by Rhonda Marks
She tried to put herself in Dirk’s shoes and imagine if she’d been kept out her son’s life for ten years. A tremor traveled down her spine and tears pricked the back of her eyes. No way. If just thinking about that scenario made her want to throw up, then she knew she had to give Dirk some slack. Maybe her past actions were not for the best.
“Thank you.” Caroline jumped as Dirk walked up behind her with a full plate and bottle of pop in his hands.
“For what?”
“All this. Folks did a great job getting this together.”
“You’re welcome.” She smiled at him and her heart did a little dip when he returned the gesture.
“Why don’t you grab something to eat and come sit with me?” He tilted his head in the direction of a couple empty chairs at a nearby table. “I’ll save you a seat.”
“Sounds like a plan.” She watched him walk away before turning her attention to the food table. As she placed a little bit of everything on her plate, Emanuel stepped in front of her.
“You certainly spent a lot of time with Benedict,” he sneered. “What did y’all talk about?”
Caroline slowly replaced a serving spoon into a bowl of pasta salad and turned to face him. Careful to keep her voice even, she stepped up to him. “Did you just ask me what Dirk and I talked about?” she bit out. “What right do you—”
“I think I have every right to ask you what happened,” he started with an infuriating smirk on his face. “You’re the one who asked the city to participate in this farce. In my opinion, anyone and everyone in this room, this town, has the right to ask you anything.”
Caroline wanted to smack the self-righteous look off of his face, but instead gave him her brightest smile. “Thank you so much for your concern, Emanuel, but I can handle this situation myself. So if you’ll excuse me.” With a huff, she tried to sidestep him, but he quickly moved to block her path.
“I’m not finished speaking with you,” he scoffed. He grabbed her forearm and tried to steer her to a nearby corner. In an instant, all hell broke loose when Dirk slapped Emanuel’s hand away and spun him around to face him.
“I think I heard the lady say she could handle the situation and to excuse her.” The look on his face was the one he probably used on the field in the middle of a tough game. She involuntarily took a step back from the pair.
“This is none of your business, Benedict,” Emanuel said a bit too loudly as he looked around. “Caroline and I were just having a pleasant conversation.”
“About me,” Dirk concluded.
The ruckus had attracted the attention of the others, including the film crew who had been on a short break. They dropped their plates and stumbled over themselves getting to their equipment.
“Stop, you two,” she hissed while stepping between the men. “You’re making a scene.”
“But—” Emanuel started.
“There are no buts!” She turned to look at Dirk and found him staring down at her with a half-smile on his face. Butterflies took flight in her stomach, but this was not the time. She turned to Emanuel and pinned him with an icy stare. “If you can’t be civil, you’ll need to leave.”
The principal seemed to notice they had an audience and quickly pulled himself together. With a smile not nearly as sexy as Dirk’s, he took several steps back and gave them a slight nod of his head before turning and walking out of the room.
Her father sprinted over to them and with his back to the cameras hissed, “What the hell is going on here?”
“Nothing, Dad,” she whispered. “Everything is fine.”
“It doesn’t look like it,” Ty Jackson said while giving Dirk a dirty look. “Why’d you make Emanuel leave? He’s a good man.”
She gave a grunt in response to his statement. With a sad look on her face, she said, “Let it go, Dad.” She let out a little sigh when he complied and returned to her mother’s side.
Once everything calmed down and everyone began eating again, she met Dirk’s questioning gaze with a hunch of her shoulders. Emanuel had never acted that way around her before. What was going on?
Chapter Six
Dirk smiled as he scanned the assembled crowd of children. He stood just offstage, anxiously awaiting his turn to speak. Part of the film crew was set up near him, and the rest were in the rear of the auditorium. Excited chatter filled the room and quite a few students wore replica jerseys with his name on them. He noticed that the shirts looked new, but he was not going to quibble about it.
The school underwent a major renovation the year after he graduated. The old auditorium barely had enough room for the high school students. This new one had seating for the whole student body. Because of the reduction in the city’s population, all the district’s students could be housed in one building. A wave of sadness swept over him, thinking about how far down the city had fallen. He should have done something to help, but because he hadn’t kept up with the goings on back home, he didn’t know. To rectify that, he’d already contacted his financial people and they were coming up with a plan to make a large donation.
Dirk cut his eyes to the man standing next to him, Principal Emanuel Hines. He hadn’t said a word to him since Dirk arrived about half an hour ago. Didn’t matter. The room buzzed last night after their little encounter. But now was not the time for an argument. Nothing was going to mess up this day. Nothing.
Caroline took pains to avoid him after his dust up with Hines, speaking to everyone else but him at the gathering last night. But it was all good. Folks he hadn’t seen or spoken to in years took pains to greet him. Some actually apologized for their slights of him and his family. Was it because of his present fame that they were so gracious or something else? Maybe Caroline’s request that they treat him civilly was the cause. Whatever the reason, it felt good.
His conversation with her in the car yesterday replayed in his mind, keeping him from getting a good night’s sleep. Her old man must have really hated him back then. Hell, he probably hated him more now that he was back in Caroline’s life. The big difference this time is that he wouldn’t be pushed away. He had a son. A son who he intended to have a relationship with, no matter who objected.
As if he’d conjured the boy, Dirk glanced to his right and saw JJ sitting in one of the last rows on the first level of the auditorium. He didn’t have on a jersey, but Dirk could see him animatedly talking with a couple boys sitting on either side of him. The boy looked so much like him, it was scary. His mom and dad would have spoiled him rotten, just like some say they did with him. He was their only child and tried their best to give him what he wanted, despite their precarious financial situation. Dirk’s throat began to close up thinking about them. Damn, he missed his folks.
“Ready?” Emanuel grunted, startling Dirk.
“Yeah,” he responded without looking at his nemesis. He watched Hines walk to the middle of the stage and approach the microphone. He cleared his throat and motioned with his hands for the children to quiet down. Once he had their attention, he introduced Dirk and then waved him over.
For the children’s sake, Dirk shook Emanuel’s outstretched hand, then turned his attention to the students. He had to swallow hard to keep the tears at bay. These kids were the children of his former teammates and classmates. They were innocents in all of this stuff. Blameless.
“How’s everyone doing today?” he shouted with a smile that grew when the kids yelled a greeting back. “So good to be back home in Devinne!”
“Welcome back,” someone shouted from the sea of faces in the crowd. His heart swelled with gratitude and the tears he’d tried his best to hold back escaped. He hastily wiped them away with the back of his hand and took a step away from the mic. The kids rose to their feet and shouts of “We love you, Dirk” made it more difficult for him to get himself together.
After taking a couple minutes to settle his emotions, he approached the microphone and began to speak in a shaky voice. He thanked them for the warm welcome and then launched int
o the speech he spent several hours writing last night and this morning. He encouraged them to stay in school and to further their education once high school ended. He regaled them with tales of his adventures when he was a boy growing up in Devinne, cracking them up at all the trouble he used to get into.
Once his speech was over, there was time for some questions. They ranged from his NFL experiences to his thoughts on what colleges they should consider. Dirk took the time to answer every last question and posed for a ton of pictures.
Bone tired, he started for the exit but was stopped by Hines. “You did a good job today, Benedict,” he said begrudgingly. “I have to hand it to you, the kids love you and hung on your every word.” He turned to go then quickly stuck his hand out again. “I may have my misgivings about you, but I’m man enough to admit I might be wrong.” He then quickly walked out of the auditorium.
Stunned, Dirk stood there for a minute and took it all in. The film crew was packed up and ready to go. Monique must have already headed for the car because she was nowhere in sight. Time for him to go too. He had a workout with the team later in the afternoon and being late was not an option. As he started for the exit, someone tapped him on the shoulder. “Yes,” he said turning around. He gasped when he saw his son staring up at him.
Dirk quickly looked around to make sure no one was nearby before speaking. “Hello, son. How’d you like my speech?”
“It was cool. My boys really liked it.”
Dirk knew that he had no business talking to JJ, especially since Caroline warned him to stay away until they worked out something. But he wasn’t the one to make the first move, so he hadn’t really broken his word, right? “Don’t you need to get to class, sport?”
“Well, I kind of told my teacher I was going to the restroom.” He held up a piece of paper Dirk assumed was a hall pass. “But I wanted to talk to you.”
“Let’s go someplace private, okay?” They walked down the hall and soon found an empty classroom. Dirk squeezed into a desk while JJ chuckled at his efforts. “How are you, JJ?”
“I’m good. Can I ask you something?”
“Shoot.”
“Why did you leave my mom?”
Dirk took deep breath and tried to formulate an acceptable answer. Caroline said she’d told him a little bit about their relationship, but what had she said concerning him leaving town? “JJ, my leaving town had nothing to do with her. I loved your mom.” And still do.
“But why, then? Why’d you go away?”
“It’s complicated son, and something I can’t talk to you about.”
“Can’t or won’t?” JJ looked him dead in the eye and Dirk had to stop himself from smiling. The expression on his face reminded him so much of his father. That look he had when he faced down the city council on a monthly basis. Dad would have been so proud of this boy.
“I made an agreement with your mother not to talk about certain subjects. And I’m going to follow her lead. But let me tell you this, I’m going to be in your life from here on out. We will get to know one another, okay.”
“Okay, Dad.” JJ glanced at the clock on the wall and started for the door. “I guess I’d better get back to class before my teacher starts looking for me.” Just as he reached the door, he whirled around and launched himself into Dirk’s arms. Father and son hugged each other, neither one wanting to let go. Eventually, JJ pried himself loose and rushed out the classroom, leaving Dirk tearing up for the second time today.
After getting himself under control, Dirk exited the school and headed for the limo. Monique gave him a curious stare but said nothing.
“Drop me off at the library,” Dirk said to the driver.
“Don’t you have a workout this afternoon?” Monique asked.
“This won’t take long,” he replied. He hoped.
Caroline had just returned to her office and booted up her computer when the door opened. Without looking up, she said, “Can it wait, Deb? I need to finish this report.”
A deep, rumbly voice replied, “It can’t wait.” Her head jerk up and she found Dirk leaning against the door frame, a half smile on his handsome face. She inhaled a lungful of air and willed her heartbeat to slow down. When would she ever be able to look at him without having this reaction?
“Come on in before anyone sees you,” she said while waving him inside. Once he took a seat in the too-small chair across the desk from her, she started. “What brings you here, today?”
“I just finished my speech at the school. It went well.”
“That’s great, but you haven’t answered my question. Why are you here in my office?”
“Can’t I stop by and visit with an old friend?”
She narrowed her eyes and let out a loud puff of air. “I don’t have time for a visit, Dirk. As you can see, we’re running a bare bones operation here, and I need to do some work on the computer.” She stood and began to walk around her desk. “So if you’ll excuse me.”
“I need to talk with you about JJ. I mean, I want to start seeing him on a regular basis.”
Caroline stopped in her tracks put her hands on her hips. “I thought we’d agreed to discuss all this later, after you left town.”
Dirk stood and walked over to her. He had always been taller than her, but he must have grown at least another four inches since high school. She took a step back so she didn’t have to tilt her head back so far to look into his eyes. She also had to move away to keep herself from reaching out and touching that rock hard body of his.
“Being around all those children today made me realize that I want to see my son sooner, rather than later, that’s all.” He slowly inched his way closer to her, then reached out to touch her hair. “I’m glad you haven’t cut your hair.”
Caroline trembled as he fingered her curls. Heat shot through her body from her scalp all the way to her feet. One look into his eyes let her know he’d felt it too. That connection between them was still there, still hot. He leaned down slowly, his gaze zeroed in on her quivering lips. She licked them in preparation for the kiss she’d been craving. When their lips met, she let out a little sigh and melted into his body. Dirk’s tongue wasted no time slipping inside her mouth and sweeping every part, getting acquainted after a long absence.
They took their time with this kiss, changing the position of their heads and clinging to each other like their lives depended upon it. Eventually, she needed air and broke contact first. They stared at each other, their chests heaving as they sucked in some much needed air. Before he could reach for her once more, she retreated to her side of the desk and slid into her chair. He sat in his chair too, neither one of them saying a word.
The out of control attraction. The heat. It was if they’d never parted. She wanted him now just as much as when she was a teen. But just as quickly, the memory of when he left town doused the fire building inside. “I can’t, we can’t do this, Dirk.”
“Why not, Caroline? Don’t even try to deny this. The attraction is still here.”
“This is not about just us. We have a child to think about. He’s my focus now. And I don’t want him to be hurt.” Like I was. “What if you decide one day to stop seeing him? How do you think that will affect him?”
“That won’t happen. He’s my son and I’ve missed so much already.”
Caroline tried to ignore the tendrils of guilt and focused on JJ. “I won’t let JJ get hurt, Dirk.”
“And I promise you I won’t hurt him.” He pulled out an envelope from his jacket pocket and handed it to her. “Here are some tickets for Sunday’s game. For you and JJ, your folks and some of JJ’s friends.”
She took it and placed them on the desk. “Thank you. JJ will be thrilled.”
“How about you?”
“You know I’ll be pulling for my team,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.
“That’s my girl.” He stood and turned to go.
Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, “Every other weekend, alternating holi
days, and part of the summer!”
He smiled and gave her short nod of his head. “Thank you.” Then he was out the door, leaving her wondering what happened.
Chapter Seven
A smile the width of the Monongahela River spread across Dirk’s face as the waved to the crowd lining the parade route up Main Street. Kids ran along the sidewalk, keeping pace with the convertible he rode in with Caroline and her father. Man, it was good being home. Yeah, he’d forgotten about this part of living here. The people and the excitement they felt on game day. Home.
It looked like every citizen of Devinne was out this evening. As long as he could remember, the band, majorettes and cheerleaders marched from the high school to the stadium, with everyone else taking up the rear. Then they’d file inside the stadium and cheer for the hometown team. The visitor’s side sometimes was a bit sparse, but never on the home side of the field. Devinne Stadium was the place to be on a Friday night during football season.
“So, you finally returned home to the little people, huh Benedict?” The snide remark from Ty Jackson quickly deflated Dirk’s mood. He thought the man’s offer to allow Dirk to ride in his convertible was some kind of peace offering. Obviously not.
“You of all people know why I haven’t been around, Jackson,” he responded. “This is not the time nor place for this.” He turned to find the film crew following closely behind their car, getting footage for the story.
“Well, I’m just making conversation.”
“No you’re not, Dad,” Caroline cut in. “You want to start an argument.”
“So you’re taking his side, huh? After all your mother and I have done to help you in raising his child.”
Keeping his voice low but deadly, Dirk leaned forward so only Caroline and her father could hear. “And she wouldn’t have had to do so if you hadn’t interfered and destroyed the letter I left for her.”