Page 59 of The Path to Loving Him
“Then learn to deal with it,” I say. “I’m taking the job.”
“You can’t be fucking serious.”
“I am serious. And the audacity for you to even mention that I don’t take the job . . . because you can’t handle it? Well . . . fuck you, Ryland. The world doesn’t revolve around you. You’re not the only one who hasn’t had it easy. I need this job, and I’mnot about to give it up because of your inability to control your urges.”
“That’s not what it’s about,” he says even though that’s what it feels like.
I cross my arms. “Then what is it about?”
“The proximity is too close. You live next to me, and you’re going to work next to me. We have to coach together. There’s too fucking much. Not to mention, you lied to me, and you don’t have any experience.”
“I have plenty of experience,” I say. “I might not have formal coaching experience like you, but I know everything there is to know about baseball. I trained and coached Bennett from when he was younger to where he is today. Even to this day, he’ll send me videos of his at-bats, and I’ll tell him what he can adjust. I’m a huge asset to you, and you’re too stubborn to even give me a chance.”
“Because I don’t know you,” he yells. “I know nothing about you other than you lied to me about who you are and that you’re my tenant with a broken shower.”
“Well, maybe you should spend some time getting to know me,” I say with a lift of my chin.
He shakes his head and starts moving away. “I have no interest.”
“Then this will be a very long season for you, Ryland. Very long.”
Chapter Eleven
RYLAND
“Thanks for watching her,” I say to Aubree.
“Not a problem at all. Wyatt was excited when you asked.” She leans in. “I think their bond is getting strong. She might like Wyatt more than me.”
Normally, I would chuckle, but I don’t have it in me. “Yeah, I don’t blame her.”
“Hey,” Aubree says, mouth agape as she pushes at my chest. “You’re rude.”
“Just telling it like I see it.” I lean against the doorframe of the front door and let out a sigh.
That must clue in Aubree because she tilts her head to the side and asks, “Is everything okay?”
“Not really,” I say.
“Okay, what can I do?”
“Exactly what you’re doing. Take Mac for the night. I just need to clear my head.”
“Are you going to be alone?”
I shake my head just as Abel and Hayes pull up. “No, Abel and Hayes will be here.”
She glances over her shoulder and then back at me. “You know, it wouldn’t hurt you to invite Wyatt to a guys’ night.”
“I would have, but Mac insisted on playing with Uncle Wyatt, and I wasn’t going to tell her no.”
“Fair, but just don’t forget about him. He can be sensitive.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re talking about Wyatt. He writes about murdering people for a living.”
Aubree scoffs. “That’s fictional, and I bet if you asked him, he’d have marginal remorse about murdering.”
“Yeah?” I ask and then call out to Wyatt, who’s playing with Mac in the front yard. “Wyatt, do you ever feel bad about the people you unalive in your books?”
