“I didn’t let it happen¸ Dad. I made it happen.”
“What?”
“She’s a horrible person and I couldn’t stomach dating her for one more day.”
“Hardy, it’s about more than losing your cool after a fight or finding someone else that temporarily strikes your fancy,” Wayne said, glancing quickly at Miracle and back. “She was part of your future. She was good for you, good for your career.”
“I’m not gonna date someone because they’re good for my career, Dad.”
“Well, you’d better think long and hard about that, son, because your entire future is riding on how you play this season. And you know as well as I do that Cheyenne was a big part of that.”
With a curt nod to Miracle, Wayne Bradford stormed off.
Hardy watched the door for a long time after his father disappeared before he found the courage to meet Miracle’s eyes. When he did, he didn’t see anger or hurt feelings; he saw pity.
“Sorry about that. My dad’s a little…um…fanatical about football.”
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. He obviously just wants what’s best for you.”
Hardy looked at Miracle, shaking his head. “How do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Manage to see the good in people. Even the ones who don’t deserve it.”
Miracle shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess because I look for it.” After a short pause, Miracle cocked her head to one side and considered Hardy. “I take it you don’t see much good in him.”
A bitter bark of laughter escaped before Hardy could stop it. “No, not too much.”
“What is it that you see?”
Hardy met Miracle’s hypnotic eyes and, before he knew it, he was spilling his guts.
“I see a man who didn’t get to live his dream and feels like he had to settle in life. I see a man who is determined to see his son live that dream, whether it’s his dream or not. I see a man who will put aside the desires of everyone in his life if he thinks he knows what’s best. I see a man who won’t stop until he gets what he wants, no matter who it hurts.”
When the bitter acid spewing from Hardy’s lips had come to an end, he sat back in his chair, stunned that he’d voiced so many of his private thoughts to a veritable stranger.
Miracle was still watching him, less with pity now and more with a quiet understanding. It felt to Hardy as though the doors of his soul had opened up to her, without his permission, letting her see everything that made him hate who he was, what he came from. He held his breath as he waited for the judgment to come.
But it didn’t. In her eyes, he saw only acceptance. And it was like a soothing balm to a life full of superficial people who wanted nothing more than to take from him—take and take and take.
Not Miracle, though. Looking at her, Hardy knew she wasn’t a taker. She was a giver. Despite all that she’d been through, it was plain to see when he looked into her eyes that she would give anything of herself to help someone else, even if that someone else was him.
“I think you’re too hard on yourself,” was all Miracle said before she cast her eyes down to the plate the waitress set down in front of her.
Just before Hardy took his first bite of food, he looked up to see Miracle grinning over the loaded nacho she held pinched between her fingertips. She licked her lips dramatically and pushed the whole chip into her mouth.
Hardy chuckled. “You’re pretty amazing, you know that?”
Since Miracle couldn’t talk around her mouthful of food, she giggled and put her two thumbs up, winking at Hardy as she chewed. Hardy was positive he’d never been more attracted to another person in his entire life.
********
On the drive back to the park after lunch, Hardy racked his brain trying to think of ways to prolong the day, to prolong his time with Miracle. He was out of film, out of reasons to stay at the park and out of ways to casually remain in her presence. The thought of asking her out terrified him, though. He didn’t want to give her reason or opportunity to reject him because then he’d have to back off. And Hardy didn’t want to back off. Not by a long shot.
By the time they arrived back at the park, back at Miracle’s car, Hardy was no closer to finding the perfect excuse not to let her go. Luckily for him (unfortunately for her), he no longer needed one.
It was obvious as they approached that something was wrong with the car. Miracle’s little blue Civic listed noticeably to one side. Both tires on the driver’s side were flat.
Although Hardy would never have wanted for something like this to be the reason he’d get to stay with Miracle a little longer, he couldn’t bring himself to be completely upset about it.
Until he saw Miracle’s face.
She was visibly devastated. He heard her gasp before she reached up to cover her mouth. Then he heard her muffled Omigod right before she buried her face in her hands.
“What is it?”
“My mom’s gonna kill me,” Miracle mumbled from behind her fingers. “How could this happen to both tires?”
Hardy’s mood quickly went from pleased to be able to spend more time with Miracle, to upset because she was upset, to fury over what had likely happened to her car.
Banging his fist on the steering wheel, Hardy let out a growl as he came to a screeching halt, slammed the gearshift into park and leapt out of the vehicle. He stomped over to Miracle’s car and bent to look first at the rear tire and then moved forward to the front one. There was a nail in both.
If the nails had been in the tread, he could almost see that it might’ve been an accident, something Miracle had run over. But these nails were more toward the rim, in a place where it would be virtually impossible to get an object lodged accidentally. And that meant it was purposeful.
Only one culprit that came to mind—Cheyenne.
Straightening, Hardy growled again, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. When he spun around, he nearly toppled Miracle who had come to stand behind him as he inspected the tires.
She jumped back to get out of his way, losing her footing in the loose gravel. Before she could fall, however, Hardy’s snake-like reflexes kicked in and he grabbed her. Wrapping his fingers around her upper arms, Hardy hauled Miracle forward until she was crushed against his chest with no fear of going backward. Her eyes were wide and her lips were parted as she looked up at him.
Instantly, the tires were forgotten.
All Hardy could see was Miracle. All Hardy could hear was the sound of her breath whispering through her lips. All Hardy could smell was the hint of lavender that wafted up from her hair. All Hardy could feel was her stomach pressed to his.