DISCLAIMER: I only own the character of
Coach Jones. He’s enough for me to handle!
AUTHOR: Kristine
RATING: PG.
SUMMARY: How does Jamie feel when
another man makes a bid for his Mother?
FEEDBACK: Is encouraged.
TIMELINE: 6-8 months after series
end, Jamie has gotten to like Lee.
NOTES: Thank you to all my
tireless Betas, you worked above and beyond the call!
Special thanks also
to Miriam, in any POV she wants to take it . . .
ARCHIVE: Yes, but please ask my permission
first.
ABOUT
COACH JONES
Lee yawned
wearily as he eased the Corvette into its familiar "visitor" spot in
front of Amanda’s house. After a week away, doing a stakeout alone, he was
eager to spend some time with his wife and family, even though the family part
was a secret to most people.
The sound of
running feet drew his attention to the driveway, where he found his oldest
stepson enthusiastically slam-dunking his way into a sweat.
"Hey,
Phillip, how ‘bout a time out?" Lee chuckled as he saw the boy all but
collapse into a heap.
"Sure, Lee,
I could go for a drink. Want one?"
"Yeah,"
Lee replied, as he followed Phillip into the kitchen. "Where is
everyone?" He glanced toward the family room and the stairway, puzzled at the
quiet of the normally busy household.
"Grandma’s
at a flying lesson, and Mom and Jamie are at school, at a parent-teacher
meeting with Coach Jones."
"Oh,
okay." Lee suddenly wished he’d called ahead.
"They should
be back soon, well, Mom and Jamie anyway. I can’t see her wanting to make it
last any longer than necessary, you know?" Phillip laughed to himself.
"Is there a
problem with Coach Jones?" Lee raised an eyebrow, wondering what Phillip
found so amusing.
"Ahh, well .
. . " said Phillip, looking everywhere but at his stepfather.
"Go on,
Phillip."
"Coach Jones
thinks he’s kind of a ladies’ man. Sometimes he tries to flirt with some of the
moms."
"Flirt?"
Lee ground out through clenched teeth.
"It’s not
like he’s trouble or anything, more like a pain," Phillip scuffed the toe
of his sneaker on the floor and averted his eyes again, obviously wishing he’d
kept his mouth shut. "This morning Jamie and I were talking about how
gross he is."
"I think I
might try and catch them at school. You know, offer some moral support."
Lee hurried out
to the Corvette so quickly that he barely caught Phillip’s goodbye.
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‘Now what?’ Lee tapped his fingers
on the steering wheel and glared out the car window at the middle school. He
couldn’t very well go in and terrorize this Coach Jones, as much as the idea
appealed to him.
He trusted
Amanda, of course, but he had an overwhelming urge to knock this guy’s teeth
in. Remembering something useful, he began fumbling around in the back of the
car. He knew it was here somewhere . . .
Finally! He
grabbed the small metal dish and began snapping the pieces together.
The
innocuous-looking gadget was a new toy, courtesy of Leatherneck. If pointed in
just the right spot, and with a little luck, conversations could be heard from
a relatively safe distance. Lee had intended to show it to Amanda privately,
but maybe this was a way to both test it out and find out about ‘Good Ol’ Coach
Jones.’
Lee stepped from
the car and warily circled the school, close enough to see into the windows but
far enough away to be hidden in the darkness. When he caught sight of Amanda
inside, he stopped, pointed the device in her direction, and put on the
headphones. He wasn’t really spying on his wife, he figured wryly, especially
if she didn’t find out.
"Oh, Coach
Jones, that’s my work beeper. I have to take this. Do you mind?"
A male voice
suddenly boomed, sounding smarmy and sleazy at the same time. "You just go
right ahead, Amanda. There’s a phone in the office down the hall. We’ll be
fine, and please, call me Brian."
Lee heard the
sound of a door being closed, and then Jamie’s voice filled his ears.
"Coach
Jones?" Jamie King’s voice brought the Coach back to reality and away from
the nicely retreating form of Amanda King.
"Yeah,
Jamie?" he sighed.
"Can I ask
your opinion on something?"
"Sure,
shoot." Coach Jones kept one eye on the hallway for the boy’s wandering
mother.
"I need to
buy a birthday present for a special friend of my mom’s, and I think I need a
man’s advice."
‘Special
friend?’
Could the PTA gossip about Amanda having a new boyfriend be true? "Sure .
. . What’s this special friend like?" he asked, fishing line firmly cast.
"Well, he’s
tall and pretty fit," Jamie began.
"Into sports
and stuff, hey?" Coach smirked, knowing that his profession kept him in
shape as well. ‘So far, so good.’
"I guess
so." Jamie nodded seriously. "But he doesn’t go much for team stuff.
He’s more into martial arts and things."
The mention of
martial arts brought the Coach’s concern up a notch. "Is he any
good?" Jones asked, as nonchalantly as he could.
Jamie shrugged.
"He must be, to have earned all those black belts."
"More than
one?" squeaked Coach Jones, suddenly very interested in a description of
this guy.
Jamie nodded
enthusiastically. "Yeah, at least a few. You know, Judo, Karate, Tae Kwon
Do, and then there’s the kickboxing and stuff."
Coach tried not
to panic at this new information. ‘So what?’ The guy was probably only good
in a lesson- type situation, not in the real world. ‘Bruce Lee wannabe,’
he thought sarcastically.
He caught Jamie’s
eye, determined to find out more. "Well, maybe he has some hobbies. You
know, stuff he likes to do when he’s not working.
"Lee works with
my mom at a film company. He’s a director, so he has to fit hobbies into a
pretty full schedule."
"Sounds
pretty busy," Coach agreed. ‘Workaholic. She probably never gets to see
him,’ he thought gleefully.
"But when
he’s not overseas or interviewing royalty and stuff, he likes to do things with
us," Jamie continued.
‘Overseas,
royalty? Just how connected was this guy?’ "Like what?" Coach Jones prodded.
"He knows a
lot about guns. He showed us some of his collection once, so we wouldn’t try
and touch them or anything. That was interesting."
Jones did a quick
mental evaluation. ‘Martial arts expert who’s also a gun fanatic?’ Not
looking promising.
"What about
clothes or aftershave? Something to make him look good." Clinging to a
last shred of hope, Jones desperately envisioned a sweaty, work-obsessed slob.
"Oh, he
usually looks pretty good," replied Jamie. "I guess he can afford a
good wardrobe with his job and all. Leather jackets and tuxedos would be pretty
expensive, don’t you think?"
"Yeah."
Coach suddenly felt under-dressed in his poly-cotton T-shirt and track pants.
Jamie brightened.
"Maybe something for his car? Yeah, man, does he love that Corvette!"
He shook his head in wonder.
Coach Jones
slumped into his chair. "I suppose that would be fine, Jamie," he
replied, defeated and suddenly very eager to finish this particular interview.
There was no way
he’d have a chance with Amanda King now. A rich, good looking and worldly guy
who could probably kill him where he stood . . .‘No,’ he thought, it
would be foolish to even try.
Finally, Amanda
breezed back into the room. "I’m sorry I was gone for so long, Coach
Jones," she gushed. "Work, I’m afraid. No rest for the wicked, I
guess."
"Not to
worry, Mrs. King." Jones stood up, eager to bring the discussion to an
end. "We’re finished, really, and Jamie has been keeping me company."
Other than a
raised eyebrow, Amanda showed no obvious reaction to the sudden use of her last
name instead of her first. After promising she’d see that he practiced his
basketball, Amanda led Jamie from the room and headed home.
They never saw
the silver car pull silently away from the curb. Lee barely managed to arrive
home before the two of them.
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"Hey,
sweetheart." Amanda greeted him with a quick but warm kiss as they entered
the kitchen a mere twenty minutes later
"Hi,
guys!" Lee responded brightly." "How’d it go with Coach
Jones?" He assumed a nonchalant expression but watched their reactions
closely.
"Wonderfully!"
Amanda said, thinking of both the good report and the sudden but welcome
reprieve from the amorous attentions of Coach Jones.
"Pretty
good, I guess." Jamie smiled.
"Glad to
hear it, sport," laughed Lee.
"Why don’t the
two of you set the table?" Amanda headed towards the stairs. "I’d
better see how Phillip is doing on his homework."
Jamie studied Lee
for a moment, then leaned over and asked, "Hey Lee, do you think that
after dinner you can help me practice my hoops?"
Surprised but
pleased, Lee grinned. "We wouldn’t want to upset Coach Jones, would
we?"
"Oh, I don’t
know," Jamie’s eyes twinkled behind his glasses. "One man’s
disappointment is another man’s happiness, I guess."
"Definitely,
Jamie, couldn’t agree more." Lee beamed as they began to set the table
together.
THE END
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