Page 5 of Wrong Number, Right Lumberjack
The next three weeks pass in the blink of an eye. Missy and I spend the time sneaking around like teenagers with a secret. She wants to keep things quiet, and I don’t blame her. This is her job. Her reputation is on the line and I understand that.
I’ve got responsibilities too. Showing up for the team and fulfilling the obligations of my contract has me falling in love with football all over again. Keeping tabs on my brother has me feeling guilty and planning trips back to Lumberjack Lagoon at every opportunity.
But all of that fades when we’re together. Every time we steal a moment in the training room or sneak away underneath the goalposts after dark, I can’t help but wonder if I’m the only one falling. The sex is incredible. It’s more than that, it’selectric.Every touch feels like a promise, every kiss a revelation. In those moments, she’s mine.
But when the sun comes up and the day starts again… It’s like she puts up walls I can’t scale.
I’m all in with her. She smiles. She teases. She kisses me like I’m the only man who’s ever touched her. But there’s always a part of her that pulls back too. It’s a piece of her she won’t let me reach, but I can’t put my finger on it..
I want all of her, but I take whatever part she gives me. Even if it’s never the whole thing.
CHAPTER 5
MISSY
Summer has flown by in a snap. By now, I’ve gotten used to the rhythm of the season. The smell of grass and sunscreen, the shriek of whistles, the steady beat of cleats pounding on turf, and moments stolen with Jace.
Jace is the best thing to happen to me in a long time. Of course, there’s so much about my life I haven’t told him. But maybe that’s part of the magic. When I’m with him, I get to be a version of me that I wasn’t sure existed anymore. He’s devastatingly charming. He has this way of bringing out the fun in me. I find myself smiling like an idiot anytime I think about him.
I can’t imagine the hangover when he leaves after this season… So I don’t. For the first time in a long time, I let myself be in the moment. Jace is my best kept secret and my reason for smiling.
Today is already the third day of youth summer camp, and I’ve fallen into the routine. I know when snack breaks happen and where the water coolers are stationed. I’ve memorized which sideline gives me the best view of Ethan without him spotting me hovering like a mom-shaped shadow. I know thateleven in the morning is the best time to slip away and catch Jace on his way out of the training room.
But today, everything shifts.
Today, my heart trips over itself the second I round the corner to the field to watch Ethan. Because there, standing in the late-afternoon sun with a ball in his hand and that easy, crooked smile, is Jace.
And he’s playing catch with my son.Why the hell is Jace at the youth summer camp?This wasn’t a part of the plan. I freeze as my worlds collide. It’s like a horror show. For a moment, I can’t even breathe.
Ethan giggles. His little body lunges for the ball as it sails through the air. He misses the catch and collapses into a heap of laughter. Jace walks over, and my heart thuds in my chest.Shit. Shit. Shit.
Jace claps him gently on the back and says something that makes Ethan throw his head back in pure delight. The sight of them together is so shocking, I can’t look away. Not mentioning to Jace that I’m a parent is coming back to bite me in the most epic way. I should have just told him. I wouldn’t have had to introduce them, but I could have at least been honest.
I’m going to have so much explaining to do. My stomach lurches and swirls as I keep watching the two of them. The longer I watch from behind my oversized glasses, the more the scene in front of me changes and filters into view.
Here we have my boy and the man I’ve been trying not to fall for… together.There’s something intoxicating about it, whether I like to admit it or not. It’s like a dream I didn’t realize I’d been having.
Without warning, warmth spreads through my chest like sunlight filtering through stained glass. It hits all the broken, empty places I thought I’d patched up a long time ago. It fills me and cracks me open all at once.
What if this was our normal?
The thought hits me like a punch to the gut. For a split second, I let my guard slip. I let the fantasy bloom, and I myself imagine that this is my reality. The images flood my mind like a movie I’ve already seen.
Jace and Ethan, tossing a football in the backyard while I stand on the porch with iced tea and a soft smile. Dinner at the table for three. Bedtime stories read by someone whose voice feels like home. A man who doesn’t just show up, but stays.
The thoughts are so beautiful that they terrify me.
I’m fiercely proud of the life I’ve built, and I’ve done every part of it all on my own. I’ve kept us safe. I’ve kept things predictable. I’ve been both Mom and Dad for Ethan. I’ve kept my heart under lock and key so no distractions could reach me along the way.
Now… watching Jace ruffle Ethan’s hair, something inside me aches. An uncomfortable truth settles over me. I’ve been surviving for so long, I forgot what it feels like to want more for myself. But should I want more for my son too?
But Jace isn’t Ethan’s father, no matter how natural they look together. Ethan’s father walked out the moment I told him I was pregnant. He didn’t argue. Didn’t fight. Didn’t look back. The man just vanished like we were a chapter he didn’t care to finish.
For years, I convinced myself I could fill that gap he left. I thought that if I loved hard enough, gave enough, and planned enough, then I could build a life sturdy enough to hold us both. I’m desperate to give Ethan a life where nothing is missing.
But lately, it’s getting harder. Ethan’s getting older. He asks more questions. He watches the way other kids run to their dads after games, and I’ve started to wonder if my best will be enough.
Now I’m watching Jace fill that role so effortlessly, and it’s like twisting the knife. Standing on the sidelines and letting thishappen might be the cruelest joke. A tear threatens to escape my eyes and that’s all it takes to jar me back to reality.
