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I take the last of the balls from the caddie and gently pat his shoulder. His eyes look red and he’s about to cry, so I make a split-second decision. “Hey, what’s your name?”
“Al—Alex,” he says, sniffling.
“Alex, why don’t you give me your caddie vest and you take the snack cart for a few hours? I can help Mr. Lachlan, okay?”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“What about Ben?” he says, looking behind him like the devil might rise up from the ground.
“I’ll handle Ben, don’t worry about that.”
“Oh, okay. Thanks,” he says and hands me his vest and rangefinder, quickly getting away from the man berating him.
Once I put the vest on, I turn back to Mr. Lachlan.
I put on my brightest smile and say, “How about I caddie for you today? And once we’re done, I can make you your favorite drink at the bar, free of charge.”
His scowl fades almost immediately and, to be honest, I can’t believe how easy that was. They’re all the same, they just want their asses kissed.
“Do you have experience caddying?” he asks, eyeing me suspiciously.
“Years, sir. I won’t let you or your bag down,” I say, giving him a bright smile.
Mr. Lachlan smiles back. It looks all wrong on his severe and wrinkled face, but I’ll take it, nonetheless. If I can keep someone from getting fired and do a job I enjoy today, I sure as hell will take it.
Rosie finds me later in the locker room. I’m tired and sore, but at least I didn’t get yelled at by Ben, so that’s a bonus. In fact, I haven’t seen Ben all day.
“Today was so boring,” she says, grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder.
“No sexts from Ezra?” I chuckle.
She frowns and picks at her nails.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“He hasn’t texted me all day,” she tells me, pouting. “It’s not like I expect him to; he obviously has a job to focus on. It’s just—” She cuts herself off, biting her lip.
“It’s what?”
“He said he’d come over for dinner, and I haven’t heard back. Plus, we made some low-key plans for next weekend to go to a cabin together.”
My eyebrows raise in surprise. “That’s—”
“Too soon?” She bites her fingernail. “Yeah, I thought so too, but he kept talking about this cute spot up north, and I thought, why the hell not?”
“Maybe he’s just caught up with something else,” I say, patting her shoulder.
“Yeah. Whatever. It’s not like it was anything serious,” she says, straightening her posture. She’s feigning nonchalance, but her voice is sad. She definitely wanted something more with Ezra.
“I already took next weekend off, but maybe I’ll pay my family a surprise visit,” she says, brightening at the idea.
“That’s a great idea.”
“Yeah. I miss them.”
“I wish I could go with you, but I have to figure out what schedule Levi needs me on for the U.S. Open.”
