Josh grabs his clipboard and whistle. “I’ve got off-season practice. If you get a minute, come out to the practice field and say hi.”
“Will do. Thanks again, Coach.”
He glances at Duke. “Make sure he keeps the poultry out of my weight room.”
Duke laughs and slaps Josh on the shoulder. “I’ll do my best, but you and I both know, the superstar does what the superstar wants.”
“Hello, I’m standing right here.”
“Not for long. I’m about to work your ass into the ground.”
“I’ll leave you to it.”
Coach leaves and we change into our workout gear.
“You ready to do this?” Duke stretches his neck from side to side.
I breathe out a huge gust of air. “Yeah, okay.”
His hand comes down on my good shoulder. “Don’t worry, Cash. We’ll get you back.”
I nod and try to rein in my anxiety. The thing is, I don’t know if I’m anxious because I won’t be able to rehab my shoulder back to health, or that I will.
Twenty
Tiger
“Hey, boss man.” I gesture around the interior of Wayland Estate. “As you can see, your humble servants are hard at work.”
“You know I love it when you call me that, right?”
I laugh because I know the absolute opposite is true of Donny Lewis. He hates it, and that is precisely why I do it. “Shall we all bow and kiss your ring as well?”
“You’re a real smartass, you know that?”
“What can I say? We all have to play to our strengths.”
“Too bad there wasn’t a Miss Smartass USA competition, you would’ve won that one too.”
“Ha-ha. What can I do for you today?”
“First, thanks for taking care of that tile thing with Lou earlier today. From what I hear, you handled him perfectly. If that little pissant pulls that shit again then you have the authority to go with another company. No questions asked. That’s not how we do business.”
Warm, sweet satisfaction flows through my veins at his faith in me. “You’re welcome, and I don’t think we’ll have any more trouble with him, but I appreciate the vote of confidence. What was the second thing?”
He puts a set of plans on the kitchen island like he’s presenting me with an Academy Award. “We got the Anderson project.” The happiness in his expression is contagious. He really wanted that job.
“That’s amazing.”
“Yeah, but they want to start next week, so we’re going to need another crew. Can you handle that, or do I need to get Maggie to take care of it?”
I grab a pen and my notepad. “I can do it. How many do we need?”
“The job’s about as big as this one, so the same number as you have here. What is that, six?”
I jot down a few notes. “No problem. I’ll start making calls this evening.”
“Thanks, Tiger. You know how much I appreciate you, right?”
“You don’t have to say that, Donny. I’ve already sworn I’ll never tell Maggie that you intercepted the text where she expressed her undying love for you, and that’s what prompted you to ask her out our senior year.”
“Shut up and take the compliment.”
The grin that pulls at my lips is made up of pride and satisfaction at a job well done. “Thank you.”
The back door opens, and a sweaty football god enters with much less swagger than he had the last time I saw him, which only ups his appeal. As soon as he sees Donny, the strut is back in place. “Donny Lewis, how the hell are ya?”
“Cash King, you ol’ dog.” The two men share a bro hug, and I gag on the testosterone in the room.
“I’m good.” The quarterback tunnels his fingers through his damp hair, and I swear to God I might’ve gotten pregnant from that move alone. It’s not fair that one man can possess so much … everything.
Donny leans a hip against the counter. “How long are you in town?”
Cash glances at me, but I can’t read the look in his eye. “That depends on Tiger.”
“What?” I don’t mean to shout, but that’s how it comes out.
The look Donny gives me is one part confusion and ninety-nine parts amusement. “Do tell.”
Cash’s big hand rests on the island next to me. “She’s roped me into helping with the rec center.”
“I’ve done no such thing.”
I may as well not have spoken.
“Really? The way I hear it, you were the problem with the rec center.”
“That was a misunderstanding. Tiger will have her money early next week.” He expels a huge put-upon sigh.