Page 39 of Under Control
It was only a few seconds before she responded.In a car, between meetings. Aren’t you at a sports thing?
He chuckled, because she was exaggerating her lack of sports knowledge to amuse him. Not that she knew much, but she knew he was at a baseball game. Even she wasn’t oblivious to the Red Sox and Yankees rivalry.I wish you were here with me.
I...don’t. Sorry. But I wouldn’t mind doing something else with you.
That got his attention, but his phone showed that she was already writing another message.
That sounded provocative, but I meant that I wouldn’t mind doing anything else but watching sports with you. But provocative also works.
Some crowd noise made him look up from his phone, but since the guys he was there with were neither cheering nor shouting angry insults, he didn’t think he’d missed anything important.
After taking a second to skim the calendar app on his phone—clearly Olivia was rubbing off on him—he went back to the messaging app.Why don’t you come over Saturday night? We can watch a movie and then do provocative things. I’ll make you breakfast.
There was a long pause, which was unusual because she was not only sitting in a car with the phone in her hand, but she typed on her phone faster than most people could type on a keyboard.
The kids are going home late Saturday afternoon,he added.Jason’s family is having something in Maine and they’re leaving very early Sunday morning.
Do I get to pick the movie?
The immediacy of that response was a pretty strong confirmation he’d been right. She’d been wondering if Julia and Isaac would be there and had been reluctant to ask. What he didn’t know was if her answer was dependent on it. And if so, whether it was because of his promise of provocative things, or just their presence in general.
Maybe he shouldn’t have told her what Julia had said or that he was reluctant to tell them about her so soon after they got the news about Amber’s pregnancy. Maybe she’d been wondering if he’d changed his mind, but it bugged him that she seemed reluctant to ask. They needed to be able to talk about the kids without it being awkward.
We should watch Die Hard,he typed.It kills me that you haven’t seen it.
Those provocative things better be VERY provocative.Only a few seconds passed before another text came through.I’m almost to my destination. Enjoy the game and call me later.
Good luck.
When he tucked the phone back in his pocket, unable to keep the smile off his face, he caught the other guys staring at him.
Gavin shook his head. “Sad, man. You are so far gone.”
“Bullshit. You’re telling me you’ve never sent Cait a text from a game?”
“Not when we’re tied up with the Yankees and we’ve got runners on the corners and no outs.”
Okay, maybe hewaspretty far gone.
When the Red Sox finally got the win, knocking the Yankees down yet another notch in the standings, they made the long walk back to the lot where they’d parked in high spirits. They’d probably all head over to Kincaid’s and have a beer that didn’t cost a day’s wages, rehashing the game with Tommy and Fitzy, who would have watched it at the bar.
“You ever gonna get rid of this car, or what?” Grant asked when they reached Derek’s beige four-door beater. His Jeep, which he and Gavin had come in, was farther down the row. Aidan, Scott and Danny had ridden in Scott’s truck, which was across the lot.
Derek shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve thought about it, but it’s paid for.”
“I know a guy selling his truck because his wife’s having twins and it gets like eight miles to the gallon. It’s not a bad-looking ride for the money he’s asking.”
“I have two kids.”
“Yeah, but it’s got a bench seat. Put Isaac in the middle.”
And what if, someday, Olivia joined them on an outing? Right now, he had a family of three. But it didn’t seem smart to invest in a vehicle thatonlysat three.
The car had actually been the one Amber drove most of the time while they were married. He’d driven a beat-up, small SUV with all-wheel drive they’d bought for short money off her uncle because they needed two vehicles and couldn’t afford anything better while still paying off Isaac’s medical bills. If the weather was bad, Derek usually drove and if he was working, they’d switch. The SUV wasn’t all that reliable, though, so he hadn’t liked her driving it.
When they’d separated and Derek wasn’t around to shovel and salt the driveway or drive the kids when the roads were iffy, he’d told her they’d switch cars and then trade the SUV in toward a newer model. He’d paid the bulk of the difference, but it had been worth it for the peace of mind of knowing his soon-to-be ex-wife and his children were safer on the road.
“I’ve always wanted to get eight miles to the gallon,” he said, and then he snorted. “Driving from gas station to gas station is my kind of fun.”
