Unexpected Rush (Play-By-Play #11) (4 page)

Mama Diane and the crew were used to cooking for large crowds. When he’d first started coming over here, he asked if it was an imposition to add him in. She’d told him she’d come from a large family and always wanted one of her own, but after her husband passed away, she’d never remarried, and she’d had Drake and Harmony to look after. And then Drake had gotten into sports and all his friends came over as kids, and continued to during high school, then college and pros, and it had been a dream come true for her.

But she’d taught them right way that it was their responsibility to do the dishes.

It was the same thing at his house, so it was a rule he understood well.

And since Mama Diane and her sisters were great cooks, no one complained.

After dinner, everyone piled back into the dining room for pie. Multiple pies, actually. Strawberry rhubarb pie, apple pie, pecan pie and cherry pie.

Barrett chose the apple pie. With ice cream, because pie without ice cream was practically a sin.

After he’d had his fill, he rinsed his dish and put it in the dishwasher, then hung out in the living room with everyone.

“How’s the house coming along?” Steve asked him.

“I close on it next Tuesday.”

Drake turned to him. “Have you decided yet what you’re going to do with it?”

He shook his head. “I haven’t hired a contractor. It’s a great house in a perfect location. It just needs a complete gut job and a total remodel.”

Harmony shifted away from the conversation she’d been having with Alyssa. “I didn’t know you bought a house.”

“Yeah. I’d been looking for a while. Found this place on the water, but it’s older, so it needs a lot of TLC.”

“What it needs is a bulldozer,” Drake said with a laugh.

Barrett laughed, too. “You’re right about that, but the location was perfect. It’s right on the water and has a boat dock. The property is in great shape and the dock is solid. It’s just the house that needs some work.”

“A lot of work,” Drake said.

“Okay fine. A lot of work. I need to find a contractor.”

“Harmony could help you with that,” Mama Diane said. “Have you forgotten what she does for a living?”

He’d honestly never paid much attention, other than it had something to do with mini blinds or shutters or paint or something. “Um . . .”

Harmony rolled her eyes at him. “I’m an interior designer, Barrett. I own my own company. And because of that, I have contact with a variety of contractors.”

He’d had no idea. “No shit.”

“Language, young man.”

“Sorry, Mama Diane.” He turned his attention back to Harmony. “No kidding.”

“No kidding. Why don’t you take me by your house, and I can assess your needs? We can go from there.”

Well, shit. The last thing he wanted was to spend any time in
close proximity to Harmony. Especially alone. Not after what had happened earlier. “I don’t know.”

Mama Diane leveled a frown at him. “Are you insinuating my baby girl here can’t handle the job?”

Double shit. “No, ma’am. I wasn’t insinuating that at all. It’s just that the place is such a mess, I don’t want to burden her. I’m sure Harmony is very busy.”

Harmony gave him that all-knowing smirk again. The one that said she knew damn well he was trying to weasel his way out of being alone with her, he’d gotten caught in a lie and now he was going to have to backpedal his ass off.

She gave him her sweetest smile. “It’s hardly a burden, Barrett. It would be my pleasure to look over your place and offer my expertise.”

“You should definitely use her,” Drake said. “She’s good at what she does.”

It was all Barrett could do not to cringe at Drake’s choice of words. His gaze lifted to Harmony’s and her lips curved.

“Yes, Barrett. You should use me.”

Goddammit.

Figuring he was truly fucked, he finally nodded. “Thanks. That would be great. I’ll text you and we’ll set something up.”

“Perfect.”

Somehow he felt like he’d just been ensnared in Harmony’s web.

And he was about to get eaten alive.

One of the things Barrett enjoyed about the off-season was more time to spend on the charities he’d organized. Together he and Drake had funded a community center for kids, and they were going to spend some time there this afternoon.

It was summer, so it would be busy with all of the kids out of school. One of the main objectives in setting up the community center was to have a place for both boys and girls in the middle school age group to hang out over the summer.

He remembered being that age, being bored and having nothing to do, and it really hit him hard when Drake had told him about being subjected to gang influence at that age. He wanted these kids to have an alternative.

He parked in the lot and noticed Drake’s car was already there. He quickly made his way inside to join his friend. At the security desk he flashed his ID.

The guard smiled. “I know who you are, Mr. Cassidy,” the guy said. “Go on inside.”

“Thanks.”

He heard a lot of noise coming from the gym, which made him grin. He peeked through the door and saw a bunch of kids playing basketball.

“Hello, Barrett.”

He turned and smiled at Greg Green, the administrator of the community center. They shook hands.

“How’s it going, Greg?”

“Good. I’m glad you and Drake stopped by today. We have a full house this summer. Drake’s in the computer room with Bianca.”

Barrett followed Greg down the hall toward the activity room. Drake was in there, sitting with a group of boys and girls.

God, every year as he got older these kids seemed so much younger. They all looked up when he entered.

“Hey, how’s it going?” he asked.

He was always happy to see the smiles on the kids’ faces. He was even happier that they were more focused on their computers than they were on him.

He knew Bianca, because as one of the trustees of the center, he’d been involved in the initial hiring of all the employees. These were all great people. The community center ran year-round, hosting before and after school programs when school was in session.

Bianca waved to him. Drake got up and came over.

“I’m sorry to tell you that you missed lunch today,” Greg said with a curve of his lips. “It was really good, too.”

“Please don’t tell me that you had mac and cheese on the menu today,” Barrett said.

“Okay, I won’t mention it.”

“Now I feel even worse. What are the kids working on today?”

“They’re learning Excel. I’m always amazed at how fast these kids can pick up programs. In so many ways, every generation is smarter than the one before.”

“That’s great. I’m glad we can teach them useful skills.”

“And keep them off the streets at the same time,” Drake said.

“Yes.”

They left the room and moved down the hall. “We have a swimming coach from one of the high schools working with them on lifeguard lessons next week at the pool. We already have a waiting list for that. The counseling sessions are going very well with many of our students. I think you’ll be pleased with the progress.”

Barrett nodded. “I’ve read the monthly reports, Greg. I couldn’t be happier with how the center is operating.”

“I agree,” Drake said. “The kids are happy, the community is happy, and we sure are.”

“Good. I hope you plan to stay awhile and interact with the kids. I know they’ll be thrilled to spend some time with you.”

“That’s what we plan to do,” Barrett said.

They spent the next several hours joining in different activities, from arts and crafts to computers to old-fashioned board games. The kids put Drake and him through their paces.

Near the end of the day Drake and Barrett joined a number of the kids outside for a game of flag football. They divided into teams, with Drake and him on opposite sides. Barrett really loved that the girls were playing, too. And from what he’d seen when he’d peeked into the basketball game in the gym earlier, these girls were athletic.

He and Drake had a great time going against each other, not surprisingly, since they were both so competitive. So were the kids, but there was a lot of laughing as he and Drake knocked into each other during their game. Barrett blocked him hard and pushed him back, and Drake shoved Barrett to the ground.

Drake held out his hand for Barrett, who glared at him. “Flag football, remember?”

Drake grinned. “Oh, yeah. Must have forgotten that.”

By the time their makeshift game was near the end, they were tied. Now Barrett’s sense of competition had really set in. He huddled with his kids.

“We’ve got this. Their defense is weak. I’ve got the blocking. Ray, you toss it to either Layton or Rachelle, whoever is open.”

They all nodded and broke the huddle, then set into game formation. At the snap, Barrett went hard after Drake, shoving him to the ground.

“Goddammit, Barrett,” Drake said through clenched teeth.

Barrett just laughed, helped haul Drake to his feet, then they watched the play unfold.

Ray had tossed the ball to Rachelle, who was running like a sprinter on fire down the field toward their makeshift end zone.

She scored and everyone cheered. Hell, even the other side cheered for her.

“Girl’s got some speed,” Drake said.

“She sure has.”

At the end of the game they all came together. “You played tough,” Drake said. “You’re all athletes, and you should be proud of yourselves.”

Barrett took in the grins on their sweaty faces. “Come on. Let’s go get something cold to drink.”

He slung his arm around Drake as they followed behind the kids. “I’m exhausted.”

“Me, too. And what the hell was up with that hit, man. My hip hurts.”

“Baby.”

“Kiss my ass.”

Barrett laughed as they made their way back into the center.

They cleaned up a little, got something to drink, and found Greg.

“Those kids will wear you out,” Greg said.

Drake nodded. “They sure will. But we had fun today.”

“They appreciate you stopping in. And so do we. You’re welcome anytime.”

They shook hands with Greg, then headed out to the parking lot.

Barrett felt exhilarated. “Now I’m ready to take on the world.”

Drake laughed. “Good. Come back to my place.”

“I need a shower first.”

“Okay. Go shower, then meet me at my place.”

“All right. See you in a few.”

He drove to his condo, took a quick shower and put on clean clothes, then went to Drake’s. He rang the bell and Drake answered. He’d already showered and was dressed.

“I can’t believe you’re ready.”

“Whatever, man. Doesn’t take me long to look this good.”

Barrett rolled his eyes.

Drake grabbed his keys. “Come on. Got an errand to run, then we’ll go grab something to eat.”

“Sounds good. All that kid play made me hungry.”

Drake headed downtown, which was strange, because they never went downtown to eat. But he was game for whatever Drake had in mind. Maybe he had a meeting with someone and he had to do it downtown.

Drake pulled into a parking garage in some upscale building. He parked and shut off the engine, then turned to Barrett. “You should come upstairs with me.”

Barrett shrugged. “Sure.”

He wondered who would meet with Drake after five p.m., but it
wasn’t his gig. He was just along for the ride—and the food that was going to come after.

They rode the elevator to the fifteenth floor to the law firm of somebody somebody and somebody whose names Barrett immediately forgot.

“Got a meeting with your lawyer?” Barrett asked.

“Not exactly.”

The receptionist was gone for the day, and Drake seemed to know where he was going, since he turned left down the hall and went right to the door of—

Uh-oh. That name on the door looked familiar.

Levon Powell.

A very good-looking man dressed in a very expensive suit sat at a very expensive desk. He was on the phone, and when he saw Drake, he said, “Let me call you back.”

Levon stood, then smiled. “Drake. What brings you here?”

“You know why I’m here. It’s about Harmony.”

“What about her?”