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“She loves me too much to be mad at me for too long.”
“CHAYYYYSSSEEE!” Penny startles me and Landon as she squeals the minute she sees Chayse. From the looks of it, Chayse is just as startled as we are.
“Hey Peanut, I didn’t know you were going to be here.” She reaches Penny and sits down beside her to give her a hug as she stares daggers at Landon and I over Penny’s head.
“We always come to Uncle Reid’s baseball games. I’m his number one fan! He’s going to hit a slam grand for me tonight.”
Chayse’s frown disappears pretty quick at Penny’s excitement, and I don’t know if I have ever been more glad for my daughter’s ability to win people over so quickly.
“Hey Chayse, how was your shift?” Landon leans over to give her a peck on the cheek. She instantly swats him away and he just chuckles at her.
“It wasn’t too bad. The new nurse started today. I think she’s going to be a good fit. She’s eager to learn, but I have a feeling she’s not going to take any shit from anyone. People assume since she’s so petite with the blond hair and big blue eyes that she’s going to be a pushover, but that’s far from the truth.”
“Great, another ball buster! Just what I need.” Landon elbows Chayse in the side and they both start to laugh.
“Daddy, what’s a ball buster?”
“Hmm, how about we let Landon handle that one since he’s the one that said it.” He at least looks a little contrite as I give him my best dad glare.
“Well, it just means someone who makes sure that I’m sticking to the rules and am not being too silly. They also like to tease other people.”
“Oh, so my Daddy’s a ball buster, too?”
We all try to hold in our laughter while we try to figure out how to answer that.
“Um, honey. Let’s just not use that phrase, okay? It’s more of something grownups say instead of kids.”
“Oh, okay. Like swear words.”
“Exactly. Hey Chayse.”
“Hey Cash. How’d the work on the house go today?”
“It was great! I got the pocket doors fixed today!”
“No shit! Damn, I love those doors. I’m so pumped you were able to fix them. That’s one thing I was not looking forward to trying to fix. They’re so big and heavy, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to hang them so that they moved smoothly.”
I’m stunned as she throws her arms around me and gives me a big hug. My shock quickly wears off as I wrap my arms around her back. I can’t help but pull her closer and hold her tight. I bury my head in her neck and breathe in her clean scent. I feel a shiver run through her as she slowly pulls away, our mouths only inches apart, our noses almost brushing. Just then a huge cheer erupts from the crowd and we both pull apart as if we were zapped by electricity.
“Yayyy!!! Uncle Reid just did something, and everyone is escited!”
“Yeah, Daddy. He just had a pretty nice double play to end the inning and prevented the other team from scoring.” Landon is giving us both a knowing look since we obviously weren’t paying attention to the game. I just shrug but I’d be lying if I wasn’t happy about that hug or the way Chayse’s cheeks are flushed a pretty shade of pink right now. Even though I know I shouldn’t act on my attraction, it feels damn good knowing I’m not the only one affected. I try to discreetly adjust my jeans, but know I’m busted when I hear Landon chuckling under his breath. With Penny distracted by the game, I flip him off and make sure to pay attention the rest of the game.
“You did it Uncle Reid! You hit a slam grand! I TOLD Daddy that you would do that for me today.”
“I sure did Princess, and it was definitely because you were here cheering me on.”
“If I had ovaries, they’d totally be exploding right now.” Landon is trying to whisper to Chayse, but nothing that man does is subtle. Noticing he has an audience, Reid gives Penny a kiss on her forehead and stands to address the rest of us.
“So, you must be the best friend. I’m Reid Dalton. Pleasure to meet you.”
“Right back at ya, stud. That was a damn good ball game. Landon Douglas.”
“Don’t mind Landon. He’s a habitual flirt and has no idea how to shut it off.”
“Oh, I don’t mind at all. In fact, I’d love to get to know you, and you too Chayse, a little bit better. The tradition if we win is to head out and eat some greasy food and get the munchkin something sweet. You two care to join us?”
“We’d love to, right Chayse?”
