Pinned Down: A Triple Threat Sports Romance by Lexi Cross Page B

hometown, and all the stress of returning and having to admit that things weren’t going as well as I had hoped.
     
    Of course, the state of things was pretty obvious to anyone who had been paying attention, but I didn’t want to have to admit it to anyone, least of all the guys. There was no guarantee I was going to get to see them, though. They were probably out of town at a game that weekend.
     
    “So, tell me a little bit about your parents,” Kendra said on the way to their house.
     
    “They’ve been married forever. They were high school sweethearts, and they’ve worked harder at their relationship than anyone else I’ve ever known. When they hit a rough patch, they just hunker down together and remember what brought them together in the first place. It’s really something else,” I told her.
     
    “I can’t wait to meet them, then,” she said.
     
    “Yeah, they are the perfect example of what a married couple should be like,” I added.
     
    “Impressive. I hope to have a love like that someday,” she said absently.
     
    There it was. I was in. The door was open, and my foot was in.
     
    “I’m sure you will,” I told her. I didn’t want to say it would be with me. I didn’t want her to realize that was what I was thinking. I wanted her to know that she was worth that kind of love and that it would eventually find her. I put my hand on her leg and let it rest there gently as we continued to ride through the night.
     
    The sun beat us to my parents’ house, and that was fine. They might not have been happy to have us pulling up in the driveway before sunrise, especially since I hadn’t told them I was bringing the girl I had told them about on the phone. Kendra was going to be a surprise. I figured they would enjoy meeting the one who was cooling my jets.
     
    “Brace yourself,” I told her as she put the car in park in their driveway. I patted her leg.
     
    My parents’ front door flew open, and my dad was on his way out to meet us right away.
     
    “You didn’t tell me you were bringing a guest,” he called out in a gruff voice. He didn’t sound pleased, but I was pretty sure that was just for show.
     
    “Yeah, Dad, this is Kendra Boles, the lady I was telling you about.”
     
    “The one who dances for a living, right?” he asked, putting on his best senile act.
     
    “No, Dad, the one with the charity,” I said in a mock whisper.
     
    “Oh, the charity case! Son, you shouldn’t talk about her like that. She’s right there behind you. She sure as hell doesn’t look like a charity case to me.” He laughed and gave me a hug.
     
    I turned to look at Kendra as he walked around to the other side of the car. She looked stunned and horrified, like my father really wasn’t happy to see her.
     
    “I’m just playing with you, Kendra,” he said. “Lucky told us all about you and your work at Older Brothers. We’re glad to have you here with us. Now, Margaret is inside cooking breakfast. You two leave me to unload the car, and you go inside to get you some food. I’ll be in shortly to show you where you’re sleeping tonight.”
     
    “The guest room, right?” I called back to my dad.
     
    “That’s the one, but let me show you,” he said.
     
    I smiled. He probably had something up his sleeve. Kendra joined me as we walked up to the front door.
     
    “That was terrifying.”
     
    “I told you to brace yourself,” I said, laughing. “My mother isn’t like that. She’ll be nice.”
     
    “I’m not buying it.” She chuckled.
     
    We entered the house, and my mother embraced Kendra immediately. It was comforting to see my mother’s white hair bobbing just over Kendra’s shoulder, around her curls. She welcomed us in and took us into the dining room where she had bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, toast, ham, and hash browns waiting on us. It was a huge breakfast. My mouth watered, and I saw Kendra’s eyes bulging out of her head.
     
    “Thank you, Mrs. Hendrix,”