Overtime(41)

He then went to work as Jordie told him about his leg, getting healthy, Mena Jane, and moving back home. He left out Louisiana, mainly because he was embarrassed by it. Like the amazing barber he was, Billy Ray commented on some things and just listened to others. As time passed, Jordie watched as the old Jordie soon looked back at him. The only differences were his eyes were brighter, he didn’t look like death, and he didn’t feel like it either. He was feeling like the person he wanted to be.

Now, he just needed the love of a good woman.

“Just a regular clean hairstyle? Or you feeling frisky?”

Jordie grinned. “Let’s do a Mohawk this time.”

“Frisky it is,” Billy Ray agreed before going to work. “How’s that girlie girl of yours?”

Karson made a face. “I told you about Kacey?”

“Um, yeah,” he said, looking back at him in the mirror. “Man, were you drunk all the time?”

“Basically,” Jordie said with a laugh. “But things are a little up in the air.”

“Really? You seemed pretty smitten with her.”

“I was, but I lied to myself and pushed her away,” he said, closing his eyes. He then explained the whole thing, thankful that the shop was completely empty. It was embarrassing enough to think about his mistakes; admitting them was much worse. When he finished, Billy Ray was standing there, the clipper by Jordie’s head as he stared at him in the mirror.

“So you knocked her up and then ignored her?”

Jordie nodded.

“Man, you did mess up,” he said, simply shaking his head. “I wouldn’t take you back.”

“Me either,” Jordie agreed and Billy Ray laughed.

“But if she’s anything like my Sarah, she’ll forgive you and take ya back.”

He grinned as he met the old man’s wrinkled eyes. “Oh, yeah?”

“Oh, yeah,” he agreed. “Sarah, man, she forgave me for the shittiest things. I was a bad guy when I was younger, into those drugs and drinking, bad. I never cheated, but there were a few times where she could have assumed I did. But still, she loved me. Never gave up on me. As soon as our little Amy came into the world, I cleaned up and then loved her extra hard for dealing with me for so long. Now, she says she has the best husband, and in return, I say I’ve always had the best wife,” he said with a little grin that brightened his eyes.

“Sounds like a real strong, good woman you got there.”

“The strongest. I asked once what made her stay, and she told me that you never give up on the person you can’t go a day without thinking about.”

“Wow,” Jordie said, a little bit in awe. He wanted that. The undying, stay together through thick and thin kind of love. If he wanted that with Kacey, he had to fight for her. Or woo her, as Lacey said.

Hey. Wait.

“Hey, Billy Ray, you know what wooing is, right?”

Billy’s brow rose. “Yeah, I woo the hell out of Sarah. Still to this day.”

Jordie’s grin grew. “Good. I need some wooing advice.”

He laughed. “Hoping to woo her away from the guy she’s with and into loving yer sorry ass again?”

“Maybe not woo her away, but rumor is it won’t work, they aren’t meant for each other. And when that does happen, you’re damn right I’m gonna woo the shit out of her. I’ll do anything to get her back.”

“Have ya thought about just telling her how ya feel?” he asked and Jordie shrugged.

“Figured I’ve always been about talking and making promises but never following through with them. I thought if I showed her how I felt, wooed her a bit, and then told her my feelings, it would work better.”

Billy Ray nodded as he brushed the hair off Jordie’s shoulder. “Good plan, I like the way you think.”

Jordie laughed as he nodded. “Thanks, now hit me with that wooing.”

“All righty now, listen closely, boy. I’m about to give you some winning advice, and I won’t be repeating myself.”

He wouldn’t expect him to, but Jordie did pray that Billy Ray’s advice would win Kacey back. It was honestly killing him knowing that she was with Kelly and not him. Yeah, he understood that he was late to the game, only realizing now that Kacey was it. But surely she hadn’t given up on him fully. So Jordie would wait, because good things come to those who wait. But he hoped it didn’t take long.

Because Jordie wasn’t known for being patient.



Kacey dragged herself into the house after a long day of training and massages and then an evening of meetings. When she’d started this job, she’d thought it was going be an eight-to-noon job, but she soon realized that the Assassins’ training team worked seven-to-eight in the weeks before the season started. It was intense, but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t love it. She loved the guys, minus having to work with Jordie, and enjoyed the staff. They were a family, everyone was. It was fun, and she looked forward to her future with the Assassins.

But she was really looking forward to the beer she had been thinking about all day.

Because she needed it.

Watching Jordie struggle through her exercises was downright disgusting. He was better than that; she had seen him at his best before his injury. He could squat the most of the team, but today, not so much. Even the new girl was squatting more than he was. Kacey knew she needed to remember his knee was still getting used to everything, but had he been sitting on his ass for the last eight months? She knew his PT guy was hard on him, so what the hell had been going on?