Page 35 of Second Chance for the Single Mom

We did some warm-up stretches, followed by lightly tossing the ball back and forth. After that, we worked on his fielding. I couldn’t lie: he was awful at first, never quite able to get his glove on the ball. But he stuck with it, fearlessly getting his body in front of the ball, even when it bounced up and hit him in the leg or chest. He was stubborn—I had to give him that.

Haley sat on the bleachers while we practiced. Hell yeah. Let her watch me being all fatherly with her son. Women loved that kind of thing.

Of course, I didn’t have any real feelings for Haley. I was just doing this to nudge Lucas into action.

There I go lying to myself again.

“That was a great practice,” I said when the hour was over. “Keep this up, and you’ll be even better than Randy Arozarena.”

He gave me a bright smile. “Okay!”

“You’re really good with him,” Haley said. “You were good with all the kids at practice yesterday.”

“You sound surprised,” I teased. “I should be offended.”

Haley shrugged. “I guess I still remember the old Jordan Mayfield who didn’t take anything seriously.”

“Maybe I’m good with kidsbecauseI’m still a little boy on the inside,” I joked.

Fuck yes. There was no better feeling than having a gorgeous woman look at you the way Haley was looking at me right now. Wait until she learned what I do for a living.

“I seriously can’t thank you enough for the private lesson,” she said.

“Don’t sweat it! My team was already thin, so I’m glad to have another prospect to help fill the gaps.” I held out a fist to Bran. “See you at the regular practice tomorrow, kiddo.”

Bran enthusiastically bumped my fist. “Thanks, Coach Jordy!”

While they walked to the parking lot, I collected all the baseball gear, stealing a few glances in their direction. Yeah, it should have been a crime to walk around in public in that pencil skirt. She had me thinking all sorts of dirty thoughts.

But when I walked out to the parking lot a few minutes later, her minivan was still sitting there. There was a grinding sound coming from the engine—the battery was dead.

“Need some help?” I asked.

She hopped out of the car and groaned in annoyance. “Bran left the light on in the backseat during practice.”

“I was coloring!” he insisted.

“The sun is out! You didn’t need to turn the light on!” She sounded more exhausted than angry.

“I can give you a jump…” I trailed off. “Crap. Nevermind. I loaned my jumper cables to a buddy last week.”

“It’s fine. I’ve got Triple-A.” She held up her phone. “The app says they’ll be here in an hour.”

“I can wait with you,” I suggested.

Haley shook her head. “That’s okay. I don’t want to take up any more of your time. Unless…”

I cocked my head. “Yeah?”

“I hate to impose,” she said, “but do you think you could give us a ride home? We always have a family dinner with my sister on Tuesdays, and I don’t want to be late. I gave Triple-A the code to my van, so I don’t need to be here while they jump it.”

Trying not to seemtooenthusiastic, I said, “No problem. Your house is on my way home, anyway.”

She sighed with relief. “You really don’t mind?”

“Of course not,” I replied with my best smile. “We can’t let Bran miss dinner—he needs his strength if he’s going to be my star shortstop.”

To my surprise, Haley threw herself into my arms. It was only a quick hug, but I savored the way her body felt pressed against mine.

---