“Why’s that?” I ask, turning to put him in the backseat of my truck. If I didn’t get a move on, we were gonna be later than we already are.
“Because he was cool. They nicknamed him ‘The Ryan Express’ and he had the record for no-hitters and strikeouts in his career. He played for the Texas Rangers and was just cool.”
The Rangers were my son’s favorite team in the MLB and mine. I try to watch every game I can with him when we have time. On his birthday, I took him to the Rangers stadium for his first game. I get he’s only a little kid and most want toys as gifts, but taking him to a game was way better than buying something I’d end up throwing out when he broke it or grew out of playing with.
“That’s cool, kiddo, you can tell me everything you read about him on the way to school,” I tell him while strapping him in his booster seat. Before long, I know he’s gonna be too big for this thing and need just one of those regular ones that have no backing to it.
I close his door and nod to my sister, still on the porch. “See you in a bit, Lexy.”
“I’ve got a shift this afternoon at the hospital, so you’ll have to take Dash with you while you work.”
Shit. I forgot she had to work this afternoon. Typically, I look at the calendar daily, but I don’t think I remembered to do it this morning with rushing out of the house to meet Maddox to move the bison.
“I’ve got him,” I tell her, and round the hood of my truck. It’s not the first time I’ve taken Dash along with me while working, and it won’t be the last. He loves it, so it’s no hardship.
Hopping back in my truck, I put my seatbelt on and shift my truck into reverse to turn around. Dash starts up again about Nolan Ryan and what he and Lexy read in the book about the man so far. The kid is smart and loves to read anything and everything. He could do the lower-level books by himself and loves having Lexy, or me, read him harder books he’s not ready for yet.
By the time we made it to the school, Dash had talked until he’d fallen asleep. I grin into the review mirror and stare at him as I shift the gear into park. I twist the key, turn the engine off, and hop out. This quick little power nap could go two ways. One, he’ll have a burst of energy, or two, he could be cranky as hell.
I get out and round the truck to pull him out. “Come on, kiddo, it’s time to meet your teacher.”Dash mumbles something incoherent and yawns, eyes blinking. I unhook the straps for him and lift him into my arms. “You ready?”
Dash nods and leans his head against me. Still not fully awake yet. Maybe I should have waited a few more minutes, but I don’t want him to miss open house.
Once inside, I see the school still has a lot of parents walking around. I hadn’t even paid attention to the parking lot outside to gauge what I’m walking into.
Dash wiggles to get down, and I let him, taking his hand in mine. We find where we’re supposed to go and make our way to the kindergarten hallway. The moment we step into one of the classrooms, my feet halt all movement at the sight of the woman talking to another parent, a bright smile on her face. With everything going on with the ranch, I completely forgot she mentioned she is a kindergarten teacher.
“Daddy, is that my teacher?” he asks, looking up at me.
“Yeah,” I answer, though I’m not sure how the word forms on my tongue as I take in the sight of her.
Delaney.
No. Miss Knox.
Delaney Knox.
Fuck.
She’s my son’s teacher, and I screwed her over. I haven’t seen her in a month. Not since that night I fucked her and the damn condom broke.
Delaney glances in our direction, her smile staying in place, but her eyes share the surprise of finding me standing there. Her eyes dip down to Dash, then back to me. For a brief second, I thought she might do something to piss me off, but she doesn’t. Her eyes go back to Dash, and she moves to him, squatting down to his height.
“You must be Dash, I’m Miss Delaney Knox, but you can call me Miss Laney as I’ve told all your classmates they could,” she says, stretching out her hand to him.
“Do you like baseball?” he asks.
Delaney doesn’t falter at his question, surprising me. “I love baseball. My favorite team is the Braves, but I’m a sucker for college baseball.”
“I don’t know if we can be friends then. I’m a Rangers fan,” Dash tells her, shaking his head, looking serious.
Delaney giggles and cocks her head. “That’s okay that you like a different team, just means we have more to talk about. Compare notes.”
Well, shit.
How the fuck am I supposed to not like her for that answer? Why couldn’t she do something to make me dislike her? I’ve worked hard over the past weeks to get her out of my head, to not think about the way I treated her. It’s worked mostly, except for at night, where she’s haunted my dreams.
Now, she’s going to be my son’s teacher, and I’m not sure what to do with all of this.
