by Mari Carr
He had never missed his family. Not once. But if he left Quinn, he would miss this family intensely.
“Couldn’t have been an easy way to grow up,” Coach said.
“I got out at sixteen. Enough years have passed that I can’t remember much of it anyway.”
“You’ve grown up to be a good man. That’s pretty exceptional, when you consider it doesn’t sound like you had anyone showing you how.”
And there it was again. That unconditional acceptance he’d felt from Coach, right from the start.
“Haven’t been here that long, Coach. How can you know that?”
“I’ve been around long enough, son, to know the lay of the land. I can usually get a feel for a man’s character pretty quick. Got good intuition.”
“What does it tell you about me?”
Why does it matter so much? Glen didn’t know. All he knew was…it did.
“I didn’t even have to try to figure you out. Lori did that for me. Knew that day she brought you home for Sunday supper and I saw the way she looked at you. You make my daughter happy, Glen. There’s no man on earth who doesn’t want that for his baby girl.”
“She’s something special.”
Coach’s face sobered, which surprised him. He would have expected the man to be pleased to hear Glen admit that. “She’s had a rough time since my heart attack.”
“I know.”
“I’m going to tell you something I haven’t said to anyone else.”
Glen swallowed heavily, suddenly afraid by the seriousness of Coach’s tone. If he confessed to still being ill…
Glen thrust the thought aside. “Okay,” he said at last.
“When I was laying in that hospital bed back after the heart attack, all I could think about was Lori. If I died, she would be alone. I know she thinks I told the football players to look after her in high school, but in truth…I restated it back in June. Made them all promise to look after her, to keep her safe for me, and to make sure she found a man who was worthy of her love and her trust. I also made them swear they’d never tell her why they were doing it.”
That explained the defensive line surrounding her. “She’s pretty annoyed at those guys.”
“Yeah. I know. Thing is…you got by them.”
Did Coach think that was a bad thing?
“They didn’t exactly make it easy.”
“They weren’t supposed to. There haven’t been any other men with either the backbone to take on her guardians or the vision to see why she was worth making the effort. You had both.”
He had Coach’s approval. He’d felt like he had all along, but hearing it spoken aloud…it went deep, made him feel happier than he’d been in a damn long time.
Fuck. What the hell was he supposed to do? If Toby hadn’t texted, hadn’t told him to come back, he would have had time to consider his next move. But he had to go now. Return to the tour tomorrow or lose his job.
“My manager texted me this morning. They want me back on the tour,” Glen confessed, relieved to be able to get the truth out there. “Tomorrow.”
“You’re leaving?” Lorelie had approached the table without him seeing her.
Glen’s heart shattered at the sound of her voice. He hadn’t wanted to ruin her night, intent on waiting until morning. It had been his cowardly way of prolonging the inevitable confrontation, while holding on to the hope that maybe some easy answer would appear overnight.
“Lori,” Glen said, rising. “I was going to tell you.”
A million different emotions crossed her face in the course of only a minute. Glen managed to catch every one. Mainly because he felt them as well. She’d started with upset, which morphed into the briefest flash of anger before she sucked in a deep breath and strengthened her resolve and gave him exactly what they’d promised each other from the beginning.
An easy out.
“Guess we’ll need to make tonight count then,” she said softly.
He frowned. Not because he believed for one second she was taking this news lightly. But because she genuinely thought he’d want that from her.
Glen stepped closer to her, taking her hands in his. “No.”
Her forehead crinkled. “No?” Then her eyes went wide and she didn’t bother to hide her disappointment. “You’re leaving tonight?”
“What? Wait. No. God no! I just…we need to talk, Lori. I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this all damn day. We both knew this was coming. And we were both dreading it. I don’t want you to pretend it’s okay. Because it’s not. This sucks. All of it.”
He hadn’t noticed the stiffness in her shoulders until they fell. It occurred to him she’d been holding herself stiffly, but his words appeared to release her from that. He was glad. He needed the truth from her, needed to know how she genuinely felt.
“Been thinking all day, huh?”
He nodded.
“No answers?”
He shook his head. No answer.
Just one big fucking realization.
He was in love with her.
“Then come on.”
“Where are we going?”
“The gang has decided to move the party to Pitchers. Sadie’s created a special shot for Valentine’s Day. We’re moving ahead with Plan A.”
Plan A. Glen recalled her itinerary for the evening. Dancing, shots, laughing and sex. Lots of sex.
“Lori, I’m not sure—”
“Glen, you don’t know what to do. And I don’t know what to do. That fact will be the same come sunrise, so let’s just give ourselves one more night to pretend like the world doesn’t exist. Tomorrow, we’ll be grown-ups. We’ll talk and figure out what comes next together. Okay?”
He had never, for one second, considered that they would make this decision together.
Together.
The word repeated itself over and over in his head.
He wasn’t alone anymore. He had someone standing in front of him who gave a genuine shit about him and his life. Someone who would help him.
“Together?” It slipped out unbidden before Glen could stop himself.
Lorelie smiled, even as she rolled her eyes at him. “Yes, you idiot. Together. What you do next impacts both of us. Don’t you think for a second I’m not getting my say-so.”
He chuckled, amazed to feel the pressure on his chest disappear. The problem remained, but the idea of not having to face it alone made it seem less dire somehow. “I wouldn’t dream of it. I’m actually looking forward to hearing what you have to say.”
“Yeah. Well. Don’t get too excited. You might not like it.”
“You going to tell me to leave and never come back?”
“Nothing even close to that,” she replied, clearly horrified that he would suggest such a thing.
“Then I’m gonna like what you have to say. Come on. You promised me Plan A.”
They both glanced back at Coach, who shooed them away. “Go on. Have fun. I’ve had my eye on that pretty woman sitting across the room all night. I’m going to go dance with her.”
Lorelie looked in the direction her father pointed and then narrowed her eyes. “Dad, that’s Ms. Kinnaman, my fourth-grade teacher.”
“I know who she is.”
“Seriously?” Lorelie put her hands on her hips, clearly ready to express her opinion on the matter.
Glen decided to run interference. “Let the man work, Lori,” Glen teased as he took Lorelie’s hand, intent on leading her to the exit. “Where are the others?”
“They already headed over to Pitchers. I told them we’d catch up.”
“Good. Then we have time for one more slow dance. I like this song.”
Glen changed directions, guiding her to the floor, wrapping her in his arms. Martina McBride sang about her own Valentine as Glen pressed his face to hers. Lorelie laced her fingers behind his neck as she turned until her lips touched his. Glen kissed her softly.
And just like that, the easy answer did appear.
&
nbsp; He wasn’t leaving her. Not tomorrow. Not ever.
Two hours later, Glen was sitting at a table at Pitchers with Tucker, drinking a beer as Lorelie and her girlfriends stood at the bar, doing some special shot Sadie had created for the holiday called Cupid’s Cock. It was pink and fruity and the women were crazy about them.
It had been a hell of a night. He and Lorelie had done just about everything on her list for a romantic Valentine’s Day. There was only one thing left—and Glen planned to give her about twenty more minutes with her friends before he dragged her out of here and back to the barracks. That damn handmade quilt was beckoning him.
Tucker was watching Lela the same way he was looking at Lorelie. Hungrily.
“One more shot, and I’m getting my girl out of here before she gets too drunk for what I have in mind for later,” Tucker said. Part of Glen was still amazed every time he hung out with Tucker. The man was a football legend, the quarterback who had almost taken his team to the Super Bowl last year. “And my intentions for the rest of the night do not include holding her hair while she gets sick.”
Glen chuckled. “I hear that.”
Tucker’s attention turned away from Lela and over to him. “Hey, listen. I know you’ve been staying at Coach’s while you’re working on the ranch.” Tucker reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring of keys. “Lela and I are going back to our farmhouse tonight. Won’t be using our weekend lake house. If you and Lorelie want to stay there…”
Glen wasn’t sure what to say in the face of Tucker’s complete one-eighty. The former quarterback had been hell-bent in keeping him away from Lorelie. He was surprised—and touched—by this sudden show of support. He shook his head when Tucker started to hand him the key. “I appreciate the offer, but Lorelie has already fixed us up a nice place to stay tonight.”
Tucker smiled. “Good. Figure it can’t be easy for you, staying in the same house with Lorelie and her dad.”
Truer words were never spoken. But at the same time, Glen had enjoyed his time at the ranch, living in the main house. He’d been struck by all the activity and noise. His apartment was damn quiet in comparison. Joel, Oakley and Sadie were almost always there for dinner, the six of them sitting around the table, discussing the day, telling jokes, laughing.
“It’s actually not that bad. I like being at the ranch.”
“Coach is a good guy.”
“The best,” Glen added.
If he hadn’t completely won Tucker over before, his quick response had just sealed the deal.
“Yeah.” Then Tucker was distracted by Lela’s loud laughter and request for another shot. “That’s it. We’re out of here.”
Glen laughed and said goodbye as Tucker walked to the bar, intent on persuading his fiancée to leave with him. Obviously the larger-than-life quarterback was outmanned when Lela convinced him to join them instead.
Glen sat at the table for a few minutes more, simply enjoying the chance to watch Lorelie with her friends. Then he realized he wasn’t the only one observing the party.
He stood up and walked over to Nolan. He’d heard the guy’s name mentioned more than a few times as folks discussed the book he was writing about Coach.
“So it’s always like this around here?” Glen asked.
Nolan looked at him and then back to the gang as they laughed at something Joel said.
“Yeah,” Nolan said. “It’s always like this around here.”
“Hard group to get into?” Glen asked, wondering why the guy was holding the wall up rather than joining the fun.
Nolan shook his head. “No, I wouldn’t say that, actually.”
“But you’re standing back,” Glen pointed out.
“I’m more of an observer,” he said.
“Nolan Winters, right?” Glen asked. “You’re writing that book about Coach.”
“Yep. And all of those yahoos.” He gestured toward the group with his beer bottle.
“Yeah?” Glen hadn’t realized the book was about the players as well. He wondered if Lorelie was going to get a mention.
“Can’t write about Coach without writing about those guys,” Nolan said.
“You can’t date Coach’s daughter without involving those guys, either,” Glen said, lifting his own bottle to his lips.
Nolan chuckled. “Yep. But you seem to be holding your own.”
“She’s worth it.”
Nolan took a drink. “Just so you know, the fact that you think so makes those guys pretty happy.”
Glen looked over at Joel and Oakley and the rest of the men. He had been pleased by Tucker’s offer to use his lake house tonight. And at the beginning, he’d been annoyed by the fact that Wade and his friends didn’t seem to think he was good enough for her. Now he knew they were protecting her for Coach, to ease the man’s mind after his heart attack. They were good guys, the whole lot of them.
Regardless, it wasn’t their happiness he was worried about. It was Lorelie’s. And maybe Coach’s, by extension, because he knew how much he meant to Lorelie. And vice versa. “Truth is, I don’t care much about making those guys happy.”
“Those guys being happy makes Lorelie happy.”
“Yeah, well, maybe that’s why I didn’t knock any heads together when they first started giving me shit,” Glen said. “Didn’t want to lose points with Lori.”
Nolan lifted an eyebrow at his use of Lorelie’s nickname. The man was observant. Glen was aware of the fact there were only two men she let call her Lori. Him and Coach.
“So how come you’re not over there with your girl?” Glen asked.
“My girl?” Nolan repeated a little too casually. It didn’t fool Glen for a minute.
“The gorgeous brunette—the mechanic—there in the middle who’s four shots in,” Glen said. “She’s yours, right?”
“Yeah, that’s her,” he told Glen. “Miranda.”
“So how come you’re not over there with them?” Glen asked.
“Well, because I’ve been fighting being over there with them for a long time,” Nolan said. “It’s safer over here. And it’s just my luck that when I finally fall for a woman, it’s the one sitting there in the middle, literally,” he added.
Glen took a long draw of beer, watching the group, considering what Nolan said. Then he nodded. “I’ve noticed that falling for a Quinn girl has a way of fucking up a lot of plans.”
“Your plans get fucked up?” Nolan asked.
Glen didn’t even bother to pretend to be disappointed or concerned. He just grinned. “Big time.”
Nolan chuckled. “I’ve been trying to get Quinn out of my system for twelve years. I can tell you, it ain’t easy. Add in a girl you’re crazy about, and yeah…good luck.”
“Think I have a little Quinn in my system too.” Glen’s gaze was fixed on Lorelie. “But I’m not so sure I mind.”
Nolan looked at Randi. “Yeah, I hear you.”
“So what are you gonna do about it?” Glen asked.
“I’m going to go ask my girl to dance.”
Glen nodded. “Good plan.”
“How about you?”
“I think I’m going to take my girl home.”
“You’re just going to walk over there, in the midst of all of those people who’ve been looking out for Lorelie all her life, and pull her away?”
Glen finished off his beer, set the bottle on the table right behind him and nodded. “Yep, pretty much.”
Glen pushed away from the wall, Nolan’s “go for it,” ringing in his ears as he approached Lorelie.
She must have sensed his presence because she spun around on the barstool to face him. “Hey, hot stuff.”
“I want the rest of Plan A. Right now.”
Lorelie laughed. “Ooo. Very demanding and alpha. Me likey.”
Glen narrowed his eyes. “How many of those shots have you had?”
She winked as she leaned closer, whispering her answer so her friends couldn’t hear. “Not as many as the girls think. Sadi
e’s been sneaking me virgin shots since the first one. Told her I need my wits about me tonight.”
Her close proximity and adorable confession was too much for him. He kissed her on the cheek, then the lips. He didn’t give a shit about their audience or the scene they were making.
“Goddammit,” Carter said, slapping Glen on the back. “What did I say about that public indecency thing?”
Lorelie hopped off the barstool. “You heard the cop, Glen. We have to be indecent in private.”
“Guess that’s our cue to leave.” Glen turned to Carter and feigned guilt. “I apologize, officer.”
Carter rolled his eyes. “Get out of here, you lunatics.”
They started to leave, but Wade stopped him before he made it two steps. While Lorelie said goodbye to Charlene and Paige, Wade pulled him aside to speak to him. “Call me tomorrow before you…well…call me in the morning. I want to talk to you about something. A business proposition.”
Glen gave his friend a quizzical look, but it was clear Wade wouldn’t go into it tonight. It was also pretty plain the word was out on his possible departure tomorrow. “I’ll do that. Night, Wade.”
The two of them walked out of Pitchers hand in hand. Lorelie might not realize the importance of the evening, but Glen knew exactly what they were doing.
They were about to spend their first night together in their future home.
8
Glen: I’m not coming back
Toby: What? Hell no. You have to
Glen: I’m staying in Quinn
Toby: For how long?
Glen: With any luck, forever
Toby: Goddammit, Glen. You can’t do this.
Glen: Guitar players are a dime a dozen in Nashville
Toby: We’ve had three subs since you left. Trent’s crashing. Need you
Glen: Not happening
Toby: You’re fucking killing me, man. Please
Glen: I’m sorry. I just can’t do it anymore