Read Wildflower (Colors #4) for Free Online

I’d ever been anything like some of the little shits I had to deal with on a daily basis.
    I finished my last set and racked the bar. Standing up, I wiped my damp forehead on the sleeve of my t-shirt. “Well,” I pressed, “did she seem to like the idea when you mentioned it?”
    By the way his eyes narrowed skeptically and his head tilted to the side—just like his damn sister’s used to always do when she thought she had one up on me—I knew I’d pushed too far. Damn it .
    His voice was heavy with exasperation when he spoke. “Dude, are you seriously trying to grill me for info on my sister?”
    Yes .
    “No,” I scoffed.
    One part of my brain said a h hell, be cool, Murphy, while the other shouted, Divert! Divert! I went with the second option.
    “And don’t call me dude . You talk to every adult with respect. You got me?”
    I breathed a minuscule sigh of relief when his expression shifted and he mumbled, “Yes, sir.”
    That was another thing kids seemed to do all the damn time. Fucking mumble . Shrugging and mumbling, that’s all anyone between the ages of thirteen and eighteen did anymore. How my players got any dates was beyond me.
    I knew I was probably stretching my luck thin, but I had to keep trying. No matter how pathetic it made me seem. “So, you think she’ll take the job?”
    Ethan eyed me carefully, like he was putting serious thought into his answer. “No offense, Coach, but it feels kinda messed up talking to you about my sister.”
    “What? Why?”
    “It’s just…” he trailed off and looked around the room, making sure we hadn’t drawn any attention as I stood with my hands planted on my hips. When he spoke again his voice was several octaves lower. “I mean, you guys use to be… married .” He drew that last word out like it tasted funny in his mouth. “I don’t know what happened between you guys, but I already told Harlow this morning I didn’t want to be put in the middle of it.
    I knew there was so much more that I should’ve taken from what he just said, but my brain was stalled out on one particular little nugget.
    “Wait… so, she was talking about me?” Yep, I officially sounded like a desperate douchebag.
    His eyebrows dipped and his forehead crinkled. “No. Not really.”
    My chest inflated as I grasped hold of that tiny glimmer of hope. “Well, which was it? No, or not really? Because those are two totally different answers.”
    Jesus Christ! Stop fucking talking, Murphy. You’re making a goddamned ass out of yourself.
    “This is getting weird,” Ethan replied, taking a hesitant step back. But I’d already lost any modicum of cool I’d had earlier. I figured, might as well go big or go home.
    “Do you think she’d talk to me if I like… ran into her or something? You know, just by coincidence?” To try and play off what sounded quite a bit like the rantings of a stalker, I added, “I mean, it’s a small town and I’m sure we’re bound to see each other. I don’t want to make her feel uncomfortable.”
    He shrugged again and I felt my eye twitch. “I guess so. She said she didn’t hate you, so maybe?”
    I let those words marinate in my mind for several seconds. She said she didn’t hate me.
    Hell yeah! I could work with that.
    “That’s good. That’s really good,” I spoke quietly, more to myself than to anyone else.
    While I was fist bumping the shit out of myself in my head I missed Ethan creeping back a few steps. “Look, Coach. I gotta…” he threw his thumb over his shoulder to the free weights.
    “Oh, yeah. Sure. Get back to it.”
    “Thanks.”
    He was only a few feet away when he stopped and looked over his shoulder. “You know, if you think you and Low-Low are gonna be cool with each other, why don’t you stop by for Thanksgiving?”
    Oh, God bless clueless, naïve, self-involved teenagers .
    I made a mental note to buy Ethan a kickass Christmas present. Like a car. There was no way in hell I was turning down that invite,