Page 6 of Salvaging My Heart
“What the hell did you do to yourself?” Todd asked from behind Aaron, causing him to jolt then groan. Aaron felt Todd’s hands land on his shoulders before he was pulled around to face his friend. “What the fuck?”
“Language,” Aaron corrected automatically. There was no way he wanted a parent to lecture him about their “precious child” learning foul language from their coach.
“There are no kids around us except my own,” Todd said, looking over at his son. “And Harry is glued to his Nintendo currently. So, answer the question, what happened that you’re moving and looking like you’ve gone three rounds in the octagon and lost.” Guess the bruises Aaron knew were on his face had gotten more vivid.
“Help me grab the stuff for practice while I tell you all about the ass on his phone,” Aaron said, motioning to his gear. Todd glared at Aaron before handing him his clipboard then reaching for the net bag and first aid kit.
“Well?” Todd raised an eyebrow at Aaron. “Wait. Harry time to turn that off and get over to the field and warm up.” They watched Harry toss his Nintendo, climb out of the car, slam the door, and run off across the parking lot. “Watch where you’re going!” Todd yelled after his son before turning back to Aaron.
“Truck got t-boned today. Asshole wasn’t paying attention to anything other than his phone and slammed into us. Threw Ben and me against our seatbelts and rocked the truck hard. I hit the dashboard face first. Guess it was a good thing it was us rather than a minivan or something else. He was going way above the speed limit before hitting us.” Aaron tried to shrug it off and look for the bright side, but his ribs protested the movement causing him to grab at his side and hiss.
“You know you could’ve cancelled practice. Or oh, I don’t know, trust your assistant coaches to handle one night,” Todd pointed out.
“The boys earned a spot in the playoffs. We need—” A growl from next Aaron had him turning and gasping. Leif was standing there looking like a Viking about to lob someone’s head off.
“Who the fuck am I killing?” Leif asked, his voice about four octaves lower than Aaron had heard before. Granted they hadn’t talked a lot but dang.
“Uncle Leif!” Nick exclaimed from Leif’s side.
Aaron watched as a red flush travelled across Leif’s face. “Sorry, Squirrel. I’ll put a dollar in the jar. Go warm up.” The three men watched Nick run away, then Leif asked again, “Who am I killing?”
Okay, wow. Aaron didn’t think he’d made much of an impression on Nick’s uncle but… “Um, no one.”
“Obviously someone hurt you and they shouldn’t get a free pass,” Leif said as he put his hand to Aaron’s cheek.
“I’m just going to go over there,” Todd said, awkwardly. “Yeah, I don’t need to be here.”
Aaron started to turn his head, but Leif’s hand brought his attention back to him. “Now, who needs to answer for this?”
“Honestly, no one. The truck I was in got hit today and this is the results. The police and insurance companies will deal with the ass but thank you for offering,” Aaron told him. “I didn’t think…” He stopped talking as he wasn’t sure what he was going to say.
“I’m not sure why I reacted so strongly. I’d apologize but I’m not sure I wouldn’t do it again.” Leif’s fingers were stroking Aaron’s cheek as he talked. “Something in you is drawing me in.”
He didn’t know what to say to that. They only met a few days ago. Hadn’t been on a date yet, really hadn’t talked either. “Maybe we can talk about it tomorrow?” he suggested.
“I’m looking forward to having you to myself,” Leif said before leaning over and brushing a gentle kiss to Aaron’s lips. “Guess I have to share you with a bunch of boys right now.”
Aaron stood there blinking. His brain had shut down with that kiss. Something hit Aaron’s thigh waking him up because he had to be dreaming right? Looking down he saw a football against his sneaker. Nope, he was awake.
“Sorry, Coach T,” Nick said as he ran up. “Guess I kicked it too hard.”
Leif and Aaron both started chuckling. “Yeah, maybe just a bit. Let’s channel that, okay? Get you ready for the pros… or at least the modified team.” As Aaron pulled back reluctantly, he said, “Tomorrow?”
“Oh yeah,” Leif agreed.
CHAPTER SIX
How was it Wednesday already? The past four days had flown by. He’d found the football schedule tacked to the corkboard with the other important papers. Leif had texted Aaron on Monday and asked if he wanted to get coffee on Wednesday night since according to the Scout page, Nick had a two-hour meeting at the library. If Leif remembered correctly, there was a little diner around the corner with pie. Kim had taken him there the last time he’d been home on leave. He’d confirmed with Aaron when he saw him at football practice the night before that they were on for six-fifteen at Groundin’ Around.
Leif pulled on his Henley and glared at his boots. Maybe he should buy some sneakers or Chukkas. He hadn’t grabbed any other footwear when he’d packed in Odessa. Shit, he’d need to coordinate with Fuzzy to get his gear packed and shipped stateside. Who was he kidding? Fuzzy probably had it all taken care of before Leif had reached Kim’s bedside. He grabbed his phone he made a note to double check when they had the WebEx about the mission. Commander Palway had emailed him to schedule his attendance virtually.
“Squirrel! Let’s move it. Your Scout meeting is in fifteen minutes.” Leif still was having a hard time believing the schedule Kim had for Nick. Third night of the week and third evening activity. He had to wonder how Nick’s grades were but he was going to keep his opinion to himself. He hadn’t had to do much help with homework since he’d been there. Nick was a great kid and seemed to be thriving.
“Uncle Leif? I’ve been waiting in the car for you. What’s taking you so long?” Nick asked from the door, standing there with his uniform shirt on and scarf around his neck.
“When did you go out?” Leif was sure that Nick was still in his room but guess he’d snuck by him. Good thing Nick wasn’t the enemy. Maybe he’d been too preoccupied with his clothes.
“Why are you dressed up?” Nick shot back. Leif looked at his clothes again — Henley, jeans and boots. Put together but he didn’t think he’d gone overboard. Maybe he should—
