Part 8 (1/2)
”Here's your new mail key, Mr. Metz.” Shay dropped the key into her neighbor's beefy hand. ”Try to keep an eye on it,” she teased. Mr. Metz was a bit of a curmudgeon, but he was quiet and he did his part to keep the place neat by mowing the lawn each week. Technically speaking, cutting the gra.s.s was Shay's job, but he'd taken over one afternoon when she'd nearly wrenched her arm out of the socket trying to get the mower started. In exchange, Shay baked him brownies or cookies.
Mr. Metz murmured his thanks and Shay made her way up the stairs. A familiar giggle rang out as she rounded the corner. Maddox was sitting outside his apartment door with a book in his hands, a familiar pair of long legs decked out in yellow running shoes spread out beside him.
Maddox looked up from the book; the red and black face paint had faded, but the blaze was still noticeable. After a convincing victory over San Francisco the day before, including a touchdown reception by Brody, Jackie had relented and let Maddox keep his ”tattoo” for show-and-tell.
”Hi, Shay! We're reading.”
Shay smiled at the boy. ”I see that. What are you doing here, Brody?”
”Phonics.” He accompanied his smart-aleck answer with that slow easy smile that never failed to make her stomach dip.
Carefully stepping over his muscled legs and trying not to look at how nicely they were displayed in a pair of khaki shorts, Shay unlocked her apartment door. Brody rose to his feet behind her as if to follow her in.
”What do you want, Brody?” she snapped.
She hadn't meant to sound so peevish, but she was tired from a late night of studying for her early morning statistics test. That was followed by two hours in her un-air-conditioned Corolla staking out Brody's house until after he'd left for the practice facility so she could prepare his dinner and leave it neatly packaged in his fridge without him tormenting her. After that, she'd taught her water aerobics cla.s.s.
But mostly, she was tired of fighting off her body's reaction every time he came near her.
”I'm hungry.” His breath was warm on the back of her neck and before she realized it, he was standing in her apartment.
They both knew his excuse was a bald-faced lie, but Shay didn't have the strength to tell him to leave.
”I got Skittles.” Maddox pulled a snack-sized bag of the brightly colored candy out of his pocket and offered them to Brody.
Shay s.n.a.t.c.hed the bag out of the child's hand before Brody could take them. ”He can't have that. And neither can you, Maddox. You'll spoil your dinner.”
”Mom said we could have pizza for dinner.” Maddox rubbed his belly. ”Umm. Hey, maybe you could eat with us, Brody? Pizza'll fill you up.”
”Brody can't have pizza, either,” Shay said.
”Dang, Brody. Did you forget to leave the seat down or something? How come you can't have candy or pizza?” Maddox asked earnestly.
The corner of Brody's mouth twitched.
”Brody has a perfectly good dinner at home, Maddox.”
Maddox's shoulders slumped forward and his voice went soft. ”That's what Danny's mom always says when I invite him over for dinner.”
And just like that, Shannon had turned into her Meemaw, nasty as the Wicked Witch of the West. Brody stared at her, hands on his hips. His mouth was a grim line, but his eyes twinkled at her as though he knew the battle she was fighting within her own head.
”Maddox, go tell your mother I'm buying,” he said.
With a high-pitched whoop, Maddox raced next door.
Shay shook her head in defeat. ”You're going to mess everything up.”
He tossed his OneTouch onto the table. ”My blood sugar has been stable for a week now. Go ahead. Check and see.”
She'd been talking about more than his blood sugar, but if he understood what she meant, he ignored her.
”I can handle a couple of slices of pizza and a beer.”
”Beer?” Shay nearly choked. ”Who said anything about beer?”
Brody winked at her. ”You can't have pizza without beer. It's sacrilege.”
”Are we gonna have beer, too?” Maddox practically shrieked as he ran back in.
”Root beer for you, little dude. Go ask Mrs. Elder what she wants on her pizza.”
”Okay. But don't give her any beer. It makes her burp somethin' awful.” Maddox scooted back outside.
Apparently, Brody was inviting the entire complex to his impromptu pizza party.
”I fixed you a perfectly healthy meal. It's in your refrigerator.”
In two strides he was standing within arm's length. ”Yeah. But while I'm eating my nutritious meal, what would you be eating?”
Shay refused to get sucked into his baby blues. ”Probably a bowl of Cap'n Crunch.”
Brody groaned, closing his eyes. ”You're killing me here, Shannon. G.o.d, I miss Cap'n Crunch.” His eyelids snapped open and his smile was wicked. ”But I'll have to sacrifice with pizza and beer. Just for you, I'll make sure the beer is that low-carb c.r.a.p.”
”Fine. You go enjoy yourself. I need a shower and to study.”
His nostrils flared at the mention of the shower. Shay sucked in a breath when he gently traced a finger beneath one of her eyes. ”You're exhausted. But you need to eat. Take your shower and I'll bring the pizza back here. I promise I'll have them out of here in an hour so you can study.”
It was no wonder people never refused the man. The combination of his blue eyes and infectious smile did her in. ”Sure. Whatever. Just make mine extra cheese.”
It wasn't until halfway through her shower that she realized Brody hadn't said he'd be out of her apartment in an hour.
An hour later, Brody and Maddox were karate-chopping the pizza boxes into the recycling bin. Mrs. Elder had taken the baby, Anya, next door to get her ready for bed.
”I can see why my son loves him,” Jackie said. ”Brody is like a big kid.”
Shay took another sip from the bottle of beer she'd been nursing. True to his word, Brody had bought a low-carb version, but he'd also only consumed half of his bottle. Despite his little fall off the diet wagon, he was still cautious about what he put into his body.
She smiled at Jackie, who was watching their antics from the sofa while Shay sat in the chair next to her. ”Yeah, but unlike Brody, your son will actually grow up one day.”
”Oh, now, I don't know, Shay,” Jackie said as she stood. ”That boyfriend of yours may be a bit playful at times, but he's a pretty sharp cookie. Not as smart as you, but most people aren't. He does have a big heart. Mmm. And a mighty fine body, too,” she whispered with a wink.
Shay coughed, nearly choking on her beer. It hadn't occurred to her that Jackie would see the blog post. Surely, she didn't think Brody was actually her boyfriend? Before she could correct her neighbor, Jackie was corralling Maddox for a bath.
”Let's go, son.”
”Aww, five more minutes?”
Brody scooped Maddox up off the floor. ”No way, dude. You need to get that paint off your face before it becomes permanent.” He tickled Maddox's belly and the boy shrieked with laughter. ”Do what your Mom says or there'll be no more football games for you.”