mention him.” She put her pizza slice down and wiped her mouth with her napkin. “You remember the guy he lost to at the nationals senior year?”
“Yeah, a kid from Baltimore, right?”
“You remember The Baltimore Bruiser.”
Mick's eyes went wide at the realization. “Bobby Breyer?”
“Yep. One and the same.” She took a drink of her local microbrew. “He was at the training facility today. He's the one who sent the oak tree kit.”
“No kidding?” She nodded. “Wow. It was, what, twelve years ago?”
“Almost. Feels like a lifetime, though. Then Harry had to mouth off about how Derek and I broke up.”
Mick took a sip of his own beer. “He's the vice-principal over at the high school now.”
“He didn’t say anything when we talked after the funeral.” Derek had been a natural leader in high school. When he told her he was going to major in secondary education, she wasn't at all surprised.
“Mrs. Mosley had her baby over Christmas break and decided not to come back, so the school board promoted him in January.”
“Is he still coaching the wrestling team?”
“Sure is. All those boys are top notch. Some of them would be naturals in the IWA.” Mick took a bite of his pizza before clearing his throat to speak. “He's single, too.”
“Dad. Derek and I were over a long time ago.”
“Right.” Mick wiped his face with his napkin. “I still don't quite understand why you gave up on him. He was good to you.”
“We weren’t meant to be, Dad.”
Her father stared at her long and hard. He always seemed to know what she was feeling or thinking with the exception of her relationship with Derek.
Mick gathered their plates and set them in the sink. He came over and kissed Emma on the forehead. “No one deserved what they did to you, but pushing everybody away didn't do you any favors, Princess. You're going to need to stop pushing one of these days.” After a light caress on the cheek, Mick left Emma to her thoughts.
That time in her life was one of the most difficult she'd ever experienced. High school had not been easy for Emma by any means. She was tall and rail thin until her junior year when she seemed to grow curves overnight. Her shy nature and nerdy pursuits made her easy pickings for the popular crowd. Especially queen bee, Maria DeFazio.
She felt a common thread form when she and Derek were paired on a chemistry project together their junior year. They became more as wrestling season came around and Harry helped out with the squad. Derek had always been friendly towards Emma, but never showed any romantic interest until one day after practice. She was caught off guard when he kissed her while she was waiting for Harry outside the wrestling room. He asked her out as soon as he broke the kiss and she nodded through the fog he created.
Emma and Derek had plenty of trouble from outside forces during high school, but they didn’t let any of it separate them. The end of their senior year, everything went to hell when both Emma and Derek were nominated for Prom King and Queen. Emma was called names, bullied, and even had her locker destroyed. When Derek won King and Maria won Queen, Derek refused to dance with Maria. A few days later, Emma was kidnapped, beaten, and violated with hardly a memory of the entire ordeal. Derek stood by her every step of the way, but with her fragile state, she didn’t think they would last.
When he returned home on break during her college years, they would hook up until he met Sarah Beth the fall of his senior year. Letting Derek go was one of the hardest things she ever had to do, but she eventually did. One thing her relationship with Derek taught her was to keep her private life private. Until the disaster with Patrick, she had succeeded with a few men. She wondered if she and Rob could be . . . something more.
Rob glanced at the clock every few minutes for over an hour, waiting for the moment to call. He felt as if he had walked across every
“Yeah, a kid from Baltimore, right?”
“You remember The Baltimore Bruiser.”
Mick's eyes went wide at the realization. “Bobby Breyer?”
“Yep. One and the same.” She took a drink of her local microbrew. “He was at the training facility today. He's the one who sent the oak tree kit.”
“No kidding?” She nodded. “Wow. It was, what, twelve years ago?”
“Almost. Feels like a lifetime, though. Then Harry had to mouth off about how Derek and I broke up.”
Mick took a sip of his own beer. “He's the vice-principal over at the high school now.”
“He didn’t say anything when we talked after the funeral.” Derek had been a natural leader in high school. When he told her he was going to major in secondary education, she wasn't at all surprised.
“Mrs. Mosley had her baby over Christmas break and decided not to come back, so the school board promoted him in January.”
“Is he still coaching the wrestling team?”
“Sure is. All those boys are top notch. Some of them would be naturals in the IWA.” Mick took a bite of his pizza before clearing his throat to speak. “He's single, too.”
“Dad. Derek and I were over a long time ago.”
“Right.” Mick wiped his face with his napkin. “I still don't quite understand why you gave up on him. He was good to you.”
“We weren’t meant to be, Dad.”
Her father stared at her long and hard. He always seemed to know what she was feeling or thinking with the exception of her relationship with Derek.
Mick gathered their plates and set them in the sink. He came over and kissed Emma on the forehead. “No one deserved what they did to you, but pushing everybody away didn't do you any favors, Princess. You're going to need to stop pushing one of these days.” After a light caress on the cheek, Mick left Emma to her thoughts.
That time in her life was one of the most difficult she'd ever experienced. High school had not been easy for Emma by any means. She was tall and rail thin until her junior year when she seemed to grow curves overnight. Her shy nature and nerdy pursuits made her easy pickings for the popular crowd. Especially queen bee, Maria DeFazio.
She felt a common thread form when she and Derek were paired on a chemistry project together their junior year. They became more as wrestling season came around and Harry helped out with the squad. Derek had always been friendly towards Emma, but never showed any romantic interest until one day after practice. She was caught off guard when he kissed her while she was waiting for Harry outside the wrestling room. He asked her out as soon as he broke the kiss and she nodded through the fog he created.
Emma and Derek had plenty of trouble from outside forces during high school, but they didn’t let any of it separate them. The end of their senior year, everything went to hell when both Emma and Derek were nominated for Prom King and Queen. Emma was called names, bullied, and even had her locker destroyed. When Derek won King and Maria won Queen, Derek refused to dance with Maria. A few days later, Emma was kidnapped, beaten, and violated with hardly a memory of the entire ordeal. Derek stood by her every step of the way, but with her fragile state, she didn’t think they would last.
When he returned home on break during her college years, they would hook up until he met Sarah Beth the fall of his senior year. Letting Derek go was one of the hardest things she ever had to do, but she eventually did. One thing her relationship with Derek taught her was to keep her private life private. Until the disaster with Patrick, she had succeeded with a few men. She wondered if she and Rob could be . . . something more.
Rob glanced at the clock every few minutes for over an hour, waiting for the moment to call. He felt as if he had walked across every
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