Page 28 of Trapped
“Neither of us,” he pointed between himself and AJ, “has beaten Jay on the mat, but we can hold our own. But you’re a wild card; no one has seen you fight. Though it’s fair to assume you can kick some ass based on your resume.”
I laughed.I can. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
“Shall we wager for August?” Jay asked.
“The usual?” Jack asked, flashing a grin.
“Let’s make it interesting and double it,” Jay said.
“I’m out,” Jamie said.
“Me too. Meg will kill me if I lose too much.”
“Hey Blaze, did you hear that? They know they’ll lose.”
“Nice going, dude.” AJ smacked Jack in the arm.
“So, Nathan, how about them Cubs?” Doug once again shifted the conversation.
I laughed. “I wouldn’t know; I grew up in Colorado.” I was a Broncos and Avalanche fan but didn’t follow baseball.
It was no surprise the three Sheppard brothers were Cowboy fans. All three played football in high school. Something I couldn’t afford to do, and apparently neither could AJ.
“I was a wimpy tech geek, more suited to watching sports than playing,” Doug admitted. That may have been true in high school, but Doug was now a well-trained, six-foot-four wall of solid muscle.
When our server delivered our wings, the order was wrong. Not wanting to make her feel more uncomfortable, we ate them.At least she got the pizza order right.
The conversation turned to family as we ate. It wasn’t surprising. Jamie and Jack were expecting, and the others were engaged.
As the only single guy at the table, I observed more than I spoke.
Deciding it was best not to ask our young server to split the check for us, we split it six ways. I threw in two extra twenties to cover the round of drinks I’d offered to buy.
Dinner was exactly what I’d needed. I connected with the guys and learned that the Sheppards were the only ones who grew up in a loving family.
“Thanks for the invite, Jay. I needed that.”
“No problem, man.” He clapped my shoulder. “See you tomorrow.”
“Bright and early.”
Chapter 9
Ashley
Ican’t believe we have a cat.According to the vet, Prince was in good health and not chipped. He recommended notifying the local animal shelter in case his parents were looking for him, so we did. Well, I did. Gran said it was unnecessary because she believed Prince chose us.
“Gran, we should wait before buying so many toys.” Or treats.
“Ashley, Prince needs something to do while I’m resting,” Gran all but whined.God Lord, it’s like dealing with a child.
My hand instinctively went to my belly. Thankfully, Gran was too focused on shopping for Prince to notice that I was panickingbecause it’d be just my luck that my kid would be just like her.Like us.
Time for a new tactic. “Gran,” I whispered. “We’re on a budget, so let’s not go too crazy.”
“All right, dear.” She patted my arm, her eyes full of sympathy.
We bought more than necessary but not as much as Gran wanted.
