NextMoves by Sabrina Garie Page B

hand
and guided her to the couch. Jared headed upstairs, presumably to finish
dressing.
    “First things first. How’d you get home? I was supposed to
pick you up later.”
    “Tessa was at the sleepover. Ms. Atwater came early, said
she’d take me home to help out, that you and Mayor Atwater were dealing with
some big crisis. Are you and Coach Wyatt, um, a couple, Mom?”
    “Yes, honey. It’s still new and we have to see how it grows.
How do you feel about that?” Jocelyn relaxed back into the couch, giving her
space to think.
    “You don’t date, Mom. Why Coach Wyatt? He always got your
mean look. I didn’t think you liked him.” Curiosity, not anger, filled her
voice. A good sign.
    “I liked him too much. That scared me, a lot. My marriage to
your father didn’t work so well so I used my mean look to keep him away. He
stayed anyway.”
    “Coach Wyatt never gives up on you. It’s why I like him.”
Kylie twisted and untwisted a lock of hair around her finger, her face puckered
as if deep in thought. “It’s kinda weird, you dating my coach, but I’m okay
with it. He’s hot, for an older dude.” Her grin and glowing face said it all.
    Jocelyn laughed as she pushed that lock of Kylie’s hair
behind her ear. “You’re growing up way too fast.” Once again, Jared’s
fingerprints littered the crime scene, stealing her heart, one deed at a time.
    “Will he sleep here, Mom?”
    She did not see that coming and never before had to deal
with the question. The last batch of parenting advice books swam through her
head but she let her heart make the choice. “Yes, sometimes,” she said, more
confident by the second word.
    “Good. We could use a man around the house.”
    “Kyles, we get along just fine without one.”
    “We laugh more when Uncle Gid’s around. Even with Uncle
Tommy, but he’s more intense. I think it’ll be the same with Coach Wyatt.”
    “That’s settled. Did Ms. Atwater tell you about the crisis?”
    Kylie shook her head.
    “Health Corp may close, for real this time. There’s a
meeting here tonight, likely the first of many.”
    “Maybe Tessa could come over with her father, hang out. I’ll
call her.”
    Wow. Kylie taking the initiative. Crisis be damned, she was
starting to love the direction her life was taking and the man in the driver’s
seat.
    * * * * *
    Upstairs, Jared’s heart was light. In the midst of a crisis,
she dropped the world, kicked it aside and raised Kylie to the center.
Workaholic sure, had to be nowadays, but her priorities were screwed in
straight and tight. Just the way he liked them. Dressed, he ambled down the
steps to find Kylie bounding up. “You okay with this?” he asked.
    “Yeah, it’s good for Mom. She won’t admit it though. I worry
about her sometimes.”
    Jared chuckled at that. Insightful, like her mother even if
she didn’t let it show that often. “Promise you’ll talk to me if this creates a
problem for you on the team and I promise to help you with your worries about
your mom. Deal?”
    “If I can get out of the push-ups, deal’s sealed.”
    “No special treatment.”
    Kylie laughed, a deep, rich timbre that could have been
Joci’s. “Can’t blame a girl for trying.”
    “Your mom taught you well. Now she’s got me in training. I
have to go help her save Madison.”
    “She’s good at that.”
    He found Jocelyn on the couch, her gaze drilling a hole
through the floor. “You okay?” he asked, falling into the cushion next to her.
    Her tongue was in his mouth, fingers gripped his cheek, a
kiss to end all kisses, ripe with promise. “You’re amazing,” she said,
breathless, face flushed, forehead pressed against his.
    Yowza, everything was moving in the right direction. “Not
that I’m disagreeing or complaining, but what was that for?”
    “My talk with Kylie was painless and mature. Before soccer
she was moody, dour and unpredictable, rarely in a good way. Since you
swaggered that fine ass into town, everyone in this