Wild Card: Boys of Fall

by Mari Carr

  Lorelie could tell from Charlene’s vague comments that there was a story there, but she was too busy admiring the scenery to care.

  At her dad’s party last fall, Glen had been wearing tattered jeans, a black T-shirt and a cowboy hat, and it had looked like his face hadn’t seen a razor in days. Tonight, he was less bad-boy rocker in dark jeans that looked new, a light blue button-down shirt and a freshly shaven face. Apparently, he’d left the hat at home.

  Lorelie was no stranger to cowboy hats or the men who wore them. More often than not, the hat hid the fact the wearer was balding. Glen didn’t suffer from that problem. His dark brown hair was thick and just long enough to brush the collar of his shirt.

  He was—in a word—gorgeous.

  Unfortunately, that fact wasn’t lost on Stacy Shell, who was giggling at something he’d said.

  “Why is Stacy here?” Lorelie asked, silently chastising herself for being disappointed that Glen had brought a date.

  Charlene sighed. “That was Wade’s doing. He thought Glen might enjoy having someone to hang with while he’s in town, so he invited her along as a setup.”

  “If Wade’s trying to set Glen up with Stacy, why are we standing here looking at him through the window?”

  “That’s the part of this intervention you aren’t going to like.” Sadie had joined them at the window.

  “Great.” Lorelie took another sip of her wine and girded her loins, so to speak.

  “I overheard the guys talking at the bar yesterday. Glen asked about you. Tucker, Wade and Carter shut him down pretty quick. Told him to look elsewhere.”

  Lorelie’s temper spiked. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

  Glen asked about her?

  And the boys of fall fucked up her chances with him?

  That was Lorelie’s nickname for the guys who had played on her dad’s high school football team. Tucker and Jackson and all the others had been a part of the state championship team, a feat the classes who followed had yet to recreate. As such, they were legends in town.

  And a pain in the ass for Lorelie.

  Back when she was just starting high school, the guys on the team became her self-proclaimed older brothers, taking it upon themselves to run off anyone they deemed unworthy of Coach’s only daughter. She was two years younger than them, which instantly cast her into the role of “little sister.” She would have preferred to be the damn mascot, donning that sweat-stenched, cartoonish, big-headed Titan costume, over dealing with the army of guys determined to protect her virtue at all costs.

  She was fairly certain it was her dad who’d issued that “big brother” directive to begin with, which made it even worse. The boys on her father’s team would walk through fire for their coach. So once he’d made the request, the damn thing had been chiseled in stone and was more binding than the freaking Ten Commandments.

  She’d bucked them every step of the way, getting away with a hell of a lot more than they realized back in high school. And then for a brief, glorious time, most of them scattered after graduation and dating was easier. Though not exactly successful. All she’d managed to find were a few frogs and more than a handful of regrets.

  Just like that, Lorelie felt a spark. And then a blaze.

  She’d let the guys get away with their overprotectiveness since returning to Quinn because, in truth, they weren’t keeping away anyone she was interested in.

  Glen didn’t fall into that category. She was interested in him. Big time.

  “Yeah,” Lela said, clearly disappointed in her boyfriend’s participation in that conversation. “Twelve years later and it appears those guys are still determined to protect your virtue.”

  Lorelie snorted. “You mean the virtue they failed to protect back in high school. Jesus, those guys are tools. What the hell did they think I was doing while they were playing football every Friday night?”

  Sadie laughed. “Oh, here’s a story I haven’t heard. Do tell.”

  “Making out under the bleachers. There was this super-cute trumpet player in the band. His family only lived in Quinn a couple of years, but damn if that boy couldn’t kiss like a champ. Personally, I credit all that practicing on his instrument. His lip work…” She released an exaggerated sigh.

  Annabelle chortled, choking on her wine. “God, Lorelie. Only you.”

  “All I’m saying is it seems really stupid for a bunch of grown men to try to protect something I don’t want protected—or actually have. My virtue is long gone. I’m twenty-eight, yet they still look at me like I’m some gangly fourteen-year-old virgin standing in the middle of a lion’s den.”

  Lela topped up all their wineglasses. “We agree. Which is why we’re going to help you.”

  Lorelie glanced back toward the yard and it took some effort for her not to roll her eyes at Stacy’s flirting.

  Sadie followed her gaze, watching Stacy as she propped her arms up on the hood of Tucker’s new truck, pretending to be fascinated by the engine. “Stacy looks as happy as a tick on a fat dog.”

  Lorelie laughed. “Can’t blame her, really. Most of the Quinn hotties have been claimed lately. Makes it tough on us poor single girls. Especially when some women are greedy.…”

  Sadie didn’t bother to feign guilt or remorse over the fact she’d hooked up with not one, but two of those available men. “What you call greedy, I call inspired. And sexy. And hot. And—”

  Lorelie held up her hand. “Please. I’m perfectly aware how great your love life is without the descriptions. Joel and Oakley walk around every day at work with those shit-eating grins on their faces.”

  Sadie winked, her own smile growing wider.

  Lorelie pointed at her face. “Yeah. That’s it. That grin right there.”

  Charlene turned the conversation back to Glen. “He’s not hard to look at, is he?”

  “He’s okay,” Lorelie said, trying to downplay her interest.

  It was a stupid move. Since she’d begun dating Oakley and Joel, Sadie had become a very close friend. A close friend with an annoyingly high aptitude for looking straight through a person’s bullshit to find the truth.

  “Sell that lie to someone else, sister. I ain’t buyin’. You forget I was sober at your dad’s party back in October, manning the bar. I saw the way that guy only had eyes for you. And you weren’t exactly looking away from the stage yourself.”

  Lorelie couldn’t deny it. She didn’t want to. Her friends were offering to help, and considering it was their significant others doing the cock blocking, she was going to accept. “Okay. Fine. I’ll admit it.”

  Sadie jerked her head toward Glen. “A nice, hot, sexy cowboy has just been dumped in your front yard. Are you going to let Stacy get the jump on him?”

  “Hell no. But I need a little time to work the situation. How long is he here for?” Lorelie asked Charlene.

  “Just a few days, but I think that time could be extended. With the right enticement. According to Wade, he has a few weeks off. He’s planning to drive to Vegas from here at some point.”

  “I see.” It had been too damn long since Lorelie had felt excited about something. And Glen would be a challenge. The man didn’t like small towns or staying put. She liked the idea of trying to change his mind, at least for a short while.

  “Oooo, I know that look,” Sadie said. “You’re going for it, aren’t you?”

  “I’ve been more than ready to shed this nun-like existence for months. My problem is there hasn’t been anyone around who interested me enough to bother.”

  “He’d be worth getting hot and bothered about,” Lela said, joining them at the window to look at Glen.

  Lorelie agreed. “Which leaves the issue of Stacy.”

  Stacy leaned closer to Glen and slightly forward, obviously attempting to give him an ample view of what she was packing beneath her shirt. Which Lorelie had to begrudgingly admit was more than she possessed. Her damn B cups couldn’t compete with Miss DD.

  “Don’t worry about that. We�
��ve got it well in hand,” Charlene said. “In fact…” She pointed toward the front of the house, where they could hear a car coming down the long driveway. As they all watched, Buck Davis pulled his car next to Tucker’s truck and hopped out.

  “Buck?” Lorelie asked.

  Sadie nodded as if Charlene was the smartest person on earth. “Well played, you clever puss. I’ve been watching him and Stacy make moon eyes at Pitchers for weeks now.”

  If this was her friends’ idea of help, Lorelie suspected she’d be better off on her own. Buck was a math teacher who worked with Annabelle at Quinn High School. He was too tall and too skinny, with flaming red hair and freckles. He looked almost clownish standing next to Glen, whom he’d just been introduced to.

  “Um…” Lorelie had her doubts this would work. No sane woman would walk away from Glen the God toward Howdy Doody.

  However, from the moment Buck emerged from the car, Stacy’s entire stature changed. She took a step away from Glen and when Buck spoke to her, she blushed.

  Hell, they both blushed.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” Lorelie muttered. “Wade doesn’t look too happy to see Buck.”

  It had been apparent from the second Buck arrived that their hostess for the evening hadn’t clued her husband in on the additional dinner guest.

  Charlene grinned. “I asked Annabelle to invite Buck the second I found out Stacy was coming.”

  They continued to watch the men in the yard, as well as Buck and Stacy’s bizarre mating dance, which seemed to consist of blushing furiously every time one of them spoke to the other.

  If losing the girl bothered Glen, he gave absolutely no indication of it. In fact, Lorelie thought he looked just the slightest bit relieved. But that was probably wishful thinking on her part.

  They were forced to change the subject from Lorelie’s intervention to more mundane things as the men headed toward the house.

  Charlene pulled a tray of fresh-baked rolls from the oven as the other women began filling the serving bowls.

  Lorelie hung back as Glen filed into the kitchen behind Tucker, Jackson and Wade, Joel and Oakley on his heels. Buck and Stacy remained in the yard.

  She tried to fight down the butterflies in her stomach, as well as the fluttering in regions farther south. Sadie was right. Lorelie did need to get laid. Badly. She wondered briefly if Glen would even remember her.

  Then she recalled what Sadie had said. He’d asked about her.

  She was glad to know she’d at least been memorable. As for her, she had recalled her conversation with Glen countless times since October, and she’d listened to that damn Miley Cyrus song so many times, Dad finally put his hands over his ears and begged her to find something else to play.

  Glen’s gaze landed on her the moment he entered. She feared for a second he’d take to heart the guys’ warnings to steer clear.

  She should have known better. He smiled when he saw her, crossing the room until he stood right in front of her.

  “Hey, Lori.”

  “Lorelie,” she corrected, despite loving the way he said her name. She held out her hand for a handshake, but Glen used the grip to raise it to his mouth, where he kissed her knuckles. It was charming, old-fashioned and had her pussy clenching.

  “That’s quite a move,” she teased.

  “Yeah. I’ve had that in my back pocket for a while now.” He winked at her. “I was hoping you’d be here tonight.”

  Lorelie grinned and fought down her own blush. God, she was as bad as Stacy and Buck. A fact that didn’t sit well with her. She was never shy or demurring or any of that silly crap around men. She really had lost sight of herself.

  Glen still held on to her hand, his grip strong and warm.

  “So you came back, huh? Despite how boring our small town is?”

  “The town might be boring, but the people aren’t. You look pretty tonight. Still flitting around, Butterfly, or have you managed to settle down?”

  “I’m doing just fine.”

  “Still single?”

  Oh yeah. She wanted this guy. “Yep. How about you?”

  “Yep.”

  “How’s life on the road?”

  For the slightest second, she saw something sad flash in his eyes. But Glen was clearly better at hiding his problems than she was. Especially if the fact her dad and all her girlfriends were calling her out for them was anything to go on.

  “It’s good. Just taking a vacation.”

  “Charlene said you’re thinking of heading to Vegas when you leave here.”

  “Yeah. Thought I’d try my hand at sitting in the audience at a couple of shows, as opposed to standing on stage. And I’m no stranger to the tables. Gambling can be good for the soul every once in a while.”

  “But bad on the pocketbook.”

  “Only if you lose. And I don’t lose.”

  There it was. That certain something that set Glen apart from most of the men in Quinn. With the exception of the guys in this room, there were too many single men in town who were lacking that bravado, that self-confidence.

  It was why Lorelie had been so damn bored. She preferred a guy with a backbone, not one with as much spine as a jellyfish.

  “Still cocky, I see.”

  Glen didn’t get a chance to respond as Wade stepped over to them. “Y’all ready to eat?”

  Wade gave Glen what the fool obviously thought was a surreptitious warning glance.

  Lorelie rolled her eyes.

  Stacy and Buck walked into the kitchen, so the entire group grabbed serving bowls, platters, glasses and bottles of wine, carrying it all to the dining room.

  It was a loud, fun gathering of old friends, which meant there was nothing formal or serious going on. Instead of mature adults, the group looked more like a gang of rambunctious siblings who’d grown up together. Which was essentially true.

  Sadie had made some joke about Tucker buying the big truck to compensate for other things. Tucker’s reply was to toss a slice of cucumber from the salad at her, telling her a woman with two men in her bed had no business talking about overcompensating.

  Jackson teased Joel about the dark purple shirt he’d chosen to wear, calling him Barney—until Oakley revealed it was a gift from Joel’s mom. Then the joke turned into one of those “So your mom is still dressing you” gags.

  That whole conversation led to a discussion about the relationship between Joel’s mom and Sadie’s dad. Everyone always had fun giving them shit about the possibility of the lovers becoming stepsiblings as well. Apparently this was all news to Buck, who was slightly horrified by the prospect.

  Glen took in all the banter, hopping in more than a few times to add some witty retort. The guy was seriously funny.

  He’d claimed the seat next to Lorelie at the table, and every now and then he rested his arm on the back of her chair. Lorelie took great pleasure in leaning toward him whenever he did so, provoking her male friends to shoot them both annoying glances.

  Then he ran his hand along her hair.

  She gave him a quizzical look.

  “Wanted to see if it’s as soft as it looks.”

  “And?” she asked, leaning even closer.

  “Like silk.”

  Her heart started to beat a little faster. Lorelie had never felt such an instant and powerful attraction to a man.

  Tucker broke them apart when he held the breadbasket out to Glen. “Want another roll?”

  Glen grabbed one. “Thanks.” He tossed the bread on his plate, and then wrapped his arm around her chair once more, winking at her covertly.

  Glen was baiting them on purpose. Lorelie giggled softly, only too pleased to play along.

  Too many bottles of wine later, the dinner ended, everyone relaxed and full. Wade suggested they move to the front porch. “You bring your guitar, Glen?”

  “Never go anywhere without it.”

  Glen consented to grab his instrument from the truck and they took their dessert and coffee outside. The even
ing was crisp, but not too cool. One of the benefits of living in Texas was fairly mild winters, and this year’s had been unseasonably warm and dry.

  As the men played everyone’s favorites, they all sang along. Whenever they couldn’t remember the words, Wade and Glen would make up really raunchy lines, something they’d clearly had quite a bit of practice with.

  “You guys are really great,” Stacy said as she and Buck rocked on the porch swing. Sometime during the long meal, they’d overcome their shyness with each other, and Buck had even grown bold enough to hold Stacy’s hand the last half hour.

  Once they’d sung themselves out, Wade and Glen put their guitars away. Glen walked over to sit next to Lorelie who was perched sideways on the top porch step, her back against a post. Glen claimed the other post, facing her. Lorelie stretched one of her legs toward him. Glen grasped her foot, pulling it into his lap and pointedly ignoring the exasperated scowls from Tucker and Jackson.

  As so often happened when they all got together, the conversation turned to her dad.

  “How’s Coach doing?” Tucker asked. “Didn’t he have a doctor’s appointment today?”

  Lorelie nodded. “Yeah. It actually went really well. Or so I heard.”

  “What do you mean?” Charlene asked.

  Oakley answered for her, grinning. “Coach was being Coach this morning. Said he was tired of being treated like an invalid. Insisted on going to the doctor on his own, even though Lorelie usually drives him.”

  “Good,” Lela said. “Just proves what we were saying earlier. He’s well on his way back to a complete recovery.”

  Lorelie begrudgingly agreed. “Yeah. Doctor even cleared him to start doing more chores around the ranch. Within reason, of course.”

  “I’ll be damn glad to have the guy back out there with us,” Oakley said. “Days go a lot faster with him working beside you.”

  “What do you do on the ranch, Lori?” Glen asked.

  “Same as the guys, I guess. We all have our chores. I take care of the house, cook the meals, tend the garden, feed the chickens, and spend a lot of time in the stable with the horses.”

  “Lorelie was a state-champion roper,” Joel added.

  “It was high school rodeo, Joel. Team competition.” She looked at Glen to explain, “I was the header. My friend, Allison, was the heeler.”