Summer Nights (Fool's Gold #8)(52)

Just when he was starting to trust Annabelle, too. He’d begun to tell himself that despite having seen her dancing on a bar, she wasn’t into drama. He already knew that she could go fifteen minutes without needing to be the center of attention. But the minute he let down his guard, her ex showed up, insisting they weren’t divorced.

His gut told him it was okay to trust her. His head reminded him that he’d been fooled before.

Once inside the stadium, Shane looked around. The ads on the inside of the fences were the old-fashioned painted kind. Only the scoreboard was electronic. There was a handful of vendors set up by the stairs to the seats and an old guy in a yellow T-shirt selling programs.

“Over there,” Rafe said, pointing.

Shane glanced in that direction and saw a group of men sitting together. Ethan Hendrix was waving at them. Shane saw Kent next to him. There were a few other guys he recognized. Josh Golden, the former world champion cyclist, was talking to Raoul Moreno.

“That guy on the end is Tucker Janack,” Rafe told him. “His company is building the casino and hotel just outside of town. Next to him is Simon Bradley.”

“The doctor. Right. We met him when Montana’s baby was born.”

“The man on the other side of him is Finn Andersson,” Rafe continued. “You know Cameron.”

Shane nodded at the local vet.

They walked up to where the other men sat. There was a lot of handshaking and backslapping. The oldest one of the group was Max Thurman, boyfriend of the Hendrix mom.

Shane found himself seated between Cameron and Kent. The beer vendor was waved over and a fight nearly broke out as everyone offered to pay. Shane chuckled as Raoul and Josh tried to arm wrestle for the privilege of picking up the tab and he figured the guy selling beer probably walked away with a fifty-dollar tip.

Kent passed him a beer. “You getting settled okay?”

Shane nodded. “I’m having a place built on the land I bought. Until then, I’m staying with my mom, Glen, Heidi and Rafe. The house is a little crowded.”

Kent chuckled. “I won’t make fun of you, dude. I stayed with my mom when I moved back.”

“When was that?”

“Last year.” Kent sipped his beer. “I’m a math teacher at Fool’s Gold High School.”

“No way. Seriously?”

“Yup.” Kent chuckled. “I never expected that to happen. But in college, I really enjoyed math. The summer between my sophomore and junior year, I worked at an academic camp for middle school kids in Colorado. That was it for me. When I went back to college that fall, I changed my major, got my credentials and now I’m a math teacher.”

“Sounds like you enjoy your work.”

“I do. I teach a range of classes, including the advanced students, studying calculus, and the kids who can barely add. Both are satisfying, in different ways.”

“Not just the smart kids?”

He shrugged. “The smart kids are probably going to do well regardless of who’s running the class. The ones who are having trouble need me. When I can take a kid who hates math and then get him or her to understand a few principles, they light up. Suddenly they realize they can be good at something difficult. It’s not that they’re dumber than everyone else, it’s that no one took the time to help them. With the fundamentals in place, the world opens up.”

Kent shifted in his seat. “I get carried away.”

“Impressive,” Shane admitted. “You’re the teacher everyone wants to have.”

“I like what I do. I’m also the assistant baseball coach in the spring, but that’s only part-time. Math is my thing.” He glanced at the field where the players were warming up, then back toward Shane. “Too bad being a math teacher isn’t exactly a chick magnet.”

Shane grinned. “Is that a problem? Aren’t there plenty of single women in Fool’s Gold? I keep hearing that.” Although he was really only interested in one. Unfortunately, nothing about Annabelle was easy.

“I guess.” Kent took another sip of his beer. “I’m not interested in dating, really. I was, ah, married before.”

“Me, too,” Shane said in a low voice. “Divorce is hell.”

“Tell me about it. My parents were in love until the day Dad died. All my sisters are happily married. So is Ethan. The only reason Ford doesn’t have the perfect wife is because he’s in the military, traveling all the time. Otherwise, I’m sure he’d be married with a couple of kids. Now Mom has Max. I’m the relationship screw-up.”

Shane wanted to offer comfort, but he was in no position to do so. It wasn’t as if he had figured out his personal life, either.

“You’ve got a kid,” he pointed out instead. “That’s something.”

Kent nodded. “Reese is great. I’m lucky to have him. It’s just…”

He looked around, as if making sure everyone else was busy with their own conversations. “It’s been over a year and I still miss her, you know?”

“Your ex?”

“Yeah. Lorraine was ‘the one’ and now she’s gone. I keep thinking she’ll come back. That she’ll realize she needs us. But I’m kidding myself. She doesn’t need anybody. It’s hard on Reese.”