I shrugged. “Yeah, she’s close to our age, that’s for sure.”
We spent the next thirty minutes working on Bryce’s batting and throwing. Jeff was a natural at this, and I couldn’t help but wonder why he was out walking dogs and shoveling shit when he could be helping coach a Little League team.
“I’m going to go put this bag of balls up. Why don’t y’all do some postworkout stretches? Bryce here doesn’t seem to think they are important,” I said with a wink to Bryce. His face turned red, and he looked down to the ground. He was the one kid on the team who never seemed to want to stretch with the other kids.
“What? Dude! Stretching is the best part,” Jeff announced as he dropped to the ground and motioned for Bryce to join him. I took a quick glance around for Macey and couldn’t find her. She must have gone out to her car.
Rounding the corner, I walked into the large storage room and headed toward the back. I dropped the bag of balls and turned around, only to stop in my tracks when I saw Bryce’s mom standing there.
“Christ, you scared me, Mrs. . .”
She lifted her brows.
“Um, Macey. You scared me.”
Her teeth sank into her bottom lip as she moved toward me. “I didn’t mean to scare you, Gunner. I was hoping we might be able to talk in private.”
“Yeah, sure. Were you not happy with what we did with Bryce today?”
“Oh no, I’m very pleased. I like the added touch of your friend as well. I was wanting to talk about something a little different.”
I took a step back. Fuck. I knew exactly what she wanted to talk about.
“Macey, listen.”
Before I could even finish my sentence, she crossed the distance between us and pressed her lips to mine. Lifting my hands, I pushed her back.
“What are you doing?” I asked, wiping my mouth off and taking a few steps back.
She stood there with a stunned expression on her face. “I’m sorry . . . I just thought when you said not to let any of the other mothers know, I figured that was your way of telling me . . .”
Her voice trailed off.
“My way of telling you what?”
Macey shrugged. “Well, Lynn said that you . . . you know . . . do things for her.”
My eyes widened in shock. “What do you mean?”
Now Macey’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh no. You haven’t slept with any of the mothers, have you?”
“No!” I nearly shouted.
She began to pace. “Lynn said you have come over to her house a few times and . . . well . . . you helped her feel good about herself by having sex with her in ways her husband didn’t.”
“Well, Lynn is fucking lying. I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, but Macey . . . Mrs. Williams . . . you approached me about helping your son. I’m not a fucking service to keep bored housewives occupied.”
Her cheeks flamed red, and she shook her head. “I’m really not married—I was lying about that—and it’s just been so long and you’re so gosh darn good-looking. I’m so sorry; I’m very, very sorry.”
I rubbed my hands down my face. “Did Bryce even really want extra help, or did you plant that in his head?”
Her eyes welled up. “No, I didn’t plant anything. He really wanted the extra help, and well, when Coach Adams suggested you, I sort of thought I might be able to kill two birds, and now I’m so embarrassed I can’t even think straight. Please forgive me, and let’s just pretend this never happened.”
Macey rushed out the door before I could even say anything.
“Jesus, what in the hell is in the air?” I mumbled as I walked out of the storage room.
I locked the door and headed toward Jeff. He looked confused.