Page 48 of The Art Of Starting Over

Devorah wanted nothing more to do with her or the tryouts and walked to the other side of the field, away from everyone.

She took her jacket off, spread it over the freshly laid mulch, and sat down, resting against the trunk of an oak tree. Devy pulled her knees to her chest and let the tears flow. People had rushed to take care of whatever had happened on the field, which she understood and knew her dad would resolve later, but the entire incident made her feel more vulnerable than she already felt. Did DJ pick on Maren because she was the new kid? Conor was new as well. Or had DJ singled her out because she was the only female trying out for a male-dominated sport? Most of the girls Maren’s age cheered and attended competitions. Devy had asked her daughter if she wanted to do that instead, but Maren had chosen baseball. It would be nice for kids to be able to live in a world where sports weren’t divided up by gender.

Hayden made his way over to where she sat or hid. She had expected him to follow her right away, and when he hadn’t, she was relieved. Devorah needed a moment. Or ten. Hayden laid his sweatshirt next to hers and sat down with a sigh. Instead of saying anything, he reached for her hand. She gave it to him freely.

His large hand was warm and tender. His thumb lazily rubbed the spot between her thumb and index finger. The motion soothed her. Hayden didn’t ask her what was wrong or bring up the fact that she was crying. He just sat there with her.

They had their own demons they were dealing with. Hers were just out in the open for everyone to see and watch, on repeat, whenever they chose.

When the whistle sounded and tryouts ended, Devy stayed where she was.

“You can’t let what Sapphire said get to you.”

“Why not? She’s telling the truth. No one wants me.”

“I do,” Hayden said. He reached over and gently pulled her chin toward him. His gaze met hers. “I, for one, am damn happy you’re here. I’m not happy with the circumstances, but Chad’s mistake is my gain, and I fully intend to make the best of it.”

Hayden got up and hustled toward the kids, leaving her there, speechless. She swallowed hard as she watched his swagger in those too-kind-for-the-eyes joggers men wore. Hayden was a whole lot of trouble she didn’t need right now, but turning a friend away would be a mistake. He was right, though; she couldn’t let what others thought of her bring her down. She hadn’t done anything wrong. Chad had. If people couldn’t see that cheating was wrong, that publicly humiliating someone you said you cared about was wrong, then they were the ones with the issue. Not her.

“I can do this,” she said to the birds. Devy stood, picked up her jacket, and draped the clean side over her arm while she waited for Hayden and the kids. As they walked toward her, Hayden had a hand on each of them. Maren and Conor chatted animatedly, while Hayden stared at Devy with a grin on his face.

One that meantsomething... she just had to figure out what.

Fourteen

Hayden

Hayden took everyone out to lunch at the Lazy Lamb, mostly because he didn’t want to drop Devorah off yet, and he couldn’t think of an excuse to see her later in the evening or tomorrow. The best excuse he’d have to see her would be Monday, when the kids went back to school, and frankly that would be too long for him.

The kids ran into the pub and went to the end of the bar and waited for Colt to follow them to the game room. He was going to lose a fortune on video games where these kids were concerned.

With his hand on the small of Devy’s back, Hayden directed them to a booth. They sat across from each other and waited for one of the staff members or Colt to come over to them.

It was Colt who graced them breathlessly as he sat down next to his sister. “How do you keep up with them?” he asked.

“They have a lot of energy, which is shocking, since they just had baseball tryouts,” Devorah said.

“I heard some shit went down with Noble’s kid?” Colt shook his head. “He’s such an ass when he’s in here. I’ve had to call Dad or one of the deputies a time or two. And don’t get me started when his ex is here. They’re oil and water but volatile. I don’t know how they survive each other.”

“Sapphire Fleming being the ex?” Hayden asked.

Colt shook his head. “No, believe it or not, she’s the sane one. Dalton messed around on his wife with Sapphire, got her pregnant twice. They had an off-and-on thing in high school. I guess they never got over it.”

“That’s rich,” Devorah said. “Now she likes Hayden.”

Hayden’s eyes went wide. “Believe me, the feelings aren’t reciprocated.”

“Stay away,” Colt said. “You don’t want to get involved with her kind of drama.”

“I’d like to live a drama-free life,” Devy added. “But it doesn’t look that way.”

Colt put his arm around his sister. “The ship will sail soon. Small-town drama comes and goes like the weather.”

“Well, this has been the longest five minutes of my life,” she said.

“Anyway, what happened?” Colt asked.

“DJ pulled Maren’s hair and touched her when she asked him not to. Crow was there and told Dalton to bring his kid to the station after tryouts,” Devy said, summing everything up for Colt.

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