Playing For Keeps (25 page)

The kid’s dark eyes narrowed with
determination. He was a Kingston at heart. “Nah, Daddy says I can
do it.”

“Come on, then. I’ll walk along with you a
bit.” She glanced over at Mike and Kyle, who stood by a bench,
their own bikes propped up on an iron rail next to hers. “You guys
wait here while Tyler gets his bike legs.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Mike knew his tone was stony,
but he was as mad as all get out at her.

Kyle sat on the bench and Mike noticed he and
the boy had dressed alike, in sneakers, jeans and T-shirts. “I’m
worried about Mom. She isn’t sleeping much these days, even though
things are better with Dad.”

Mike dropped down next to Kyle. “Better?”

“He came to Rockford two days ago. Just to
see me. We talked. I think things are going to work out,
Coach.”

Mike’s gaze strayed to Jacey.
Not for
everybody.
“Hope so, buddy.”

“You haven’t been around much lately.”

“End of camp’s always busy. Thanks for
spending so much time with the little tyke. And for keeping him
overnight.”

“
I wish we could go to Tennessee
with you, but since we can’t, it’ll be fun having him stay with us.
You know how he liked the sleepover in Cincinnati and camping.
Mom’s looking forward to having him at our house, too.”

His son and Jacelyn came into his line of
vision. Tyler was giggling, and so was she. It had occurred to Mike
over the last few days that he might have blown it big-time. What
if he and Jacey didn’t work this out? What would happen to Ty, who
Mike had willingly let get attached to her? With the recent loss of
his mother, Tyler was especially vulnerable.

“What’s wrong, Coach?”

“I’m thinking Ty’s gonna miss y’all after
this weekend.”

“I’m going to miss him, too.” Kyle scowled.
“But we’ll see each other, right?”

“You and Ty? Sure.”

Kyle cleared his throat and stared out at the
canal. The water lapped softly and a crewing canoe sped by. “How
about you and me, Coach?”

If your mother lets me see you.
Mike
had a bad feeling about Jacelyn’s talk with Neil. She hadn’t called
him since then and he hadn’t contacted her either. “‘Course we are,
kid.”

Jacelyn and Ty approached them. She looked
cute today in yellow shorts, a white T-shirt and a wide-brimmed
straw hat to protect her against the mid-August sun. “Well, I think
he’s ready.” She glanced at her watch. “What time do you have to be
at the airport?” she asked Mike.

“Four.” The team was flying to Tennessee for
the last exhibition game before the official season began. He stood
and crossed to his ten-speed. “We’d better get goin’ if we’re gonna
ride these things.”

They rode along the canal like the freakin’
Brady Bunch. Mike didn’t say much, and neither did Jacelyn, but the
kids chatted like...brothers. Watching them, Mike cursed again,
wondering why he’d let this happen?

Because you thought she had faith in your
relationship.

He couldn’t have been more wrong.

If you can tear yourself away from lover
boy.

He’s not...we’re not...

Mike had spent a lot of time thinking about
what she’d started to say. Had she honestly been going to outright
deny him, deny their relationship? Because the thought pissed him
off so much, he’d blocked it, blocked
her
for two
days.

They pedaled away a good part of the morning,
the water lapping, the trees rustling. His heart aching. Then they
stopped for lunch at Aladdin’s, the outdoor restaurant right across
the canal from Mike’s house. “Sure you can find something on the
menu, Coach?” Kyle teased after they were seated under an awning at
an outside table overlooking the water.

Mike rolled his eyes at the mostly Greek
menu. “I’ll manage.”

Ty crawled onto Jacelyn’s lap while she
explained the selections. After they ordered, he squirmed to get
down. Standing, Kyle took Ty’s hand. “We’ll go feed the ducks while
we’re waiting for our food.”

The boys left And Mike was alone with
Jacelyn. She stared out at the canal, then finally peered over at
him. “You’re angry at me.”

He felt his jaw muscles tense. “You got that
right.”

“It’s why you haven’t called me.”

He arched a brow. “Far as I know, you got a
phone that works both ways.”

“I thought some time away from each other
would be good.”

“Well, you’re gonna have all the time you
need right soon. We’re headin’ out of town Monday morning.”

She bit her lip. “I know. I feel bad that
you’re leaving.”

This was bullshit He never sat on the
sidelines and let the game take its own course. He was a player,
damn it. “So, I wanna know. Is this how it’s gonna end between
us?”

“I hope not.”

“You told Neil we weren’t involved.”

Her eyes widened. “I did not.”

“Two days ago in the Cyber Cafe”

“I never said that.”

“Yeah, you did. Or you started to at least.
So I reckon you’re either lyin’ to me, or kiddin’ yourself.”

She sighed. “Whenever I’m with Neil, talking
to him, he manipulates the conversation, and afterward, I can’t
exactly remember what I said.”

“It was clear as a bell to me.” He ran his
hand around the water glass, rolled the condensation between his
fingertips. “How come he saw Kyle?”

“Because I begged him to.”

“Doesn’t it bother you to demean yourself
like that?”

“I’d do anything for Kyle.”

That’s what Mike was afraid of. “And what did
you do this time, Jacelyn? Besides practically deny your
relationship with me to your ex-husband?”

A flush rose up from the pretty white scoop
of her shirt. Her eyes lit with fire. “You know what? I’m sick of
being pushed around by both of you. Badgered to do what
you
want me to.”

“What does he want you to do?”

“Stop it!” She threw back her chair and stood
abruptly. “I’m going to help the boys feed the ducks until we’re
served.”

He grabbed her hand, not gently. “You go
ahead and do that, Professor. But answer something first Are you
going to the farewell party the team’s giving Sunday night?”

“Yes, of course. The whole Business
Department’s attending, at Lew’s request.”

“Are you gonna sit with me, or with the
whole Business Department!”

“I said not to push me, Mike.”

More forcefully, he held on to her. “I wanna
know. Now.”

“Stop it.”

Dropping her hand, he shook his head. “Never
mind, darlin’. I just got your answer. Consider yourself officially
uninvited to sit at my table.” He nodded to the water. “Go see the
kids. I’ll call you when the order comes.”

With one brief look, she walked away.

His heart hurt at the fact that it seemed
pretty damn easy for her to turn her back on him.

o0o

The night of the ill-fated bike outing, Tyler
stayed with Jacelyn and Kyle. As she held the boy against her side,
she relished the feel of him. She was very afraid this was the last
time she’d get to hold him like this. “And then, Zeus said, ‘I am
king of the world, Poseidon. In all things you must obey me.’ And
Poseidon replied, ‘Never.’“ She glanced over at the clock. “Time to
go to bed, honey.” She kissed his head. He didn’t move. “Tyler?”
She whispered the word. He didn’t budge.

Lying back into the pillows she closed her
eyes. The soft summer air drifted in from the window, but it didn’t
soothe her as it usually did. Emotion battled to get out when she
thought about what had happened earlier...

Ty had climbed onto her bed with the book.
She’d begun to read about Zeus and Poseidon. “They’re brothers,”
she told the little boy.

“Wish Kyle was my brother,” he’d said after a
moment.

She’d swallowed hard.

“Gonna miss him.”

“He’s going to miss you, too.”

“Kyle says we’ll do stuff still.”

“You will. Kyle cares about you.”

“You, too, Jacey?” he’d asked innocently.

She’d hugged him hard. “Oh, of course, I care
about you, too. We’ll see each other, I promise.”

She was lying. Mike was so angry at her. With
good reason. She
had
almost denied her relationship with
Mike when Neil asked her about it. And she
was
afraid if
she didn’t cut Mike and his son out of her life, Neil would go back
on his promise to stay in Kyle’s. She smoothed Tyler’s hair. In
some ways, she felt as though she was being forced to choose Kyle
over Tyler. If she did what Neil wanted, Kyle would survive all
this with some sort of relationship with his father intact. If she
pursued a relationship with Mike, Ty would be happy.

“Hey, Mom. Is the little guy asleep?”

“Yes.” She smiled at Kyle, who seemed more
cheerful than ever. Why not? That was a hell of a secret he’d been
keeping.

Sinking down onto the bed, he stretched out
at her feet. “I’m going to miss him.”

“He’s going to miss you, too.”

“Yeah, well, we’ll see him, and Coach.”

“Hmm.”

He raised his chin. Every day, he seemed
bigger, older, more grown up. The faint growth of beard shadowing
his jaw accented that impression. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“I’ve been so wrapped up in the decision
about my major, I think I missed some things. At least that’s what
Kay says.”

“Like what?”

“Is something going on with you and
Coach?”

“Going on?”

“Uh-huh.” His eyes twinkled. “Kay says you
give each other goofy looks all the time. She thinks you’re
interested in each other—that way.”

“Speaking of
that way,
there’s
something I want to talk to you about, too—the reminder you left on
your notepad to buy condoms. I saw it by accident. I wasn’t
snooping.”

He didn’t flinch, and looked over at her with
adult eyes. “I’m almost twenty years old, Mom.”

“I know, honey, and I’m not passing judgment.
I’m bringing it up because I want you to know you can talk to me
about sex if you need to. It’s pretty murky waters when you’re
young, and an adult’s perspective on it can help.”

“I know. Sometimes I wanna talk about it.” He
shook his head. “Don’t take this wrong, but not to you, Mom. You’re
a girl.”

“Can you talk to your dad about it?”

“Hell, no.” His brow furrowed. “I might talk
to Coach, though.”

Oh, Lord. “Fine.” Their connection with the
Kingstons kept getting stronger. “Just tell me this. You practice
safe sex every time, right?”

“Right.”

“And you care about Kay.”

“Of course I do.”

“She cares about you.”

“Well, yeah.”

“All right. I just wanted to say
out
loud
that it’s important to care about each other—a lot—when
you have a sexual relationship with somebody.”

“We do.”

“Good.”

Kyle sighed and looked directly at her. “So,
now, you answer my question. Is Kay right about you and Coach? Is
something going on? Because it’s all right with me if it is.”

She took a deep breath. And watched the young
man before her. She remembered him and Mike tossing a football to
each other, and Mike hugging him after his concert. And then there
was Tyler.
I’m gonna miss you.
..
we’ll still see each
other.
What had they been thinking? If she admitted to a
relationship with Mike now, both boys would get their hopes up even
more.

“No, Kyle, nothing’s going on with me and
Coach.” The bald-faced lie stuck in her throat, but nonetheless,
she finished, “We’re friends, is all.”

This time she didn’t
almost
deny her
feelings for Mike. She did it outright.

o0o

The line of scrimmage had been clearly drawn
at the Burgundy Basin Inn, a party house near the college. On one
side of the huge room decorated in muted tones of mauve and gray
were the Bulls, all dressed to the nines in fancy suits and
designer aftershave. Among them, as reinforcements, were Lew
Cavanaugh, Millie Smith and her boys, Kyle and Tyler, Jake Lansing
and the three other teachers in the Sports Studies program.

Facing them on the offense was the lineup
from the Business Department. And the beautiful, maddening head of
the team huddled with them.

“She sure is a looker,” Marcus Stormweather,
seated at Mike’s left, commented as he followed the direction of
Mike’s gaze. Ty and Kyle sat on his other side at the round table,
having a spirited discussion with Gage.

“That she is.” Mike’s tone was bitter.

“Something wrong, Coach?”

“End-of-camp blues, is all.”

“Blues ‘cuz you’re leaving her?”

“Nah. I’m not big on change. It takes me a
while to come down from camp. Did when I was a player, too.”

“Yeah, we heard how you used to raise hell
right after it was over.”

“Not any of my finer moments.”

“Good game Friday, Coach.” Mike glanced
across the table to see Jake Lansing addressing him.

“Thanks, Jake.”

“Did you get the information I sent you on
your course?”

Mike nodded. He’d banished thinking about
teaching at Beckett in the last week. Mainly because he didn’t know
how he’d manage to come back up here and see Jacey and not touch
her, not hold her, not make her moan and beg for him. Damn her. Why
was she doing this to them?

“Hey, Coach.” Kyle leaned over Ty to talk to
him. “How come Mom isn’t sitting here with us? She never answered
me when I asked.”

“Protocol.”

“What’s that mean?” Ty asked. He was happily
digging into some fancy cheesy salad with anchovies in it.

“What’s expected of you.”

“Why do people ‘spect Jacey to sit with them?
She belongs with us.”

The innocent remark made Mike’s gut clench.
At one time, he’d thought she belonged with him, too. Now she
seemed as unapproachable and unattainable as a goddess. She was
dressed in a burnished gold dress that clung to every curve. The
neckline was just a bit too plunging to be acceptable to the staid
department. The men didn’t seem to mind though. He gripped his
wineglass and tore his gaze away from the sight of her.