“Jason’s phone,” the computerized voice said, followed by a beep.
“Call Lindsay,” I responded.
“Calling Lindsay,” it replied and beeped again. As I waited for the call to connect, my mind wandered back to Jaxon. I wondered how his birthday had gone after I left the school that day. I wondered how his dad had died. And I wondered if getting involved was really something I wanted to do. He was a really sweet kid. But even sweet kids had parents and you never know what you’re going to get when the adults start getting involved.
“Well hello there, Mr. Fancy Football Man,” Lindsay teased as soon as the call connected. “This is a nice surprise.”
“Hey, girl,” I said with a smile. “How goes the wonderful world of recorder practice these days?”
“Ugh. Don’t remind me. I was just sitting here thinking about the joys of drinking heavily on the weekends, trying to get that noise out of my head.”
I laughed. “Hey now, you are molding young minds!”
“While slowly but surely losing my own in the process,” she said dryly. Her sarcasm was always one of the things I liked the most about her. “Oh! I meant to tell you, Sam wanted me to invite you over for dinner. He says a single guy like yourself deserves a home-cooked meal every once in a while.”
That was two dinner invites in one day. I felt like I had won the lottery of real food. “Well that was nice of him.”
“Maybe. Secretly, I think he just wants you to help him upgrade his season passes from the nosebleed section to on the field. But don’t tell him I let you in on his secret agenda.”
“Are you kidding?” I admonished, glancing over my shoulder to change lanes. “You only let that poor man sit in the nose bleed section?”
“It costs a ton of money to go to these games,” she said defensively. “Between parking, food and tickets, it can get pretty pricey. It’s a good thing you’re good at your job or I might have nixed the nose bleeds a long time ago!”
A laugh burst out of me again. “Well then I guess I’d better come to dinner so I can help that man get an upgrade. Can’t do it this week though. Maybe sometime next week.”
“That works,” she said. “Just let me know your schedule. I’m gonna have to go shopping to make sure I have enough food in the house to feed someone your size.”
“Don’t go out of your way. I’m a bachelor. I’m used to living off string cheese and hot dogs.”
She laughed. “I will make sure to stay away from dairy and processed pork products that night. Show you what a real meal looks like. Maybe encourage you to stop sowing those oats.”
I groaned. “Are we back to this again?”
“I just worry about you,” she sighed. “I know you’re perfectly content. I’m just looking forward to watching the Jason Hart finally fall head over heels for someone.”
“Don’t hold your breath, Lin,” I said. “I am not stupid. I have a very limited amount of time in this line of work. My focus is on football. Once I retire, I’ll still be young and virile.”
“Ew,” Lindsay said. “I don’t need to know anything about your virility. It makes me gag.”
I died laughing. “You started it!”
“That I did,” she sighed. “So is this a professional call? Or did you just call for a friendly chat?”
“Actually,” I hesitated just briefly. “I wanted to ask you about Jaxon.”
“Jaxon Bryant?” she asked. “From the pep rally?”
“Yeah. That Jaxon.”
“What about him?”
“What can you tell me about him?”
Lindsay paused. “I think Jaxon already told you most of it himself. Just turned seven. Lives with his single mom now that his dad has died. What else are you wanting to know?”
“How long ago did his dad die?”
“Um . . . I guess about six months ago. Right around Valentine’s Day. Car accident on his way to work.”
“Oh.”
“Why are you asking about him, anyway?”
“Well, he’s been on my mind a lot lately.”
“How so?”
“I don’t know how to explain it,” I said, rubbing the top of my head. “I just can’t stop wondering what I can do to help him. I’ve been right where he’s at, but I had a fantastic uncle that just stepped right in when my dad died. I just . . . I know Jaxon said he had a Pee-paw, but does he get to see him a lot?”
“I don’t really know,” she said. “Jaxon’s mom has been kind of tight-lipped about the whole thing. She wasn’t terribly forthcoming with personal information to begin with. But she kind of closed up a little after the accident.”