despite the tension that had invaded their house lately and the way Rachel wanted nothing to do with him, Cash loved his little sister. He’d do just about anything to give her the same great upbringing he’d had. He owed her at least that much.
Catching his reflection in the glass trophy case, Cash paused to pick out a much younger version of himself in the old football team photos. He and his best friend, Jack Smith, had that stoic look in the picture, as if smiling meant they weren’t tough.
He shook his head and started walking again, remembering parading down these same hallways. Man, he’d been full of himself back then. Not more than any other football player in this town, but still. At least he and Jack had finally grown up. Cash’s maturing had come a bit quicker than most, but then, parenting would do that to anyone.
He paused in the doorway to the French room, where his message said to meet.
“You must be Rachel’s father. Please come in.” Coach Grayson waved, not looking up from working at her desk. “I’m just finishing up some class notes.”
Cash opened his mouth to correct her assumption, then clamped his jaw shut at her look of concentration. Warm cocoa hair scooped into a ponytail hung down over one shoulder as Coach Grayson nibbled on her lip.
Jack. Cash wanted to grab an old-fashioned branding iron and lay one on his friend. Jack and Janie Smith were neighbors with the new woman in town, and they’d had her over for dinner on Sunday night. But while Jack had mentioned that his wife and two-year-old son had seemed equally smitten with the new coach, he’d failed to mention that she looked nothing like Coach Pleater—the woman in her sixties who’d retired last year after two decades with the school.
Coach Grayson wore a fitted pink T-shirt and had tiny stud earrings in her earlobes. Athletic and yet still...professional. Right. That was the word he was going for.
Cash settled his long frame into the high school desk across from her and released a pent-up breath. Didn’t matter if the woman was the Gillespie County Fair queen. She was off-limits for him.
He removed his hat, scraping a hand through his hair and causing a cloud of dust to settle on his shoulders. Yep. Definitely should have showered.
“Sorry about that. I didn’t want to lose that thought for the first week’s lesson plan.” Coach Grayson set her pen down and looked up, gracing Cash with breath-stealing blue eyes framed by dark lashes and plenty of reasons to escape from the room right now. Like a heart-shaped face, with a chin that jutted out just enough to emphasize the smooth curve of her cheeks and the line of her lips.
Mercy. What was wrong with him? Had he never seen a woman before?
“No problem.” At his raspy voice, he cleared his throat and tried again. “You wanted to see me about Rachel?”
Coach Grayson’s eyebrows pulled together and she looked down at the front of her shirt—searching for words or embarrassed about her clothing, Cash wasn’t sure. He only knew the coach didn’t look anywhere near as messy in her volleyball gear as he did in grubby ranch clothes. In fact, she looked pretty cute.
Not that he should be looking.
Cash forced his concentration back to his sister instead of the surprising distraction in front of him. After all, he had a promise to keep and a girl who needed him to keep it.
The rest would have to wait.
* * *
So far, Olivia Grayson considered her escape from Colorado a success. In one weekend, she’d managed to move across the country, unpack her apartment, become friends with her new neighbors and fall in love.
If that last one happened to be with Jack and Janie Smith’s two-year-old son? All the better. Olivia had no intention of meeting a guy in the sleepy little town of Fredericksburg, Texas.
Which was why she absolutely did not care that a head-turning cowboy sat across from her while she wore a coffee-stained T-shirt boasting the lovely smell of a productive day in the gym.
Olivia hadn’t thought much of it when she’d pictured meeting Rachel Maddox’s father. But if the man in front of her was a parent to the seventeen-year-old blonde on her volleyball team, Olivia would swallow her tongue.
She kind of already had.
“You’re Warren Maddox?”
“Actually, I’m Cash.” He ran a hand through dark hazelnut hair speckled with a few sun-kissed golden highlights. “Warren’s my father’s name. Technically I’m Warren C. Maddox, but everyone’s called me Cash since I was a kid. Warren is probably listed as my legal name on the parent list. Sorry about that.”
Olivia waited for some further explanation, but it didn’t come. Huh. Maybe he’d had Rachel at a very young age. Or something.
Was it really her business?
“So, what’s my sister done this time?”
“Your sister?”
He nodded. “Suppose you wouldn’t know the story, being new and all. Rachel is my younger sister by ten years. Our parents died in a car crash a few years ago and I was old enough to take legal guardianship of her.”
That made a lot more sense. Except...what a horrible story. “I’m so sorry.” Olivia straightened the stack of papers on her desk, floundering for more appropriate words to express her sympathies. She quickly discarded everything that popped into her mind.
Cash raised a hand. “You don’t have to stop talking to me now or analyze everything you say before you say it.”
She smiled as his mesmerizing hazel eyes turned playful, the color reminding her of leaves changing in the fall.
“I can’t believe you thought I was old enough to be Rachel’s father, Coach Grayson. Now that’s just offensive.”
“I didn’t think that.”
Her gaze traveled from his T-shirt that sported evidence of a hard day’s work, down to his dusty jeans and brown leather boots. The way his legs covered the distance between his chair and her desk, he must be over six foot. Which meant he was taller than her...not that that mattered in the least.
He skimmed a hand over strong cheekbones. “I apologize for my appearance, but I had to come in the middle of ranch work to meet with you.”
Had he noticed her perusal? Heat rushed to her cheeks. Dust might permeate the man’s appearance, but he definitely didn’t need to apologize. He looked far too attractive for his disheveled state.
“I’m sorry for pulling you away from work.” She glanced down at her clothes. “And I just came from practice, so I completely understand.” Olivia swiped her mouth to check for the presence of any chocolate left from her after-practice snack. With the way she was acting, she’d probably find a bit of drool, too.
“It’s not a problem, Coach Grayson. Rachel always comes first.”
“Call me Olivia, please.” If Rachel came first...did that mean Cash wasn’t married? He had to be around her age. “Was that your wife that I spoke to on the phone to schedule our meeting?”
An amused grin slid across his face, making Olivia’s stomach bounce like one of the volleyballs she’d put away after practice.
“I ask Laura Lee to marry me all the time, but she always says no. Probably because she’s already married to my foreman, Frank.” His eyes danced. “Laura Lee helps out at the house. She’s really more of an aunt or a mother than a housekeeper. She works a few hours a week cleaning and making meals. Freezes a bunch at a time so we have something to eat. If Rachel or I were in charge of meals, it would only be fast food or frozen pizzas.”
Olivia let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. Of relief? Did it really matter if he was married or not? She didn’t have plans to go anywhere near another man. Not after the mess she’d left behind in Colorado.