He slid it from his pocket and she snatched it, her fingers flying across the keys.
“There’s my number.” She snapped it back into his palm and he resisted the urge to grab her hand and keep her there. “Text me directions later.”
Olivia took off, leaving Cash in a strange wake of confusion. After talking to Gil for a minute, the two of them walked out the doors together. Cash rubbed his chest, wondering why it felt as if one of his longhorns had speared him. He only had enough room in his life to deal with one girl at a time. Olivia being mad at him or even dating Gil should be a good thing.
Too bad it didn’t feel that way.
Cash shook the thoughts of Olivia from his mind, scanning the narthex for his sister. Tera Lawton’s eyes gleamed from across the room, reminding him of a jungle cat about to strike its prey. He’d already dealt with her once this morning and he didn’t care to do it again.
Why couldn’t the woman get the fact that he was taken? At least in one sense of the word. And even if he could date, it wouldn’t be her again.
Not after what she’d done.
When Jack reappeared, Cash met his friend by the doors.
“Janie and Tucker must have already gone outside.” Jack pushed out into the bright sunlight and glanced at Cash. “Trying to escape the Tera-dactyl?”
He laughed. “You know it. What is that girl thinking? As if I’d ever entertain that idea.”
Jack shrugged. “She probably just wants you for your money.”
Cash snorted. “You mean she’s attracted to the hundred bucks in my bank account? And here I thought she couldn’t resist my stunning good looks.”
Jack slapped him on the back. Hard. “Must be thinking of someone else there. You never had any of those.” Jack’s slow drawl brought out the Texan in him, flashing Cash’s mind back to their younger days. Both had grown up here, and both had returned after college. Living in Fredericksburg without Jack would be like a football game without a pigskin.
“How’s the football team looking?”
“I’ve got a few boys hoping for scholarships, which usually means I can mold them into the kind of players I need. When they want to get out of here bad enough, they work pretty hard.”
“True. But I’m not sure why anyone would want to leave this place.” Cash glanced at the Texas sky, now a mixture of clouds and a striking blue color that reminded him an awful lot of a certain volleyball coach’s eyes, which had just been flashing at him inside the church.
“I know what you mean.”
It took Cash a minute to remember what they’d been talking about. He scanned the still-damp parking lot until he saw Janie and Tucker near Jack’s car. He must have searched too long, because Jack’s laugh sounded next to him.
“She already left with Gil. Didn’t you see?”
Annoying that Jack could read his mind like that. And yeah, he’d seen. Cash’s hand itched to adjust the brim of a hat. Any hat that would shade a bit of his face.
“I was in church this morning, if you recall.” Jack’s amusement increased. “Probably wasn’t the only one who witnessed the way you tracked her every move.”
Cash winced. He had thought he’d done a better job than that of hiding his attraction to the new volleyball coach and French teacher. French. A sophisticated woman, who not only spoke but taught French, would surely never stay in a little town like this. Probably just passing through. Maybe he could tamp down his interest by thinking of her as a hoity-toity French teacher. Although on Tuesday she hadn’t seemed too high-and-mighty. She’d seemed sweet. And this morning? Feisty. Unfortunately both of those things appealed to him.
Time for a subject change. “While you’re at it, why don’t you get a scholarship going for Renner? Hopefully he’s got plans that don’t involve this town.” Or my sister. The star running back had a reputation for raising a ruckus, and Jack had just as little patience for him as Cash.
“Couldn’t agree more. Are you coming over to watch the Rangers game this afternoon?”
They approached the car and Cash went down in time to receive the direct hit from Tucker, his little body creating a surprisingly strong tackle. “Planning on it,” Cash answered Jack and then spoke to Tucker. “Has your daddy been teaching you to tackle?”
Tucker grinned, head bobbing.
“Do you want to go way up?”
At Tucker’s nod, Cash hoisted the boy onto his shoulders. Tucker clapped, then settled in by squealing and gripping Cash’s hair like a handlebar.
He ignored the blood rushing to his scalp as Janie looked up to greet him. The tiny woman looked like a wind might blow her over, but she handled Jack—and the whole football team—with ease. Jack hadn’t figured out how amazing Janie was until college, but then he’d asked her out and never looked back.
Cash smiled at the best thing that had ever happened to his best friend. “How’s my favorite girl?” He only said the phrase to annoy Jack, who promptly elbowed him in the gut.
He grunted and laughed, and Janie shook her head, the sun dancing off her cute little bob of a haircut as she ignored them both.
“Speaking of favorite girls, is Rachel coming over today, too?”
Cash shook his head, forgetting Tucker’s grip and quickly regretting it. “Don’t think she’s planning on it.” Annoyance rose up. Rachel had been spending as little time as possible in his presence. He didn’t know if it was typical girl stuff or something more. Not that he knew what typical girl stuff was. He wished she’d go over to the Smiths’ with him today. Janie would be good for the girl.
They said goodbyes and Cash deposited Tucker in his car seat, leaving the confusion of buckles for Jack to sort through. He headed for his dark blue extended cab truck a few spots away, got in and pressed the horn to make Tucker laugh.
That boy had stolen his heart from the first time Cash saw him in the hospital. He knew he’d done the same to Jack. Watching his friend be a father was pretty touching, but Jack and Cash didn’t usually get into sappy conversations like that. The two of them didn’t need to say much to know what the other was thinking. For instance, right now, Jack was probably thinking about getting in a quick nap before the Rangers game. Too bad Cash couldn’t do the same.
Cash drove up to the church entrance and texted his sister. Minutes later, Rachel came out and hopped into the truck. She messed around on her phone during the fifteen-minute drive home, leaving Cash to process his day and week.
It was his turn to handle the barn today, but that shouldn’t take too long. A few chores and he could grab a sandwich and head over to Jack’s. But of the list of things that came to mind that he needed to accomplish during the rest of the week, only one thing really mattered. And that was keeping his concentration on his sister instead of the completely distracting volleyball coach who happened
