Sweet but Sexy Boxed Set (40 page)

Deciding it was time to change the subject, as she was certain he probably always got his way with that face, that body, and that killer smile, Sharon pointed at the lasagna.
“Well, the food is getting cold. Let’s eat.”

Chapter Fourteen

“Please, Mom!”

Sharon knew she didn
’t have time to argue as Kyle’s school bus was due any moment, and there was really no justifiable reason to say no, but between football practices and friend outings, Kyle was rarely home. “I’m going to have to meet his mother before I can say yes.”

Kyle smiled his big
I won
smile, and Sharon almost reneged on principle alone. “If I can talk to Mrs. Hood before school is out, and if she says it’s really okay, then I’ll let you stay there overnight with the team. But you cannot, and I want to make this completely clear, you can
not
go anywhere else with those boys.”

“
I swear, Mom. Practice. Pizza. And back to Johnathan’s house to watch footage from that team’s games before movies and video games the rest of the night. The whole team will be there, and the coach and Mrs. Hood have a really cool place on the lake from what they say. I’m the only one who hasn’t been there yet. The team gets invited all the time for stuff.”

Sharon remembered Coach Hood, and that scared her a little because she was afraid he might remember her, too. But she
’d never met Mrs. Hood formally all those years ago so hopefully stopping by her little shop on Main Street on the way to work wouldn’t ring any bells for the woman.

At least Sharon hoped not. So far, the only person in town who had recognized her was Mary at the Piggly Wiggly. As far as most people in town knew, she was Sharon Gilbert, newcomer to Legend, competent receptionist to the sexy new doctor in town, and mother of that Gilbert boy who was taking the Legend Dragons back on the road to another national championship if what Kyle just told her was accurate. And she wanted it to stay that way.

Kyle gave her a quick hard kiss on the cheek before he ran out the door with his athletic duffle bag bouncing against his leg. “See you tomorrow, Mom!”

Sharon pressed her fingers against her cheek, loving that in only a few short weeks the relationship between her and Kyle had grown by leaps and bounds. They had little time together, but that was because they were both happily filling their days instead of just getting through them. As scary as it was to accept, life really was perfect.

Glancing down at the ringing of the cell phone in her hand blew that thought right out of the water.

The mental debate didn
’t outlast Candy’s persistent redialing each time the call went to voicemail so Sharon answered her phone on her mother’s third try. “Hello, Mom.”

“
Sissy! Where have you been? I’ve been trying to get you for weeks! There are men all over my house in space suits and they are carrying off all my stuff! Are you even in town?”

Sharon took a moment to just breathe as she debated hanging up the phone. Knowing she had no choice but to get the conversation over with, she sighed.
“I’m not in town.” Technically it wasn’t a lie since she was outside of the city limits. There was no way she was walking into what would undoubtedly be a demand for immediate attention…in the flesh.

“
Well, I need you here! Once I could get more minutes on my phone, I called the police, but they said I had to comply with these people taking all my things! I can’t! I need them! What will I do?”

“
Mom, calm down. Your house is a pigsty. If that stuff isn’t cleaned up, they will condemn the place. I can’t believe they haven’t already.”

The dead silence on the other end of the line was surprising as Candy was never speechless. Sharon wallowed in the victory for the few seconds it lasted.

“How dare you! Just who do you think you are? I gave birth to you. I writhed in agony for days trying to push you out of my body!”

Sharon had heard it all before, but she kept quiet as her mother went on with her typical tirade. There was really nothing else to do except hang up and change her cell phone number immediately as her mother would just call back and leave another hundred or so messages like the last hundred or so she
’d ignored since last seeing her. When Candy finally seemed to have run out of words, Sharon let the silence hang.

“
Sissy? Dammit, have you hung up on me?”

If only I could….

“No. I’m here. Listen, you need to cooperate with those people. They’ve been hired at great expense, I’m sure, to help you get your life back on track by cleaning out stuff you should have thrown out all by yourself. I’m sorry if that sounds harsh, but it’s the truth. And if you want to have conversations with me in the future, I would suggest you remember I’m an adult and you can either speak to me with respect, or you can stop calling.

“
Now I have a life of my own, one that has nothing to do with Sissy, so stop calling me that and address me as Sharon if you want to speak to me. I also have a child who I can’t even bring to see his grandmother because she still dresses, talks, and smells like trash. If you want a relationship with either of us, I would suggest you clean yourself up inside and out. Bye!”

Sharon meant to hang up immediately, but the shaking of her entire body caused several seconds to crawl by before she could steady her hands enough to allow her index finger to press the red bar on the phone
’s touchscreen. Once disconnection was accomplished she stood still until the dizziness of her moxie passed. Where it came from, and how it allowed her to speak to her mother like that, after all these years, was beyond her, but once she could get her equilibrium back Sharon was pretty sure it would feel good.

Really
good.

Sharon took a deep cleansing breath and smiled. So far her mother hadn
’t called back. And maybe it would take a while, if ever, before she did. But that was fine. The last thing Kyle and she needed was for Candy to mess up what was becoming the best time of their lives.

Kyle was so happy being in Legend, being not just accepted, but
popular
with not only his freshman classmates but also with those of class levels above his own. He was no longer the quiet sullen child who kept his thoughts and feelings to himself. He couldn’t wait to tell her about his day, about his football workouts, about how he was going to get to be a starter in the opening game next Friday night.

She was glad the school bus picked him up minutes after he
’d shared that tidbit of information yesterday morning as she’d suddenly felt ill and was certain it showed. Since she’d kept a low profile by rarely going anywhere in town other than for groceries and work, it hadn’t been too hard to avoid chance meetings with people she’d known when she was younger.

Going to a Legend High football game would be a whole different kettle of beans. If the townsfolk were still as involved in supporting the Dragon
’s football team as they’d been when she was in school, then nearly everyone in town would be there to cheer the team on. She’d known all along the day would come when the games would start, but she hadn’t had the heart to deny Kyle a chance to go out for the junior varsity team. Only his talent had the coaching staff placing him with the varsity team, so now she had no choice but to support him there.

Sharon could only hope that wouldn
’t be another beginning to a horrible end for both her and her son. Because for once in her life she was truly happy.

Chapter Fifteen

“Hi. I’m Sharon Gilbert, Kyle’s mom.”

Lilly Hood was still as beautiful as Sharon remembered. Though the woman had to be in her mid-forties, she hadn
’t aged a day since Sharon saw her that one time. The only reason Sharon even remembered her was because of all the excitement of the high-speed chase on the highway to Nashville for the National Championship game her senior year. Though she hadn’t known all the details, if she remembered right, Lilly had been targeted by some really bad people who tried to hunt her down and kill her. At the time Sharon hadn’t paid any more attention to the situation since they’d made it to the game, and her attention shifted to cheering for her then-boyfriend. Kyle Sanders was star quarterback and his actions had not only won them the game, it had sent him on a full-ride scholarship to any school he wanted.

But even that hadn
’t been what had filled her mind at the time, because after all of the hoopla had died down and they were secured inside his hotel room for the night, they’d been locked in a marathon of lovemaking she’d mistakenly believed meant they’d be together forever.

“
Hi. It’s nice to meet you, finally. I know all the moms of the other boys. My husband thinks Kyle has pro potential, and he would know.”

Lilly
’s bright smile turned to wide-eyed horror and for a second Sharon’s heart stopped, but then she realized Lilly was looking over her head.

“
Jarrod! Get down off that ladder right now!”

Sharon turned in time to see a toddler smiling at the top of a ladder that was clearly meant for use by someone hanging the children
’s clothing on the higher protruding racks.

“
Excuse me. I need to heat that boy’s pants.”

Sharon
’s heart started beating again as Lilly pulled the child from the platform and sat him down in front of her.

“
Young man, I’m going to put you in time out if you do that again, and your daddy is going to get ahold of you as soon as we get home!”

The toddler smiled up at her innocently, and Sharon could tell Lilly was trying not to laugh. She held her own grin, liking the gentle swat on the child
’s behind since he grinned up at his mother even bigger.

“
Go color, or I’m calling Mrs. Green to babysit you.”

The smile fell from the child
’s face and he scurried to the back of the store where a small white picket fence encircled a play area for children while their parents shopped for the high-end children’s clothing. The thought that she had never been able to afford such nice things for her son at that age slid through her mind before she pushed it away. Lilly returned, her eyes filled with amusement, her mouth twisted in a self-deprecating grin.

“
That child is going to be the death of me. If I hadn’t already gone through all this with Johnathan, I would probably die of a heart attack at the antics of little boys. Of course I’m a lot older this time.”

Sharon smiled, liking the easy way Lilly had about her. There was no self-consciousness, no need to feel apologetic for not having a perfectly well-behaved child. Mostly she liked the love that flowed so easily between mother and son and wished her life had been such that she could have had her child with her as much when he was little. Unfortunately, that just hadn
’t been possible. She was just so grateful that even though she’d had to work around the clock through all of his growing years, and he’d had to endure a hateful man for a father, Kyle was turning out to be okay.

“
He’s very cute.”

Lilly
’s grin deepened. “Cute as a devil.” She laughed at her own joke. “I’m glad you stopped in. What can I do for you? Do you have a little one?”

Sharon shook her head.
“No. Only Kyle. And he’s why I’ve stopped by. He said the team was coming to your house for an overnight, and I wanted to make sure his information was accurate.”

Lilly nodded slowly as her eyes turned assessing.
“And you wanted to check me out before letting your son come to my house.”

Lilly
’s grin was back. “I think we are going to be great friends! I always wonder about the parents who let their kids come over and never bother to check us out first. Of course everyone knows Jim, but that isn’t the point.”

Sharon relaxed for the first time since entering the little Main Street store.
“I’m happy to meet you. It’s really wonderful how quickly your husband and the team have made Kyle feel so welcome. He’s happier than he’s ever been. I can’t express how much I appreciate that.”

A flash of curiosity entered and fled Lilly
’s eyes so quickly Sharon wasn’t sure if she imagined it. But if her words made the coach’s wife curious, Sharon appreciated her restraint in expressing it.

“
Well, I’ve got to get to work, but thanks for letting me in. I saw you hanging those clothes and almost didn’t even knock when I realized I was too early.”

“
I’m glad you did. And we’ll take really good care of Kyle. The kids on the team are great, or Jim wouldn’t let them stay. He even makes them get drug tested once a month once the season starts, with the parents’ permission of course.”

The news had Sharon
’s brows raising, but she liked the idea of it a lot. The last thing she wanted was her son exposed to drugs, or even worse, taking them. “Kyle didn’t say anything to me about that, but I have no problem with it at all.”

“
It’s probably because Jim hasn’t had a chance to meet you yet. You’ll be at the game next Friday? I’d love to introduce you to him after the game.”

Sharon hoped her hesitation didn
’t show. “Of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“
Great. Do you want us to bring Kyle home tomorrow or do you want our address?”

Sharon almost admitted that she knew exactly where the huge log cabin was on Lake Road, but she stopped herself just in time.
“I’ll come get him. What time do you want me to pick him up?”

Five minutes later Sharon was speeding towards the house Old Doc had turned into an office long before she
’d been born. Her mind raced with the reality that she had accepted a date with Jake for tonight, which she hated to admit thrilled her beyond what was proper, and with the reality that in one week she would have to face one of her biggest fears.

In seven days she would once again step onto the Legend Dragon
’s football field, only this time she wasn’t a seventeen year old wanting to show her stuff while she shook her pompoms. This time she didn’t want anyone to notice she was there.

Don
’t borrow trouble for tomorrow; just enjoy the blessings of today.

Ms. Addie
’s words of wisdom came at her out of the blue, but Sharon wondered if
this time
, Ms. Addie didn’t know what the heck she was talking about.