Page 28 of Out of Bounds
“No, it won’t. But I’m going to be there to remind you to hold your head up high and keep that backbone of yours as strong as ever. Haters are gonna hate, Annie, I know, I’ve had my share of negative press and attention. The only thing you can control is how you respond to no-gooders.”
“You make it sound easy.”
“I’ll be right by your side showing you how easy it is.”
We listen to the rain pounding off the roof for long seconds, then a roar of thunder.
“I havedatedother guys. Just not… you know. It’s always been hard for me to know who genuinely likes me and who wants to date me or even be friends with me to get close to my brother. With Auston, he was the star quarterback on their college team. Part of my attraction to him was the surety that he didn’t want to use me for access to Colton.” A short laugh escapes me. “Besides that, Daddy pretty much made sure any boy didn’t dare come near me.”
He smirks. “I can imagine Sonny Quinn fighting the boys off you.”
I get a cheap thrill from him believing the boys would have been lining up for me, even if it’s wholly untrue. “When my high school prom date came to pick me up, before he even handed over my corsage, Daddy came out to the porch with his shotgun slung over his shoulder.”
He laughs hard, giving me an even bigger thrill, like a standing ovation in a theatre. “Seriously. I don’tthinkhe would have used it but he guaranteed that I did notlose my virginity that night.”
He covers his face in his hands, shoulders shaking. “Annie Quinn, they broke the mold with you.”
Just like that, I’m back in the easy company of the man who can make light shine through any storm.
We risk a dash for the house, still chuckling about my failed rite of passage and find Daddy and Nelson in the lounge by candlelight.
13
PACE – LATE SEPTEMBER
Veteran. Teammate. Bachelor
“Electricity’s out,” Sonny explains.
“Oh no,” Annie says. “We’ll have to grill and rustle up a salad if it doesn’t come back in time for dinner. But, Daddy, is it really dark enough for candles?”
“It’s pre-emptive, darlin’.”
“Alright then.” Annie side-eyes me in a way that has me fighting back amusement again, because while the sky has darkened with thick clouds, she’s right, there’s still plenty of daylight coming into the lounge.
“Oh, and Colton’s going to stay in the city tonight,” Sonny says. “He’s going to take Sas out for dinner and spend time with her tomorrow.”
My first thought is, he can’t be spending all day with her because Sas and I have a meeting to go through a contract for a new endorsement deal.
My second thought is, our group dinner tonight has become a dinner by candlelight with Annie, her dad and Nelson.
My third thought is, “How will you get into the city for college tomorrow?”
I know she made it so that her college schedule would fit around Colton’s training but having a game on a Monday night has switched our usual Tuesday off day to Wednesday this week. In ordinary circumstances, Colton would have been driving her into the city with him and bringing her back to the ranch after training.
Annie looks to Sonny, but he shakes his head. “I have some errands to run locally and I’ve got someone from the water company coming to see about some pipes on the land. But we can get you a cab there and back.”
A cab? All that way? With a stranger?
My brain doesn’t fully engage before I say, “I’ll come get you in the morning and bring you back after training.”
“Now why would you want to drive all that way?” Annie asks.
It’s not the drive that’s a problem. An hour or so in a comfy car, listening to my music or a podcast, is no hardship. But I do have that meeting with Sas and I was going to fit in nine holes with the guys. The Bears’ Comms team has arranged to bring some merch to the training facility for me to sign for various charity auctions, too.
So yeah, it would be tricky to fit in going back-and-forth, but a cab is impersonal. She’ll be forced to make small talk with someone she doesn’t know. Worse, the driver might be one of those busybodies from town.
“I could stay here tonight, if that’s okay with you, Sonny?” The words literally run out of me like verbal diarrhea. “For the convenience.”
