Page 119 of You Found Me
She was good at that.
The game was about to start by the time they settled back into their seats. Della fluffed the blanket over their laps.
Ward didn’t protest, though he shot her a dirty look when she shifted closer to him.
“What? It’s not a big blanket.”
“Right.”
He stared at the field while she cradled the warm cup of cider in her hands and thought about his truly warped professional philosophy.
No personal connection.
Trust instincts…but not people?
Never let your guard down, which translated to never let anyone in.
How the hell did all that even go together? How could anybody live that way?
“Those rules don’t make any sense,” she blurted.
Ward winced.
“Oh, don’t worry about that.” Elyse waved that concern away. “We can explain the rules as we go along. All I really do is watch Mason anyway.”
Della stared at her, confused. “Oh. Um, okay.”
“Stop. Talking,” Ward muttered under his breath.
She glared at him. “Is that a rule? People—normal people—talkto each other, Warden. That’s how relationships…all relationships…work.”
Ward flicked the blanket off his lap, muttered something about popcorn, and left.
Ah, avoidance. The last resort of the emotionally constipated.
She watched him go, resisting the urge to follow and demand that he stop pretending he wasn’t attracted to her. She knew he was. She caught him looking at her all the time, and it wasn’t a checking-to-make-sure-you’re-safe look. It was an I’d-like-to-have-you-in-bed look.
Elyse pointed to the sidelines. “There’s Mason. Number seven.”
Della watched as Mason’s teammates circled around him for some kind of pregame chant. “Oh, so that’s why the bar is called Sevens? It’s his number?”
“Nah.” Samantha leaned forward to look at Della. “It’s Sevens because that was Donovan’s number. You know. Before he left.”
Elyse flashed her daughter a look of disapproval. “It’sbothof their numbers, and yes, that’s why Ralph named it Sevens. To honor his sons.Bothof them.”
“Yeah, but Dad opened it as Sevens before Mason made captain and picked his number.” Samantha fished a fry out of a basket of goo and slurped it into her mouth. “So it’s mostly for Donovan.”
Elyse’s heavy sigh spoke volumes. This was obviously a sore spot.
“It says a lot, though, doesn’t it?” Della asked. “That Mason picked the same number as Ward?”
Elyse flashed a soft smile. “Yes. It does. I’m really glad you’re both here. I can’t explain how much this has meant, and how much it has soothed old hurts.”
Della put her hand on Elyse’s. “I’m glad.”
“Yeah, that guitar didn’t hurt either,” Samantha said with a big grin. “He won’t shut up about it.”
Della laughed. “Well, I’m glad about that too.” She caught a glimpse of Ward’s dad near the players’ bench. “Why isn’t Ralph sitting with us?”