Ryan nodded and Lucy watched him walk away. Something was definitely different about him. He wasn't his usual bubbly self and his shoulders looked a little lower than normal. Brooding maybe? As an athlete, he was good about not holding on to a loss. The only way Lucy ever knew if the Pirates had won or lost a game was by looking up the score. Ryan never carried a missed shot or a losing streak with him. He once told her it was his secret for success. Move on and don't let it grind you down.
But the team ended the season with a tough playoff series. They were in the semifinals, just one round away from the championship, and fought a rough seven-game series that ended in a heartbreaking loss.
Watching him walk into her cottage that morning, Lucy wondered if he was having trouble shaking the season off of him. Maybe that was why he was up here?
She could see his shadow on the floor as he started to come back out and she quickly scrambled to grab the last few bags. But she hadn't been able to get far before Ryan was standing in her path again.
"I got these."
He leaned over and grabbed the bags out of her hand, not waiting for a response from her.
"OK," she said quietly. "I'll grab the coffees."
Ryan turned and walked back in while Lucy opened the car door and leaned over the front seat to grab the two drinks from the cup holders, spilling a little out of the top of hers onto the center console. Whatever. She only got this car to try and look like she was an impressive lawyer three years ago after she passed the bar. She really didn't like it, but it was what it was. She had matured enough over the past few years to finally get to a point where she knew what she liked. It was just too bad the lease on her car wasn't up yet.
She headed in with the drinks in hand to find Ryan loading up her freezer.
"You didn't have to unload my groceries for me."
He just gave her another indifferent shrug.
Lucy reached out to give him his latte and he stared at it for a few seconds before finally taking it out of her hand.
"Thanks."
"Sure." She took a sip of her mocha, the coffee warm on her lips. "Hey, are you doing OK?"
He finally looked up at her with eyes that weren't as bright as she remembered them to be. "I'll be fine."
"I didn't ask if you'll be fine," she said. "I asked if you're doing OK now."
He took a sip of his coffee, the quietness lingering in the air. Ryan McCloud, loudmouth neighbor of Lucy's best friend, was speechless. That wasn't normal for him, but that was all she would get out of him for now. He was brooding, she got that, and maybe it was fine to just let him brood.
But she would do what she could in the meantime to help him. The local coffee shop had a whole rack of fresh donuts and she knew Ryan well enough to know how much he loved them — and how much Andy, his trainer, made him lay off of them during the season.
"Hey, I know you didn't ask for it, but since you were nice enough to move your truck this morning, I got something for you." She walked over and put her cup down on the counter next to a bag from the shop, pulling out a pink box with a bit of a dramatic flair. "A dozen donuts."
Ryan gave her a small smile. "I'm not supposed to eat donuts."
"It's June. It's the offseason. You can eat donuts, and since that's the first sort of happy look I've gotten from you today, I'm assuming you want these."
"Just one," he replied.
"Nope."
She opened the box, grabbed a sprinkled one she had picked out for herself, and ripped off a paper towel to lay it on. Then she neatly closed up the box and handed it over.
"These are all for you."
"I can't take the whole box, Lucy."
"Yes, you can. It's the offseason and Andy isn't here to tell you what to eat." She extended her arms a little farther. "Take it. You know you want to," she teased.
He took a deep breath and gently grabbed the box from her. "I owe you."
"You don't owe me," she replied. "We'll call it even after I woke you up and made you move your truck."
"That wasn't worth a whole box of donuts."
