Wrecked (Clayton Falls #3)(16)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

I glanced at the clock. It was seven a.m. I picked up my phone and texted her. You haven’t seen anything yet.

I held my phone, hoping for an answer, but I eventually gave up. I didn’t let it worry me. Her note let me know she was coming back. That was enough of a start.

I jumped in the shower and got ready for work. Although my dad threatened to make me go in with him at the crack of dawn, he didn’t care as long as I got there by eight. I made it down to the marina by a quarter to eight, and poured myself a cup of coffee before heading out to work on a Grady White that had been giving us trouble. I’d been taking over a majority of the annoying maintenance work since Ben started working on fishing tours. Strategically, it was a really smart move for him. Clayton Falls got its share of tourists, and we even pulled in some of the Wilmington visitors, but it just meant more menial crap for me. That day, the work didn’t bother me as much as usual. It was hard to be in a bad mood after the night I’d had. Even the humidity couldn’t remove my grin. It was hot for so early in the morning, but that happened in North Carolina in August. I pulled off my t-shirt, already sweating after only a half hour outside.

“What’s up with you?” Ben dropped in just as I’d finished fixing the engine. He always did have impeccable timing when it came to avoiding things he didn’t want to do.

“What do you mean?”

“You just look different.”

“Different?”

“Yeah. I’d say you looked drunk, but you’re not that dumb. Dad would kill you.”

“I’m not drunk. I haven’t touched a drop.”

“Then who’s the girl?”

I smiled. “That’s your next assumption?”

“There’s no other explanation.”

“Emily.”

“Emily? Why does that name sound familiar?”

I grabbed a towel and wiped off my hands. “It was the name of one of the nurses at the hospital.”

He grinned. “You’re doing your nurse?”

“She’s not my nurse anymore.”

“Only you, man. Only you could get a girl when you were barely conscious.”

“Yeah, I’ve got the touch.” I laughed it off, but I didn’t like talking about Emily like she was just some girl.

“Did you spend the night with her?”

I didn’t want to discuss it with him, but I figured talking about a girl other than Molly might help smooth things over. “Yeah. It was uh…unexpected.”

“She’s definitely cute. I wouldn’t have pegged her as your type, but what do I know?”

“My type? She’s gorgeous.”

Ben smiled. “Defensive much? I agreed she was cute.”

“She’s a hell of a lot more than cute.”

“She’s hot. Okay, is that what you want to hear?”

“You hate saying it. You hate saying that about anyone but Molly, don’t you?”

He shrugged. “She blinds me. I waited five years for her. I don’t even see anyone else.”

Any other time I might have given him a hard time about it, but not after what had happened.

“Are you going to see her again?”

“Definitely.”

“How do you plan to date a girl when you can’t drive?”

“I have no clue, but I’ll figure it out.”

“I’m sure you will. You always seem to manage.” He punched my arm before heading inside.

***

I was equal parts dreading and looking forward to starting as the coach. On one hand, I’d really missed football. On the other hand, I had no clue what I was doing. Either way, I was out of time. My first practice was about to start.

I paced nervously as I waited for the guys to come out of the locker room. It was really weird to be on the other side. I took a deep breath, wishing I’d spent more time coming up with a speech or something. They’d probably expect one on my first day.

“Need some help?” I turned at the sound of the familiar voice.

“Hey, man,” I half hugged my best friend, Cole. “What are you doing here?”

“What the hell else do I have to do?”

I laughed. “Still no luck with the job hunting?” Cole had just moved back to town that summer. He was one of the few friends I’d talked to since the accident.

“Nothing. I guess no one’s looking for a new accountant with no work experience during a recession.”

“You could always talk to my dad. You know he’d find something for you.”

“Yeah, I might have to. I just hate doing that.”

“He won’t mind, but it’s up to you.”

“I’ll find something. Until then, I’ll be right here annoying the hell out of you.”

“Lucky me.” Truthfully, I was glad to have him. Cole usually managed to make every situation more interesting.

“You said Anderson and Mitchell were sticking it out, where are they?”

“They’ll be here. Mitchell’s been cool, but Anderson definitely doesn’t like answering to me.”

Cole laughed. “Anderson always hated you.”

“For no apparent reason.”

“You gave him hell, and he couldn’t do anything about it.”

I grinned. “Yeah, we got away with a lot back then, didn’t we?” Cole was the tight end when I was quarterback in high school. The team needed us, and we knew it. We pushed the limits every chance we got.

The shouting and laughing started before I could even see the team. I had this. There was no reason to be nervous about talking to a bunch of kids about football. I waited impatiently as they filed onto the field.

Mitchell and Anderson joined us. I nodded toward Cole. “Cole’s going to help out, too.”

“Whatever you say, Coach,” Mitchell said with a smile. When I’d met with them to discuss plays, he’d seemed genuinely excited to have me on board. I don’t know if it was because he liked me, or that it meant less work for him.

I took a few steps toward where the team waited and it suddenly became quiet. Nice, I could command attention. “All right, guys. I know things have been messed up with Coach Wilkinson out, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be a good season. For those of you who don’t know, I’m Jake Mathews. Or I guess you should call me Coach Mathews.” I glanced at Cole. He was loving this.

The team just stared at me.

“I’m new at this, and I can’t promise miracles, but we’re going to figure it out. You obviously know Coach Anderson and Coach Mitchell. This is Coach Mays. I’m assuming Coach Wilkinson still runs things the way he did when I was here—and I’m going to stick to that for now. So let’s get moving. Start with two warm up laps then break into teams.”