Chapter 2
Gage pulled his truck into the far-left bay of the garage at the back of the enormous five-bedroom house he’d purchased after his quick move from Dallas. It was way too big for just him and his son, but it was the only one he’d been able to find in a gated community complete with security guards on such short notice after he’d accepted the head coach position at Oaktown High School. He’d wanted to find a job near his hometown and close to Jonathan, who’d been living with his grandparents, but there hadn’t been anything open so close to the start of the school year when he’d finally decided to retire from the Rattlers. It had been his goal to become a high school or college coach before the NFL had come calling his senior year of college. He’d been immensely relieved when the previous Oaktown High coach had been forced to resign due to health problems, and they offered the job to him. He hadn’t been looking forward to taking the high-paying sports broadcasting job offered by one of the networks. Gage would’ve needed to move to New York or Los Angeles, both incredibly far away from his son, whom he didn’t want to uproot from his family and friends after all he’d been through the last two years. A sharp pang stabbed through his chest remembering the night his parents had called to tell him Julie, Jonathan’s mother, and Gage’s high school girlfriend, and her fiancé passed away in a car wreck. Gage would be forever grateful to them and Julie’s parents for stepping in to take care of Jonathan, so he didn’t have to be torn away from everything he knew to live with him in Dallas.
After turning off the truck and grabbing the binder of paperwork he needed to go over, Gage stepped out into the sweltering garage, hoping his son would be content to eat sandwiches. Gage was too exhausted to even think about cooking. Who knew running his new team of high school boys through drills this morning then the slew of meetings and the presentation he’d given would be more tiring than a full day of practice with the Rattlers. But he didn’t mind. After all, he’d run into a dark-haired beauty in the hallway at the administration building whose lush curves and pink hued lips had caused his heart to race and his mouth to run dry.
Smiling at the blond head of his fifteen-year-old son he saw over the back of the sectional, he walked through the kitchen and into the family room. He bent down and lifted one side of the headphones. “Finish your game, then join me in the kitchen. Sandwiches good for tonight?”
At Jonathan’s nod, Gage walked back into the huge chef’s kitchen to pull some lunchmeat, cheese, and other fixings for sandwiches from the fridge and pantry. As he placed the plates next to everything on the granite counter of the breakfast bar separating the kitchen and family room, Jonathan came sauntering in. Gage grinned at his son’s lanky, nearly 6-foot tall frame. At the rate he was growing it wouldn’t be long before Jonathan was as tall, or taller, than Gage himself. Even though he hadn’t encouraged him, Jonathan was following in his footsteps and had already earned himself a spot on the Oaktown High varsity football team as the backup quarterback as a freshman. Gage couldn’t be prouder of his son.
“Long day?” Jonathan asked as he made two huge sandwiches with the mesquite-smoked ham and sliced cheddar cheese Gage had laid out, then piled a huge handful of potato chips on his plate and took a seat on one of the stools.
“Yeah,” he answered, sinking down into the bar stool next to Jonathan. “How was your afternoon?”
“Nothing exciting. Grandpa picked me up after football practice this morning, and I helped him bale some hay. I haven’t been home very long,” Jonathan answered as he shoved a huge bite of the sandwich in his mouth.
“What do you think of the team so far?” Gage asked as he picked up his two slices of whole-wheat bread overflowing with a generous helping of the ham and cheese.
As he and Jonathan bantered ideas back and forth about ways to improve some of the player’s skills, Gage found his mind wandering to a certain brown-eyed beauty, hoping she’d be teaching at the high school and not one of the middle schools. Shaking the wayward thoughts of how her smooth skin had felt as he held her steady, he saw his son was already finished and was staring at him the corners of his mouth tipped up in amusement.
“Already worn out by us high school kids?” Jonathan smirked as he picked up his empty plate.
“Yeah, but I love it,” Gage replied as he stood to help gather everything from the counter. On his way into the kitchen, he remembered what he’d asked Jonathan to do earlier that morning. “Have you had a chance to look at the online algebra tutoring programs I found?”
“Not yet, but I promise I’ll look tomorrow. Can I go up to my room?” Jonathan asked as he took the bread and chips to the pantry on the other side of the industrial-sized stainless-steel fridge and six-burner gas range opposite the center island.
“All right, but I want you to look at those and tell me which one you think you’ll like the best,” Gage replied.
“I will. See you in the morning,” Jonathan said as he went out the kitchen and through the family room toward the stairs at the front of the house.
“Night,” Gage called after him as he reminded himself to keep a close eye on his son’s grades. Jonathan had been struggling with math ever since Julie passed away. With Texas UIL rule of No Pass No Play, he could end up having to bench Jonathan if he had failing grades.
***
Monday morning Gage found himself in the front office of Oaktown High going over the schedules for his varsity football players, checking to make sure there were no conflicts with their classes. He kept sneaking glances through the large glass windows and into the main hall lined with shiny red lockers, hoping to catch a glimpse of Ms. Owens when she came in for the staff meeting. He’d seen her name on several of the boys’ schedules. And after asking the school secretary, he’d discovered she was a new algebra teacher who’d recently transferred from a district close to Houston. Too bad he hadn’t been able to attend any of the new teacher training with her since the superintendent had excused him from the sessions allowing him to begin practice with the team as soon as possible.
After he’d moved practices to the early mornings and late afternoons to avoid overtaxing the boys in the smothering August heat, Gage planned to go to as many of the meetings scheduled for teachers as he could over the next two weeks before school started, then make up the missed ones later in the year. He didn’t know what it was about Ms. Owens, but he hadn’t been able to keep his eyes off her beautiful face and sexy curves while he’d given his talk about the UIL rules. Hopefully, and because he hadn’t seen a ring on her finger, she would agree to go out with him if he ever got a chance to ask her.
Finally, as he looked out into the hall once again, he saw the intriguing algebra teacher walk through the heavy glass and metal doors at the front of the school along with the short, curvy red-head and the tall, skinny blonde she’d sat next to the other day. With his heart picking up speed, Gage quickly put the stack of schedules back, waved goodbye to the secretary, and made his way down to the library where today’s meetings would be taking place. As he turned the corner, the rubber soles of his shoes squeaking slightly on the newly waxed floor of the brightly lit main hallway, his lips parted, and his heart skipped a beat at the sight of Ms. Owens’ perfectly rounded ass covered by a pair of form-fitting Capri jeans. He watched as she shook hands with Mr. Andrews then slipped through the open doors of the library.
Stepping up beside his gray-haired former high school chemistry teacher and now boss, Gage discreetly adjusted himself in his gray coaches’ shorts and willed the growing bulge to settle down before it was time to go inside and be introduced to the staff. Although he had taken his fair share of the women he’d dated to bed, he wasn’t quite the womanizer the media made him out to be and he didn’t need any more fuel added to the fire. He was ready to find a special someone and hopefully settle down. At thirty-three years old, he wasn’t getting any younger, and he wouldn’t mind having a few more children before he got too old to keep up with them. After running a few football plays in his head while he waited in the hall for the principal to greet a couple of latecomers, his discomfort thankfully began to fade.
“Are you ready?” Mr. Andrews asked as he reached over to shake the hand Gage had extended.
“Yes, sir,” Gage answered, returning the hardy shake and smiling at the man who’d suggested him to the school board for the head coach position.
“All right then. I’ll go in and give my introduction. Come on in when you hear the applause,” Mr. Andrews instructed as he opened the door and walked inside.
After a few minutes, loud claps broke out behind the closed door. Gage took a deep breath and reached for the handle. He usually didn’t enjoy getting up in front of people to speak, but today was different. He would be talking to his new co-workers whom he’d be working with for the foreseeable future. Plus, he couldn’t wait to see Ms. Owens again. As he walked to the wooden podium set up in front of a wide wall of book-laden shelves and breathed in the musty, inky smell, he looked over the sea of smiling faces sitting around the wooden tables scattered throughout the large space and quickly spotted her. Whether it was by coincidence or manipulation on her part, she was sitting at a table next to the one filled with several of the varsity and junior-varsity coaches. His heart thudded as he noticed the chair directly opposite and behind Ms. Owens at the table full of his staff was empty and hoped no one came in and took it while he was speaking. Maybe if he sat there, he’d be able to talk to her during one of the breaks.