Matt

Every day since I moved here after being discharged has been pretty much the same.

I get up, take a run before six am, come home, shower, eat breakfast, go to work, come home, take Hope for a walk, eat dinner, work some more, clean the kitchen then go to bed…rinse and repeat.

The only change to my plans are on Saturdays when I help at the youth center and the sometimes squeeze in a pickup game with the guys, or Sunday when I catch up on all my housework, but that’s not much change.

Always the same routine…until yesterday.

Sure, running into people on the beach is a common thing around here and, when Hope is with me, we get stopped quite often so people can give her a little attention, but I’ve never seen her act the way she did with Cody.

I had fully intended to get over to them, retrieve my dog, apologize then be on my way…but then Cody made that comment about his dad being a worthless bastard and, well, I was intrigued.

Okay, so his mom, Shay, is a beautiful woman and I did spend more time than would be considered normal just observing her while we talked.

She wasn’t wrong when she said her oldest, Bryce, is angry , but, after everything I found out by the end of the night, it totally makes sense.

Those boys have every damn right to be upset and so does Shay.

I don’t regret offering for them to join my youth group for a game of flag football, though I have no doubt my friends, two of the men from my squad that also volunteer with me, will have plenty to say on the matter.

I get to the youth center at noon to get everything we need for today out of the utility shed and, by the time one rolls around, almost everyone is here.

Chaz and Tom, the guys from my squad, are working on helping the younger kids set up with their belts and flags while I set up the markers that will act as the goals, cutting the one hundred yard field in half since the younger kids tend to struggle with he hundred yard field.

“Matt!” Cody’s little voice has my head whipping around just in time to see not only Cody, but Bryce and Shay as well, walking over to me.

Shay is wearing a white sundress that’s only a few shades lighter than her pale skin, her dark brown hair is in a loose braid that hangs over her left shoulder and those big honey brown eyes of hers look almost gold with the way the sun is shining in them.

“Hey, guys! I’m glad you could make it!” Cody’s face is lit up with excitement while Bryce looks like he’s trying not to look excited, but it’s the look on Shay’s face that has me pausing for a moment.

She’s smiling, but I can tell something’s bothering her.

“I’m going to go sit in the bleachers. Cody, you listen to Matt and do what he says, okay?” Cody nods as Bryce gives Shay a hug and whispers something in her ear that has her rolling her eyes and flashing him an amused smirk before she turns and heads for the bleachers.

We dive right in, giving Cody a bit of a crash course with the other kids in his age group, most of them being beginners as well, so it was easy to get him caught up.

By the time the game ends, it’s already three, so the kids all head off to get a drink and catch their breath, everyone but Bryce, who immediately jumps into helping me pack everything back up.

“Hey, is your mom okay?” I wasn’t going to ask, but I snuck a few looks her way and noticed how upset she looked when she thought no one was looking, so now I’m curious about what could be bothering her so much.

“Not really. Our dad called this morning and it got…messy.” It’s a vague answer, but at least it makes sense.

He helps me pick up all the markers and put everything away before walking over to check on his mom and Cody…which is when Tom and Chaz decide to speak up.

“So, what’s with the MILF.” Chaz talks like that all the time, but for some reason, it bothers me to hear him talk about her that way…besides…what man in his forties says shit like “MILF” anyway?!

“She’s staying with my neighbor, Luke. He’s her dad. She’s going through some shit and she’s freshly divorced, so lay off. She just got rid of one asshole and doesn’t need another one to take his place.” Chaz holds up his hands in surrender while smiling, but Tom is too busy watching Shay and the boys as they sit on the bleachers, seemingly having a rather serious conversation.

“I take it that it was a messy divorce?” Tom’s comment comes out as more of a statement, but I give him a quick answer with the little I know from what Bryce has said so far.

“Her ex cheated on her with her damn step-sister then left Shay and the boys when he knocked her up. The kids are taking it pretty hard from what I’ve seen, but I literally just met them all yesterday.” Tom nods, clearly understanding since he recently went through a divorce of his own, also a result of infidelity.

“Damn. She’s gorgeous! Why the hell would a guy screw around if he had someone like her waiting at home for him?!” Chaz isn’t wrong, not even a little.

Shay is a stunning woman, but it’s also impossible to miss how much she loves her boys.

“No clue, man. She seems like a really nice woman and the kids seem pretty cool too.” We all watch as Bryce storms off and that’s when I realize Shay has tears streaming down her cheeks, tears that Cody is trying to help wipe away.

We watch as she says something to Cody and, while he looks reluctant for a minute, he slowly walks over to where some of the other boys are sitting in the grass while they wait for their parents to show up.

“I’m going to go check on her.” Chaz gives me an amused smirk while Tom nods, clearly agreeing with my decision.