“She was always reading, remember?”
“I remember she didn’t like me very much, so I mostly ignored her.”
Alex shook his head. “I think she liked you more than you think. And since you were too busy dating cheerleaders, she pretended she didn’t like you so nobody would know.”
“You’ve been watching too much afternoon television, my friend,” Chase said, but it was an intriguing idea.
Had Kelly McDonnell had a crush on him back in high school? Not that it would have mattered. Even if he hadn’t been going steady with Janie Vestal, he would have been too afraid of Coach to risk dating his daughter.
Hell, he was still afraid to date—so to speak—Coach’s daughter, as he’d so badly proven in the kitchen. But if she’d had a crush on him then and had thought about him over the years, she probably still wanted him more than she was willing to admit.
There had been no hesitation in her kiss. She’d enjoyed it as much as he had. And he’d seen the heat in her eyes and the hitch in her breath when he’d said he wanted to take her up against the wall. That desire was just as mutual as wanting the kiss.
But they were in a good place right now. They’d talked through the awkwardness and they each acknowledged the other wasn’t the right person. It didn’t stop him from wanting her, but he hoped like hell it would help keep him from showing it.
“Earth to Sanders,” he heard Sam say.
“Huh?”
“Considering the conversation, I’m real interested in where your thoughts went just now.”
Chase snorted, as if Sam was totally off base. “I was thinking about football and wondering if any of us remember the old play calls.”
“Shit, I barely remember how we line up on the field,” Alex said.
Sam laughed. “That’s easy for me. I stand behind the guy squatting over the ball and pray like hell I don’t fumble the snap.”
“Kelly said we’ll have access to the field next week to practice if we want,” Chase said. “I think we should take her up on that offer.”
“We don’t have a chance in hell of beating those kids,” Sam said. “But I’d like to not embarrass myself.”
“I’ve heard that before.” Chase took a swallow of beer. “We didn’t have a chance in hell of beating those kids for the championship back in the day, either, but we did.”
Both guys stared at him for a few seconds, then burst out laughing. He joined in because no amount of guts or inspirational speeches would get them past a team of well-coached teenage boys. But that didn’t mean he was going to let them steamroll over him, either. So a few years had passed since he and the others had played ball together. Didn’t change the fact that they’d been pretty damn good at it once.
“We really do need to get out of here,” Alex said. “If we don’t leave now, we’ll need more beer, and I don’t want to forget how to get to the Bartons’ house.”
“It’s a little awkward when everybody goes to bed and you’re not tired,” Chase warned. “I’ve got a stash of snacks and magazines in my room to kill time until I’m tired, but hopefully your families aren’t the early-to-bed, early-to-rise types.”
“I’m a night owl,” Alex said, “but I have my laptop, so I can work if they go to bed early.”
“I’m one of those early-to-bed types,” Sam said, and then looked at the old-fashioned clock that had hung on the wall for as long as they could remember. “Though maybe not this early.”
“You know, I have a great idea,” Alex said, his voice low so he couldn’t be overheard, and Chase leaned in closer. He was in just the right mood for a great idea.
—
Kelly’s cell phone rang mere seconds after she’d finished tying the drawstring waist of her favorite pair of sweats, and she knew without looking at the screen it would be the night dispatcher. “Hello?”
“I know you’re not on duty and it’s late, but we have a situation and I thought you might want to handle it yourself.”
Scenarios began running through her mind. Her parents were first, but dispatch would have opened with that. Hunter Cass, maybe. A break-in at Gretchen’s farm. The possibilities were endless. “What’s the situation?”
“Earlier tonight, Chase Sanders, Alex Murphy and Sam Leavitt were at the pizza place and they were drinking with a couple of the other guys.”
Kelly frowned. Had they gotten in a fight? If any of the guys from town had caused trouble for their guests, she’d ticket the offenders if they so much as jaywalked for the rest of their lives.
“We just got a call,” the dispatcher continued, “and it seems like the three of them might be trying to break into the high school.”
She dropped her forehead to the palm of her hand with a thud. “You’re kidding. Those idiots.”
“Yeah. That’s why I called you instead of putting out the radio call.”
“I appreciate that. I’ll take care of it.”
She didn’t bother putting on her uniform and shoved her bare feet into her sneakers before grabbing a flashlight. It’s not as if she’d be shooting anybody, although she wouldn’t mind giving Chase a quick jolt of the stun gun in the ass. What the hell were they thinking?
It was less than a mile to the school and a route she ran regularly, so she jogged to the high school and walked around the perimeter. Since she didn’t see the guys, she assumed they’d made it inside. If she didn’t find an access point, she’d break down and text Chase, but for now she swept the exterior of the old brick building with her flashlight.
It didn’t take her long to find it. In a recessed area where the Dumpsters were parked and the kids were discouraged from going, there were two windows at ground level that went into the mechanical room. They hadn’t been updated yet, and the guys had actually managed to pull the ancient window out of its casing.
Shaking her head, she went to the closest door and used her master key to let herself in. After orienting herself and plotting the quickest route to the gym, she jogged through the halls.
She heard them before she saw them, laughing and talking in a low enough rumble so she couldn’t make out the words. Switching off the flashlight, she gave her eyes a few seconds to adjust to the moon shining through the scattered and high windows, and then stepped up behind them.
“Police,” she said in a stern voice. “Turn around.”
They all pivoted at once and she had to bite back a laugh when Chase and Alex bounced off each other in the process. They’d definitely had a couple of drinks too many with their supper.
“Officer McDonnell,” Chase said in that low, sexy voice she heard in her dreams. “You’re out of uniform.”
She pointed to the Stewart Mills PD emblem on the chest of her zip-up hoodie. “Close enough.”
Alex Murphy folded his arms over his chest and scowled. “We walked instead of driving, so we didn’t do anything wrong.”
She raised her eyebrow, forcing herself not to smile. “Really?”
“Yeah. The car’s still parked in front of the House of Pizza, so you can just go away.”
Sam, who looked sober, elbowed him in the ribs. “You should stop talking now.”
“She’s giving me the cop look.”
Chase snorted and she turned that look on him. “I was about two minutes from curling up on my couch with a bowl of ice cream and the TV remote when I got the call three drunken morons were breaking into the school. Don’t push me.”
“I don’t drink,” Sam said. “Only two drunken morons were breaking into the school.”
“So your excuse is . . . ?”
He shrugged. “Didn’t seem like a good idea to let them come alone.”
“So you’re just here to chaperone this little criminal trespassing field trip?”
Though it didn’t affect her the way Chase’s did, Sam’s grin had a way of lighting up h
is hardened face. “Yes, ma’am.”
She couldn’t hold the smile back anymore. “If you don’t drink, why is the car still at the pizza house?”
“In theory, walking here was more stealthy than driving.”
“And no stop signs,” Chase added.
“Yes, because a failure to stop is totally your biggest concern right now.” She sighed and shook her head. “Let’s go.”
“We haven’t seen the trophy case yet,” Alex said.
“I’d be happy to bring you here during the day, with the principal’s blessing, for a tour of the school.”
“We’re already here, though,” Chase said, with all the sincerity of an intoxicated person whose logic made perfect sense to him.
“Illegally.”
“If you’d stop arguing with us, we’d be done already and you could be eating ice cream,” Chase continued. Then he gave her a half smile. “I really like ice cream.”
Alex seemed very interested in a pep rally poster still taped to the wall, but Kelly didn’t miss the way Sam looked from Chase to her and back again.
Chase leaned closer to her. “What law do I have to break to get handcuffed around here?”
“You should probably start exercising your right to remain silent,” Sam said.
“She hasn’t arrested me yet,” Chase argued. “If she arrests me, she has to frisk me first.”
“Fine,” Kelly said, surrendering to the inevitable. “Let’s go see the damn trophy case.”
She led them through the dark hallways, using her flashlight to guide the way. When they came to the lobby area outside the gymnasium, the moon was shining through the skylights, so she switched it off and waved toward the trophy case.
The three men gathered in front of it in silence and Kelly hung back. She didn’t need to look, since she walked by it several times a week during her visits to the school. There were a variety of trophies in the case now, but the big one—the first one for football—was on the top shelf, with a framed photo of the team beside it. Mounted to the back of the case were several newspaper clippings.
THE STEWART MILLS EAGLES WIN!
A photo of her dad was in one of the articles, faded to a pale yellow now. He was in his Eagles polo, with his whistle around his neck and a ball cap on, and the joy and pride he’d had in his team shone on his face. It was the same photo she’d had next to her when she started making the phone calls to bring these guys home.
As she looked at the three of them, their heads bowed almost in reverence, she felt warmth seep through her. They’d all put their lives on hold to help her dad, and she wasn’t sure she could ever thank them enough for that.
“We should steal the trophy,” Alex said in what he probably thought was a low voice.
Idiots. “Okay, guys. Let’s see if we can get you back to the car, which Sam is going to drive, by the way.”
“You were a lot more fun back in high school,” Alex said, and then he frowned. “No, wait. That was Courtney.”
She gave him her best cop face and pointed down the hallway. “Go.”
She managed to get them outside and, after locking the door behind her, was able to secure the back window with Sam’s help. Then she pointed in the direction of the pizza place, and they started walking.
“We could go to the covered bridge and make out,” Chase said when they’d gone maybe thirty yards.
“You’re not my type,” Alex said.
“I was talking to Kelly.”
She rolled her eyes. “You have more of a chance with Alex.”
“Dude, she’s Coach’s daughter,” Sam said.
Kelly was getting tired of hearing that. Yes, she was proud to be the man’s daughter, but she didn’t want to be hoisted up onto whatever pedestal they’d put him on. “Right now, the only part of my life relevant to you three is my job. Keep it up and you’ll sober up behind bars.”
When they reached Alex’s rental car, she waited while he pulled the key out of his pocket and handed it over to Sam. “I’ll see you gentlemen at the street fair tomorrow. Bright and early.”
She took a perverse satisfaction in their groans as she walked away.
09
Chase was a little slow getting out of bed the next morning, and only the mouthwatering scent of frying bacon wafting up to his room made him do it.
Too much beer. A great idea. Breaking into the school. Asking Kelly to go make out with him on the old covered bridge. Tripping up the stairs while trying to sneak into the McDonnell house. Not one of his finer nights.
He made quick work of showering and dressing for the day, choosing cargo shorts and the faded Eagles T-shirt he’d brought with him from New Jersey. He supposed that was a bright spot in his life, being able to fit in a shirt he’d worn in high school.
Coach was just sitting down with his breakfast plate when Chase walked into the kitchen. “Surprised to see you up this early, son.”
Ouch. “I apologize again for the noise. And your daughter said she wanted to see the three of us bright and early for the street fair.”
“When did you see Kelly?” Mrs. McDonnell asked from the stove, where she was frying eggs. He noticed she didn’t fry them in the leftover bacon grease anymore, maybe out of deference to Coach’s health, but they still looked delicious.
“Uh . . .” He wasn’t awake enough yet to lie. “Last night, when she responded to the call we’d broken into the high school.”
Coach almost choked on his coffee. “You do any damage?”
“No, sir. We just wanted to see the trophy again.”
He felt like a teenager again, squirming under Coach’s steady gaze, but then the man laughed and Chase relaxed. “Seeing you boys together again does an old man’s heart good, but I thought you’d all have learned to stay out of trouble by now.”
“There was beer.”
“How many?”
“Three or four?” Chase replied, but Coach raised that eyebrow at him. “Pitchers.”
“Sit down and eat,” Mrs. McDonnell said, setting a plate and a cup of coffee in front of his chair. “You have a long day ahead of you, although it doesn’t start until ten, no matter what Kelly said.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He dug in, scooping up egg yolk with the thick-sliced bread she baked at home. When she set a tall glass of orange juice and a couple of painkillers next to his coffee, he smiled his thanks.
To make up for his less-than-graceful entrance the night before, Chase cleared the table and washed the dishes when they were finished with breakfast, waving away Mrs. McDonnell’s objections. When he was done, he stuck an Eagles ball cap on his head and walked toward the downtown area, since if Kelly could walk, so could he. And he wouldn’t have to worry about parking his truck or it getting blocked in.
The sun was warm without being hot and the humidity was low, so it would be a perfect day for the street fair. He waved to the kids manning the tollbooth, which they were doing again for the weekend, and they all waved back. A lot of people greeted him by name and, for most of them, he could do the same.
There were all sorts of activities going on, and he couldn’t help but be impressed by the way the town was pulling together for the football team. There was a garden club booth, with women selling flowers, along with a craft booth. A yard sale booth and a huge book sale. Everything was donated, with all the proceeds going to the Eagles.
The karaoke booth drew him in, as it had many others. It was fifty cents per song to perform, and there was a tip jar that would also go into the football fund at the end of the day. The citizens of Stewart Mills really loved to sing, he thought, though they did so with varying degrees of talent.
The realization that the fate of the Stewart Mills Eagles football team might come down to how much pocket change people could spare was a humbling one. Everybody was working their asses off, scraping for qua
rters and dollar bills, and they were smiling while they did it.
He saw Alex from a distance, taking pictures as always. The camera looked a lot more sophisticated than the junk one he’d had when they were kids, but Alex had always had an eye for photography. Chase thought it was pretty cool he’d managed to turn his childhood passion into a career.
Hunter and Cody walked by with an older couple, all of them laughing, and he waved. The man looked enough like Hunter for Chase to assume it was the boy’s dad. After seeing the kid at the first Eagles Fest meeting he’d attended and then spending time with him off and on, he’d surmised Hunter was probably the boy Kelly had talked to on the covered bridge the other night, and it was good to see him having fun with his family. No matter what happened with the team, Stewart Mills needed a celebration.
After watching a dozen or so people mangle popular songs, Chase went to the lemonade stand, where they were charging a dollar per cup. After the supply costs were recouped, the profit would go in the kitty, too.
He bought a cup and, after wincing at the amount of sugar, walked across the town square to check on the dunk tank. It didn’t appear to have sprung any leaks overnight, nor had it been messed with at all. He’d assumed it would be okay, since the kids most likely to mess with it were the kids who most needed it.
“You going to take a turn in that?”
He turned to see Decker with his wife and kids, all of them eating brownies. “I haven’t been asked to and I hope to keep it that way. Where did you get the goodies?”
“Bake sale booth,” one of Deck’s sons muttered around a mouthful of brownie.
“I must have missed that one.” A memory surfaced and Chase’s mouth watered in response. “Are there pistachio bars?”
Deck grinned. “The woman who made them when we were kids passed away a few years ago, but her daughter mastered the recipe. I’ve had two already.”
“Nice to see you,” he said to the Decker family. “I have to find the bake sale booth before Leavitt does. He inhales those suckers.”
“It’s over by the guy playing the banjo,” Cheryl called after him. “Just follow the music.”
Under the Lights Page 10