Page 102 of Coach Me
“The latest was that teacher you were talking to. Yeah, he came to Reagan’s shop to buy his wife some flowers.” Will gives me a slanted smile. “She had good reasons, Luce. I get that it’s frustrating, but her heart is always in the right place.”
Oh my gosh. Every random ghosting or numbers I’ve had disappear from my phone makes sense. “I can’t believe this. She’s been doing this for years?”
Will winces. “You could just look at it as dodged bullets.”
My heart sinks a bit. In a way, I could see her doing this on a couple of occasions, but this feels like crossing a line. “Just because it was a bullet dodged doesn’t mean it shouldn’t have been a lesson learned, Will.”
“I agree.” Will holds up his hands. “I told her many times to stop, but she just wants to protect you, Luce. I know it’s hard to see, and her methods aren’t always the softest. When I asked her to keep her distance, I told her that there was nothing to run off this time.”
“I don’t think she completely agrees with you,” I huff out. “She definitely let me know she has doubts.”
Will squeezes my knee. “Not exactly. This is the first time she’s actually said something to you about it. She usually intimidates the guys or threatens their livelihoods to get them to back off.”
I look at Will with a face that I can’t decide is horrified or amused at the thought of her threatening who knows how many guys. “Make it stop, this is too much for me to take in.”
Will laughs. “This time, she toldyoubecause I think she knows there’s no scaring Dex. She knows I wouldn’t come to her and say ‘let them figure it out’ without any reasoning behind it. She can’t help herself—she wants you to be happy, Luce. She just has a little bit of an overbearing way of showing it. I don’t know what warnings she gave you exactly, but it was her best attempt at letting you do this relationship on your own while trying to prepare you for any downfalls.”
I take another deep breath and let some of the weight Reagan’s words placed on my shoulders roll off. “I know Dex and I are still figuring things out. There’s no guarantee we will work out, given the stakes of the situation. I want Dex to keep Miles at the forefront here, but I deserve to be able to figure this out on my own. If I get hurt, then so be it.”
“I agree.” Will pushes back to his feet. “Give it some time to cool off. You deserve a chance to figure this out on your own, Luce. But if you need me or Rea, we’re always here.”
“Thanks, Will.” Dang it. Tears threaten again, but I force them down. “Still don’t hug me, I want to be strong.”
“Okay.” Will pats my head with a laugh. “I have to finish getting ready for the game. Take it one day at a time. It’ll work out how it needs to.”
I look up to my older brother, the dad of our family, whether he wants to be or not. “I know I don’t need your blessing, but?—”
“That’s right, you don’t,” Will cuts me off. “Lucie, do you like Dex?”
“Yes,” I answer him immediately.
“Are you happy?”
“Yes.”
Will smiles. “Okay, that’s all that matters.”
With a squeeze to my shoulder, Will heads out to get ready for the game. I exhale in this new silence, letting everything Will said process in my brain. I can’t entirely decide how I feel about Reagan right now, but Will’s right, I don’t need anyone’s blessing here.
With this newfound clarity, I get back to work on the last turtle and nearly finish it when I realize the game’s starting. I know Dex wouldn’t mind if I watched the game from his office, and part of me is tempted to, but I like being in the stands for the games. Plus, I get a better view of Dex. Even if he’s not playing, the baseball pants work—no matter the context.
Tying off the last piece of the head, I put everything back in my canvas bag and head down to Dex’s reserved seats.
The moment my butt hits the hot plastic I feel Dex’s eyes on me. I’m sure Will told him I was fine after our little talk, but I give him a reassuring smile to affirm I’m okay. He sends a smirk my way before disappearing back into the dugout.
I let that smile of his put everything Reagan said in a box and shove it to the back of my brain. Will’s right, everything will work out how it needs to. I can hear her warnings, but I don’t have to listen to them.
As the game starts, I do my best to pay attention, but my eyes tend to wander over to the dugout for a specific coach to step back into view.
With another glance back, I notice Callie pointing her camera my way. I send her a confused look. I reach for my phone to text her, but then a shadow falls over me.
“I think you forgot something, baby.” Dex stands over me with that same smirk he gave me earlier.
The crowd starts to whistle and yell louder as the jumbotron shows Dex standing over me in the crowd.
“Dex? What are you doing?” My nervous laughter comes out soft, and I swear my hands start to shake. There’s now a whole lot of attention on us, not to mention, this is a televised game.
“You wear my hat to games, Luce.” Dex kneels beside me as he places his hat on my head. “My girl wears my hat, got it?”
