3. Nathan

Ihad a strong distaste for people who lied to get their way. Nothing rubbed me the wrong way more than a liar.

“You said you told Avery about me being the head coach and that she was on board with the idea,” I remarked as I stood in Raymond’s office, floored that he didn’t tell Avery. I felt like a major dick for blindsiding her like that. If Raymond had told me Avery did, in fact, not know about the arrangement, I would’ve told him to tell her as soon as possible. I wouldn’t have agreed to the position without her approval.

Nothing good came from surprising Avery Kingsley.

I’d learned that the hard way.

“I might have told a little lie. The truth is, I know you would’ve turned down the head coaching position if you knew Avery didn’t approve. I think you’ll be the greatest gift to the team, Nathan. I couldn’t risk losing you.”

“You wouldn’t have lost me, but I wouldn’t have accepted the head coach position.”

“Listen, I know you don’t know Avery as well as I do, but she can be a handful. She’s hotheaded and would’ve had this explosive reaction regardless of how gently we revealed the news. I figured yanking the Band-Aid off was the best bet.”

“This should’ve been discussed. Now I have an irritated coach who doesn’t trust me. That only makes things more challenging.”

“Not exactly. I told Avery if she didn’t find your addition to the team a good fit, she could remove herself completely from the coaching staff. And if she gives you a hard time, I’ll remove her myself.”

Was he joking?

That was messed up.

He had enough nerve to flip Avery’s world upside down and then threaten to remove her.

What a dick.

“It will be fine,” I told him. My mind was still trying to wrap around everything that was happening. I only considered coaching the baseball team when I was approached with the opportunity because my mother was worried about me focusing too much on the family farm. She said I needed hobbies. Real hobbies outside of balancing the books. Plus, I’d missed the game.

Did a part of me want to be near Avery Kingsley, too? Sure. Maybe.

But the connection we had all those years ago was old and buried. I didn’t want to dig it up. If anything, it was a simple curiosity of wanting to know the type of woman Avery grew up to become.

Okay. That ws a lie. Maybe I did want to dig up our connection a tad bit. I couldn’t help it. She was a part of the happiest time in my life when I was younger. It was almost impossible to not think about her and what we once were.

I’d heard whispers in town about Avery. Gossiping townsfolk calling her rude and harsh. Most people in Honey Creek looked at Avery and said she grew up to be bitter and cold, but when I looked into her eyes, I saw the same thing I’d seen all those years before—someone I wanted to know more about.

Her brown eyes were still beautiful, yet colder than I’d remembered.

I wondered what made them so cold.

I wondered what made her heart harden so much over the years.

And due to my curiosity, I needed her to stay around for a while. I couldn’t have her quit the team or be let go. I also didn’t want her to have some awful thoughts about who I’d grown up to be. After my career-ending injury, I went through a bit of a spiral with my mental health. It wasn’t only due to the injury, but around the same time, I’d lost one of my best friends to a tragedy. I wasn’t in a good place, and the media ran with their stories about how I was a drug addict and a has-been. I knew what it was like to be judged from the outside. I didn’t like that Raymond or the people of Honey Creek judged Avery in that same fashion.

And even if she was cold, the world probably made her that way. People’s hearts didn’t harden by choice. They hardened due to traumatic inflictions of pain caused by others.

Maybe this was my opportunity to reintroduce myself to her. To start anew. To leave our past behind us and work together to make the team the best it could be. Because if there was one thing Avery knew, it was baseball. She lived and breathed the sport. I didn’t join the team to have her talents overlooked. I joined in order to help highlight them.

Now, I had to make sure she realized that. I needed her to see that I wasn’t out to steal her job but to make things better for her. Raymond, of course, didn’t make that easier for me.

After leaving the school,I headed to my brother’s butcher shop in downtown Honey Creek. I came from a big family. I had the most amazing mother and four brothers who meant the world to me. Said brothers are also a pain in my ass. I was certain I was a pain in theirs, too. As the eldest brother, I felt a big responsibility to make sure they always had everything they needed. Especially after our father passed away years ago.

If it weren’t for the near financial ruin my father left us in when he passed, I would’ve probably stayed in Honey Creek instead of signing a baseball contract. Yet our family needed the money—bad—so it seemed like the best option at the time. I didn’t regret my choice. It ended up saving the family farm.

My family ran Honey Farms, one of the best farms in all the Midwest. We had everything you could think of, from goats, chickens, pigs, and cows to almost every vegetable known to humankind. We partnered with some stellar businesses across Illinois. Not long ago, I scored a contract to get all our produce into the restaurant owned by Avery’s brother-in-law, Alex. Alex and I were currently discussing getting some meat on his menu from our butcher shop.

My twin brothers, Evan and Easton, ran the butcher shop. They were two years younger than me and the complete opposite of one another. Not only based on their looks, as they were fraternal, but also on how they lived their lives. In a different realm, I wouldn’t have been shocked if Easton was a leading man in romantic comedy movies, while Evan would’ve been some grumpy surgeon who took everything far too seriously. Instead, the two of them ended up in a butcher shop. A shop that was our father’s dream.

As I walked through the door, Easton was at the register, chatting with a few customers about the oxtails they had in the store’s freezer section.

“You’ll be amazed at how tender these bad boys will get,” Easton told them. “Toss in some of our mom’s pork belly mac and cheese and greens from the fridge section, and boom! You have a whole meal.”

“That’s kind of a high price tag for so little meat on the bones,” the customer remarked with a look of disappointment.

Easton shook his head. “You’re paying for quality with Pierce’s Meat. Hear me out. Let me ring you up for your first order of these, maybe four packs, and if you aren’t satisfied, come on back and I’ll refund you. But you also have to remember my cooking instructions, all right? I promise you, your family will be kissing your feet over these.”

I smirked as I stood back, watching my brother influence those folks into buying over one hundred bucks of oxtails.

Easton’s superpower was selling a product. Lucky for us, he wasn’t lying about the superior quality of the meat. If the Pierce family did one thing well, it was crafting great products. Easton was just a mastermind at making people spend money on said products. That big-ass smirk he always gave to people probably didn’t hurt. Being a friendly face came in handy. People trusted him and for good reason. After Easton sold the products, we’d always get happy returning customers.

As he rang up their items, he thanked them, walked around the counter, shook their hand, and handed them a flyer with the daily specials for the following week.

“I tossed my business card into your bag, too, with my private number on it. Give me a call if you need extra help with those oxtails,” Easton offered with a friendly wink.

After they left, he turned toward me with his big, goofy grin still plastered on his face. “Hey, big brother.” He playfully batted his fist against my chest. “You need to get back in the gym. You’re looking a bit small there, buddy.”

“Still strong enough to kick your ass,” I said, pulling him into a headlock. “Where’s Evan?”

“In the back, chopping up some ribs. You need him?” Easton asked, wiggling his way out of the headlock.

“Nah. It’s all good. I’m here to pick up the sample box to take over to Isla Iberia. We need Alex to add our pork to his menu.”

“Get him the pork belly, too!” Evan hollered from the back room. He came out with a slab of ribs, plopped them down onto brown parchment paper, and wrapped them up. “Give him this and the pork belly. I know he only asked for chops and bacon, but he needs to sample these too. The rest is in the storage locker.”

Evan rocked the same grimace he always did, but every now and then, the corner of his mouth would turn up in an almost smirk. When it came to the twins, Easton must’ve swallowed up all the smiling genetics. Evan lived his days frowning.

“You coming out for the birthday celebrations tomorrow?” Evan asked as he removed his gloves and tossed them into a trash bin. “River and Grant got us a table at O’Reilly’s.” He said he got us a table as if O’Reilly’s was a VIP situation instead of a simple hole-in-the-wall bar in downtown Honey Creek.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” I mentioned, speaking about our other younger brothers, River and Grant, turning twenty-six. Yup, that’s right. I had two sets of twin brothers. I felt like the odd man out growing up. Whenever we had family drama when we were younger, it felt like everyone except for me had someone in their corner to turn to. I was bitter about it for a while, but over time, I realized that I did fine on my own. Plus, my brothers were good guys. They worked hard to make me not feel left out, even when it was next to impossible.

River and Grant helped Mom a lot on the actual farm. River ran the business side of things, and Grant tended to the animals and managed the staff.

For how hardworking they both were, they loved to celebrate their birthdays even harder. I knew a night at O’Reilly’s would end up being a drunken night where we wouldn’t end up home until well after five in the morning.

Correction—they wouldn’t end up home until after five in the morning. I took pride in my escaping skills. I was a professional at exiting stage left from any celebration that went past ten at night. I was too old to keep up with my younger brothers and their drinking, but I was more than willing to show up for a beer or two. The ten-year age gap between the youngest twins and I sure showed up when I tried to keep up with their drinking.

“Don’t pussy out and ditch us before midnight, Cinderella,” Easton teased, shoving my shoulder.

“You know I’ll turn into a pumpkin if I stay out past that time,” I joked as I opened the storage fridge and grabbed the container to take to Alex’s restaurant.

Easton smirked. “If you stay up late, there’s a better chance you could get laid, Grandpa. How long has it been since you’ve seen the beautiful workings between a woman’s legs?”

“Not everyone’s getting laid as often as you, brother,” I said. “Some of us have restraints and standards.”

“I have standards!” Easton dramatically exclaimed, slapping his hands over his chest as if I’d just told him he was the biggest scumbag on earth.

Evan huffed out laughter at the idea of Easton having standards. He moved over to the sink and washed his hands. “You having standards is the most absurd thing I’ve heard in a while. You’ll screw any woman.”

Easton shrugged. “That’s me having standards. I can’t help it that all women have this tempting mystical land resting right between their legs. It’s like an amusement park down there, and I’m just a man who wants to show them my raging bull while they allow me to tilt-their-whirl. Sure, each theme park is different. Some have more waterslides than others, but the price of admission is always worth it.”

I chuckled. “You’re ridiculous.”

“No, I’m a lover boy. Drake taught me well. Nine tomorrow night at O’Reilly’s, brother.”

“Nine?” I groaned. What kind of events started at nine at night? What was this? A college frat party? “I thought we agreed on six.”

“That was before Mom said she wanted to do cake and ice cream at her place. You can make it a late night for yourself, old balls,” Evan said, tossing the wrapped-up slab of ribs and pork belly into the carton in my hands. “If I have to be out, then you do, too. Now, go sell our goods.”

I took on one of Evan’s grimaces before heading out to Isla Iberia to pitch the products to Alex. I was already dreading the fact that I’d be staying up past ten on Saturday night. I liked to live a boring life where I worked all day and slept all night. My bedtime routine was my favorite part of every day, and one day off made my whole week feel unstable.

“I figured you forgot about the drop-off,” Alex mentioned as I walked into the kitchen of Isla Iberia through the back alleyway entrance.

“Not a chance. Got all the best pork for you to sample.” I set the container down on his countertop. He quickly washed and dried his hands with a rag before inspecting the goods.

He arched an eyebrow and tossed the rag over his shoulder. “I only asked for chops and bacon.”

“We figured you deserved more than chops and bacon, Chef.”

He narrowed his eyes as he began to examine the meat. He lifted the extras Evan tossed in. “Pork belly?”

“Pork belly.”

He grumbled, patting the meat with his hand. “I actually wanted some pork belly to test out a few recipes.”

I grinned. “It’s almost like we should go into business with one another.”

“Don’t get smart about it, all right? I said I would try your meat. I didn’t say I’d add it to my menu. I already get some quality stuff from a team in Chicago.”

“You’ll get better quality here and won’t have to pay to have it brought over, Chef. I’m telling you, once you taste Pierce meat, you won’t regret it.”

“I’m already on board with your produce, which has proved to be a good thing. But if I’m honest, you’re putting me in a bit of an uncomfortable situation here, Nate.”

“How so?”

“When we made our deal for produce, I wasn’t with Yara. Now that she’s my wife, it adds a bit of a challenge to the whole situation of us working together.”

“What do you mean by that?”

He cocked an eyebrow and shook his head. “I think you know what I mean by that.”

“I honestly have no idea.”

He crossed his arms and leaned back against his counter. “I got a visit from Yara earlier today. She was extra emotional about something that went down with Avery and you today at the high school.”

Oh.

That.

I flicked my thumb against the bridge of my nose before crossing my arms, too, standing tall. “Oh?” I said, trying to play it cool.

“Yes, oh.” He shook his head. “You got a pregnant woman coming over to me in distress because she’s convinced her older sister is going to have a mental breakdown from losing the one position that means the world to her. Now, you see how it could add unnecessary beef to my life if I have to tell her that I’m adding your family’s beef to my restaurant?”

“To be fair, it’s more than just beef. You have pork now, and we also have chicken?—”

“Nathan. You already know I like you, and I hate most people. You and your family have been easy as hell to work with over the past two years. But the idea of pissing off my pregnant, hormonal wife and Avery—a woman who scares me to this day—is a big risk to my…well…life expectancy.”

I sighed. “I know it’s a bad look.”

“It’s an awful look.”

“What if I told you I wasn’t taking the head coaching position? What if I left that for Avery? Would you then consider a partnership?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Perhaps…”

I held a hand out toward him. “Deal.”

“There’s no way it’s that easy.”

“It’s that easy. There was a miscommunication with the whole head coach thing anyway. I don’t want the position if it means taking it from Avery. Between you and me, I just missed the game. I’d be more than happy being an assistant coach beside her.”

Alex brushed his hand against the back of his neck but then shook my hand. “All right. Give Avery her position back, and I’ll continue to consider a partnership. Thanks.”

“Not a problem. And congratulations again on the baby.”

Alex wasn’t one to smile much, but his lips turned up slightly. “Thanks. We’re excited.” You could tell how happy Yara made him. He could hardly avoid smiling when it came to talking about his family. Seeing a grump like him smile as much as he had about his partner and soon-to-be newborn was good. Maybe our grumpy Evan would find himself a Yara someday. It might ease his harsh temperament.

“Don’t screw me over, though,” Alex warned. “The moment I hear back from my wife that Avery is the head coach again, then we can chat.”

“Deal. Thanks again for the shot, Chef.”

He shook his head. “I’m still not going to get used to the MVP Nathan Pierce calling me Chef.”

“Tell Avery I’m sorry if you see her before I do,” I mentioned.

“There’s no way I’m telling her anything. I’m not getting in the middle of whatever the two of you have going on. I learned a long time ago to stay out of other people’s affairs.”

“Isn’t you telling me that you’ll only do a deal with me if I give Avery the head coaching position being involved in our affairs?”

Alex parted his mouth and hesitated for a minute. I’d stumped him. He rubbed his hand against his brows and grumbled under his breath, “sal de mi maldita cocina.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means get the fuck out of my kitchen.”

I smirked. “Yes, Chef.”