Page 14 of Always Mine

Busy seeing Diego twice. Thinking about him more.

What does that tell you, girl?

Nothing. It told her nothing.

Thankfully, Diego had left the hospital today and went to his parents’ house to recuperate. She vowed not to visit there.

“Annie? You got a terrible expression on your face.”

She looked into Seth’s light blue eyes. They were so kind. At Pathways, he was considered the nicest guy on staff. Just what she wanted.

The strident blare of a whistle on the court distracted him from the question. Annie popped up, as did most of the crowd to get a better view of what was happening on the gym floor. Oh, no. “It’s Bryce Lincoln.”

Bryce came from money, and his parents pulled strings to get the charges dropped the first three times he’d been picked up by the police. But on offense number four, they’d drawn the line. Bryce had gotten a DUI when he took their car and drove drunk. He’d hit somebody and the guy was gravely injured.

“Man, basketball is a good outlet for him.” Seth had taken an interest in Bryce. “I’m going down.”

She watched him descend the bleachers and walk over to Bryce. After a bit, he and the coach lifted the boy up under his arms. He couldn’t walk alone.

The incident put a damper on the rest of the game. Damn it. These kids needed everything they could get to turn their lives around. And exercise helped them cope.

Seth and Annie decided to eat dinner at Perry’s Pizza. “I’m bummed about Bryce,” Seth said after they were seated and ordered.

“Yeah, me too. At least it’s only a moderate sprain. He won’t be out of the game too long.”

He grasped her hands across the table. When she tugged them back, he frowned. “No worries, there’s no kids here. And that table full of teachers know we’re seeing each other.”

She gave him the best smile she could. “You’re right. I guess I just feel bad about Bryce, too.”

“Let’s eat and go back to my place. We’ll make each other feel good at least for tonight.”

She wanted so badly towantto have sex with him. He was a kind and sensitive lover. Maybe that would help her stop thinking about Diego. “Okay, I’d like that.”

* * *

“Well, look who the cat dragged in.” Diego said the words when Will Kirkland came into the den at the Rodriguez house. Diego had ordered a hospital bed so he could maneuver better. And there was a TV in here and a bathroom off the space. But he felt cooped up. At least there were windows open to let in fresh air.

Will grinned. A Secret Service Agent, he was working his way up to Presidential Detail, his lifelong goal. Because they’d been best friends and kept in touch, Diego’s sister had called Will when Diego was shot. Will wanted to come home, but he was in South America with a senatorial protectee ferreting out a transplanted American cult. Since Will had furlough coming, he flew here as soon as he got back to the states. He gestured to the space. “This is just like old times.”

He and Will spent a lot of time in this room as kids so they could have some privacy from Diego’s sisters. And, unlike most guys, they talked about everything: parents, teachers, girls, college, and then Annie. Will had pulled him from his funk over their split at her graduation from college.

“Lots of good memories. Sit.” He took a chair with the grace of the athlete he was. He and Diego played football together.

“I want to hear about what happened. Your shoulder. Losing your guys.”

Diego bit the inside of his jaw and barely got out, “It’s the worst thing that ever happened to me.”

“I bet.”

“Everything’s over now.”

Will’s brows furrowed. He was tall with blond hair and blue eyes, the opposite in looks of Diego. “That kind of resignation isn’t like you.”

“This is serious, Will.”

“I realize that. But you gotta have faith that you’ll beat the injury. The helplessness.”

“I have no faith.”

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