Her eyes darkened and she released a quick rush of breath. “Shit.” She lowered her voice and whispered, “Go with what I say.”
I nodded and didn’t want to tell her I was goddamn thankful she didn’t kick me out. Martin Rhett intrigued me and I wanted to meet the man responsible for so much of the shit going on.And to learn why Amber is so afraid.
She took a deep breath and gave me a long look that I couldn’t decipher. She moved past me into the view of whoever was in the living room and I followed. She’d changed into jeans that hugged her curves in some sort of way and lifted her handto motion to the clean-cut man standing next to the sofa. “Uncle Martin, this is one of my friends. Jeff, this is my uncle.”
“Jeff Maddow, from the baseball team?” he asked, a large smile on his face. His teeth were super-white and his skin very tan. “It’s great to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, as well.” I shook his hand that he held out and I took a minute to study his outfit. Fitted jacket, expensive-looking slacks and shoes, and a Rolex that reflected the sun shining through the window. “You a fan of the baseball team here?”
“I follow all the Big Ten sports. Baseball and football are my teams though. Played in high school and college. Sure miss it.” He jutted his chin to Amber. “How do you know my girl here?”
“We’re friends, Uncle. I told you.” She spoke in an annoyed tone and a million questions went through my mind. Like, what happened before I got there and what the hell do I say to his questions?
“Are you a part of the article she’s completing for one of her classes? Media bias when it comes to athletes, yes?” Martin asked, moving to sit down on the coach without any indication he was leaving. Amber’s jaw started tensing and I followed his action, sitting on the couch hoping she would relax and join me. She did.
“Yeah.” I casually crossed one leg over the other knee and looked at Amber. “How much have you talked about the project yet? I don’t want to bore him with details.”
She blinked twice before catching on to my question. “Oh, just the differences between starters and non-starters.”
“Weren’t you going to add a section about the senior life versus freshman year? That punk Brandon was going on about his questions with you. Seems the kid thinks he’s going to be a celebrity now.”
“Amber does have an incredible talent at writing,” her uncle praised, and no alarm bells went off in my head. As tense as the air was in the room, he seemed right at home and not worried. “The freshman experience in comparison to the senior. That’s an interesting take. Just the clout on the team has to be vastly different.”
“You would think these youngins would know the drill when they come onto the team, but they’re all big fish coming from tiny ponds. The egos don’t last long.”
“Yes, that is very true, I imagine.” He sighed and looked at Amber with a fondness that contradicted the worry in her eyes. “You’ll have to send me the article when you’re done, Amber. I’m sure your family would be proud of you.”
Her eyes flashed and she let out a hard laugh. “Right. Because they love when I’m successful at anything.”
Her sarcasm wasn’t lost on me and I appreciated the way her uncle dismissed her. “Her mother favors her two older brothers, and her father is too busy working to realize it. That’s where I come in. She has me on her team.”
“Uncle Martin,” she warned, but I slid her a look and reached out to squeeze her arm. She pulled back like my touch was fire, but I didn’t care. If what he said was true, it made sense. She lacked confidence about who she was and it would come through in small moments—something I never had an issue with.
“You have support here too. You know this,” I said, using a tone I rarely used. She blinked a couple of times and gave me a weak smile. “Your family should be damn proud of you, but what’s most important is that you’re proud of yourself.”
“That’s what I’ve been telling her,” her uncle said, moving from the couch to stand up. “I’m glad you have a friend here supporting you, Amber. I’ll leave you two. An older guy can still read the room.” He winked and held out a hand to me again. “Itwas nice meeting you, Jeff. Hopefully, our paths will cross again soon.”
“You as well.” I shook his hand and watched when he hugged Amber tight. Her face almost crumpled when he walked out of the door and I barely held my arms open before she flung herself at me. She squeezed me tight around my middle and I rested my chin on the top of her head. It felt perfect. The way her body fitted against mine, the way her hair smelled and how I could offer her even a little bit of comfort felt right. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Just… Let me enjoy this a little longer.”
So we stood there, hugging without an inch between us, for a good long while. I didn’t care about anything else but holding her and the thought didn’t freak me out. If anything, it caused me to squeeze her tighter.
“I can’t breathe, Jeff.” She laughed against my chest and looked up at me with the most vulnerable expression on her face. “Let’s go talk. I think it’s time this goes public.”
24
AMBER
Jeff wore sweats and a large sweatshirt that had seen better days and the laid-back look had never looked so good on him. He was the embodiment of a cuddle and when he leaned against my headboard and motioned for me to scoot right up next to him, I didn’t hesitate. I had my notebook in my lap and his arm wrapped around my shoulder—if I could’ve stayed in that position for a week without moving I would have been content. But life had to move on and that meant talking about the demise of my Uncle Martin.
“My uncle explained that Tony, the middle-aged man I saw him talking with at the stadium, is an old friend of his from his college days. I searched online for a good two hours for any pictures of him from the baseball coaching staff, hockey, even football and came up empty.”
“Do you buy it?”
“I don’t know.” I sighed and Jeff ran his hand up and down my arm in comfort. “You’ve seen how charming and manipulative he is. He would’ve had you in the palm of his hand if you didn’t know about all the shady stuff, hm?”
“I could see it. He’s a very likeable guy and, I gotta say, I liked the way he supports you.”
