A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.
Chapter 9
"Back again today, Taylor?" Tim had a towel thrown over his shoulder. He turned around and grabbed a glass and a whiskey bottle.
"Those boys' performance is drivin' me to it, Riggins." Charlie took a seat on a barstool.
"I'm no paragon or virtue and clean living or anythin' like that, but it's a little early in the morning for me to be feeding you shots of Jack. That's just a thought though." Tim sat her glass in front of her.
"I didn't ask for the whiskey you just assumed. I didn't even come in here to get a drink at all. I came in here to talk football with you." Charlie didn't turn down the glass of whiskey though.
"Shoot," Tim made a give it to me gesture with his hands.
"We are holdin' a special practice tonight after the sun goes down. I'm thinkin' of it as special skills practice. Eric wants his war council in on it. We are gonna run these practices every night until the guys start to improve. We've got to strip them down and build them back up. Like my brother said someone put it in their heads that they are football gods and they just aren't that good." Charlie threw back her glass of whiskey and sighed.
"I'll be there for sure. When you say special skills what did you have in mind?" Tim was curious.
"I was thinkin' along the lines of some unorthodox trainin'. Pushin' wheelbarrows full of bricks through an obstacle course. Stuff like that." Charlie shrugged her shoulders.
"I like your style, Taylor. I think that this is the beginnin' of a beautiful friendship." Tim grinned wickedly.
"I agree. I finally found someone just as sadistic as I am." Charlie smirked.
"Tim, are you even allowed to serve alcohol this early?" Tyra and Julie walked into the otherwise empty bar.
"If I have payin' costumers I am." Tim replied.
"I'm past the point of even tryin' to reason with you. You would put whiskey in your cornflakes if you thought you could get away with it." Tyra leaned over the bar and kissed him.
"Puttin' whiskey in your cornflakes is an option? I wish I would have known that. It would have saved me a trip to the bar." Charlie quipped.
"Why are you so profoundly screwed up in the head?" Julie asked her aunt.
"There are not enough hours in the day for me to explain that to you. We could start with my father who it is impossible to please or I could blame it on the fact that I have two older brothers. Even better than that though we could just drink on it. No talkin' needed that way. Drinkin' does me more good than talkin' ever could. I have more fun, I control the flow of conversation, and it doesn't leave me all raw and vulnerable feelin'. It's a win-win situation." Charlie gave her a long drawn out answer.
"When you say things like that it makes me think that you have some serious issues." Julie looked at her like she was crazy.
"Julie, you don't have to worry about me I'm just fine. Walk me to the truck. I've got to get out of here before your mother has a heart attack. I'm supposed to be helpin' her with somethin'." Charlie climbed down off her stool. "Riggins, I will see you tonight. Bring your A game." She slapped a ten-dollar bill down on the bar.
"I will see you then, Chuck." Tim threw her a mock salute.
"Behave yourself until then, Rig." Charlie saluted him back.
"He doesn't know the meaning of that word." Tyra informed her.
"I could tell that just by lookin' at him." Charlie laughed as she walked out the door.
"So, I'm gonna ask you for a favor and you're gonna be a really great aunt and promise me that you won't do what I'm about to ask you not to do." Julie rambled a little bit. She leaned up against the side of Charlie's truck.
"Ok, I think I followed that. Tell me what it is that you don't want me to do." Charlie took her Panthers' cap off and put it on the dashboard.
"Aunt Charlie, I'm begging you please do not sleep with any of my friends. Or if you absolutely have to don't sleep with Tim Riggins. That's all I'm asking you." Julie chewed on her bottom lip nervously.
Charlie threw back her head and laughed. "Julie, when compared to me your friends are little boys. I'm not gonna go there. You heard me tell Smash the other night that I don't go that young. Besides that, Riggins has a girlfriend. I'm damn sure not gonna put you in that position. She's your best friend."
"Tyra isn't really his girlfriend. They have this song and dance that they do. Neither one of them really know what they want." Julie explained to her.
"Any other favors you want to ask me for that aren't really favors cause I wasn't gonna go there anyway?" Charlie arched her eyebrow.
"Uh, no I have nothing else I need from you. I probably should have just kept my mouth shut. Because from what I know about you the sure fire way to get you to do something is to tell you not to do it." Julie started rambling again.
"That really only applies to my parents and my brothers. You are my beloved oldest niece who I would do anything in this world for. You asked me not to go there and I won't. I can get my own men I don't need to go wadin' in the kiddie pool for boyfriends. Grown ass men are hard enough to date I don't need little twenty-one and twenty-two-year-old teenage boys." Charlie assured her.
"Thanks, Aunt Charlie." Julie smiled in relief.
"You don't have to thank me for bein' a decent human bein'. Anyone with any sense would do the same thing." Charlie climbed up into the cab of her truck.
"You're still not right in the head though." Julie got in a parting shot.
"Julie, tell me somethin' that I don't already know." Charlie waved at her before she drove off.
"Eric, you have to call the party supply place. That is the only thing that I need you to do for all of this." Tami was on the phone dealing with school business and trying to talk to her husband at the same time.
"It's on my list, Tami. I'm gonna go over there in person later." Eric kept trying to call someone on his cell phone. "Where the hell is that kid?"
"I had an errand to run and I would really appreciate it if you stopped referrin' to me as a kid." Charlie came into the door and hung her hat up on the hook by the door.
"I wasn't talkin' 'bout you for a change. I'm tryin' to get ahold of Matt. I want him to come to that special practice tonight, but he's on some art buyin' trip or somethin'." Eric corrected her.
Charlie pulled her shirt off like it was no big deal and headed towards the bedrooms. "I'll be right back, Tami, you can tell me what you need from me then."
"I swear she has no shame when it comes to her body." Eric hung his head.
"If I had a body like that I wouldn't be shy about it either. That girl seriously needs to thank someone for those boobs." Shelly remarked.
"Shelly, that is my baby sister I don't care to think about her in those terms." Eric scowled.
"Get that turned on for me as soon as possible thank you." Tami finally hung up the phone. "Eric, she does have a body to kill for. And, Shelly, he's her big brother he really doesn't wanna hear that."
"I work out two sometimes three times a day, I eat like crap, and I drink like a fish. Most of this is thanks to good genetics." Charlie was buckling her belt in her jeans.
"I'd like to have a few of those genetics. I wouldn't have to beat myself to death trying to lose this baby weight if I did." Tami looked her up and down.
"I told you not to worry about that. I have a plan worked out for you. Now, what can I do to help?" Charlie sat down at the counter.
"You can take your nephew shopping for an outfit to wear to his christening. I'm gonna trust you with that and hope to God that you can handle it." Tami pointed a finger at her.
"I can handle that. I can do more than handle that. All you have to do is find an outfit. You could give me somethin' a little harder to deal with." Charlie pulled her hair into a pony tail.
"Charlie, I'm gonna tell you somethin' and I'm not gonna sugar coat it. You're abrasive on the best of days. She can't trust you to coordinate all the family members without losing it on one of them." Eric raised his eyebrow.
"Good point. I will just take the boy child to the mall and we will find an outfit." Charlie nodded her head.
"Do I have to tell you how to dress in a church?" Tami tilted her head to the side.
"I said I'd help. I didn't say anythin' 'bout steppin' foot in a church or gettin' dressed up." Charlie put both her hands up.
"You know that you're gonna go. And I'm just sayin' I don't think you own anythin' that aren't jeans." Tami just sort of looked at her.
"I own pants that aren't jeans. I own very nice dress pants just so you know. If that was your way of askin' me if I own a dress no I do not. And no I'm not gonna change that now. You can tell my mother that I said nice try. I am who I am. I've been that way for almost thirty years and I'm not gonna change now." Charlie winked at her.
"I told you that wasn't gonna work. Mom used to try to trick her into eatin' her vegetables and that never worked. One of these days you two are gonna figure out that she's bullheaded and she's gonna do what she wants when she wants to do it. That's why she's so damn good at bein' in charge. She knows how to break people who are as stubborn and bullheaded as she is." Eric shook his head.
"Hayes, we are gonna go to the mall so I don't give into temptation and do somethin' really not nice to your daddy. I need my wallet and keys. We'll see if your sissy wants to go with us. I just gotta go outside and put your car seats in my truck." Charlie tickled the baby's belly.
"Charlie, just take Eric's car. It'll be easier than switching everything out." Tami handed her Eric's keys.
"Tami, I'm gonna need to use your car today. As long as I'm here helping out I figure that I will get a little work in." Shelly told Tami.
Charlie took her truck keys out of her pocket. "Ya'll are trustin' me with your kids. I can trust you with my baby. It's got a full tank of gas. Take him out and see what he can do. Find an open field somewhere and do some donuts. Relive your teenage years in the truck you wanted, but daddy wouldn't pay for it."
Eric took the keys from her. "Says the woman who got the truck she wanted when she turned sixteen. I will take that under advisement though."
"Eric, if you don't take me for a ride in that truck I'm takin' it myself." Tami snatched the keys from him.
Charlie took Hayes out of his bouncy seat. "Let's go get you dressed. You are gettin' ready to go on an adventure with Aunt Charlie." She carried him into his room.
"Are we sure about this?" Eric asked his wife.
"She's solid. We leave 'em with my sister all the time. I don't think yours can do any worse." Tami shrugged her shoulders.
"Let's take her truck and drive it like we stole it before she changes her mind. She's very serious about her truck." Eric replied.
"Just try not to get picked up by the cops like you did in high school. I gotta go." Shelly waved at them.
"You wanna change and then we can go?" Eric asked.
"Just give me a minute." Tami replied.
"You know I'm a big enough man to admit when I'm wrong. This was actually a pretty damn good idea." Eric was stretched out in the bed of the truck with his hat pulled down over his eyes. He had one arm around his wife and in his other hand was a cold beer.
"This is very nice. No hyper little girl running all around and no baby crying. This is just what we needed. Lord knows that I love 'em both to death, but they can be a lot of work." Tami laid her head on his chest.
"I don't think I say this enough, but I love and appreciate you so much. You do a lot takin' care of me and the kids and the house. I don't know how I would make it without you." He kissed the top of her head.
"You still love me after twenty years of marriage and three kids later? Even though I'm nowhere near as young or skinny as I used to be?" She looked up at him her eyes searching his face for any signs of concern.
"I still love you. I will always love you. You look even better now than you did before you had the three kids. They've only added to your overall beauty." Eric ran his hand up and down her back.
"Oh, honey, I'm gonna remember that comment right there. I love you so much." Tami kissed him slowly.
"Mmm, I love you too." Eric looked at her through half closed eyes.
"You wanna live dangerously?" She had a mischievous look on her face.
"Just what did you have in mind?" He pulled his hat up off his eyes. He'd seen this look on her face numerous times before.
"I was thinkin' that we are all alone out here, it's hot, and there is a nice big lake over there callin' our names." She pulled her t-shirt off to reveal her bikini top.
"Oh, Tami, your body doesn't have a damn thing wrong with it." He stared up at her totally in awe.
She shimmied out of her cutoffs. "Thanks, honey."
"You are so welcome." He was in a trance from her movements.
"You just gonna lay there like that or are you gonna join me?" She slid off the tailgate.
"What kind of stupid man do you think I am? Of course I'm gonna join you." Eric pulled his shirt off and jumped out of the bed of the truck.
"I hope you can still keep up." Tami ran towards the lake and jumped in.
He ran after her finally catching up to her in the water. "I'm a football coach I'm still in good shape. I think I can keep up with you just fine."
She put both her arms around his neck. "I was hopin' that was the case."
"Why, Principal Taylor, if I didn't know any better I'd say that you were tryin' to come on to me." He grinned.
"You'd like that wouldn't you, Coach? Your son isn't that old yet. You're just gonna have to wait a little while longer for that yet." She kissed his nose.
"You sure he isn't about ten now? I think he might be old enough." He squinted his eyes like he was thinking about it.
"He's not that old yet, but it was a really great try though. I appreciate your effort." She kissed him and laughed.
"I do always put in my best effort." He made his eyebrows dance.
"I think that you need to cool off, mister." Tami swam away from him.
"Hey, now, you hang on just a minute." Eric swam after her.
"I'm not hangin' on. You better keep up." She splashed water at him.
"Oh, I see you wanna start somethin'." He splashed water back at her.
"You better stop talkin' and start swimmin' then. That's only if you don't wanna get beat by a girl." She glided along the surface of the water in long smooth strokes.
"Only in your dreams are you gonna beat me." He chased after her.
"Alright, I know this kid is always prepared for everythin'. She's gotta have a towel in here somewhere." Eric dug around the cab of Charlie's truck looking for something to dry off on.
"Hon, with as hot as it is you don't have to worry about dryin' off." Tami pointed out to him.
"It's not so much that I need a towel, but I need somethin' to lay on cause that truck bed is gonna be hot." He came across a sea bag and opened it. "Found a blanket." He pulled it out of the bag.
"She really takes that always be prepared thing seriously." She took the blanket from him and spread it across the bed of the truck.
"Good thing for us. After all that I'm gonna need another beer." He laid out and grabbed another beer from the cooler.
"You keep that up and I'm drivin' home. I'm drivin' home and your assistant coaches are runnin' your special practice." She laid beside him with her head on his chest.
"You just wanna drive this truck. Hell, if I didn't think she'd shoot me I'd steal this truck from her." He cracked his beer open.
"I think she'd shoot Mike before she'd shot you. You're her favorite. Even if we did apparently scar her for life by leavin' her with Shelly a time or two." She laughed.
"Your sister has that effect on people." The corners of his eyes crinkled up with laughter.
"I won't even argue that one with you. She makes me crazy on a good day." She agreed with him.
"Ok, let's get you out of the car and into this restaurant before your Aunt Charlie dies of embarrassment from drivin' a soccer mom car." Charlie took Gracie out of her booster seat and Hayes' car seat of the base. She offered her niece her hand. "Ready?" She put the diaper bag over her shoulder.
"Ready," Gracie took her hand.
Charlie walked into the restaurant with them. "Look, Gracie, there's your momma and daddy." She pointed out Eric and Tami.
"Hey, monkey, did you have a good day with Aunt Charlie?" Eric picked his daughter up and sat her on his lap.
Gracie nodded her head enthusiastically.
"Did you have any trouble out either of them?" Tami asked her sister-in-law.
"Not an ounce of trouble out of either of 'em. They were even good when I left 'em both in the car for an hour while I sat in the bar." Charlie quipped.
"Charlie, you have a dark sense of humor. I know that you wouldn't do that. knowin' you as well as I do you probably spoiled both of them rotten." Tami shook her head. She took Hayes out of his seat and put him over her shoulder.
"I did spoil them just a little. Only a little bit though." Charlie knew that she was lying when she said that.
"We probably have vastly different definitions of that term." Eric arched both his eyebrows.
"Tami, is my brother drunk?" Charlie asked.
"I think that's a safe bet." Tami replied.
Charlie looked out the window and checked on her truck. "I see you disrespected my truck. It's still way too clean. I told you to test the limits."
"If there would have been a decent mud hole around I would have gotten it dirtier. That is one sweet setup you've got. I can see why you like it so much. The horse power in that thing is amazing." Eric told her.
"If you think that's sweet you should test out my boat." Charlie retorted.
"Good lord, girl, how many play things do you have?" Tami's jaw hung open.
"The truck, a boat, and a motorcycle. Mom doesn't know about the motorcycle and I'm gonna keep it that way. I don't want to give her a heart attack." Charlie listed off.
Eric hid behind his hands so Tami couldn't see what he was saying. "Let me drive that motorcycle."
"Charlie, you let him anywhere near that motorcycle and I will use the dirt that I have on you." Tami put her foot down.
"You don't have to worry 'bout that. I don't think he could handle it. I'll keep him occupied with the truck for a little while." Charlie winked at her.
"Alright, Coach, let's talk a little football." Eric leaned over the table. "Have you got everythin' set up for this special practice?"
"Yeah we are ready to go there. I've got a few special drills in mind for specific positions. The way I see it our backfield and most of our defense both have the same problem. They're slow. I could run circles around them. Miller and Bishop aren't slow, but the rest of the backfield has to get up to speed with them or it's not gonna do any good." Charlie went into business mode.
"Offense is our bright spot right now. We can speed them up. Defense is our problem right now. They are slow and they tire out quick. I don't know who had the defense last year, but they are sloppy and undisciplined. They are a damn mess." Eric grumbled.
"You want that to change give them to me for a few weeks. Practice doesn't officially start for another three weeks. You give me that long to work with them and you'll see an improvement. I will run their asses ragged." Charlie jumped at the chance to put the fear of God into those boys.
"Ya'll can we have maybe one meal where we don't talk about football?" Tami begged them.
"If we don't talk football what are we gonna talk about?" Eric asked.
"Things other than football exist?" Charlie wore a look of shock on her face.
"I honestly forgot how bad you two are together." Tami shook her head at them.
"We're not that bad." Eric scoffed. "Gracie Belle, tell your momma that your daddy and your aunt aren't that bad."
"Gracie Belle, don't listen to your daddy right now." Tami laughed. "Nice try, honey."
"Miller, what the hell do you think this all is?" Denny whispered to Austin.
"Bishop, I have no clue. I wouldn't be surprised if Coach Tim and Coach Matt were behind it. This looks like one of their drills." Austin whispered back.
"Lock it up people the real coaches are gonna be here any minute." Tim barked out at them.
"We got tasked with warming you up. Miller, Bishop, line 'em up and start stretching." Matt snapped his fingers.
"Line up, ya'll." Landry clapped his hands.
Tim and Matt both just looked at him.
"You think that you guys are the only ones allowed to give orders? I'm good for more than just steering the truck while they push it." Landry crossed his arms over his chest.
"Sure, Lando, whatever you say." Tim went along with him.
"Ya'll heard Coach Landry, line up!" Matt yelled at them.
After they had got all stretched out Tim blew his whistle. "The big coaches should be here any minute. Until they get here you boys are gonna run laps around the bleachers. On my whistle, go." He blew his whistle again.
"That should keep them busy until the coaches show up." Matt checked his watch.
"Chuck texted me and said that they were ten minutes out. This should keep them busy until they show up. They are givin' us a few minutes to work with them before they get here." Tim replied.
"I just don't get the point of this plan, but I'm gonna go along with it." Landry grumbled.
"Pick up your knees! Come on! Move it faster!" Tim screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Damn that was impressive, Timmy." Billy walked up next to him.
"Learned from one of the best didn't I?" Tim smirked.
"Gentlemen, put forth more effort than this! I will have satisfaction!" Billy screamed.
"Billy, one of these days I think you're gonna have a stroke from yellin' at them like that." Eric rubbed his temples and groaned. He was paying for his afternoon drinking binge.
Charlie gave two short bursts of her whistle. "Listen up, boys! Two more laps around the bleachers and you're done with your warmups. Then the real work begins."
"I still say that she enjoys torturing them way too much." Spivey muttered.
"She really does and hopefully they end up better off for it. Between her and Billy we have two crazy people on the coaching staff. They are bound to learn somethin' from one of them." Eric shrugged his shoulders.
A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.
