Page 7 of Leave Me Broken

I chuckle. From the few conversations I shared with Amanda, that sounds like her.

When our laughs die out, what can be described only as an awkward silence settles between us. The tension in the air at her granddad’s is comparable to now as we stare at each other. Payson is the first to break the silence and eye contact. “So, what did you want to meet about?”

Clearing my throat, I lay the papers on my desk and cross my hands over them. “Week of Pink is coming up. I cleared our schedule for that week so—”

“Did you get my email? The car wash shut down, so I’m not able to book it for us. I looked at the other car wash but it’s behind a gas station and there isn’t a ton of room for us, besides it’s not on a busy road and I just didn’t think it would be the best option.” Smart girl, because I checked it out as well and thought the same. I wasn’t very on board for a car wash as it is, so I’m not upset about it. But I am curious what else she has come up with before I tell her my idea. “I talked to Alyssa.” I try to not grin at the look of disgust when she says her name, it’s cute how jealous she is for no reason. “And she said that her dad is on board with us having it at their place.” Of course he is. I have no doubt Mayor Burton would love having a bunch of teenage girls running around his yard in wet swimsuits, covered in soap. I realize the hypocrisy but it’s not teenage girls I’m interested in. It’s just one teenage girl.

“No,” I say. Payson stares at me with an open mouth before snapping it shut and rolling her eyes.

“Of course you have to shoot down any idea that isn’t yours.”

I conflict on whether I want to scold her for the attitude, preferably with my hand, or laugh because I fucking love when she’s feisty and the way her small nose wrinkles when annoyed. I do neither and just ignore her; I think she hates that more. “Well, I took the time to come up with something, because you did not keep in touch like you were meant to.”

She scoffs. “Surprise, surprise the great Ashley Pearson couldn’t even let me do this on my own.” I arch an eyebrow. “There’s a reason I wasn’t talking to you.” Her eyes narrow. “Doesn’t mean I wasn’t doing what you asked of me. Besides, like I said, I did email you.”

Fair. “What does me being Ash Pearson have to do with the fact I set up plans for my team?”

Instead of answering, she grumbles something. She crosses her arms over her chest, then props her feet up on my desk and shoves her ugly blue crocs in my face.

“Your shoes are ugly.” I will throw them away at some point.

“You are seriously the biggest dick I’ve ever met.”

“The biggest you’ve fucked, you mean.” I taunt with a grin.

Her nose twitches and her face deepens in color. “For now.”

Payson is truly the most daft person I know if she thinks another dick will ever enter her. “We both know if somehow some other bloke gets past me to fuck you, his cock will be nowhere near as big.”

My hands ache to touch her, brush a piece of her dark locks behind her ear, pull her against my body and remind her how good it is with me. She’s battling her own feelings with a lost look on her face, so I let her off easy, just this once. “But no, I did not get your email. What was it?”

It takes a minute of Payson attempting to remember where our conversation was, but once she does, she reaches into her kangaroo pocket and pulls out her phone. She scrolls for a second. “Dear Captain of the Bayshore Badgers volleyball team, I am happy to tell you that we will be paying for all the travel and accommodation expenses for the whole team to travel out of state for Week of Pink. I will be in contact with your coach closer to the day to finalize details. Thank you.”

My head is spinning trying to figure out who sent her the email because no one has been in touch with me.

“Sincerely, JG Law.” Her green eyes lift from the phone and she shrugs like she’s not sure what else to say. “I don’t know who that is, but that’s cool, right? Have they been in touch?”

I shake my head and scratch at my beard. With the other hand out in front of me palm up, I say, “Let me see your phone.”

She mutters something about saying please but drops it in my hand anyway. Good girl. The email reads exactly as she just read it. It is from Beatrice Anthony and that name doesn’t ring a bell. It’s not until I reread the ending remarks and see a familiar signature beneath it that it hits me who this email is from and I’m tempted to smash her phone. JG, as in Jethro Gilbert, Olivia’s dad.

The only other time I’ve seen that signature is on Payson’s sponsor paperwork. What the fuck is he doing paying for her sponsorship to attend this school let alone paying for seven girls, without Alyssa, and two coaches to travel to California? I glance up at Payson chewing on her thumb. Why is he doing all this for her? Because he feels bad for the girl with no reliable parents? Maybe because her grandfather is a pastor? He’s trying to make it to heaven or some shit. No, if that were the case, his sponsorship wouldn’t be anonymous and this email wouldn’t be sent from who I assume is his secretary. My molars grind together. Or he’s a pervert like her bloody stepfather and plans to use this bullshit against her at some point. He will wait till she’s eighteen though, law abiding citizen and all that.

I slide her phone across the desk. “Tell them no, word it nicely and say we have it covered.”

Her eyes widen as she takes the phone back in her hand. “Are you sure? We don’t have long before we have to leave, and we have to buy plane tickets which are going to be really expensive now, not to mention at least five hotel rooms. That’s expensive, Ash.”

She’s right. My idea is good, but I’m not sure it’s good enough to raise the kind of money we need in that short amount of time. I could easily afford the trip and accommodations for all of us, but it’s the principle. Plus, I am very much looking forward to my idea. “Just send it.”

Payson eyes me, and I know she has questions, but I don’t have answers. I harden my stare, hoping she will for once listen without argument. She rolls her eyes and pulls her thumb from her mouth and types.

I lean back in my chair and run a hand down my face. The clock behind her tells me it’s rounding quarter after one, which means I have only forty-five minutes until I need to be at the airport. Parker sounded indifferent the last time we talked. I know he wants to come live with me, but I didn’t get the reason. I’m ecstatic to have my son in my life full-time, despite the issues it causes for Payson and me. I’ve missed out on sixteen years with Parker. Those couple weeks a year and monthly FaceTime calls are not enough, and I can’t miss any more. I know eventually Payson will come around and everything will be great; I’m not giving her a choice.

“Dear JG Law—” She makes sure I’m listening before she continues, “On behalf of Bayshore High School Volleyball I would like to say thank you for the offer. That being said, I have to politely decline because it seems we have reached our goal already”—her thick eyebrows sink a little, probably cursing me in her head—“and we cannot accept the money. Sincerely, Captain Payson Murphy.”

“Good, now send it.”

“Why are you always so bossy?”

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