Page 1 of Lemon Cake

Rider

Rider stood, staring at the dozen sets of sparkling eyes looking back at him. The boys were all between seven and nine years old, eager to meet their idol.

“So, who’s your favourite player?” he asked, trying to break the ice.

“You’re my favourite linebacker,” a few announced here and there while others called out the names of his teammates. Only one little boy stayed silent, hovering near the back of the group.

“And yours?” Rider asked him.

“My Aunt Gemma.”

Rider cocked his head, curious. “And who is your aunt?”

The boy hastily pulled a photo from his pocket and proudly presented it to him. Rider took it, and couldn’t help the goofy grin that plastered his face. A young girl in her teens smiled at him with a baby boy in her arms. What stood out the most, though, was her football gear.

“Ah, I see. I don’t think anyone can hold up to that,” Rider chuckled.

“She was a safety—and the best one!” the little one announced to everyone.

The other boys crowded around, and he proudly showed them the photo too. He even pointed out his aunt on the bleachers, waving at her excitedly. Rider followed his gaze and saw a woman sitting in the far back. She was grinning and waving back, her auburn hair up in a loose bun. Even from this distance, he could see her gorgeous ocean-blue eyes sparking.

“She stopped playing when she lost her leg, but she has a super cool one now that she can take off.”

Rider’s gaze slid down to her loose-fitting jeans, but he couldn’t quite tell what the boy meant. Rider kicked himself for trying to find a difference between the two legs—what a jerk move. At the same time, however, he was curious to know more. Not wanting to lose the boys’ attention, he quickly handed out footballs and let them play.

He always enjoyed these community events his team liked to organise. Since joining the Bullriders two years ago, he was always the first to volunteer.

They’d split the kids up, and each of his teammates had a small group that they entertained for a while. The teachers around were every bit as excited as their students. Even the parents ran around, taking pictures and videos—of both the kids and players. It was fun as usual, and the time passed quickly. At the very end, they took a few group pictures with all the kids, players, teachers, and of course their cowboy mascot, Muse.

After they’d taken all the pictures, the players waited ina back room for the gym to empty. It was late afternoon by the time they left the school, walking across the parking lot.

“Anyone wanna grab food?” Braiden, their wide receiver, asked.

“Maybe you should focus less on your next meal and more on your fitness,” Jake teased. He was their cornerback, and a talented one to say the least.

“You know what? Maybe you should be less cocky,” Braiden barked back.

Their bickering faded out, because Rider’s eyes had landed on a new subject of focus: the boy from earlier. Trying to remember the boy’s name, he watched him argue with his aunt. Gemma—if Rider remembered correctly. Still curious about the woman, his legs carried him towards the couple, almost of their own accord.

“Please? Just a little,” the boy begged.

“No, Dan. You already had an exciting afternoon. We don’t need to drive to the park.”

“You always take me!”

“No, I don’t. Especially not when you’ve already had a treat like today.”

“And here I thought you were a good boy,” Rider interrupted.

Gemma’s eyes found his, and she flushed a beautiful rosy pink.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude but Dan told me about you earlier and showed me a picture of you two. I was curious to meet you.”

That pink darkened to a cherry red. “Oh. Yeah he made us print out like a thousand copies of that picture becausehe wanted to make sure he didn’t lose it.”

“It was only ten,” Dan corrected her with an eyeroll.

“He’s very proud of you.” Rider offered her a hand. “I’m Rider.”