Page 44 of Putting Out
“So what’s in the truck?” Kenny asked, diverting Odie’s attention. “What kind of equipment are we talking about?”
“It will be best to wait until it’s here and then I’ll explain. Which if my faulty ears have not comp-pletely failed me, is right about now.”
Reilly figured Odie must have dog ears because it was the only way he could have heard the rumble of the truck no one else heard for at least another thirty seconds. But there it was, making a rumbling sound throughout the house until Reilly realized that when Odie said truck, he wasn’t talking about a measly pickup.
Following him outside around the house, Kenny, Pop, and Reilly all watched the large truck buck and roll its way down the long driveway.
“That’s a whole lot of te ch-nah-logy,” Kenny whistled. “Hell with that kind of technology, maybe he can make it so I can crack the top twenty.”
“Let’s concentrate on one family member at a time playing in the American.” Reilly watched as the driver of the truck hopped down to greet Odie. The two men shook hands and then came toward the assembled group.
Reilly’s jaw dropped. The driver was like no man she had ever seen before. He was, in a word, perfect. It was like the time she ran into Chris Hemsworth at a party when she’d been dating Buck. It was enough to take her breath away. Moving with a subtle grace, he jogged his way over to Reilly. His leather coat was open and through it she caught glimpses of a tight, almost spandex-like material that showed off his defined pecks and his one, two, three, four… yep, that was a six-pack.
Hello. The word was in her head as he drew closer, but she knew she was going to have to work a lot harder to get it out of her mouth. Right now she was dumbstruck.
“Reilly, this is Pierce,” Odie said, coming up behind the man and patting him on the back.
“Pierce,” she managed to utter. Pierce was perfect. He smiled, but his attention turned to Kenny. His gaze seemed to linger until Reilly decided which way his wind blew. It was fine by her. A man that good-looking was too intimidating for a woman to be around. It was better he preferred men. Safer for womankind everywhere.
“And you are?” Pierce asked of Kenny.
Not overwhelmed with the man’s physical beauty, Kenny reached out and shook his hand.
“Kenny. I’m the caddy.”
“My brother. He dates my best friend, Erica.” Reilly put it out there so as not to give Pierce any false hope. After all, she didn’t want him to try and make a move and get shot down and then maybe leave because then she wouldn’t be able to look at him anymore. Looking at him was fun.
She wished Erica was here and could appreciate him with her. “Pierce is an expert in Peel-lattes.”
Reilly struggled to put the word in context. “Pilates,” Pierce said again and winked.
“That’s what I said. Peel-lattes is this new-fangled exercise…” “Actually, it’s been around for decades, Odie,” Pierce corrected him.
“Boy! Will you let me finish? As I was saying, it’s this exercise that con-cen-trates on elong- gating the muscles. Strength without bulk. It will work your core.”
Pierce moved his hands — one across his lower abdomen and one just below his chest — to showcase the area known as the core. Reilly lost track of what Odie said after that because she was once again counting Pierce's six-pack through the clinging material of his shirt.
“…will help improve club-head speed. Club-head speed will make the ball go farther. Reilly!”
She jumped and hoped that her staring hadn’t been obvious.
“Yes, sir.”
“You will show Pierce to an available room and Kenny, you’ll help me get started unloading my equipment. I need a wide-open, dry space.”
“The barn will do,” Pop suggested. “I’ve got some portable heaters in there that will keep you warm enough while you work.”
Odie clapped his hands together. “Then let’s get started.”
Most of the morning was spent getting settled in. Reilly showed Pierce his room and if she lingered a bit to watch him remove his coat so she could get the full effect of the clinging blue shirt underneath… that was her prerogative as a woman.
Soon, though, she helped Odie, Pop, and Kenny set up what would be known as the training area in the barn. They created two sections. One was for weights, hanging bars, mats, heavy medicine balls, and a Pilates bench with an assortment of strings and pulleys all over it. The bench scared Reilly a little.
On the other side of the barn were several boxes, which contained what Odie called his own invention. Next to the crates was a pretty sophisticated computer. Reilly was jazzed to see how it would all work together. But Odie informed her she was in no way ready for that phase of his training. Body first. Tech-nah-logy second.
Mind always.
It was almost three in the afternoon when everything was said and done. Pop and Grams had decided to lie down for a bit. The rest of them were sitting around the kitchen table eating sandwiches and drinking coffee as a reward for all their effort.
