Page 37 of Coach Me
Rounding the corner into Callie’s office, I’m not entirely sure what’s going on, but I now know the reason I didn’t hear Lucie’s laugh as I see her standing, juggling three baseballs.
Miles claps his hands as he starts to chant her name, but when Lucie’s eyes catch mine, she catches all three balls in her hands and tucks her chin low. I can’t exactlytell if the redness on her cheeks is from the sun or if she’s blushing.
Miles lets out a groan. “Lucie, keep going!”
Callie shakes Miles’s shoulder lightly. “Party’s over, kid. Dad’s here.”
Miles whips his whole body around in his chair and his eyes light up. “Dad, you’re here! Finally!”
I take the two steps needed before picking my son up out of the chair. One day, he’ll be too big for this type of hug, but until then, I’m going to take full advantage.
Miles’s arms squeeze tightly around my neck. “I missed you.”
My hold gets a little tighter and the guilt from not getting him sooner hits hard. “I missed you too.”
“Oh, don’t let him fool you too much, Dex, he was pretty entertained by Lucie’s hidden talent,” Callie says with a laugh.
Glancing back to Lucie, her cheeks are still red and her eyes avoid mine as she sets the baseballs down on Callie’s desk.
“Not a hidden talent, just usually a crowd pleaser amongst children.” Lucie’s voice is barely above a whisper as she tucks the strands of her hair behind her ears and looks toward Callie.
Miles lets go of his hug and leans back to look me in the eye while talking ninety miles a minute. “It was so cool! I was a little sad when I didn’t see you in the hall. I thought about going to the locker room, but then Shannon was walking out, and we’ve been avoiding her all day. So Lucie and I raced into Callie’s office. When I got sad again, Lucie said she knew a way to cheer me up.”
I try to ignore the small pang of pain in my chest thatMiles was upset he didn’t see me right after the game, but hell, that’s hard to hear. Between his mom backing out of their weekend together and me being completely selfish today?—
“Miles, why don’t you tell your dad about all of the fun we had today?” Lucie’s voice cuts through my thoughts.
“Oh yeah, we had so much fun! We went all around the stadium and I got to show Lucie all the big fancy rooms where people watch the games. And we went and got some ice cream, but I did have to eat real food first. Lucie says the same things you do, like eating good food and chewing with my mouth closed.”
Callie snorts. “What party poopers.”
Miles giggles at Callie while he pushes his hands on my chest for me to put him down. When he sits back down next to Callie, he pulls his legs up on the chair. “Lucie, can you juggle again?”
Lucie hums softly as the corner of her mouth tilts up for a moment. With how sweetly Miles just asked her, I imagine she’s considering it. I don’t even know how to do it, but hell, I’d figure it out if it meant getting that all-amazed look from my son.
But like Callie said, I’m a bit of a party pooper and I still need to talk to Lucie before we leave.
I kneel next to Miles’s chair. “Sorry, bud, maybe another night. We’ve got to get you to bed, but I do have to talk to Lucie for a minute. Can you stay with Callie until we’re done?”
“Oh.” Miles frowns for a moment before turning to Callie. “Do you know how to juggle?”
Callie hops up from her chair. “I can surely try!”
Oh, dear Lord.
I give Lucie a small nod to follow me to my office, and before we even make it halfway, we hear squeals and laughs accompanied by a loud thud.
Lucie chuckles. “We have to hurry, or I fear Callie might break a lot of stuff in her office.”
I hold the door open and let her walk in first. “Yeah, I’d consider it a safe bet that most of it wouldn’t be as accidental as she’d claim.”
“No, probably not.”
“So, today went okay?” I ask, taking my seat.
“Yeah, I think so. I mean, Miles and I had a good time.” Lucie shuffles in her chair and slides the small strands of her blonde hair back again.
This close, I can definitely see the blush but mostly sunburn on her cheeks and her nose.
