A HERO’S CHANCE

  BAYTOWN HEROES

  MARYANN JORDAN

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Also by the Author

  About the Author

  A Hero’s Chance (Baytown Heroes) Copyright 2022

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.

  If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, then you are reading an illegal pirated copy. If you would be concerned about working for no pay, then please respect the author’s work! Make sure that you are only reading a copy that has been officially released by the author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Cover design by Graphics by Stacy

  ISBN ebook: 978-1-956558-05-7

  ISBN print: 978-1-956588-06-4

  Created with Vellum

  1

  “Trevor! Are you out of the shower?” Ryan Coates lifted his hand and banged on the door.

  “Yeah, Dad!” The shout came just as the water turned off.

  “Downstairs in five.”

  “I’ll be there. I’ll be there. I can just grab a muffin!”

  Ryan sighed and shook his head. “Not good enough. Five minutes, Trevor.” Turning, he walked past Trevor’s open bedroom door and glanced inside despite telling himself not to. The room was clean, but multiple shirts lay on the bed, a few on the floor, and at a glance, he could see at least two pairs of jeans tossed about, as well. When did he start worrying about what he looked like in the morning? Heading down the stairs, he was able to hear his almost-fifteen-year-old son still grumbling behind the bathroom door.

  At the bottom of the stairs, he curved to the left and walked down the hall to the open kitchen. Whoever owned the house before him had knocked down a few walls to create a combined kitchen and dining room, divided only by a kitchen island.

  At the time he’d been looking for a house, he was more concerned with the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the size of the yard, and ultimately, the price tag. For the most part, he’d lucked out. It was a small house with only three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a powder room, and a comfortable family room. There was no formal living room, which was fine with him. One less room to furnish and clean. It did have a small extra room downstairs that he’d turned into an office with a foldout bed. With family close by, he’d never needed to use it as a guest room, but considering he hadn’t got rid of the old sofa-bed when he’d moved into the house, it was shoved into the corner.

  Of course, none of the furniture in the house was very new. He made sure the kids’ rooms were furnished the way they wanted, the family room was comfortable, and the dining room table large enough for any friends the kids wanted to have over. As far as his bedroom, the furniture was cheap, but he’d splurged on his mattress. After eight years in the military and eleven years working in law enforcement, his back needed a good mattress.

  The kitchen door led to a deck and generous backyard that was fully fenced. There was even a two-car garage. Not that he had two cars. But it wouldn’t be long before Trevor would need something. Christ… more money, and the insurance will take a dent out of our finances!

  Entering the kitchen, his gaze landed on Cindy, already dressed, hair pulled back in a ponytail, backpack sitting next to the back door, and a bowl of cereal and glass of orange juice on the counter in front of her. Another bowl of cereal and a glass of juice was on the counter next to hers.

  Her gaze lifted from the book her nose was buried in, landed on him, then shot over to the clock hanging on the wall. “He’s going to be late.”

  Walking over to the coffee pot, he poured his first cup of the day, smiling at the sweetener and low-fat creamer sitting next to his mug. Twisting his head, he lifted a brow. “Taking care of your old man?”

  “You’re not old, Dad,” Cindy said, her lips curving upward softly. “But you’re old enough you should take care of yourself.” Glancing at the clock again, she repeated, “And he’s still going to be late.”

  The sound of heavy footsteps clomping down the stairs met their ears, and it only took a couple of seconds for Trevor to appear. “I’m here! I’m here!” he called out as he skidded to a stop right next to Cindy, in front of the extra bowl of cereal and juice she’d set out. “Thanks, Cin!” Pouring the milk, he began wolfing it down. In between bites, he said, “And I agree, Dad. You’re not old. One of the senior cheerleaders called you a silver fox. She said her mom said you were a real hottie in high school and that you only get better with age.”

  Nearly spitting out his coffee, Ryan sputtered, “What the… you’ve gotta be kidding me!”

  “It’s true, Dad,” Cindy nodded, her face blushing bright red.

  Barely taking a break to swallow, Trevor continued, “I figure that works for me. I’ve already got junior cheerleaders looking at me, and I’m only a freshman. Everyone says I look like you, so if I’ve got your genes, then I’ll keep being a hottie, too.”

  “If you’ve got Dad’s genes, then you’ll go gray early, also,” Cindy said matter-of-factly.

  Trevor set his bowl down, looked at his dad, cocked his head to the side, then shrugged. “It works for Dad. It’ll work for me. I can keep being a hottie, and the girls will love it.”

  Cindy rolled her eyes, a long-suffering expression on her face. Shifting her gaze over to her dad, she said, “You need to eat, too.”

  “I’ll be fine with coffee for now—”

  She opened her mouth to speak, but Trevor and Ryan said in unison, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”

  She lowered her brow and pursed her lips. “Well, it is!”

  Seeing his daughter blink her eyes rapidly as though ready to cry, Ryan moved to the counter, bent deeply, and reached his arms out, placing them on hers. Her gaze lifted, and he stared deeply into the beautiful face of his thirteen-year-old daughter. She had always been pretty but now had definitely moved out of the awkward child stage and entered the already-beautiful-and-going-to-get-more-beautiful stage. Swallowing deeply, he wasn’t sure how he was going to be handling her getting prettier. “Thanks, baby. Believe me, I appreciate you making sure Trevor and I eat breakfast.” Her lips curved upward again, her smile warming his heart and starting his day the right way.

  Trevor finished his cereal, lifted his bowl, and slurped loudly, draining the last of the milk. “Yeah, thanks, Cin!” Walking over, he rinsed out his bowl before putting it into the dishwasher.

  Cindy and Ryan shared a look, his daughter obviously surprised that her brother remembered to take care of his dishes. She smiled and glanced at the clock again, jumping up to take care of hers, as well.

  “Bus will be here in a couple of minutes. I just have to brush my teeth,” she called out as she hurried out of the room.

  Trevor’s brow lowered, his expression blaring that he’d forgotten about brushing his teeth. “Shit—shoot!”

  Watching him rush after his sister, Ryan called out, “Language, Trev!”

  “Sorry, Dad!”

  He leaned his hip against the counter, glad for the momentary reprieve before the sound of shoes on the stairs met his ears again. “Make sure you get everything. I’ll be on patrol this morning and won’t be able to get back to the house to get something if you forget it.”

  “My backpack is ready,” Cindy replied, not surprisingly. Looking over her shoulder, she called out, “Trevor, your algebra book was on the sofa.” As usual, her voice was gentle as she looked out for her brother.

  “Oh, right! Thanks!” Trevor raced out of the room and back again, shoving the well-worn book into his backpack. Pulling out a sheaf of papers, he tossed them onto the counter. “Forms for baseball, Dad. One of them is a sports physical.”

  “No problem,” he replied automatically, glancing at the calendar on the refrigerator, wondering when they’d have a chance to add that to the list of activities. He walked around the counter and accepted a hug from Cindy, kissing the top of her head. “Have a good day, sweetheart. Don’t forget that your mom is picking you up from school, and she’ll bring you back after taking you out to eat.”

  Cindy offered a quick nod, her eyes downcast, not meeting his. He opened his mouth to say something, then changed his mind. Pressing his lips to her hair once again, he muttered, “Love you.” He felt her nod against his lips, and he straightened, allowing
her to slide off the stool.

  Trevor remained quiet, but they fist-bumped, their new thing since his son declared he was too old for hugs unless they came from the cheerleaders. He held open the door and watched as the school bus picked them both up. He trusted Trevor to keep an eye on his sister, knowing the bus would drop her off at the middle school first and then take him to the high school close by.

  Just like when Ryan had gone to those schools, Baytown Middle and Baytown High were on opposite sides of the football stadium, close enough to be convenient but separate enough that the two groups didn’t mingle except on the bus. And considering how pretty his eighth-grade daughter was, having Trevor around would keep the punks away. Working in law enforcement and with the youth leagues of the American Legion, he knew there were lots of good kids, but he also knew there were a few that weren’t. And the last thing he wanted sniffing around his daughter were the punks.

  Finishing his cup, he poured fresh coffee into his travel mug and made his way around the house, assuring the doors were locked. As he walked to his SUV, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Pulling it out, he glanced at the caller ID. With a heavy sigh, he climbed into his vehicle, hitting the connect button. “Leslie, if you’re calling for any other reason other than to confirm that you’re picking the kids up after school to take them to dinner, I don’t want to hear it.” The silence on the other end of the phone confirmed his suspicions. “Goddammit, Leslie, did you forget? Again? Why the hell should I even be surprised?”

  “I’m sorry, Ryan,” Leslie said with neither rancor nor contrition in her voice. He sometimes wondered if she ever felt either emotion. “It’s not that I forgot… I just didn’t realize it was Thursday.”

  He closed his eyes, focused on taking a deep breath slowly, and tried counting to ten. He’d only made it to six when his lost patience spilled out. “How the fuck did you forget that this is your day with your kids?”

  “I have a lot on my mind—”

  “Yeah, I’m sure you do. And first and foremost should be your kids.”

  “I’ll get them. I’ll get them. I’ll take them to the diner, and we’ll have dinner before I bring them home.”

  He knew she would but had no idea what mood the kids would be in by the time they got back. He’d long since given up trying to convince them they’d have a good time with their mom or convince her to be a better mom. Sighing, he started his SUV and backed out of his driveway, the call now connected through his vehicle. “So, what was it you called about so early this morning?”

  “I wanted to let you know that I’m getting a new job.”

  He was surprised but not overly optimistic. She’d had several jobs since their divorce, the last one being the best with good pay and benefits, working as a records clerk for one of the medical groups near the hospital. But when she’d been caught gossiping about patients, they’d let her go. Before that, she’d worked filing for an accountant, but asking for too many days off cost her that job, as well. And before that, she’d worked in a jewelry store, losing that job when she got into an argument with a customer over a piece of jewelry that she’d wanted to purchase herself even though she had no money to do so. Before that, he’d taken care of her.

  “Really? What makes you think this one will be any better?”

  She huffed loudly. “The least you could do is be supportive, Ryan.”

  It was on the tip of his tongue to say that he’d been supportive of her since they were in high school, certainly since they’d got married after he joined the Navy and discovered she was pregnant. If he wasn’t driving, he’d have closed his eyes again. Instead, he decided the easiest way to get the conversation over with was to play along. “Okay, Leslie. What do you want to tell me about the new job?”

  “I’m going to be working for Sophie Ward at her interior design business—”

  “Oh, hell no! There’s no way you’re going to work for Sophie!”

  “Ryan, what is your problem? You know things are hard on me. Since you have full custody, I don’t get a lot—”

  Losing his hold on his temper, he growled, “Don’t go there, Leslie. Don’t even fucking go there. Me having full custody of the kids because that’s what’s best for them should bother you for a lot of reasons about what kind of mom you weren’t, not about what money you don’t get to squeeze out of me. We sold the home, and you got half that money even though I’d always paid the mortgage. You got your car even though I’d paid for that, too. You got half of the furniture, enough to get set up in your condo—”

  “I know, and I’m sorry. You were more than generous with the divorce, and I didn’t mean what I said to come out the way it did. I just don’t understand why you’re not happy that I’m getting a new job. I thought you’d be glad because that’ll make me more independent.”

  By that time, he was in Baytown proper, passing by the small downtown area, heading toward the harbor. Parking outside the Virginia Marine Police building close to the small Baytown Coast Guard station, he cut off his engine but made no move to climb from his vehicle. “Because Sophie is a sweet woman, and I don’t want your bullshit to manipulate her. She’s also married to one of my officers and friend, and I don’t want your bullshit to interfere with my workplace relationships, either.”

  Silence filled the air space before she finally spoke. “I know my track record isn’t good, Ryan. Believe me, I’m well aware of my faults. But I’m trying to learn from my past mistakes. Sophie was very clear, especially since I was upfront with her about my other employment efforts. I know that I can’t talk about our clients to anyone else. I know that I’m handling records only. And you’re right, she’s very sweet for offering me this chance. Plus, Ryan, I think this is something I could be really interested in.”

  “Leslie, I hope like hell you find a job that works for you. But Sophie runs a high-end interior decorating business. With your track record, you’ll fall in love with every expensive piece of furniture and decide that’s what you want in your house. You will spend money that you don’t have, and then come to me wanting more than we agreed upon or telling me you can’t afford to get the kids anything for their birthdays because you don’t have any money.”

  This time, instead of silence, he heard a long sigh. “I know, and you’re right. I really want to make this work.”

  “I do, too. Well, if that’s all, I’ve got to get into work. Don’t forget to pick the kids up after school.”

  “Thanks, Ryan. I won’t forget.”

  Disconnecting, he looked out over the harbor while still sitting in his SUV, drawing upon the calming, familiar view. Some of his first memories growing up on the Eastern Shore of Virginia just outside of Baytown were going fishing on his grandfather’s boat. He’d loved the water. When his dad had taken over the fishing business, Ryan had spent many weekends out on the Chesapeake Bay.

  A lot of years had passed since those days. The Navy, marriage, fatherhood, working for the VMP. Now, throwing in divorce, single parenthood, being the captain of this station, plus coaching for the American Legion, life had become filled with no time left over to worry about what his ex-wife was doing—or forgetting to do.

  Sucking in a deep breath, he let it out slowly before heading into the building. Time to go to work.

  2

  Ryan finished the morning briefing, then lifted his head to look over to his officers. “Any questions?” Everyone shook their heads, so he jerked his to the side and said, “Next week’s assignments are on the board.”

  As everyone stood, he caught Callan’s eye and waved him over. Waiting until everyone else had left the room, he said, “I want you to know I didn’t have anything to do with this, but I feel like I need to apologize anyway.”