Page 32 of Lone Star Longing
What the hell did he think, bringing his kid to a tournament and having him play against adults? Did he think he was going to win? Did he think this was a way to bond to his kid, by berating him in public? Lacey was so glad she didn't have that kind of relationship with her dad.
She was halfway between her table and the father and son when she heard the father say, “Go get us a damn table.”
When the kid passed her, on the way to find a table, she patted his shoulder in passing, felt the muscles clench with just that brief contact.
“Good game,” she said, and when he paused, then nodded, before he moved on to find a table in the crowded yard.
She looked up to see his father looking at her, eyes narrowed, and her blood chilled. She’d seen that look on Jesse’s face. She would never never allow that look to be directed at her child.
She nodded in his direction and turned back to her table as the next team took the box.
When she marched past Beck, he touched her hand, and she looked down to see approval in his gaze.
No, she didn't want a relationship with Beck, but she was pretty sure she didn't want one with the father of her child, either.
Their teams didn't have a chance to play for another hour, when a pair of boxes opened up, but the time passed quickly.
By then, Con, Javi and Ginny were pretty drunk, and the temptation to put them all on the same team just to watch what happened was great. Instead, Ginny, Beck, Lacey and Javi played against Con, Poppy, Sofia and Sofia’s sister Teresa.
The teams argued about who would go first, before Beck guided Lacey forward.
“You start us off.”
“No pressure,” she countered, and took her stance.
She didn't even make it to the box, her washer landing in the dust just before it.
“Warm-up shot,” Beck said. “We’ll all take a warm-up round.”
She was going to wave off the suggestion, but everyone agreed. She took a bit more time with her next shot, made it between the first and second hole.
“Yeah!” Beck’s cheer was the loudest.
He needed to calm down, or more of their friends would suspect something was up between them. Heck, even she was starting to wonder if something was up between them.
She couldn't even think that way until she settled things with Jesse.
The game was fun, even more so because they were laughing at Ginny and Con, who more often than not missed the box, no matter how many times they claimed a “warm-up round.”
She hadn’t enjoyed herself so much in a long time, hadn’t relaxed, hadn’t felt like her old self. Nothing like good friends to remind her who she was.
“I’m going to take Con and Javi home,” Beck told her as she slung her purse back over her shoulder. “Can you give Ginny a lift?”
“Yeah, sure.” She considered him, realized she didn't know how much he’d had to drink, and Con lived far from town. “Are you going to be okay?”
“Yeah, I quit drinking over an hour ago. It’s all good.”
She nodded. “Good. I’m glad you thought about that.” His action was very responsible. Had he always been responsible? She guessed he’d had to be. He was certainly the most responsible of his siblings, checking on his mom. “I guess I’ll see you later this week. Have a good one.”
“Yeah,” he said. “You too.”
She was heading through the gate when she heard footsteps behind her and the young boy she’d been cheering for earlier stood before her.
“Um, I just wanted to say, good game,” he said, his words a bit of a stammer.
She smiled, looked from him to his father, who nodded his approval.
“Thanks,” she said. “You too. Maybe next time our teams can play each other.”
