Page 86 of Catching the Coach
“Six games.”
“Six games!” I shout, sitting up in my chair. “That motherfucker provoked me!” I take the ice pack that was sitting on my hand and chuck it across the room. The bag breaks open, sending ice cubes scattering everywhere.
Coach Dixon doesn’t bat an eye at my outburst. Working with athletes for as many years as he has, he’s seen it all. “That may be true, but you took the first swing, and then kept swinging.”
Fuck yeah I did. Cox was talking shit the minute he walked up to the plate.
“Davis, how’s your cleat chaser?” Cox asked with a twisted smirk.
I stood up and ripped my mask off. “What the fuck did you just say to me?”
I vaguely remember hearing the umpire say something to us. I really couldn’t hear him over the rush of blood pumping through my ears.
Cox lowers his bat and levels his gaze to mine. A snap of realization hits me in the chest. I’ve seen those eyes before. I know those eyes and claim them like my own.
He must realize it too because a disgusted chuckle leaves his mouth. “Oh, she didn’t tell you huh? Yeah, that little bastard is mine.”
The minute those words leave his mouth all I can see is red. My breathing becomes erratic and before I realize what I’m doing, my fist clenches and is flying at his face. His eyes widen as I make contact with his nose. A sickening crunch echoing through my ears. Blood immediately pours from his face. Jared grabs his nose with a yelp of pain. Before he can even think about hitting me back, I’m on him with another punch to the face, sending him to the ground. I follow him down with a third blow before I feel hands grabbing at me, trying to pull me off.
It took three of my guys to finally pull me off and keep me off of him. When Reese finally got my attention, I looked around and saw both teams on the field, dugouts completely bare. The Devils are always looking for an excuse to fight, and I just gave them a big one.
Coach Dixon clears his throat, snapping my attention back to him. “Take the suspension time, and get things right. Figure your shit out and come back 100%. Anything less and you might as well hang up your mitt.” He levels me with a stare I’m not stupid enough to argue with.
I nod my head and decide to keep quiet. Rapping on his desk with his knuckles, he leans back in his chair and nods to the door. “Get out of here, go start figuring it out.”
I leave his office and go to my locker. Checking my phone, I see numerous missed calls and texts from Lucy, my mom, even Judd. My phone starts ringing and Dale’s name appears across the screen. I hit the answer button, more to delay dealing with everyone else than my desire to talk to him.
“Dale,” I say, grabbing my gym bag and heading out of the locker room.
“Kessler, what the fuck is going on kid?” His normally calm, and collected tone sounds a little rattled.
“A lot, Dale. A lot,” I say, exiting the side door and making a beeline to my truck before the press realizes I’ve left. Once securely inside, I put my phone on speaker and lean my head back against the headrest, taking a breath I haven’t been able to take since Jared opened his mouth.
“But a fight kid? You don’t fight, ever.” He’s right, I don’t fight. I’ve never once thrown a punch in my 14 years as a professional baseball player. I’ve always been the one to talk guys down or pull them off.
“I know,” I sigh, digging my thumb and forefinger into my tired eyes.
“So, what happened?”
“Jared fucking Cox happened.” I pause, still in shock over the words that are about to come out of my mouth. “He’s Hudson’s biological father. Lucy’s ex.”
Silence greets me on the other end. I pull the phone back to see if my call is still connected. “Dale? Are you still there?”
He clears his throat. “Yeah, son. I’m still here. I’m just. Shit, I didn’t see that coming.”
I laugh a humorless laugh. “Yeah, neither did I.”
“Lucy didn’t tell you?” Shock evident in his tone.
“Nope. I had the privilege of learning it first hand from Jared himself.” Anger burns through my gut recalling Jared’s words. How could I have not seen it? The way he acted seeing Hudson after Judd’s game, Hudson has his eyes for God’s sake. Although I can’t say I’ve spent my time gazing into other men’s eyes. And Lucy. How could she not have told me? She said she trusted me with everything.
“Shit.”
“Yeah, shit.”
“I hate to pour salt in the wound, but we need to get ahead of the shit storm and make a statement.” I hear the regret of bringing it up in his voice.
This time I won’t even fight it. “I agree, Dale. Word it how you want, but my statement is, ‘No one fucks with my family.’” Because at the end of the day, no matter how fucked up this situation is, that’s what Lucy and Hudson are. My family. And I’ll be damned if I let anyone talk about them the way Jared did.
