Rookie Love Read online

  Sad, but oh so very true…

  Chapter Two

  Jase

  I’m sitting beside my lawyer in the Courthouse. The judge was just presented with my case and the prosecutors recommended community service instead of serving any time as it was my first infraction.

  I’m holding my breath as I wait for his decision.

  Finally, he sets his papers on his bench and pushes his glasses back up his nose as he looks over at me. “Mr. Stevens, I’ve looked over the case and while I do not condone driving under the influence, I understand that this was your first infraction. You seem genuinely remorseful for the decision and I know what is at stake for you.

  “I’m inclined to believe you when you say that you will not drink and drive again. For that reason, I’m sentencing you to two hundred and forty hours of community service. Where you serve it will be up to you, but you are required to give your service location to the court and we will follow up with it. You will have three months to complete your hours. This will also not be on your permanent record. I trust that you’ll use better judgement in the future.”

  Holy shit… my major league chances are not screwed. I can do community service. That’s easy. I can mentor or work at the food bank or shelter… That seems like a lot of hours, but I’ll make it work with my schedule. I’m not serving time and I won’t have an arrest record.

  Thank you, Jesus.

  I nod and we leave as the judge calls for his next case. When we’re in the hall, Ned, my lawyer exhales. “Damn, that’s good news. No jail time. No record.” He clasps my shoulder. “I’m calling this a win, Jase.”

  I nod and breathe deeply a few times. “Yeah, that’s great. I knew better than to drive, but I really thought I was ok. Community service… I can do that. So, do you know any place where I can call to set that up? How does one go about that?”

  Ned chuckles and nods. “I do. You can volunteer at the shelters, the Baton Rouge Food Bank, some of the kids programs, or at one of the animal shelters in town.”

  Animal shelters? I love animals. I haven’t been able to get a dog like I’ve wanted, because I’m away from home so much and I don’t want to adopt a pet and then neglect it, but this way, I can spend time with animals and also do my community service.

  Yeah, a shelter sounds perfect.

  “Do you know the names of any animal shelters right off hand?” I ask.

  Ned looks at me for a bit and then he smirks. “I do. My grandma actually founded Love & Paws. My little cousin runs it now. It’s a non-profit, no kill, animal center. Have you heard of it?”

  Love & Paws… that sounds familiar. I think Micah and Bradi got their pets from there. And Ned knows them. That sounds like the perfect place.

  I ask, “Great. That sounds perfect, so can you give me the number? I’ll call them as soon as I get home and try to set something up with them.”

  Ned laughs again and says, “I’ll do you one better. Give me a sec.” He takes out his cell and scrolls before tapping a contact. His finger is pointing at me in the age old symbol that means. “Just a second.” Then, he says, “Hey, Maw Maw. I’m good. Just leaving court actually… Kids are good… Yeah, we’ll come by this weekend… your chicken stew sounds perfect. We’ll bring dessert… Hey, the reason I’m calling… one of my clients, a baseball player, really good guy… he needs to do community service… No, nothing dangerous. He drank a few beers and then drove home. No, barely over the limit…Like I said, a really good guy… Yes. He wants to do his hours at the center. Would that be ok?”

  He grunts a few times and then laughs before saying, “…yes, ma’am. Perfect. I’ll tell him. See you, Sunday. Love you.” He ends the call and looks at me.

  “You’re in. Just show up when you want to start and they’ll keep track of it. Maw Maw has given her approval. She’s going to tell my cousin, Cally, so you’re all set.”

  Shaking his hand, I roll back on my heels. “Thank you. I appreciate it. I have practice in the morning and then nothing in the afternoon, so I’ll head over there then. I can probably do four to five hours tomorrow. I appreciate all you’ve done, man. Really. Thank you.”

  He nods and walks me to my car. As we get there, he says, “I’ll text you the center’s address.”

  Nodding, I thank him once more and head home full of relief that my dreams aren’t shattered and even a little excited. Maybe I’ll get to play with a dog or something.

  Cally

  I’m sitting across the dinner table from Maw Maw and blinking at her. I can’t believe I’m hearing this right.

  She wants me to allow a man, a baseball player, who was arrested for driving after drinking, to come to my center and help me out?! She wants me to trust this man with my animals?!

  Finally, I shake my head. “No. No, absolutely not! He can go do his community service somewhere else! That’s insane, Maw Maw!” I take a deep breath to try to calm my fiery temper from exploding on her. She’s my grandma and I love her. I respect her and her choices, but not this one! This is preposterous!

  “No. He cannot do his hours at the center. Do you even know if he can be trusted around animals?!”

  Maw Maw levels her still clear brown eyes on me as she sets her water goblet down. “Yes, Cally, he will be doing his hours at the center. Ned called me today and explained it all. Ned trusts Jase and says he’s a good man. He wouldn’t lie to me.”

  I snap. “He’s a lawyer, Maw Maw. He’ll say whatever he has to.”

  Her eyes harden on me and I’m instantly chastised. “You will not disrespect your cousin like that, Cally Marie Cooper. Yes, he is a lawyer, however I’ve never known him to care more about money or winning than people. You are out of line, young lady.”

  I feel like I’m seven years old. She’s right. Ned is a good man and that comment was uncalled for. I’m just shocked. I can’t believe that she’s just telling me that this man is coming to my center and I had absolutely no say in it. It kind of feels like she’s taking away some of my responsibility and I work my ass off at Love & Paws.

  I frown, but nod at her. “I know. I’m just upset. You know how I get about the center, but I shouldn’t have said that about Ned. It was rude and uncalled for. I just don’t like the idea of this man coming in…”

  Maw Maw nods and I swear I see her smirk as she says. “Yes, well… he’ll be there within the next few days and you are to be civil to him.” My jaw drops open and I stare at her incredulously, but she keeps going before I can say a word. “No, I know you. And I know that temper you have. You have a tendency to brush people, off and be extremely brusque with those you dislike.

  “Besides, Petunia. How do you even know you’ll dislike him?! You don’t even know him. He might be a real gentleman…” Her brow arches and she actually does smirk at me as she says, “He’s very attractive. I Googled him earlier.”

  My jaw is hanging so low now, I can feel it brushing the top of my cleavage as I blink at her over and over. Then, I sputter, “Oh my God… I don’t care if he’s attractive! Are you serious?! He was arrested for drinking and driving, Maw Maw! As if I’d even…” Laying my head back, I stare at the ceiling and breathe deeply as I mutter, “Dear lord, she’s gone and done it… she’s lost her damn mind.”

  She chuckles again and my head lifts to look at her. She’s smiling at me. “Oh, I’m still perfectly sane, Petunia. Just you wait… you’ll see. He’s very attractive. Very built and sexy.”

  I can’t help it. I snap at her. “Ok, so he’s attractive. So what? I have seen attractive men before, you know?! Hell, half of the veterinary students are sexy and one of the vets is gorgeous. I handle myself perfectly well around them. I’m not some sex starved woman, Maw Maw.

  “Good lord, you’re acting like you want me to jump on him and have his babies or something. Newsflash… YOU don’t know him either.

  “He could be a psycho… maybe he sacrifices chickens under the full moon while he dances naked!”

  A laugh bursts from her che
st. “Well, that would be quite a picture.”

  I can’t even talk to her right now. What is WRONG with her?

  I could be right. He COULD be a psycho and she’s over here laughing at me and picturing him naked dancing in the moonlight, holding severed chicken heads!

  I’m over this. I might have no choice about letting him work at the center, but that doesn’t mean that I need to be around him at all… ever.

  I’ll just make him clean up the dog shit and help the vets and students with the exams. If he’s so sexy and built or whatever, then he can use the muscle to carry food bags and help with the large animals!

  Yes, no need at all for him to be near me.

  I’ll continue to run my center and do it awesomely… and he can just pick up dog shit.

  Ha, she never said that I had to have him work with me… just that I had to allow him to WORK his hours.

  After helping her clear the table and giving the plates to the housekeeper to finish up, I head back to my house. It’s a nice sized cottage on the corner of the property. Maw Maw and Paw Paw gave it to my parents as a wedding gift, but after they had me, they built a larger house on another acre of the land. When I was eighteen and wanted some freedom, they gave it to me.

  I’ve showered and laid out my jeans and light t-shirt for tomorrow and am now lying in bed just tossing and turning as sleep is determined to elude me tonight.

  Jase Stevens…

  I cannot believe some faceless man, some local celebrity, is about to come to my center. I seriously cannot believe that Maw Maw was so cool with having him work his community hours off there.

  She seems smitten after seeing his photo.

  What the hell is that about?! So, he’s attractive… so what? It’s not like she’s never seen a good looking man before either, so what gives?

  What’s the big deal about this dude?

  He was ARRESTED for driving after drinking. Only, she seems to be oblivious to that fact.

  I’m sure it’s not the first time… probably just the only time he’s been caught.

  Men like him have no respect for rules anyway.

  They think they’re the elite and that the rules don’t apply to them.

  Stevens… His last name should be Clinton with that bullshit.

  Ugh… turn off brain… I need sleep!

  Well… since I can’t sleep anyway, why not just take a peek at him?! I mean, I need to recognize him when he walks into the center.

  That’s the ONLY reason I’m curious…

  Grabbing my phone, I open Safari and type Jase Stevens Louisiana Baseball into the search bar. Within seconds, a bunch of articles pop up.

  Holy shit… 225,986 results?!

  Seriously?

  I thought this dude was local… not Derek Jeter!

  Bypassing the articles, I click the Images tab and as photos fill my screen, my mouth drops open.

  Oh my…

  Yes, ok, so he’s attractive. Like REALLY attractive.

  Damn.

  Ok, Maw Maw isn’t THAT crazy… but so what?

  He’s really good looking. Like REALLY good looking, but he still got arrested for driving drunk.

  I don’t care if he’s good looking. He probably thinks that fact alone means he gets special privileges.

  Not with me, dude.

  Not with me.

  Nope… I don’t care that you’re attractive.

  Though you do really resemble Paul Walker…

  UGH…

  Chapter Three

  Jase

  I check the address against my GPS one more time before I turn onto the long road that appears to lead to some personal property.

  Am I in the right place?

  This is the address that Ned texted me, so I think I’m going to the right place.

  Lord, I hope so. That would be embarrassing if I rolled up on someone’s house.

  As I turn onto the paved blacktop, my eyes see the sign placed on the right. “Love & Paws Animal Rescue Center ½ mile ahead on right.”

  I guess I am in the right place. As I drive the rest of the half mile, I look around me. The ground is lush and thick with grass. There are tons of huge and certainly very old trees. A nice, white washed, picket style fence is bordering the road and it looks like it’s about five feet high. It extends for as far as I can see.

  Up on the right, I see an opening in the fence and another sign with a logo of a dog and cat sitting together. It’s says, “Love & Paws Animal Rescue Center: Where humans and fur babies unite.”

  It’s cute. There’s a nice parking lot that sits in front of a white building that looks like a plantation house, just smaller. I can see a few more welcoming white buildings behind it and dispersed on the large lot.

  Damn!

  This place is huge! I had no idea it even existed. How did I not know this was here before now?

  I whistle as I park and open the door to slide out of my Charger and mutter, “Damn, this is like the Ritz Carlton of shelters.” Tossing my keys from hand to hand, I cover the cobblestone walkway to the front door of the main building.

  The coolness of the interior greets me as I pull it open in and step in. It’s loud in here. Dogs and cats can be heard barking and meowing, but none seem to be in distress. A very pretty teenage girl is sitting at the large desk in the center back of the room. She looks up as the door closes behind me and I can see her cheeks pinken.

  Shit. This always happens.

  Smiling back at her, I cross the room and lean on the counter, still playing with my keys. “Hi. I’m Jase. I’m supposed to help out around here for a while. Can you tell me who I need to see?”

  She blinks up at me and her cheeks get even redder before she shakes her head so her long dark hair covers her face. Then, she mumbles. “Oh… Right. Um, sure. Hi, Jase. I’m… Evie… Yeah, um, let me get Cally for you. She’s in charge.” She hops up and races from the room. I watch her disappear down a short hall and then I hear her animated voice as it wafts back to me.

  “Oh my God… Cally. That man is here. And he’s so hot! Like so, so hot.”

  I grin as I listen unabashedly. I can’t hear the person she’s talking to, this Cally, but I hear the teenager’s response to whatever she said. “What? No, I didn’t! There’s no need to be a witch… He’s hot! Like HOT! You’ll see… Don’t be pissy with me. I didn’t make Maw Maw let him come here. But I’m sure glad he is. Damn… he’s fine!”

  I hear a chair scrape back and wince, then the teenager is laughing as she calls out to Cally. “You’ll see… he’s so sexy. Break me off a piece of…” she walks into the room and sees me staring at the hallway. Her face flames and she screeches. “Oh my God… you heard me?!”

  I nod and smirk. “I did. Sorry. I wasn’t eavesdropping, but it traveled up here.” Shrugging, I try to reassure her that it’s ok as she blanches and grips the desk top. “Hey, it’s ok.” I wink at her. “And thank you. That is quite a compliment.”

  She blushes again and mumbles, “Oh my God… I’m going to die. Like straight up die…” and she sprints through another door.

  I’m left alone in the wide open lobby so I decide to look around. There are canvases all over the walls of different animals and a huge board that almost covers an entire wall with photos and cards on it. Most are of people and animals. The top of the board says, “Sometimes the rescuer is really the rescuee.”

  Aw, that’s awesome. I walk over to it and start to peruse the photos. There are a lot of them.

  A cough comes from behind me and I turn. A very pretty young woman is standing there in tight jeans and a purple fitted t-shirt. Her feet have purple Converse sneakers on them.

  As my eyes raise from her feet back to her face, I can see just how pretty she really is. She’s not too tall, probably around five foot five or so and pretty petite. Her skin is smooth and creamy and she doesn’t appear to be wearing very much makeup. Her hair is a long and thick dark brown and tucked behind her ears where a pencil is sticki
ng out from behind her right ear. Her lips are full and pink and her eyes appear to be hazelish, though right now, I can’t really concentrate on them because she’s glaring at me like she hates me.

  What the hell?

  Placing my hands in my back pockets, I roll on my heels and smile at her. She does not smile back.

  Well, ok then.

  Trying again, I say, “Hi. I’m Jase. You must be Cally. I’m here to help out. So, you just direct me where you want me.”

  Her lips pinch and her eyes flash before she sneers. “No, you’re here to serve your community hours, not because you want to ‘help out’. And I don’t want you here, so if it was up to me, I’d direct you back to the parking lot so you could leave.”

  What in the hell? This chick like HATES me. She doesn’t even know me. At least, I don’t think she does.

  Do I know her? And if not, why the hell is she looking at me like the sight of me makes her ill?!

  Cally

  Oh my God, Maw Maw would kill me if she knew how rude I was being.

  Why AM I being so damn rude?

  I mean, I know I’m annoyed with the whole thing, but all he said was his name and he was here to help.

  What is wrong with me?

  Maybe it’s the fact that Evie just went googly-eyed for him two seconds after meeting him and then I walked out and the first thing I saw was his extremely nice ass in those khaki shorts as he looked at the board.

  Then, he turned around and dear lord… his face… he’s hot.

  Evie was so right.

  But, I don’t want to see that he’s hot. I don’t want him here.

  He’s staring at me in shock. Finally, he rubs the back of his neck and says, “Um, do I know you?”

  I shake my head and laugh. “No, not hardly.”

  He frowns and asks, “Ok, so if we don’t know each other, then can you tell me why the air in here is like Antarctica and not July in Louisiana?! I’m a bit confused at your obvious hatred of me.”

  Wait, what? No, he can’t be all asking me what my problem is.