Chapter Seven

"He didn't come," Ruger said, pouting through the chain-link fence of the dugout.

"Buddy, I told you that was a possibility, but look. Your dad is here."

Ruger looked over at Ryan and Naomi and the fifteen-friend entourage they had brought for reasons Sloane couldn't even guess at. It was a kid's baseball game, not a party. Ruger didn't even know most of them. The entire first inning they had been loudly talking about how they were all going to go to a bar after this.

"Dad doesn't watch."

"Look, I'm here, and I am your biggest cheerleader. And you know, baseball isn't about who is watching you. It's about how it makes you feel. When you hit the ball, how do you feel?"

"Good."

"And when you run the bases real fast, how do you feel?"

"Also good."

She nodded and grinned. "That's when I'm most happy, is when you feel good."

Sloane could tell he wasn't completely sold, because he looked longingly at his dad and then searched the bleachers again, but Captain really wasn't showing up.

It was okay. It was okay! She'd mentally prepared for this.

But as she sat down on the edge of the third row of the bleachers, she couldn't help the feeling of utter disappointment that swirled inside of her chest cavity.

The simple truth that she would never admit out loud—she had counted down to today in hopes of seeing Captain again.

Ruger was on deck, practicing his swing with his coach. God, he was so cute in his little baseball pants that were a size too big, and his batting helmet that kept sliding over his face if he moved too much.

Her brothers had played baseball all through high school, and she was hoping Ruger would choose this as his sport.

"Come on, Ru!" Ryan yelled, punctuated with loud claps as he sat closer to Sloane on the bleachers.

Naomi glared at her and moved to sit right between them. Two of Naomi's friends sitting in front of them looked at Sloane, then laughed and whispered something to Naomi.

Sloane's discomfort was infinite.

A giant man blocked her view, kneeling in front of the bleachers and talking to Ruger through the chain-link fence.

Her heart hammered in her chest cavity. Was…was that…?

Captain caused an enormous grin in her son, and Ruger took another hard practice swing.

"Hey you," Captain greeted her as he approached. He scanned the crowd on the bleachers. "Where's he at?"

"Who?" she asked softly, still stunned that he was really standing in front of her, blocking the entire world with his massive frame.

"Ruger's dad."

"I'm Ruger's dad," Ryan barked out from the other side of Naomi.

Captain's eyes narrowed at her ex-husband, and oh my gosh, this was bad! She hadn't prepared Ryan, and he had an attitude problem, and—

"I'm Captain. Captain Walker," he said as he made his way to Ryan and offered his hand for a shake.

Ryan glared at him, then at his hand, and back up at Captain. "I don't know you. Why are you talking to my son?"

"I'm one of Sloane's old friends. We go way back. Shake my hand, Ryan." The steel in his voice as he stared right into Ryan's soul made her want to laugh. The fact that Ryan reached forward and shook his hand right there in front of all his little friends made it nearly impossible to keep the giggle in her throat.

"Do I know you?" Ryan asked low. "Your name sounds familiar."

"I remember you!" Naomi exclaimed. "He's Captain Walker. Football. Remember? He was on that shifter team. All-state, right?"

Captain nodded and checked for Ruger's advance on the plate. He was still on deck. "Yep. Sorry, I don't remember your name."

Naomi asked, "What?" and looked genuinely confused. Sloane got it. She was popular in high school and in the same year as Sloane, and in many of the same classes, so she remembered her well. She was used to being the center of attention.

Captain offered his hand for a shake. "Captain. Nice to meet you."

"Wait, you know me. Remember? We used to party together."

"Mmm, I don't recall."

"Naomi? Naomi Webber? Well, I have a new last name now, but I was Naomi Webber back in high school," she said, giving his hand a limp shake, shock and offense written into every facet of her face. "Ring a bell yet?"

"Nope. Nice to meet you." He gave her his back and grinned at Sloane as he stood on her other side. He shocked her to her soul as he leaned over, kissed her cheek, and murmured, "Sorry I'm late."

"You…" She'd lost the ability to have intelligent conversation. Sloane touched the warm spot he'd left on her cheek. "You kissed me. I don't want that to confuse Ruger."

"Ruger ain't lookin', but his daddy is. That was for Ryan, and Naomi Webber, who gave half the football team blowjobs at the Friday-night parties."

"You do remember her."

"I remember her dancing on a lot of tables for attention," he muttered low, then clapped and said, "Let's go Ruger. Big hit, buddy."

"He's not your buddy!" Ryan barked.

"Nice steady swing," Captain said, completely ignoring Ryan's outburst.

Sloane pursed her lips against her smile as she witnessed Ryan's bright-red cheeks and dirty look aimed at Captain.

This was awesome. She leaned closer to him, and he slid his arm around her shoulders and leaned down to hear her better. "Why did you pretend you didn't know Naomi?" she whispered as low as she could.

"Because she wrecked your marriage. Fuck that skank. She should feel forgettable. That's devastating to girls like her."

The laugh escaped her now. Oh goodness, it felt so good to have someone have her back in one of these situations!

She wasn't alone. She watched Captain shift his weight back and forth like he was nervous for Ruger as her son stepped up to the plate.

She respected him. He hadn't reacted to Ryan's attitude. He'd gone up to him almost immediately and shook his hand and introduced himself.

That was good-man stuff right there.

"Okay, let's go Ruger!" she cheered as he stepped up to the plate.

He took a practice swing, and it was pretty wobbly.

"It's okay," Captain said, seemingly to himself. "That can be fixed."

He swung on the first toss from the other team's coach, but the pitch was way high.

Ryan was yelling about him picking better pitches, but Captain stood still beside her, chewing the corner of his thumbnail. He'd pulled his baseball cap lower over his glowing eyes, and his focus was on Ruger. "He's good," he murmured.

Ruger swung at the second pitch, and missed.

Ryan seemed embarrassed in front of his friends, and explained that now Ruger would hit off a tee because he didn't know how to choose good pitches.

Ruger twisted around and looked at his dad, and the smile didn't exist on his face anymore. He looked…upset.

The coach moved him out of the way to place a tee on home plate, and Ruger's somber gaze drifted to Captain.

"I bet you're fast," Captain said in that deep, booming, confident voice that settled things inside of Sloane. She'd been about to pop off at Ryan, but Captain was taking the sting away. She could tell he was. She could see it in the softening expression on her son's face.

"Hit, and run like your shoes are on fire," Captain said, and nodded to him like you've got this.

Sloane couldn't look at Captain anymore. She couldn't. Something she didn't understand was filling up her chest. Her eyes were burning, and the look on Ruger's face as he nodded back at Captain was choking her up.

Ruger slammed the ball off the tee and took off.

Captain stepped forward, his eyes on the boy as he bolted for first. The dugout seemed to be in his way because Captain turned and told her, "I'm going to watch him over by first."

"Okay," she whispered as he turned and strode past the dugout to go stand at the fence line near first base.

Oh, her heart as Ruger jumped up and down on the base and talked to Captain. There was no first-base coach, only a third, so Captain got his focus wrangled and told him when to run, and Ruger was off to second base like a shot the second the next kiddo hit the ball.

Captain ended up staying there and telling that kiddo when to run. Ruger's third-base coach ran over while they were setting up a tee for the fourth hitter and said something to Captain, and then all of a sudden Captain was a first-base coach.

He was good! Once Ruger slid onto home plate, she struggled to take her attention off Captain.

He was wearing a dark blue baseball cap, a solid gray T-shirt that clung to his muscular chest and arms, and jeans over work boots. He looked like a giant bodybuilder out there, but he had an easy smile for the kids and was a natural at telling them when to run and explaining what to do between hits.

He played baseball. She remembered now. He'd played football, and baseball too.

He caught her staring and grinned. With a gasp, Sloane looked down at a little pile of sunflower seeds on the concrete by the bleachers.

Be. Cool.

When she looked back up at him, he waved. He was wearing a knowing grin that brought heat to her cheeks. She waved back and then buried her face in her hands to cover her laugh, and then did her best to pay attention to the rest of the game.

That man had no idea how sexy he was. Likely every mom in the bleachers was drooling over him just like Sloane was. She did not blame them one bit. She was also fangirling. Did he just put his baseball cap on backward? Good gah, that man had grown up right.

Ruger's team maxed out at five runs and ran into the dugout to find their gloves, which was chaos.

She was giggling just watching the coach trying to wrangle them. "Hey man, thank you," the coach said to Captain as he walked past the dugout.

"Sure thing. I can get the next inning if you need help."

The coach looked exasperated. "I need help," he said with a self-deprecating laugh.

Captain nodded. "I've got you." He strode straight for her. "You hungry?" he asked.

"Um, I keep smelling the popcorn," she said softly, reaching for her purse.

"I've got it," he said, and walked away, but then circled back to her. "I liked that."

"Liked what?"

"I liked that I asked if you were hungry, and you knew what you wanted and you didn't walk on eggshells around it. I like when a woman knows what she wants." He paced away and back, leaned down, and murmured against her ear. "You look fucking hot tonight."

She'd instinctively slipped her hand to the sleeve of his T-shirt and gripped him there as he'd talked to her so closely.

"Me?" she asked, stunned.

He eased back just enough to lock his glowing silver eyes on hers. "Yes, you." He straightened, and said loud enough for everyone to hear, "You were always a looker, Sloane."

Eyes wide, she watched him walk toward the concession stand. It wasn't until she noticed Ryan and his friends watching her that she understood. Oh. Okay. That must've been a show for Ryan again. She wasn't really the hot sort of woman.

That made sense—him just trying to take a dig at Ryan, who clearly had a problem with everything going on. She hadn't felt pretty in years.

She looked down at her red spaghetti-strap tank top tucked into her jean shorts, and her tan sandals. She had shaved her legs this morning and curled her hair. There had been effort, so there was that!

Sloane wrung her hands, and then waved when she saw Ruger waving to her from the dugout. He gestured her over.

"I got a run," he said.

"I saw that! You're doing great."

"Where did Cap go?" He was calling Captain "Cap" now.

"Concession stand. He'll be right back."

"Okay. I have to put my glove on now. I have to go catch the balls."

She smiled as he walked away to find his glove. Ruger was absolutely the best part of her whole life.

"I need to talk to you," Ryan said from way too close.

Sloane sighed. "No, you don't."

"Are you dating him?" he demanded, anger visible in every facet of his face.

"It's none of your business." She tried to step around him to head back to the bleachers, but he cut her off.

Much too close for comfort, he lowered his voice and told her, "I don't like him around Ruger. He's a shifter."

And something about that caused a reaction inside of her. Something snapped like a rubber band. "Hey Ryan," she murmured, her gaze drifting up to his. "Why would I give a fuck what you think? I care what Ruger thinks, and he likes Captain just fine. You don't care who is around Ruger so long as it's your squad. Say it like it is. You don't like Captain around me. You're allowed to move on with your mistress, and you want me to be alone. That's what manipulative assholes like you thrive on." She scrunched up her face and offered him an empty smile. "Go use that tactic on your new wife. I don't care about the show anymore." When he didn't move from directly in front of her, she told him, "You're dismissed."

"I'm dismissed?" he asked. "Am I dismissed?" he gritted out, taking a step closer.

"I didn't hear her fuckin' stutter," a calm voice sounded from behind her ex.

Ryan turned to find Captain there, a good six inches taller than him and so wide in the shoulders, he was blotting out the damn sun.

"You mind leaving her alone? It's a ball game, man. We're all here for the kid. Focus on him."

"Don't talk about my kid," Ryan growled.

Captain smiled down at him. "Okay, cupcake." He twitched his head toward Ryan's friend group. "Why don't you head on over to your friends. We're all good over here."

Furious, Ryan stomped around him and went to sit with his friends, talking low to them, probably whining about how he was the victim somehow.

"You sure know how to make an entrance," Sloane said through a grin as she watched Ryan's friend group all up in a tizzy over him being triggered.

Captain was watching them with narrowed eyes. "It's a talent. I got you food."

She looked down at his hands. He held a bag of popcorn, but he'd bought her other snacks as well. He also held a plastic carton of nachos and a cherry Coke.

The smile faded from her lips. He'd remembered. This was the exact thing he'd bought her at the football game on homecoming night her freshman year, his sophomore year.

He was watching her reaction carefully, and she gingerly took the treats from his hands. "You remembered?"

"Had to dig back in the old memory bank. Extra jalape?os, right?"

"Right," she said softly.

As he made his way around her and handed Ruger a blue electrolyte drink over the top of the dugout and talked to him, she was struck by the moment.

In all the years with Ryan, both dating and married, she couldn't recall a single time he'd remembered her food order, or surprised her with his thoughtfulness.

Nor could she remember him ever treating Ruger with the same respect.

It touched her heart so deeply.

Ruger was excited. She couldn't hear Captain's advice for him, but from the happy look in her son's eyes as he took the drink, they were doing all right as buddies.

"I don't fuckin' like this!" Ryan yelled, and Sloane turned to see he was talking to her. The rest of the parents went quiet at the awkward moment.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized to the few around her.

She made her way to the bleachers and sat down, feeling like all eyes were on her. Her cheeks were on fire, and she couldn't lift her eyes from the ground.

"I don't want him around my son," Ryan barked out. He'd never cared if he caused a scene, and Sloane really hated that part.

She ignored him, hopeful that if she did, he would move on. This was a kids' baseball game. Everyone was just here to have fun, not witness drama caused by a grown man.

Ryan raised his voice and repeated louder, "I don't want him around my son!"

"Our son," she quipped softly. "And if you ban my friends, then your friends can't come to these games either, which I tried to talk about the other day."

"I don't want any of your boy-toys to come around here," Ryan gritted out. "It'll confuse Ruger."

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair! So his mistress could come around her son? Around people she remembered from school? Around Ruger's teammates and their parents? Naomi could introduce herself to everyone here with Ryan's last name less than a year after Ryan had left Sloane, and act like she hadn't destroyed a family, and invite all her dumb friends, but Sloane wasn't allowed to have anyone here? Even though Captain's presence was at Ruger's request? How was it right that Ryan still controlled things like that?

"Boy-toys?" Captain asked. Oooh, his voice had filled with steel and there was a gritty edge to it now. "How many dates has she brought to games?"

Ryan got quiet. He looked like he wanted to lie, but he knew she would call it out.

"Speak up," Captain demanded.

"You," Ryan answered, less sure of himself now.

Captain jutted his chin at Naomi. "You brought her. How many times have you rubbed Naomi in Sloane's face? Sloane isn't doing that to you. We're old friends. Don't cause problems where there aren't problems. We won't be airing dirty laundry here. It's a kids' baseball game. Grow up and focus on the boy."

"Bro, I am focused on the boy," Ryan barked.

"Yeah? What position is he playing?"

Ryan scanned the field, then shielded the sun from his eyes.

"Shortstop, bro ," Captain muttered.

Ryan got real quiet after that, thank goodness.

For the last month she had been at the mercy of the Ryan-and-Naomi show, and it had been calculated to hurt her maximum amounts.

Now? After a few minutes of awkwardness, the parents started talking and cheering for their kids again, and Sloane got to enjoy something with a bodyguard setting boundaries for how Ryan and his little lemmings could behave around her. She felt safe with Captain standing right next to where she was sitting. He didn't know that he was her hero in this moment.

After that, Captain served as first-base coach when Ruger's team was up to bat, and even stepped into the outfield for the last inning and explained what the boys were supposed to be doing.

She loved it. Loved that he was confident enough to step in, and she knew Ruger was over the moon about it. He kept telling his teammates that was Cap, and he was a huge bear shifter.

Her kid was happy. After everything they'd gone through over the last year, he was grinning and playing and excited, and it did her well to see it.

So okay. Okay! Captain was turning out to be a very handy friend.

After tonight, she had no regrets about giving him her number.

If she had it all to do over again, she wouldn't change a thing.