he shouts, throwing his arm around my shoulders. “This is going to be the best year of our lives.”

I laugh. “Looks like it might be.”

We walk out onto the lawn where Cary Pierce’s booming voice fills the air again. I hang on every word that falls from his mouth, soaking it all up, because Ty is right.

If Coach does what he says he can do and we go all the way to the top then nothing can stop all of our dreams from coming true.

Hairs stick up on my neck and I glance up at the house. Curtains move in a window on the third floor and I catch sight of that feminine shape again.

Eliza Pierce stares down at the lawn, looking right at me from behind the glass, sitting next to… some guy?

Figures.

I look forward at Cary Pierce and focus on him instead.

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