Catching Summer (3 page)

I didn’t know what to expect when we entered the boardroom, but I hadn’t anticipating seeing Evan and Derek in there. Our instructor was getting a video ready on the projector while Derek pretended to hump the mannequin behind his back. The look on his face was priceless. I did all I could to keep from laughing. Evan sighed and lowered his head, his shoulders shaking with laughter. Kate bumped me with her elbow and leaned over toward my ear. “I promise the guys aren’t all like Derek. He’s a little out there.”

As soon as Gary turned around, Derek sat in a chair with an amused smile on his face, looking completely innocent. “I can see that. It must be entertaining to have him around.”

“It is, actually. He’s always keeping the guys’ spirits up, especially if we lose a game. I can always count on him and Evan to motivate the team.” It was good to have that kind of teamwork. Lara and Grayson were my team.

“So what are they doing in here right now?” I asked.

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.” I followed her to the front of the boardroom and tried my best not to look at Evan when she approached him. “What the hell are you doing in here? This class is for Summer and me.”

“Not anymore,” he replied. “Dumbass, here,” he said, pointing to Derek, “thought it would be a good idea for you girls to practice on a real person our size. Coach agreed, but I wasn’t about to let him come in here and molest our friend.”

Kate smacked Derek on the head and snapped, “Yeah, considering Brianna will beat your ass if you do that. I swear, I don’t know how she puts up with you.”

Derek snickered and rubbed the spot she hit. “She knows I’m not going to do anything stupid, which is why I’m partnering up with you, pretty mama. Your brother will be with Little Miss Sunshine over there.”

Kate glanced back at me and then at her brother. I was too nervous to even look at him, much less practice CPR on him. Were they really going to make me practice on him? “Gary,” Kate called. He looked over his shoulder, trying hard not to laugh. “If Derek winds up dead, don’t fail me, okay? Because if I have to put my mouth on him, Cooper will be sure to kill him.”

He laughed. “You have my word.”

While they joked around, Evan came up behind me and bumped my shoulder. “You don’t have to practice on me, Summer. I saw the look on your face. I actually thought it would be a good idea to learn CPR myself. You never know when you’ll need to use it.”

“It’s a good skill to have,” I said, peering up into his gray eyes. For a second, I just stared into them, lost in the moment. When his lips tilted up in a teasing smile, I averted my gaze. “And I don’t mind practicing on you. However, I will admit it makes me nervous.”

“Being around me makes you nervous?” he asked. That smirk of his was going to drive me insane.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” I retorted. “It’s only because I haven’t done this in a while. I’d hate to hurt you.”

“Burn,” Derek hollered. “I guess she put you in your place.”

Evan grinned and looked down at my lips. “That she has.”

Clapping his hands to get our attention, Gary pointed down at the floor. “All right, boys, it’s showtime.”

I couldn’t hide my smile even if I’d wanted to as Evan lay down on the floor. “Don’t break my ribs. I have a game this weekend.”

“I’m sure you’ll live if I do. You’re a big boy.”

He chuckled. “All right, smart-ass. Let’s see how you react when it’s my turn to practice on you.”

Eyes wide, I tried to comment but only managed to look like a fish while he laughed at me.
What the hell have I gotten myself into?

Once CPR training was over, Evan and Derek joined the other players on the field and I strolled with Kate to her car. The training had been a little hard with her big belly in the way, but she got through it with grace. “You did good with my brother. It’s nice to see others pick on him like I do.”

Smiling, I opened her car door for her. “Your brother’s a nice guy.”

“Until you piss him off,” she added.

“Well, I’ll make sure I don’t do that. I’ve watched some of the games, so I know how vicious they can be. I’m used to contact sports.”

She got in her car and shifted her attention to the guys on the field. Blowing out a tired breath, she rubbed her belly. “It’s scary sometimes knowing they can get hurt at any moment. I like being able to help them, though. They’re my family.”

The guys dispersed and Cooper started toward us, all sweaty and covered in dirt. The way he looked at Kate reminded me so much of the way Austin would look at me. I missed how that felt, to know that someone could love you so deeply. “So how did it go?” he asked, coming to stand by the car door. “I heard Derek wanted to get his ass beat.”

Kate and I both laughed. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I don’t think he’ll want to practice with me anymore.”

“Why is that?”

I cleared my throat. “Well, she kind of made him sick with blowing her onion breath on him. I thought it was a genius plan.”

Kate shrugged nonchalantly. “What can I say? The guy deserved it. As soon as we had a break, I ran right out to the snack machine and grabbed a bag of Funyuns. They weren’t the healthiest things to eat, but the look on his face was priceless when he got a good whiff.”

Cooper belted out a laugh. “Holy shit, that’s awesome. I wish I could’ve seen it.”

Evan and I had both sat there and watched it all play out. Kate offered to let me eat some, but I wasn’t about to do that to him. The only thing I practiced on him was my hand placement. We both practiced mainly on the mannequins. “It was hilarious,” I added. Before Evan and the other players could join us in the parking lot, I took a step toward my car. “So, do I meet you here tomorrow, Kate?” I asked hurriedly.

She shook her head. “No, you and Lara are going to come over to my house for breakfast. I can fill you in on everything then. Is that okay? I know you need to get to work.”

I nodded. “Yeah, that’s fine. We’ll be there.” As quickly as I could, I jumped in my car and pulled out of the parking lot. Evan stopped by Kate and Cooper and waved at me when I drove past; I smiled and waved back. The feelings in my stomach returned and I tried to ignore them, but I couldn’t. Evan sparked something inside of me that I had thought was dead. It scared the living hell out of me, but it was also exciting.

It was late afternoon by the time I got to the restaurant, and, thankfully, I beat the dinner crowd. I sent Lara home and joined Grayson at the bar. He poured me a glass of wine and winked beneath an auburn brow, his emerald eyes reminding me so much of Austin’s. “Why do you insist on being here twenty-four/seven? I’m perfectly capable of handling this place on my own,” he informed me. “I am co-owner, after all.”

I took a sip of wine and glanced around the restaurant. “It’s the only place I feel a connection to Austin. This was his dream.”

Reaching over, he grabbed my hand and squeezed. “But you have dreams as well. Make sure you don’t forget that. Austin would want you to be happy.”

I squeezed his hand back. “I am happy. Today was a good day. And don’t worry, I’m going to be spending some time away. Being with Kate and the team today was refreshing.” Change was always a scary thing, but being with the players made me feel alive. I laughed more with them than I had in a really long time.

“Hello, hello,” a voice called out. I turned to see Delaney bouncing through the door, already dressed in her black skirt and white button-down with her long brown hair pulled back in a low ponytail. She was a senior in high school, trying to save money for when she headed off to college.

“How was school?” I asked her as she passed.

“Eh, so-so. It’s the beginning of the school year, so not much is going on just yet. I’m going to put my stuff in the back and clock in before I’m officially late.” She rushed off to the back and disappeared.

Smiling, I turned back to Grayson. “I’m glad Lara hired her. I was a little nervous when I gave her the reins on bringing in more staff.”

“See, I told you. Everything can be handled just perfectly without you here.”

“What about you? Don’t you want a life outside of this place?”

“I do,” he said, pouring a little more wine in my glass, “but my time will come. I like being here with you…and with Lara,” he added quickly.

“Ah, I see.” By the look in his eyes, I finally understood what was going on. No wonder he always wanted to stay late and help Lara close up the restaurant.

“And before you say anything,” he grumbled, “I’ve kept my distance from her since we work together. Besides, she’s hard up over that douchebag motocross racer.”

Tilting my glass, I drank the rest of the wine and winked. “I think she’s decided to move on. Just be careful if you choose to make a move. If something were to happen, it’d make it awkward on all of us.”

He sighed. “That’s why I haven’t done anything about it.” I guess I could see why he would grow attached to her. They were always together. After he wiped off the counter, he focused on the door. “Are you still seeing Dr. Parker?” he asked.

“Yeah, why?”

He nodded toward the entrance. “Because he just came in.”

Quickly, I turned to see Philip walking through the door, dressed in a pair of jeans and a plaid button-down shirt, his dark hair mussed. “I’ll be right back.”

“No rush,” he added as I left the bar.

“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so normal,” I joked, glancing up and down at Philip’s clothes.

“My last patient canceled so I was able to go home and change. I do have a life outside of my practice,” he said, chuckling.

“Summer, would you like me to find him a table?” Delaney asked from behind me.

I smiled at her and shook my head. “No, I got this one.” Philip followed me to the back, where I always seated him. He made it a point to show up every Wednesday night. “Do you want the usual tonight?”

He sat down, pursing his lips. “Actually, I think I’m going to try something different. But first, tell me about your day. How did it go with your CPR training?”

Thoughts of Evan and Derek bantering back and forth brought a smile to my face. “It was…interesting. I enjoyed being around the team. It was a change of pace. I’ll be working with them for the next couple of weeks.”

“That’s good. Will I still see you on Tuesday?”

“Of course. I told you I’m not ready to let you go just yet. You’ve gotten me this far and I know I still have a little more to go. I’m getting there, though.”
Hopefully, soon.

Since Kate and Cooper lived in the house next door, Lara and I just walked over when it was time for breakfast the next morning. “Do I look okay?” I asked her as we ventured across the lawn.

Lara smirked and glanced down at my yoga capris and green tank top. It was September and the humidity was horrible at this time of year. I knew Kate was going to have me work out with the team since she wasn’t capable, so I figured I should at least be comfortable. Lara had talked to her last night and filled me in on my duties.

“You look great. I’m sure you’ll fit in great with the cheerleaders,” she said sarcastically. Judging by the look on her face, it could only mean one thing. Ever since we moved here and Kate became Lara’s best friend, she’d gotten the inside scoop on the team. She knew everything about their schedules and how they worked. I’d learned many things too, from all of them hanging out at the restaurant.

“Please don’t tell me they’re catty bitches.”

“Most of them aren’t, but there’s a couple that used to give Kate hell about Cooper. Just giving you a heads-up.”

“Gee, thanks. I didn’t realize we were still in high school.”

She knocked on Kate’s front door and stepped back. “It won’t be that bad, Summer. Stay away from Lindsey, though. She’s Evan’s ex-girlfriend.”

Ah, yes, Lindsey Rink. I remembered her all too well. Every time she and Evan would come to the restaurant, I’d see her eyes wandering to other men. The day he found out she had cheated on him, he spent hours at the bar getting drunk. He recovered quickly and found someone else within the week. I was never one to understand how someone could jump from one person to another. Lara did it all the time. I guess that was one of the differences between me and her.

With a huge grin, Kate answered the door and ushered us in. “Great, you’re right on time. I hope you’re hungry. I’ve been craving pancakes so I made three different kinds: buttermilk, blueberry, and banana.”

We followed her to the kitchen, where stacks of pancakes sat on the counter. Cooper stared at it all, wide-eyed. “We probably should’ve invited the whole team with all this shit you cooked,” he teased, winking at Kate.

She pointed the spatula at him. “Hey, I’ve seen how much you can eat. And I know Lara can put away some pancakes.”

“You got that right,” I laughed.

Lara snorted and filled her plate up with a stack of blueberry ones and doused them in syrup. Cooper chuckled and put his arm around her, whispering in her ear. “And it’s the only thing Kate
can
cook, isn’t it?”

Kate froze, her mouth dropping. Scooping up a half-baked pancake, she turned around and hurled it straight at his head. It smacked him on the forehead and fell to the floor, but not before we all burst out laughing. “I heard that,” she hollered, giving him an evil glare but trying hard not to laugh.

Cooper snickered and approached her cautiously, wrapping his arms around her waist. “But I still love you even if you can’t cook.” He kissed her cheek and she smiled, gripping his arms tight. They were the perfect couple. The whole scene reminded me of the time I tried to cook breakfast for Austin the first morning we spent together. I was so nervous that I burned everything. Our toast was extra-crunchy.

When Lara noticed me staring, she pointed to the plates, then waved impatiently. “Eat up before we run out of time.”

Cooper backed up and stacked a heap of banana pancakes on his plate and sat down beside Lara while I grabbed a plate for myself.

“Are you going to join me at the game on Sunday night?” Kate asked. “If something goes wrong with one of the players I could sure use you.”

Lara nodded excitedly. “Yes, she’ll be there.” When I glared at her, she shrugged innocently. “What? You know Grayson and I can manage the restaurant. Besides, I think you’ll have fun.”

“I’m pretty sure I won’t be the only one having fun. Speaking of which, we need to have a talk about Grayson soon.”

Her eyes went round and she went right back to her pancakes. “Okay, shutting up now.”

To Kate, I smiled. “I’ll be happy to come to the game. It’ll be the first one where I’ll be part of the action.” All the pancakes looked good, so I picked up one of each and piled them on top of each other.

“You’re going to eat them all together?” Lara asked incredulously.

I drizzled the syrup across the top and dug in. “You only live once, right?”

Kate giggled and sat beside me, but before she could speak, Evan came barreling through the door. He had on a blue Cougars T-shirt and a pair of black gym shorts. The baseball cap hanging low over his eyes didn’t hide the fact that his attention was on me. “It looks like I got here just in time.”

My heart started to beat faster and my palms began to sweat. Why did he have that effect on me? He looked around the room, acknowledging everyone, and ended with his focus on me. “Good morning, sunshine. You ready to be surrounded by a bunch of sweaty, arrogant jackasses?”

I swallowed my food and nodded. “Thrilled beyond belief. But you’re not the only ones who’ll be sweaty. It looks like your sister is making me join you.”

“It’s all part of the job,” she replied with a cheesy smile. “You’re the one who wanted to help. I’ve exercised with them every single day.”

Cooper scoffed. “And it used to piss me off watching her wear those tight-ass shorts in front of those horny fuckers.”

Evan slapped him on the shoulder. “How do you think I felt having to keep them away from her for
years
? I had to give up when you came along. It was too much damn work.”

Shaking her head, Kate handed him a plate, and he piled two of each kind of pancake on top. Lara spoke up next, glancing at both of our plates. “I swear, you two are disgusting. How can you eat all of those together?”

Evan looked over at my plate and grinned when he noticed I had done the same thing as he had. Kate leaned over and whispered in my ear, “That’s what I was going to say earlier: that you and my brother were just alike. It’s uncanny. Oh, and before I forget, I have you scheduled for a first-aid class on Monday. I have a doctor’s appointment so I won’t be there until later. Is that okay?”

Kate poured me a glass of orange juice and handed it to me. I took a sip and nodded. “That’s fine. I’m pretty sure I can handle it by myself.”

“You won’t be by yourself. You’re going to need a partner so you can practice. Is there anyone—”

“I’ll do it,” Evan interrupted with a wink. “I think we worked well together yesterday.” His eyes twinkled as he regarded me over the rim of his glass.

Kate lifted her brows. “Are you okay with that?”

I looked over at Evan’s sly gray gaze and mischievous smile. “Of course. As long as I get to practice with needles.”

Grinning widely, Kate glanced over at Evan. “Most definitely.”

He snorted. “Keep messin’ with me and I’ll get Derek to take my place. He’s a whiny bitch when it comes to that shit. I thought I was doing you a favor, but I guess not.”

“Oh, stop being a pain in the ass,” Kate said with a laugh. “I’ll put you down as her partner. And for the record, there won’t be any needles.” She drank the rest of her juice and stood. “Just lots of touching.”

Gasping, I choked on my food while Lara cupped a hand over her mouth, trying to hide her smile. Cooper turned his head and Evan looked down at his plate, his shoulders shaking. I, however, was dying of embarrassment. As fast as I could, I finished my breakfast and rinsed my plate off in the sink. “Okay, now that I have a play-by-play of my day, I’m going to rush next door and finish getting ready. If you’ll excuse me.” I smiled and quickly skipped by Evan so he wouldn’t see how red my face was.

Once out the door, I breathed a sigh of relief and slowed my pace. “Come on, Summer, stop acting like an idiot.”

“Talking to yourself now?” Evan teased from behind.

I stopped mid-step and closed my eyes. “Do you enjoy provoking me?”

When he circled around me, I opened my eyes. “Not really, but I do love seeing you blush. I didn’t realize I had that effect on you.”

“You seriously are full of yourself, aren’t you?” How could I be so stupid? There was no way in hell I could hide my face now. I didn’t want him to know how flustered he made me.

Chuckling, he shook his head and kept his gray eyes solely on mine. “I’m really not. I was just hoping to hear your laugh again. I guess I didn’t get enough of it yesterday.”

“So, this is you flirting with me? What do you expect to gain from that?”

He took a step closer and smiled. “For starters, I was hoping to persuade you to come to my party after the game Saturday night.”

My heart thumped wildly in my chest. I could feel the sweat pouring down my back. “Like what? A date?”

“Only if you want it to be. I just figured I’d save you the trouble of having to ward off my teammates. I can name three of the guys who are interested in you. My threats to stop their advances can only go so far.”

“What if I didn’t want to go to your party? I can easily just tell them I’m not interested.”

He nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. “You could, but that doesn’t mean shit to these guys. They’ll keep hounding you until you give in. They love the chase.”

“Just like you,” I retorted with a smile.

“What can I say? I’m relentless when I want something.”

I sucked in a breath and bit my lip. Did he really want me like that? The thought made everything inside of me tighten. It was too dangerous to think of him like that.

“So are you trying to save me from your friends or are you really wanting me to join you? I know how you guys work, and I don’t want to be a part of some game you’re playing to get girls.”

His grin faded, gaze hard. “I don’t play games, Summer. I may have in the past, but I would never do that to you. Have I ever given you the impression that you can’t trust me?”

Sighing, I shook my head. I felt like such an idiot. “No, and I’m sorry for being presumptuous. It’s just…” I paused and bit down on the inside of my cheek.

“It’s just what?” he asked in all seriousness.

“It’s just this is all new to me. All I’ve ever known is Austin. Being around you makes me nervous. I’m not like the girls you’ve brought into the restaurant. If it’s sex you want, you can forget it. I’m not one of your groupies.” For a second there, I thought he was at a loss for words, but then he belted out laughter.
Ouch, that hurt.
“I’m glad I could amuse you.”

When he straightened up, he took off his hat and ran his hands through his hair. And again, my heart sped up at the sight.
Shit.
“Damn, you are a fiery one. And just so we’re clear, I’m not trying to fuck you or trying to put another notch in my belt. Believe it or not, I’m actually interested in something else.”

“What is that, exactly?”

“I don’t know, but I’m hoping you can help me figure it out.” Grabbing my hand, he pulled me toward his truck. “Let’s go.”

“Go? Go where?” I looked down at my empty hands. “I must have left my purse inside. I don’t even have my phone.”

Lara showed up out of nowhere and tossed my bag in the air. Evan caught it and handed it to me. “Now you do,” Lara said. “Kate said that she and Cooper will be right behind you. I’ll see you this afternoon.” She glanced back and forth between Evan and me, grinning from ear to ear, before rushing back inside Kate’s house. I swear it felt like they were all up to something. It didn’t take a genius to figure it out.

Evan opened the passenger-side door and waited patiently for me. A part of me wanted to jump right on in, but the other part was hesitant. I didn’t want to lead him on, and, more important, I didn’t want to be stupid. For the time being, I guess it didn’t hurt to have him as my protector. I’d rather be around him than be thrown to the wolves.

As soon as he slid behind the wheel, he shut the door and backed us out of the driveway. “You better hope your arguing with me doesn’t make me late. We get reprimanded for that shit.”

“What does the coach do if you’re late?” The last thing I wanted was for him to get in trouble because of me.

“It all depends on what mood he’s in. Most of the time we have to stay late and do extra workouts. You don’t want to be responsible for that, now do you?”

“No.” I looked at the clock on the dashboard. It was twenty till nine. “What time is considered late?”

He looked at the clock, grinning. “We have five minutes left to get there.”

“Five minutes!”
I shouted. “We’re at least twenty minutes away.”

“Well, then, I guess you’re going to be staying late with me since you’re late as well. You belong to the team for the next two weeks. I do believe that in the contract you signed you agreed you would abide by the team rules.”

“You have got to be kidding me,” I groaned. “So what do I do now?”

“I’m sure Lara already knows since she’s familiar with our policies, but it looks like you need to call her and tell her you’ll be late tonight. But don’t worry, I’ll get you there.”

Judging by the wolfish smile on his face, he wasn’t upset about it at all. Grabbing my phone, I called Lara’s number and waited for her to pick up. “You’re evil, you know that?” I grumbled, shaking my head incredulously.

“Sometimes you just have to break the rules. If you don’t, you’ll miss out on life.”

Is that what I’d done for the past two years? Missed out on life?

“Summer,” Lara said, answering the phone. “Are you okay?”

I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. Was I okay? I was better than okay. I’d never felt so alive, excited, and scared all at one time. I felt free. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just wanted to tell you that I’m going to be late tonight. I’ll get to the restaurant as soon as I can.”

Not waiting on a smart-ass reply, I hung up as soon as the words were out.
Sometimes you just have to break the rules.
I had a feeling I was about to break a ton of them…and I couldn’t wait.