Unexpected Rush
Page 6
Mama Diane leveled a frown at him. “Are you insinuating my baby girl here can’t handle the job?”
Double shit. “No, ma’am. I wasn’t insinuating that at all. It’s just that the place is such a mess, I don’t want to burden her. I’m sure Harmony is very busy.”
Harmony gave him that all-knowing smirk again. The one that said she knew damn well he was trying to weasel his way out of being alone with her, he’d gotten caught in a lie and now he was going to have to backpedal his ass off.
She gave him her sweetest smile. “It’s hardly a burden, Barrett. It would be my pleasure to look over your place and offer my expertise.”
“You should definitely use her,” Drake said. “She’s good at what she does.”
It was all Barrett could do not to cringe at Drake’s choice of words. His gaze lifted to Harmony’s and her lips curved.
“Yes, Barrett. You should use me.”
Goddammit.
Figuring he was truly fucked, he finally nodded. “Thanks. That would be great. I’ll text you and we’ll set something up.”
“Perfect.”
Somehow he felt like he’d just been ensnared in Harmony’s web.
And he was about to get eaten alive.
Four
One of the things Barrett enjoyed about the off-season was more time to spend on the charities he’d organized. Together he and Drake had funded a community center for kids, and they were going to spend some time there this afternoon.
It was summer, so it would be busy with all of the kids out of school. One of the main objectives in setting up the community center was to have a place for both boys and girls in the middle school age group to hang out over the summer.
He remembered being that age, being bored and having nothing to do, and it really hit him hard when Drake had told him about being subjected to gang influence at that age. He wanted these kids to have an alternative.
He parked in the lot and noticed Drake’s car was already there. He quickly made his way inside to join his friend. At the security desk he flashed his ID.
The guard smiled. “I know who you are, Mr. Cassidy,” the guy said. “Go on inside.”
“Thanks.”
He heard a lot of noise coming from the gym, which made him grin. He peeked through the door and saw a bunch of kids playing basketball.
“Hello, Barrett.”
He turned and smiled at Greg Green, the administrator of the community center. They shook hands.
“How’s it going, Greg?”
“Good. I’m glad you and Drake stopped by today. We have a full house this summer. Drake’s in the computer room with Bianca.”
Barrett followed Greg down the hall toward the activity room. Drake was in there, sitting with a group of boys and girls.
God, every year as he got older these kids seemed so much younger. They all looked up when he entered.
“Hey, how’s it going?” he asked.
He was always happy to see the smiles on the kids’ faces. He was even happier that they were more focused on their computers than they were on him.
He knew Bianca, because as one of the trustees of the center, he’d been involved in the initial hiring of all the employees. These were all great people. The community center ran year-round, hosting before and after school programs when school was in session.
Bianca waved to him. Drake got up and came over.
“I’m sorry to tell you that you missed lunch today,” Greg said with a curve of his lips. “It was really good, too.”
“Please don’t tell me that you had mac and cheese on the menu today,” Barrett said.
“Okay, I won’t mention it.”
“Now I feel even worse. What are the kids working on today?”
“They’re learning Excel. I’m always amazed at how fast these kids can pick up programs. In so many ways, every generation is smarter than the one before.”
“That’s great. I’m glad we can teach them useful skills.”
“And keep them off the streets at the same time,” Drake said.
“Yes.”
They left the room and moved down the hall. “We have a swimming coach from one of the high schools working with them on lifeguard lessons next week at the pool. We already have a waiting list for that. The counseling sessions are going very well with many of our students. I think you’ll be pleased with the progress.”
Barrett nodded. “I’ve read the monthly reports, Greg. I couldn’t be happier with how the center is operating.”
“I agree,” Drake said. “The kids are happy, the community is happy, and we sure are.”
“Good. I hope you plan to stay awhile and interact with the kids. I know they’ll be thrilled to spend some time with you.”
“That’s what we plan to do,” Barrett said.
They spent the next several hours joining in different activities, from arts and crafts to computers to old-fashioned board games. The kids put Drake and him through their paces.
Near the end of the day Drake and Barrett joined a number of the kids outside for a game of flag football. They divided into teams, with Drake and him on opposite sides. Barrett really loved that the girls were playing, too. And from what he’d seen when he’d peeked into the basketball game in the gym earlier, these girls were athletic.
He and Drake had a great time going against each other, not surprisingly, since they were both so competitive. So were the kids, but there was a lot of laughing as he and Drake knocked into each other during their game. Barrett blocked him hard and pushed him back, and Drake shoved Barrett to the ground.
Double shit. “No, ma’am. I wasn’t insinuating that at all. It’s just that the place is such a mess, I don’t want to burden her. I’m sure Harmony is very busy.”
Harmony gave him that all-knowing smirk again. The one that said she knew damn well he was trying to weasel his way out of being alone with her, he’d gotten caught in a lie and now he was going to have to backpedal his ass off.
She gave him her sweetest smile. “It’s hardly a burden, Barrett. It would be my pleasure to look over your place and offer my expertise.”
“You should definitely use her,” Drake said. “She’s good at what she does.”
It was all Barrett could do not to cringe at Drake’s choice of words. His gaze lifted to Harmony’s and her lips curved.
“Yes, Barrett. You should use me.”
Goddammit.
Figuring he was truly fucked, he finally nodded. “Thanks. That would be great. I’ll text you and we’ll set something up.”
“Perfect.”
Somehow he felt like he’d just been ensnared in Harmony’s web.
And he was about to get eaten alive.
Four
One of the things Barrett enjoyed about the off-season was more time to spend on the charities he’d organized. Together he and Drake had funded a community center for kids, and they were going to spend some time there this afternoon.
It was summer, so it would be busy with all of the kids out of school. One of the main objectives in setting up the community center was to have a place for both boys and girls in the middle school age group to hang out over the summer.
He remembered being that age, being bored and having nothing to do, and it really hit him hard when Drake had told him about being subjected to gang influence at that age. He wanted these kids to have an alternative.
He parked in the lot and noticed Drake’s car was already there. He quickly made his way inside to join his friend. At the security desk he flashed his ID.
The guard smiled. “I know who you are, Mr. Cassidy,” the guy said. “Go on inside.”
“Thanks.”
He heard a lot of noise coming from the gym, which made him grin. He peeked through the door and saw a bunch of kids playing basketball.
“Hello, Barrett.”
He turned and smiled at Greg Green, the administrator of the community center. They shook hands.
“How’s it going, Greg?”
“Good. I’m glad you and Drake stopped by today. We have a full house this summer. Drake’s in the computer room with Bianca.”
Barrett followed Greg down the hall toward the activity room. Drake was in there, sitting with a group of boys and girls.
God, every year as he got older these kids seemed so much younger. They all looked up when he entered.
“Hey, how’s it going?” he asked.
He was always happy to see the smiles on the kids’ faces. He was even happier that they were more focused on their computers than they were on him.
He knew Bianca, because as one of the trustees of the center, he’d been involved in the initial hiring of all the employees. These were all great people. The community center ran year-round, hosting before and after school programs when school was in session.
Bianca waved to him. Drake got up and came over.
“I’m sorry to tell you that you missed lunch today,” Greg said with a curve of his lips. “It was really good, too.”
“Please don’t tell me that you had mac and cheese on the menu today,” Barrett said.
“Okay, I won’t mention it.”
“Now I feel even worse. What are the kids working on today?”
“They’re learning Excel. I’m always amazed at how fast these kids can pick up programs. In so many ways, every generation is smarter than the one before.”
“That’s great. I’m glad we can teach them useful skills.”
“And keep them off the streets at the same time,” Drake said.
“Yes.”
They left the room and moved down the hall. “We have a swimming coach from one of the high schools working with them on lifeguard lessons next week at the pool. We already have a waiting list for that. The counseling sessions are going very well with many of our students. I think you’ll be pleased with the progress.”
Barrett nodded. “I’ve read the monthly reports, Greg. I couldn’t be happier with how the center is operating.”
“I agree,” Drake said. “The kids are happy, the community is happy, and we sure are.”
“Good. I hope you plan to stay awhile and interact with the kids. I know they’ll be thrilled to spend some time with you.”
“That’s what we plan to do,” Barrett said.
They spent the next several hours joining in different activities, from arts and crafts to computers to old-fashioned board games. The kids put Drake and him through their paces.
Near the end of the day Drake and Barrett joined a number of the kids outside for a game of flag football. They divided into teams, with Drake and him on opposite sides. Barrett really loved that the girls were playing, too. And from what he’d seen when he’d peeked into the basketball game in the gym earlier, these girls were athletic.
He and Drake had a great time going against each other, not surprisingly, since they were both so competitive. So were the kids, but there was a lot of laughing as he and Drake knocked into each other during their game. Barrett blocked him hard and pushed him back, and Drake shoved Barrett to the ground.
