Maid to Fit (10 page)

She followed Ronnie’s directions, and after logging in she was able to view her mother’s
room at the nursing home. She could see her mother already in bed sleeping peacefully.

“It will be better quality in the morning when there is more light in the room. This
should do the trick, though, until you get back in town to go visit her in person.
I told her I was with the electric company and needed to check out the outlets, so
she didn’t seem to have a problem letting me look around her room. She did mention
a couple of times what a nice-looking man I am. Am I really that attractive, or is
it just her medication talking?” he asked.

He was
so
fishing for compliments, probably wearing his infamous grin. How could she answer
that without giving away the fact that he was good-looking enough to distract
her
at inappropriate times?

“She may have Alzheimer’s disease but her vision is good, from what the doctor tells
me,” she said.

“Well,
you
don’t have Alzheimer’s and
you
don’t wear glasses. So tell me, Kayla, objectively, am I attractive to you?”

Damn him! She could feel his smile through the phone line and it was making her grin,
as well.

“Yeah, you’re fine. You know you are,” she finally replied.

“I wanted you to say it. I’m just making sure that kiss wouldn’t have been the same
for some other man. That just
maybe
my ugly mug is really capable of getting that kind of a response out of you,” he
said.

“Good night, Ronnie,” she threatened with a laugh.

“Wait, before you go, I was wondering if you trust me to sand down your mother’s table
and chairs and refinish them. I fixed the table, including the leg that made it unbalanced,
and I fixed the spindles in the backs of all the chairs. They could all use a fresh
coat of stain, though,” he said.

He had been working on her mother’s table and chairs over the past few days she’d
been out of town? It was a thoughtful thing to do since she’d only asked him to stop
by briefly to check the house and get the mail.

“That would be so great. I’ve wanted to find someone to refinish the set but just
haven’t had time. Keep track of how many hours you’ve spent working on it and I will
pay you for the work,” she said.

“If you insist. It’s just one of the
many
services
I offer,” he said. “Good night, Kayla,” he finished with a husky laugh.

After hanging up with Ronnie, she put away her laptop and got ready for bed. It took
a while to go to sleep because her thoughts and grins were keeping her awake.

Mmm…Ronnie.

His voice, his blue eyes, his broad shoulders, the way he moved and mostly his stupid
grin.

* * *

Yes!
Kayla was going to go out with him on Saturday.

He realized by Tuesday evening that he missed both her and the kid. Kayla was becoming
a pretty decent friend, and Addie was good times.

He’d had a nice long talk with one of his older sisters, who had preached at him relentlessly
about not playing with a single mother’s heart. But he
wasn’t
playing, he was serious.
Seriously lusting for Kayla.

Then today he had gone to the school early just to watch Addie at practice. The team
of girls had mobbed him, wanting him to coach them. Apparently their useless coach
had finally stepped down, stating she just didn’t have the
time
anymore and without an adult advisor the girls were “screwed,” or so they had emphatically
claimed.

Even after his last attempt, he still knew nothing at all about coaching cheerleading.
But how hard could it be to help out for a week or two until the girls could find
someone else to coach them? Surely they could convince one of the other mothers or
maybe an older sister to take over.

Not only would the guys give him shit if they found out about him being a cheerleading
coach, but those girls deserved someone who knew what they were doing. They were good
kids. Not to mention, what would Kayla think if she found out? Would she think he
was trying to push his way into her and Addie’s life outside of his job duties?

All he knew was, the minute Addie had looked at him with her imploring eyes he’d caved.
Besides, all he would have to do was sit there and make sure they didn’t revert back
to defensive cheers when their own team had the football.

He sat down at the table to fill out the paperwork the principal at Addie’s school
had given him. After attaching the information on his background that Rusty had shared
with him, he decided to do a quick internet search. He needed to know what cheerleaders
did at these competitions, and in general, besides hanging around on the sidelines
at Friday-night football games.

An hour later, he was aggravated about what he found. Addie’s team needed boys,
strong boys
, if they were really going to stand a chance at this competition thing that meant
so much to them. The football team would be the most likely bet for the kind of boys
they needed.

The following afternoon, Ronnie showed up at Addie’s practice after turning in his
paperwork to the principal, feeling a little more prepared thanks to his internet
research. With Buck in tow, he had the girls run laps in the gym, in formation, while
he pulled out the mats from the storage closet in the gym that Kaitlyn had pointed
out to him. When the girls finished warming up and managed to line up correctly, he
stood before them like a drill sergeant.

“Which one of you wants to commandeer at least four, but preferably eight, members
of the football team for the stunts you will have to do for this competition?” he
asked. “We need boys with upper-body strength if we want to have a chance at winning.
So again, who is going to take care of rounding up some boys?”

“Their coach won’t let them. He says male cheerleaders are—” Kaitlyn began.

“Yeah, we’ve tried for years to get some guys to join with no luck,” one of the other
girls said.

“Work on those flips of yours—
together
, you know, like a
team
—until I get back,” he ordered.

He walked back outside with Buck to talk to the football coach. Addie had said this
competition was important to her and he’d agreed to help her achieve that goal. The
football coach hadn’t impressed him at last weekend’s game but he hadn’t disappointed
either. Having lost the first game of the season wasn’t a good sign for the football
team’s overall success, and Ronnie hadn’t noticed any banners hanging around the gym
that announced the football team as reigning champs of any kind, so what was the harm
in the players helping the cheer squad with a few stunts?

Spotting the coach along the sidelines of the football field, Ronnie walked over and
introduced himself. Never one to beat around the bush, he asked about borrowing a
few of the football players for stunts.

“Look, buddy, I think it’s great of you to step in to help out the girls like this.
It would seem odd to have a football game without cheerleaders, even if half the time
they have no clue what they are doing. However, these boys already participate in
spirit day and they can’t afford time away from practice for…
cheerleading
. And you’ll have a hard time convincing any of them to join the cheer squad anyway,”
the man said.

“So you don’t mind me asking them then? If they agree I’d be happy to move the time
for practice so it doesn’t interfere with football,” Ronnie offered.

The man looked a little put out that Ronnie was still hanging around, but he blew
his whistle and called the team over to the sideline anyway. When the team had gathered
around him, the coach asked about helping the cheer squad and a couple of boys on
the team appeared interested.

Just before the two boys could speak up, the quarterback for the team said, “Anyone
who is split between this team and the cheer squad can forget about getting any ball
time from me, so you might as well drop now.”

Wow.
This
was the boy Addie and her friends were so excited about? He was a nice-looking young
man but obviously a power hungry ass wipe. Ronnie watched as the boys on the team
gave in to the pressure from their teammate and remained silent.

“Well, there is your answer. Now they need to get back out to the field, if you’ll
excuse us,” the coach said with a half sneering, half approving smile.

“So let me make sure I understand you. The cheerleaders help your team every Friday
night by cheering and entertaining the crowds even when you’re losing because they
are team players who support the school’s sports programs
regardless
. The one time they ask for your support in return, it becomes every man for himself.
That about right?” Ronnie asked the coach and the group of football players.

“Look, man, I can’t
make
them do anything. I’m sorry if that offends your sense of morals, but I think we’re
done here,” the coach said, turning his back to Ronnie.

A couple of the boys snickered, and before he said anything more or lost the last
bit of the cool he still possessed, Ronnie walked away. As he rounded the corner of
the building heading back to the gym, he nearly collided with the two boys he’d met
the first day he’d picked up Addie. He made it nearly the entire way past them before
inspiration hit. It didn’t matter
what
sport the boys came from….

“Hey!” he said, turning back toward the two.

The boys halted in their tracks and he walked back to where they stood.

“What are your names again?” Ronnie asked.

“My name is Chase, and this is Stevie,” the taller boy said.

“Are you boys busy right now?” he asked. They looked at each other and then back to
him and shook their heads no.

“Why aren’t you working out then?” he asked suspiciously.

“Coach no-showed again,” Chase replied with an uncaring shrug.

“That’s too bad. Now go get the rest of your team and meet me and Sergeant Buck in
the gym in five minutes,” he said.

“Okay,” Stevie replied. The boys stared at him for a few seconds more before they
led the way back into the building and disappeared down the hallway while Ronnie headed
back into the gym.

“I’ve got several guys who should be here in five minutes or less. How’re those flips
coming?” he barked upon entering the doors and seeing the girls standing around
not
doing what he’d ordered.

“Watch us!” Kaitlyn squealed in delight.

The girls lined up and did a whole series of flips in near-perfect formation and synchronization.
He couldn’t help the small bit of satisfaction he felt that they were able to do something
that appeared rather complicated when just a couple of weeks ago they couldn’t even
cheer together as a unit. Showing he approved too much would only serve to make them
stop trying so hard—that was the trick with new recruits. He had to make them crave
that occasional compliment.

“I assume this means you will be able to teach the new team members those flips. How
long will that take?” he asked without saying whether he approved or not.

“How did we do, Ronnie?” Addie asked.

“I wouldn’t be asking you to teach someone else a messy mistake, now would I?” he
asked with a gruffness that effectively stopped most new recruits from asking more
questions.

Instead of the solemn focus from the girls he expected, they began squealing, cheering
and jumping around. The door to the gym opened and ten boys entered. Chase and Stevie
led the group over to where Ronnie and Buck stood.

“Okay, you got us here. What’s up,
Sarge?
” Stevie asked.

Eyeing the mischievous little punk, Ronnie wanted to correct the slang way the boy
had addressed him but gave up the idea when the girls headed over. It was like mixing
apples and oranges. The boys were various heights, with some meatier than others,
while the girls were various heights but mostly thin.

Looking over the group, Ronnie said, “Before we do this, do any of you have an issue
with my cheerleading team here?” He gestured toward the girls.

“No, sir,” Chase replied with a grin and then blatantly checked out Addie.

Oh, Ronnie was going to work that smartness out of these boys—starting with Chase.

“Prove it,” he said. “Kaitlyn, would you and the other girls care to show these boys
all those flips you’ve been working on?”

Again, the girls lined up in formation and executed their series of flips almost as
well as before. Turning to the boys, he looked them over again. From what he could
tell, cheerleading for boys would require a little agility along with brute strength.

“The first eight of you who can repeat that series of flips the girls just did, I
will personally train for cheerleading
and
for wrestling. My training will ensure that you go into future matches with confidence
and ability and come out with a pin,” he said. “Anyone not interested in being a part
of this team is free to go, but I don’t want to see you back in this gym during cheer
practices anymore.”

The boys looked at each other. The girls looked at each other. Then Chase spoke up
again, “You want us to be on the cheer squad?”

“
I
don’t want any such thing, but the girls here convinced me to allow
you boys
a chance to at least try to keep up with them. I’m doubtful that’s going to happen,
though, because as much as you guys roam the halls when you should be lifting weights,
I don’t think you can do what needs to be done here,” Ronnie said.

Then, upon seeing the competitive looks the boys gave him, he continued, “I realize
you’re just boys and not full-grown men yet, but the football team has already bowed
out gracefully, so feel free to do the same. The football team does have the agility,
but not the strength, required, and I fear you boys might have the strength but not
the agility.”

After a moment of awkward silence, one of the boys took off running and did a series
of flips, different from what the girls were working on but still impressive. The
boy was much better than anything Ronnie had seen from the girls. He stared at the
boy for a full minute and then the boy completed the same series of flips the girls
had done. When he was finished, Ronnie walked over to him and paired him by size with
one of the girls on the team.