Marshall shrugged. “I’m requesting vacation as of now. I’ve stored up a significant amount, and I’m in to the use it or lose it category. Besides, crime isn’t rampant in this town. This is the biggest thing we’ve got going in Macon.”
Pizer tossed the toothpick into the trashcan and leaned his elbows on the desk. He slanted his gaze at Marshall, his expression suspicious. “You say there isn’t anything amorous going on between you and that woman?”
Marshall wanted to stomp out of the office. “My personal life isn’t the issue, sir. A woman’s life may be at stake. If anything happens to her…if anything happened to her, I wouldn’t forgive myself. And you wouldn’t forgive yourself if the Sheriff’s department got a black eye by way of bad publicity. Dana’s got enough friends and family that you can be sure they’d have our heads on a pike if they found out we didn’t provide proper protection.”
Staying quiet for some time, the older man gave Marshall a long stare. Marshall had worked with this man long enough to realize you couldn’t give him too much information or you’d find your head under the guillotine. Better to keep things straight and never vary too much from the topic.
“So you want to protect the department,” Pizer said.
“That’s right.” Marshall tightened his grip on the arms of the chair.
Shrugging, Pizer said, “All right. Vacation granted. When are you going to start this observation?”
“After the football match.”
Pizer frowned. “Guess she can’t be too important to you if you’re willing to play football over watching her…body.”
Pizer’s double insinuation made Marshall’s stomach roll. “If Logan wasn’t watching out for her, you can be sure I wouldn’t be in the game.”
“You ain’t playing anyway, are you?” Pizer sniffed.
“Second string, sir. Like always.”
Chuckling, Pizer waved his hand at the door. “Okay, then. Get outta here.”
As Marshall experienced the relief of leaving the Sheriff’s cramped office, he thought about everything the man had said. Come on, Marshall. What do you feel for Dana? What is pushing you so hard on this case?
Back in his office he tried to ignore the fact that answers wouldn’t materialize. At least not ones he wanted to think about.
Chapter Thirteen
As Dana strode through the crowd in the park with her Aunt Lucille, she felt a strange excitement. Children squealed as they tumbled around the playground under the watchful eye of parents. One kid let out a whoop as he sailed by on a skateboard. She felt infected with the sounds of laughter around her, and the idea of watching Marshall, Gregory, Neal, Eric and most of the other men in Macon battle it out on the green.
Right. Admit it. You want to see Marshall flex those incredible muscles. Uh-huh, that’s right admit it. She wanted to see Marshall in action, wanted to cheer like she was a girlfriend watching her guy play ball.
Sunlight spilled through high clouds, promising to warm an otherwise chilly morning. The air smelled of wood fires and the coming of fall. People spilled from the non-denominational church across the street, ready to watch the mêlée in their Sunday best.
Dana inhaled the fresh air, wishing she’d had more time this morning out on the patio. She’d taken her aunt’s advice the other day and loved the results. A long session dozing in the hammock resulted in two dreams that Dana knew she could add to her novel. Something vicious. A hairy nightmare. Followed by a romantic dream filled with hazy images of a tall man drawing her into his arms and kissing the stuffing out of her.
This morning she’d sat in the hammock armed with pad and pencil. In the last two days she produced twenty pages. She felt ready to tackle the world after creating on paper. The words had flowed, refusing to leave until her hand cramped and she knew nothing more would materialize that day. Few things gave her as much pleasure as writing in flow, letting her muse spill words onto the page at a furious pace.
After the fantasy…er…dream, she’d realized she wanted heavy-duty romance added to her horror novel. Now that’ll give my agent a heart attack, by golly. But she wanted love included in her story. It would make it richer, more intriguing. If the rest of it would come together, she’d leave Macon without regrets.
Dana knew she possessed a silly grin, and when she saw a man in the distance who appeared familiar, she took a closer look. He wore almost shoulder-length hair, beard, mustache and muscular body suited out in a red T-shirt and shorts. Long, strong, hairy legs. Her mouth almost watered. Yeah, it was Marshall all right.
Aunt Lucille came to a stop and squinted. “I wonder where Marshall is?”
Dana pointed to the group of men. “He’s right there. See?”
Aunt Lucille grinned, and her smile contained a teasing slant. “Oh, yes.”
Her aunt’s rambling continued as they walked, her enthusiasm never waning even after two teenage boys rushed by them and almost knocked them over.
The bleachers came into view at the same time Kerrie did. A young girl, perhaps nine years old, trailed alongside.
“Tabitha.” Aunt Lucille waved at the girl, and the child ran to her. Kerrie followed behind, a content look on her face.
The young girl looked up at Dana with an innocent smile. “Hi. I’m Tabitha Dawes.”
Dana, warmed by the child’s friendliness, put her hand out. “Nice to meet you. I’m Dana Cummings.”
“Daddy said you’re Uncle Brennan’s friend.”
Deep inside she knew the little girl couldn’t know what that implied, so Dana said, “Yeah, that’s right.”
“You’re here to watch him in the football game?”
Dana flicked a look at her Aunt and Kerrie. Both carried broad smiles. “Of course. I’m here to watch your daddy, Uncle Brennan, and everyone.”
Tabitha didn’t quibble, and as they went to the bleachers, Dana noted the child’s smile never disappeared. She tried to imagine being that age again and living without a mother. Just the thought made her heart ache for the girl’s loss.
They’d settled into the bleachers when Dana spied Logan in the crowd. She should have felt secure, but the knowledge someone might wish to hurt her never left her mind. If this had been a novel, she might have enjoyed the prospect of action. Instead her insecurities tingled over her skin like the touch of an insect.
Kerrie, sitting on Dana’s left side, said, “Oh, there’s our heroes.”
The men suited up in red shirts ran onto the field. A cheer went up from some people who’d decided they wanted the red team to win. Dana and her companions cheered as well.
“Why am I cheering?” Dana asked after the racket lulled to a muted roar.
“Because it’s team spirit.” Aunt Lucille continued clapping until the people around her looked at her.
Dana twisted her mouth into a sardonic smile. “Yeah, but they’re all from Macon.”
Kerrie nudged her with her elbow.
“Ow,” Dana said. “What was that for?”
Kerrie looked skyward. Her expression said without words, don’t you know anything? “The red team has our guys on it.”
“Yay.” Tabitha cheered and clapped as her daddy went up for the toss of the coin. “Daddy and Uncle Brennan.”
“Uh-huh,” Dana said. “There’s Neal and Gregory on the blue team. Is that Sheriff Pizer dressed as a referee?”
“Looks like it.” Aunt Lucille snickered. “Now that should make for an interesting game.”
Dana tried for nonchalance. “Since it’s flag football it shouldn’t be such a big deal. It’s not like they’ll be grinding their gizzards into the dirt or anything.”
“Ahem.” Kerrie gave Dana a lopsided grin. “Not exactly. Macon has an intriguing style of flag football. A little closer to rugby.”
“You’re kidding?” Dana asked.
“Nope.”
Dana watched Marshall and wished they’d taken a bleacher seat closer to the field. From the middle section she could see how he ran onto th
e field with long, certain strides. Yep, sure enough, the man she’d seen earlier had been Marshall. Raw pleasure coursed through her as she watched him. He laughed at something one of the other men said and headed for the sideline.
Dana took a gander at the Blue Angels and saw that Neal talked with other team members. Gregory, true to form, strutted around like a rooster overseeing a hen house. To her shame, Dana let her imagination roam and she envisioned Marshall smashing Gregory’s nose into the grass.
“Wow, doesn’t look like Marshall’s on the varsity,” Kerrie said, leaning forward to peer at the men below. She grinned. “But Eric is.”
Aunt Lucille nodded. “The way I hear it, that’s the way it’s always been. Eric always made the varsity because the coach thought he was hot stuff on a silver platter.”
“So Marshall ended up junior varsity? Are we talking about college?” Dana asked.
Kerrie tossed back her thick braid. “Nope. They never went to college together. High school.”
The game started with an obnoxious blast from the bullhorn speaker in the booth above the stands. “Welcome Macon! This is J.D. Crowner with KFTR country announcing today’s game between the Red Devils and the Blue Angels. The captain of the Red Devils is Dr. Eric Dawes.”
Tabitha and Kerrie let out a squeal and clapped with the others.
The announcer shouted above the cheers. “Team captain for the Blue Angels is Spider Hamrick.”
A burly dude with long blond hair and a reddish beard sauntered away from the sideline with a swagger that screamed “look at me”. Cheers rose from the stands again.
“Spider. Skeeter,” Dana mumbled. “What’s with this town and weird names?”
Kerrie lifted one disdainful eyebrow. “My name isn’t weird.”
Tabitha frowned. “Mine neither.”
Realizing she’d planted her foot deep into her mouth, Dana threw them a weak grin. “Go Blue Angels.” A group of cheerleaders appeared along the sidelines behind the players. They pranced as they called out a cheer. “Go Blue Angels. Give ’em the beak, the beak, the beak. Give ’em the beak, the beak, the beak.”
The Red Devil cheerleaders, dressed in the same uniforms except with red on white, cavorted near the blue women. Their attempts to out shout the Blue Angel cheerleaders made a wild mess of noise.
Dana’s mouth opened and closed. “Cheerleaders?”
Kerrie giggled. “Is that Jenny Pizer in that super short uniform for the Devils?”
“Is that Marshall and Eric ogling her?” Aunt Lucille squinted and leaned forward. “By golly, I think her pom poms have their attention.”
Dana would have laughed if she hadn’t seen Marshall’s gaze glued to Jenny’s generous pom poms. Jenny lost no time bouncing in his direction. He smiled at her as she swung her hips from side to side in a bump and grind that went with the o-la-la music issuing from the speakers. Seconds later she reached for him and gave him a hug. He hugged her back, looking mighty pleased. Then, before the heavens and everyone, Jenny laid one on him. A no-holds-barred lip lock.
Dana felt a blaze of unexpected fury slam through her. “Why that son of a—”
Kerrie’s hand flew out and clamped over Dana’s mouth.
“Don’t say it.” Kerrie glanced at Tabitha, who didn’t seem to pay the least attention to adult high jinks. Instead she laughed at the Devil mascot…a red devil, of course.
Marshall pulled back from the kiss, looking a little embarrassed.
Dana swallowed her words as Kerrie removed her hand. She couldn’t believe she’d almost cursed in front of the little girl. She’d about called Marshall a son of a buckster for doing what all red-blooded men did at one time or another. She gagged on the disappointment. Of course he wouldn’t be different. Marshall pried Jenny’s arms from around his neck, and Dana experienced a new satisfaction. At least he wasn’t lingering in Jenny’s arms. Kerrie nudged her with an elbow again.
Dana scowled. “Ouch. What did I do now?”
“You look like you just ate a bug. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. When is this game going to start?”
Kerrie didn’t need to explain, for the referee’s whistle sounded as Eric and the Angel captain went for the coin toss. The Devils won the toss.
As the game started, Dana also noted that Eric had lined up as wide receiver. She wondered if in high school he’d also played the part. With his loping stride, he ate up the sideline as he went out for a pass. He caught the quarterback’s throw with grace. The crowd let out another whoop as Eric tore up the field and headed for Angel territory. Dana had enough time to notice Marshall cheered on the sidelines, his hands balled into fists as he gestured. Eric almost made the ten-yard line when a bruiser from the Angels came across the field and snatched his flag. End of play. Groans of disappointment went up from Devil fans, including Kerrie, Tabitha and Aunt Lucille.
The game went on with no one making a score, each team evenly matched. When one big dude went down with a sprained ankle, the coach put Marshall in on first string. Unexpected pride and pleasure welled within Dana when she saw him run onto the field for the first time as a defensive back.
Kerrie nudged her again with that annoying elbow. “Would you look at that?”
Shrugging, Dana decided to play it cool. “What?”
“Marshall’s finally playing, you dope. Isn’t that great?”
Making a disgusted noise, Dana said, “I suppose.”
Tabitha let out a whoop. “Go, Uncle Brennan. Go.”
After the first quarter ended, the Devils gained ground with two forward passes that achieved twenty yards. When a touchdown and extra point gave the Devils a seven-zip lead, Kerrie, Dana, Aunt Lucille and Tabitha cheered until they almost lost their voices. The score held until halftime when the Angels moved into the Devil side of the field and stopped on the twenty-yard line.
Dana admitted to herself that she hadn’t experienced this much fun in a long time. As their little group watched the cheerleaders perform some pitiful jumps and leaps, they tried to keep from chortling. When Jenny did some splits that didn’t quite form all the way, Dana clapped for her anyway, determined to keep her hostility hidden.
Kerrie and Aunt Lucille eyed her, though, perhaps unconvinced.
“What are you looking at?” Dana asked them.
Kerrie patted her on the shoulder. “Good try, my friend.”
Aunt Lucille patted her other shoulder, and Dana glanced at them, feigning bemusement. “What?”
“No way to hide it now,” Kerrie said. “I saw your face when Jenny kissed Marshall.”
Dana grunted. “He kissed her.”
Aunt Lucille’s brow wrinkled in concentration. She perused the cheerleaders cavorting on the field. “No, I think Jenny hugged and kissed him. Of course, he did have an interesting grin on his face…”
Dana itched to escape the speculation. She shrugged, rolling her shoulders as if to relieve tired muscles. “It doesn’t matter. If Jenny and Marshall are an item, that’s their business. Not mine.”
Tabitha’s sweet young face pinched into a frown. “No way. Uncle Brennan doesn’t like her. He’s just being polite.”
Just being polite to lay a big kiss on a woman? I don’t think so. Dana gave the little girl an indulgent smile, but said nothing. Children, as she knew by now, didn’t always know when to leave well enough alone.
Tabitha measured Dana with a curious look. “I remember him saying something super nice about you, Miss Cummings. But I don’t remember what it was now.”
Dana’s heart did a back flip. Before she could say anything else, the crowd applauded as the cheerleaders went off the field and the battling foes returned to the green.
Several plays went forward, but Dana didn’t notice much of the action. Instead her attention stayed glued to Marshall. She couldn’t stop looking at him, and each time her gaze snagged on his body, she wanted to scream. No willpower. No willpower at all. She sighed and closed her eyes. The man had the balls to loo
k unconcerned about anything, while her gut churned with a bizarre anxiety she barely recognized. Despair? Excitement? Who knew?
His wind tossed hair, bone-melting gaze and miraculous muscles lived up to the name Red Devil. Shoving back her emotions, she took in the scent of greasy food stand and mouth-watering popcorn. Her stomach let out a growl loud enough that Aunt Lucille, Kerrie and Tabitha all looked at her.
Dana blushed. “Sorry. Didn’t eat much breakfast.”
With that explanation, she started taking food orders. She trekked to the concession stand, thankful for the distraction. The walk seemed to go for miles, giving her plenty of time to ponder.
So what if Marshall looked tough and rough? So what if he bristled, as usual, with an undeniable, palpable masculinity that made everything feminine within her react to everything male within him? Dana sniffed in contempt. She kept seeing him smile as Jenny had hooked her arms around his neck, and then imagined herself in Jenny’s place. Her arms looped around his neck, her mouth pressed to his. A flush heated Dana. I’m green-eyed. But he’ll never know it. She’d be pickled before she admitted that she cared about Brennan Marshall enough to be jealous.
A hand clamped on her right shoulder, and she almost squeaked. As she whirled around, Logan released her. He put his hands up in surrender.
“Logan, you scared the shit out of me.”
He gave her a weak grin. “Sorry, but you’re as slippery as lo mein noodles. And if I let you out of my sight, Marshall will peel my ass.”
Twisting her lips into a parody of a frown, she crossed her arms and sighed. “Well, he is pretty crabby sometimes.”
Logan looked heavenward as if to agree one hundred percent but afraid to vocalize the concept. “Come on. Let’s get food and head back.”
As she started walking again, she wondered if anyone with sinister intent watched from the stands, and the idea made her stomach roil in apprehension. As she scanned the crowd, she could have sworn a million eyes kept her in sight. A weird sense of danger made her shiver. Logan must have sensed her fear; he slipped his arm around her for a moment.
As she glanced back at the playing field, she heard a roar from the crowd and turned about at the same time Logan did. She added her own whoop and cheer as she caught sight of a Red Devil catching a ball intended for a Blue Angel wide receiver.
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