The Hardest Cut by Jamie Bennett (book club recommendations .TXT) 📕

Tess and I played, I heard him open the refrigerator and then a bottle top clink down on the tile floor.  Then another.  I looked at the phone, wondering how quickly Ben could make it here from the Woodsmen training facility.

Tessa’s head jerked up when we both heard the second car arrive.  “That’s Daddy,” she said with satisfaction.

“It is, but let’s wait here,” I told her.  We heard deep voices in the living room, one quick and urgent, the other slurred and laughing.  “He’ll come back when he’s done talking to your uncle.”

“I wish we could have dinner,” Tessa said.

“It’s not quite time yet!  How about a cheese stick?  I’ll get you that.”  Quietly, I limped into the kitchen.

“What in the hell are you doing, Kayden?” I heard Ben ask his brother.  “You’re supposed to be cleaning yourself up.  You’re supposed to be—”

“I don’t need that bullshit,” Kayden answered.  “I’m fine.”

“Not according to the Rustlers.  They released you from the team this morning after you left the rehab facility.”

I felt my eyes widen.  That wasn’t public knowledge yet on the sports websites, his release or that he had been in treatment in the first place.  Oh, poor guy.  There was silence in the other room and I hurried as fast as I could back to Tessa.  Much, much later, Ben came in to join us.  By that point, she was totally upset, no matter what I’d done to reassure and distract her.

“Why has she been crying?” he asked me.  “What’s wrong, kitty cat?” he crooned to Tessa, rubbing her back as she snuggled in his arms.

“She wanted to come out and see you but I thought it was better to stay here,” I explained.  “Is everything ok?”

“Everything is fine,” he announced, his face tight and his mouth turned down.  “My brother is going to be here for a few days but he won’t be at the house when you’re here.  He’ll be with me.  He’s…he’s having some problems and he needs my help.  If he wants it or not,” he finished, the last part low and angry.  Tessa hugged him even tighter.  “Everything is fine,” he repeated to his daughter.  “You and I are going out now to get dinner and your uncle is going to bed, ok?”  He looked over at me.  “Gaby, I brought home shorter crutches for you but I left them in my truck.  I’ll get them.  Don’t try to go down the front steps by yourself.”

I followed him to the living room, which was empty of his brother, while he went outside with Tessa.  Maybe Kayden would sleep it off and be a different guy in the morning, I thought hopefully.  I watched through the window as Ben put Tessa in the truck and stayed at the open door, talking to her.

“I remembered where we met, Gaby.”  I turned back toward the kitchen when I heard Kayden’s voice.  He was drinking again, but this time it was a tall glass of water.  “It was at Murphy’s, right?”  He smiled at me.

I shrugged.  It hadn’t been, but that was a good guess.  I’d been to Murphy’s plenty of times and from what I remembered, he’d hit every bar and party in northern Michigan when he’d played for the Woodsmen.  “I don’t remember, myself.  Maybe.”

“Ben warned me again to stay away from you.”  He raised an eyebrow and grinned.  “What do you think about that?  Should I?”

“Kayden.”  Ben’s voice cut sharply across the living room.  “That’s enough.”  He walked quickly to me with a pair of crutches that looked more suited to my height.  But instead of giving them to me, he put his arm around my waist.  “Let’s go.”

“No interest, Ben?”  Kayden laughed.

Ben dropped his arm.  “Will you please check on Tessa in the truck?” he asked me.  He handed over the crutches now, and I nodded and moved out the doorway.

But I went slowly down the steps so I wouldn’t fall, and when I heard Ben say my name, I went even slower.  “I meant what I said about Gaby, Kayden.  She’s great with Tessa and I don’t want to lose her as a babysitter.  Stop acting like that with her.”

“But you’re sure that you’re not interested yourself, right, Benny?”

“I have no interest in Gaby except how well she cares for my daughter.  I don’t want her in the way you mean.  Not at all.  Nothing’s happening between me and my nanny and nothing ever will.”

“Why the fuck not?  Are you still pretending to be a monk?” Kayden asked.

“No, but she’s boring,” Ben answered.  “There’s nothing to her except a lot of hair.”

My hand flew to it, smoothing down the fly-away pieces.  Nothing except a lot of hair?

“What else do you need besides that body?  She’s gorgeous,” Kayden pointed out.

“Do you think so?  Maybe.”  Ben sounded doubtful and bored.  “I don’t care.”

I didn’t hear any more because I started to walk very quickly to the truck.  These new crutches were really great—I could just about fly over the ground on them.  I wished I could fly away.

“Your dad will be here in a sec,” I told Tessa.

She reached and touched my face, resting her small palm on my cheek.  “Does your leg hurt, Gaby?  Does it make you cry?”

I shook my head.  “I’m not crying!” I told her, and I smiled instead.  That what was most important, to keep that smile on my face no matter what.

Chapter 10

I sat up straight in my chair and clapped as hard as I could.  That had been amazing.  It was hard to tell the trainees from the veterans, that was how well they were doing.  They were awesome and I felt proud, even if I wasn’t a part of them anymore.

But Coach Sam didn’t seem to agree.  He only frowned when the music stopped and then consulted with Rylah for a second before he barked, “Addison, step to the front.  Let’s see that again.  Kenny, you come up and do it with