Rough Love (Tannen Boys 1)

She glares at me over her shoulder, and I realize that might not’ve been the right thing to say. Or appropriate language in front of Cooper. “Please, wait. What happened?”

I finally just hop over the fence and stride over quickly. I step in front of her and she makes a move like she’s going to go around me, but I’m a defensive lineman and I block her left, and then right, before she stops and huffs heavily. “Let me go. I’ll just do it on my own.”

I look to Cooper for some guidance here because I have no damn idea what’s wrong with his mother. He’s no help, though, just shrugging his bony shoulder.

I put a hand on each of Allyson’s shoulders and bend down to get in her face. From inches away, I keep my voice steady and steely, quietly demanding. “Tell me what’s wrong. What happened?”

The flints of anger in her eyes are as sharp as knives. But before she can answer, Shayanne interrupts.

“Hey, Cooper! Wanna come see my pig so the grown-ups can talk? Her name’s Bacon Seed.” She might as well be playing a flute like the Pied Piper because Cooper’s full attention goes to Shay.

“Did you say you have a pig named Bacon Seed?” He sounds pretty sure my sister is one card short of a deck. He might not be wrong.

“Yep,” Shay answers, examining the tip of her ponytail for split ends like she doesn’t have a care in the world. “Wanna see?”

I raise one brow at Allyson, asking permission. She softens under my hands, looking at her son. “It’s fine, honey. Go with Shayanne for a minute so I can talk to Coach B.”

Not Bruce but Coach B. I’m so fucked. If only I knew why.

Cooper all but runs for Shayanne, already asking questions about Bacon Seed. Though my eyes stay locked on Allyson, I hear him say something about holding the pig and Shayanne’s promise that he can.

Once they’re several yards away, I ask again. “What happened?”

She scoffs, but the hard line of her spine stays softer. “You no-showed and you damn well know it. How could you throw me to the wolves like that? Practice was a total clusterfuck.” She rolls her eyes, looking at the sky, and I swear I think she’s fighting back tears. Just how bad was it?

“Al,” I say, shifting my hand to her jawline. I’m playing with fire and I know it, but she looks so lost. “I’m so sorry. I sent you a text message that I had to miss today and included ideas for you to use for practice to keep the guys progressing. Hell, I even included a damn video of me with one of Shay’s monsters for you to show them to explain my absence.”

She goes stiff beneath my palms, jerking away. “No, you did not. I’ve been checking my phone all morning and nothing, nada, zip. Don’t try to make me think you did something you didn’t. I’m not that stupid.”

She steps back, putting two feet between us. It feels like a cavernous ravine and I hate every single fucking inch. “Al . . .” I say, following her to close the gap.

“I know we left things ugly the other day, but I never dreamed you’d take out our history on those boys. You are not the man I thought you were, not then and not now.” She somehow finds even more distance to put between us, switching to what I imagine is her professional voice. “We won’t be needing your services at any future practices or games. I’ll have your name removed from the roster. You’re off the hook, Brutal.”

I pull my phone out and shove it toward her, thinking it’s the only way to stop this merry-go-round from hell. “Look at my damn phone, Allyson. You’ll see the fucking messages.”

She rips it from my hand and presses the home button, gloating like she knows she’s going to trap me in a lie. There’s no passcode, never needed one, so she can see everything right away. She clicks into my messages and it’s right there like I said it was . . . her name at the top, a few messages in a row, and then a video.

She clicks play and my recorded voice fills the air.

“Hey, guys! Sorry I’m missing today’s practice, but I’ve got some extra chores to do today for my sister. You know how sisters can be!”

My eyes brows waggle, and I grin at my own joke on the screen.

“But Coach Allyson has the plan, so do everything she says. I’ll be checking for progress on Tuesday night. Oh, and one more thing . . . GOOOO WILDCATS!”

I finish the video off with a waving goat’s hoof, like she’s saying ‘bye to the team too. I’d felt a little dorky doing it but had thought the boys would get a kick out of it.